A Look At How Far PC Gaming Has Come

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday October 20, 2009 @10:25PM from the from-windows-3.11-all-the-way-to-windows-7 dept.

Bit-tech is running a feature examining the progress PC games have made over the past couple decades. The article highlights aspects of modern games we often take for granted or nitpick, and compares them to earlier games in which such features were implemented poorly or not at all. Quoting: "Doom's legacy is still being felt today in fact and it's a fair bet that you can take any shooter off a shelf, from America’s Army to Zeno Clash, examine it, and list a dozen things that those games owe to Doom. Things like the wobble of the guns and the on-screen feedback that tells you which direction you are being shot from — these were things that id Software invented. On the other hand, from a story perspective, Doom was absolutely rubbish. You start in a room, no idea what’s going on and you are surrounded by demons. You have to read the manual and supporting media to get a grip on it all — something modern games would get heavily slated for doing. Yet the idea that plot was optional caught on and the same flaw was replicated in other games of the era, such as Quake and (to a lesser extent) Duke Nukem 3D. There were years and years where the lessons of early story-driven games were forgotten and all anyone really cared about was having as many sprites or polygons as possible."

4 of 427 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Doom by Burnhard · 2009-10-20 22:30 · Score: 5, Funny

This guy goes all the way back to Doom. It's almost as if he was, you know, in his mid-twenties!
1. Re:Doom by PopeRatzo · 2009-10-21 00:22 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  ...Total Annihilation?
  Man, I loved that game. And it taught me how to spell "Annihilation", which is no small feat. So if I ever have to write something with the word "annihilation" in it, I'm ready.
  You can't say computer games aren't educational.
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
Duke = Citizen Kane by Hasney · 2009-10-20 22:31 · Score: 5, Funny

A lesser extent Duke Nukem? That game was writing gold. I shed a tear as the main protagonist (Duke) said it was time to "Kick ass and chew bubblegum.... But I'm all out of gum". It felt like it was a commentary on the human condition; "It is time to do 2 things, but I can only resonably do one of them right now"

Without Duke Nukems thick layer of metaphors and social commentary, Kojima would never have been inspired to make Metal Gear Solid.
Re:doom didn't need a story noob! by slim · 2009-10-20 23:41 · Score: 3, Funny

Hey, what you do mean no story?
No story to speak of. You just broke the rules! Ssh.