Game Innovators Pick Their Favorite Titles

Thanks to Ludology.org for pointing to the Georgia Tech game morphology project, which, although still in development, has asked famous creators and academics for their favorite games of all time. Interesting picks include Warren Spector's kudos for Ultima IV ("Wait, you mean games can be about more than just killing things? Whoa! This game, with its ethical underpinnings, changed my life"), Henry Jenkins' choice of Myst ("not a great game from the perspective of game play... [but influential because] it brought some degree of middle class respectability to games"), and Will Wright's picking of Pinball Construction Set ("[a] heavy influence for me - construction is fun.")

Comments

story counts

[X_Caffeine]

I was really sorry to see Grim Fandango and Homeworld not make anyone's list (aside from a passing mention for GF's art direction). In fact, very few of those interviewed had anything to say about games with decent plots (possible exception: Spector on Ico).

Even games that excel in playability and immersiveness are frequently saddled with sub-par storytelling. Game producers hire professional musicians and artists to do the soundtrack and graphics in their titles, but all to often think anyone can write a damned story and turn in something that a "slash fiction" author would ashamed of.

Grim Fandango had a more polished script and thematic originality than most Hollywood movies. The freakin' manual that came with Homeworld was better than most science fiction novels that get published.

Have a decent plot and story certainly isn't the most important element of a videogame (everyone seems to agree that the ambiguous quality of "playability" is central), but it's probably the most overlooked factor. Game publishers need to stop asking Bob in Accounting to write their scripts and farm out the work to novelists whose books aren't selling because all their audience wants to read are Star Trek and Babylon 5 licensed books.

Ultima IV

[Xunker]

I still play Ultima IV.

No, I mean _I'm_still_playing_Ultima_IV_.

I've been stuck in the Stygean(sp) Abyss for about 15 years now.

This is not a game for playing, it is a game for turning off and avoiding.

Ultima IV indeed.

[gklinger]

I have no idea who Warren Spector is (other than what I read when I followed the link in the article) but I agree wholeheartedly with his choice of Ultima IV. What makes it so amazing, and it's as relevant and playable now as the day it was released, is that it's more than a game. It's an ethics primer that teaches the lesson about reaping the harvest you sew.

If you've never played Ultima IV, you should, even if you don't like RPGs. It's worth your time. Luckily, Richard Garriott (aka Lord British) has made this easy to do by releasing Ultima IV as freeware. You can download the game here and the documentation here. Also, an upgrade patch has been created that improves the graphics and sounds without mucking with the game mechanics. You learn more about Ultima IV as well as download the upgrade here.

One other thing, it's a long game and even if you don't have the time to play it, download it and play through the introduction (10-15 minutes tops). There are a series of ethical/moral questions that determine your character type and they're really interesting. So interesting in fact that fans have reproduced the 'quiz' on the web so if you're really not into downloading the game, you can still take the Ultima Personality Test.