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The Platinum Age of CRPGs

Posted by Zonk on from the my-favorite-coin-denomination dept.

Matt Barton writes "I've just posted my third (and final) installment on CRPG history at GamaSutra: The Platinum and Modern Ages. This article covers the many classics released between 1994 and 2004, including Fallout, Planescape: Torment, Ultima Underworld, and of course Baldur's Gate, Diablo, and The Elder Scrolls. It also discusses why WoW and other MMORPGs aren't descended from these CRPGs (but rather MUDs). The Platinum Age produced the finest CRPGs ever made — but the future of the stand-alone, single-player CRPG looks grim."

5 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. Truth! by Friedrich+Psitalon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Part of the reason for the rise and decline of these games can be traced to the computing power of the eras. RPGs were getting better and better because the ability to make them more appealing - graphically, sound (voice quality, etc) were improving. It became easier to develop a more immersive environment, and so more and more attention went to writing a story that could show off the quality that was possible.

    Unfortunately, with the rise of greater and easier connectivity, the ability to play RPG's with more friends came - and thus we saw the rise of the MMORPG. Although they might have first envisioned being more RPG than MUD, the popularity of the games erased Role-Playing very quickly. (Joe Sixpack likes killing monsters, but doesn't give a damn about "Thou and thee.")

    What would it take for a great single-player RPG now? A game so enjoyable that it overshadows the enjoyment factor of playing a similar game with hundreds of others. Humans are social creatures, by and large, so that will be very tough to do. It won't be a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler in any case; that genre is utterly oversaturated in MMORPGs.

    If another great RPG series is developed, my money is on a Fallout/Shadowrun-genre RPG; it's about the only genre not super-satured (ignoring the embarassing Matrix attempt at it) in the MMO world. (Though, in all honesty, the idea of playing a Shadowrun MMORPG....whew. I'm in, chummers.)

    --
    Technological competence assures no more intelligence than any other form, just more elitism.
  2. Something seems wrong here by kalirion · · Score: 3, Interesting

    FTA:

    To my mind, the games that really represent the best of the genre appeared during the period I've termed the "Platinum Age," which begins in 1996 with the publication of three very important games, Origin's Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (1992), Blizzard's Diablo, and Bethesda's Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall (both 1996)....

    So the Platinum Age began in 1996 with the publication of a game from 1992?

  3. The PC is dying? by fotbr · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Show me ONE flight sim for consoles that sold as well as ANY of the MS Flight Simulator series. Hell, show me one flight sim for consoles, period. They don't exist. The closest you can come are arcade shoot-em-ups that involve shooting from a plane, but there's NO emphasis on accuracy of the flight models, or physics, or anything else except making the explosions look good.

    Same goes for racing simulations. Many arcade "racing" games, no real emphasis on being an accurate simulation. Sadly, in the case of racing simulations, the PC world has abandoned simulations for the most part as well.

    I won't even get into the MMORPG issue, but again, no comparison. You're right though, some CRPGs are being ported to consoles. But it doesn't change the fact that they were, are, and will be available for the PC, and if not released before the console version, released at the same time.

    Until the Wii came along, the ONLY place to find games the casual gamer liked was on the PC. The Wii may steal that market, it may not. Only time will tell there.

    And as soon as they start allowing PC vs console gaming (I believe the 360 is planning on doing this via their Live service) the console world is going to get spanked as those that swear by FPSs on consoles find out that the PC truely does have the superior control system.

    PC game popularity runs in cycles, almost exactly opposite console popularity. Every time a new round of consoles comes out, PC gaming drops off. After a year or two, it comes right back, as all the graphics whores realize that their precious console looks like shit compared to bleeding edge PC graphics, which kept moving, instead of becoming fixed when the console reached production. In the mean time, the PC faithful still keep buying and playing games, knowing that neither consoles or PC gaming is going away.

    1. Re:The PC is dying? by kinglink · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Keep believing that because sales continue to drop, not rise.

      Flight Sim? MS Flight Sim sells VERY well, do you think we will never see a MS Flight Sim on the 360? There's a number of flight games that have combat in them (Ace combat has semi realism while maintaining a combat atmosphere) however at the same time the MS Flight Simulator is the ONLY Flight Simulator that sells pretty much anywhere. There's one for a Apple computer but that's about it. So claiming that consoles don't have a flight simulator invalids this argument is a joke.

      Racing sims, let's see, Gran Turismo and Forza are both smoking most others. The only game coming close is GTR and the sales just arn't that high, but again feel free to compare "quality" when sales are what has always mattered.

      MMORPG I think we can guarentee will be making it's way over to the console at some point, FFXI has, Phantasy Star Online and Universe are both there. I think the big hold up was the hard drive, they fixed that. But again this isn't the same as a normal game. These are "Service" games. You're paying to play the game rather then buying a game and playing that. A little different than most games.

      As for CRPGs that's why Jade empire, Fable, KOTOR all came out before their XBOX components? Hell the PC just GOT jade empire almost 3 years late? CRPGS are being ported. The only ones actively supporting the PC are stuff like Elder scrolls where mods are as important as the game itself.

      I'm sure the PC gamer population is pretty big, but when you see 1 million gamers playing a game and only 600 thousand buying your game, companies look for alternatives and the console development are giving it to them. The best RTSes couldn't come to consoles right? FPSes never would sell on consoles right? CRPGs suck on consoles right? All three of these have been proven wrong in this generation and last generation.

      But Flight sims wouldn't work on Consoles.

      Nor would World of Warcraft? Could it?

  4. Ahh, the good ol' days... by P-38Jbird · · Score: 2, Interesting

    For me, it's too much eye candy today. The driving force behind RPG's was to use one's imagination. You couldn't see the six foot flaming sword in the iron golem's hand. And this was true of the CRPG's that we reminisce about. Ultima series, TSR's Gold box series, Wizardry series and the likes. You only saw a static low res pic of what was going on. You had to imagine that the pitiful sound comming out of the PC speaker was the crack of a high-powered round. And they usually had a good story line that kept you interested. I recently cranked up the C64 emulator and played my favs Wizard's Crown, Eternal Dagger, and Wasteland. Still great fun after 15 years. Nowdays, there is very little to imagine. Just eye candy in 'real time'.