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Post by Garamoth on Sept 1, 2009 20:51:53 GMT -5
Ouch. Tough crowd for Myst. I guess I have my work cut out for me.
Granted, Myst may be low of story, but it is really high in history. How many games strive to create their own architectural style and bother inventing a language, both written and spoken that the hardcore fans can actually speak? Everything in Myst happens after the fact, but you can always find subtle signs of past events and tie together what happened. I really think you have to see it as archeology.
If the copycats should be blamed, it's because they didn't make the painstaking effort to tie everything together. A lot of puzzles are just "there", but Myst isn't really representative of the rest of the franchise, especially Riven and Uru. In Riven, it was a really powerful moment for me to realize that, holy crap, all those animals aren't there just to look cool and that the number five keeps showing up for a reason. Every time I visit the site of a "real" fan, I'm always amazed at how deliberate every detail was. Too bad it's always very subtle stuff that flies over most people's heads.
I'll be the first to admit that "Figure-out-what-the-hell-you're-supposed-to-be-doing-on-your-own" gaming isn't exactly attractive or easy to get into, but when you make the extra effort, the payoff is really incredible. In other words, it's truly hardcore.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2009 12:25:26 GMT -5
Not to be a creep, but I "dibs"ed B&B in a PM, and I'm a big fan of the series since Spike and Mike's; would it be ok if I worked on those games? Virtual Stupidity was the best, but I was going to write about "Do U" and the Genesis game (which is also a p&c-style adventure game). Yeah, you go right ahead. I can make an ISO out of the game If you need one. I'll be ok, but thanks! Have you played it yet? I'm interested to see what you think about it not being a fan...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2009 12:40:40 GMT -5
BTW, someone totally needs to do the Interplay Star Trek games; those were sweet AND a great example of how to do a licensed game well.
Secondly, I pity the poor souls that have to do the Laura Bow games, which are essentially the high priestess of "Dead Man Walking"-ism.
And Willy Beamish on Sega CD was a nightmare hellride to play; years of therapy still can't erase the "laser balls" from my mind (they realized the loading times were so shitty that they added a "screen saver" for you to jack around with during the 2-5 minute loading sequences).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2009 14:54:11 GMT -5
In addition to the four series previously mentioned, I've also decided to claim Loom, which wasn't initially listed but Kurt said I could do. I think it's a rather underrated adventure game that was the victim of failed hype. I get the impression the developers thought it was gorgeous, but fan reaction was lukewarm to chilly, so their planned sequels for the game didn't even reach code. Now, I'm wondering, is there any particular organization of priority or demand for any of the games requested? I kind of want to do the Indy games first because one's a magnificent example of a film-based game that plays well AND is faithful to the source, and the latter is an even greater adventure that practically qualifies as a film itself. Plus, have I made it clear that I love the Indiana Jones series as a whole?
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Post by bioniccommando83 on Sept 2, 2009 15:38:27 GMT -5
Is there room in this for good ol' "The Immortal" by Will Harvey? I've been toying with doing an article on the game and it fits best into this genre.
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Post by Discoalucard on Sept 2, 2009 16:49:28 GMT -5
I forgot about the Star Trek games - they would make a good fit. There are two of them, right? 25th Anniversary and Judgment Rites? You can prioritize them any way you want. I'm hesitant to give deadlines because I usually can't keep to my own, but ideally maybe an article a month or so? I couldn't stand Willy Beamish on the Sega CD, but the PC CD version is just fine, even if there are still so many ways to screw up at the beginning of the game. Is there room in this for good ol' "The Immortal" by Will Harvey? I've been toying with doing an article on the game and it fits best into this genre. Well, like Myst, I'd definitely welcome an article on it (fun, weird little game, no idea how it got past Nintendo's censors) but it's not the kind of "adventure" game I want to focus on.
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hatta
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Post by hatta on Sept 3, 2009 12:58:34 GMT -5
Loom is underrated? I always thought it was universally hailed as one of LucasArts great masterpieces. Maybe it was overlooked at the time though.
I wish I could help out on this one, I've always loved adventure games. It's just that my writing has always stunk.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2009 13:29:53 GMT -5
Loom is underrated? I always thought it was universally hailed as one of LucasArts great masterpieces. Maybe it was overlooked at the time though. I can't say for sure, but that was the impression I always got from it. Mostly due to LucasArts having hyped it up a fair deal but sadly failing to produce sequels due to a lack of consumer enthusiasm. This is just a reckoning, but my guess is that the game following Loom, that being The Secret of Monkey Island, caught on a lot faster with fans due to it being a far more humorous game and the pirate theme, which was decidedly more original for adventure titles of the time than Loom's more straightforward fantasy world. That's how I see it, anyhoo. Though, what's interesting to note is that Loom actually takes place really far into the future, a headstone indicating that it's set somewhere past the year 8000. A post-apocalyptic fantasy world... I would have loved to see the sequels of Loom come to fruition on the possibility that they would cover the history before the events of the first game. But, well, dang. ADD: Actually, suggestions I've read provide an alternate theory, in that the game actually sold well, but the developers themselves weren't up to the task of making the sequels, which would have been named Forge and The Fold. Oh well, maybe Telltale could remake the first Loom and then go on to make the latter two?
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terranigma
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Post by terranigma on Sept 3, 2009 16:48:17 GMT -5
Not sure if you're looking to add more to the list or not, but Blazing Dragons might make a good article. It's a decent point n' click with some off-the-wall humor (thanks to Terry Jones, of Monty Python fame).
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Post by Discoalucard on Sept 3, 2009 18:31:51 GMT -5
I've had Blazing Dragons for the PSOne for years now but I never tried it, nor even realized it was point n' click. I'll give it a shot, though!
There was an article I read this month in Edge about Tim Schaefer...I dunno about the first Monkey Island, but the second was considered a flop at the times of its release. It was only after several months that it caught on and was deemed some measure of success.
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Post by susanismyalias on Sept 4, 2009 20:58:07 GMT -5
Like, a flop commercially or did it get bad reviews?
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Post by Discoalucard on Sept 4, 2009 22:01:12 GMT -5
Like, a flop commercially or did it get bad reviews? Commercially. Pretty sure it did very well in reviews.
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Arjak
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Post by Arjak on Sept 4, 2009 23:55:19 GMT -5
You know, I'd like to try my hand at the review of the Zork series, but there's a problem; I don't own the last one, Zork: Grand Inquisitor.
But if you put me on as the reviewer of Zork, I solemnly swear to buy it off ebay!
If you are hesitant, I have experience in writing game reviews. In the Citizen X review on this site, Paul put in a link to the Sega-16 review of the game, which just so happened to have been written by me.
Also, having a great love of gaming history, I have played Zork, and even was really into Text Adventures (or Interactive Fiction as some snobs will force you to call them) for a while.
I think that with my knowledge of Text Adventures, and Zork, and writing reviews, that I would be perfect for writing a Zork Article.
Please?
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Post by Discoalucard on Sept 5, 2009 0:18:55 GMT -5
Zork would be rad. I actually bought Zork Nemesis a few weeks ago - I remember it beign very Myst-like though. I wrote a tiny bit on the HG101 blog about the Japanese version of Zork I for the PSOne too, if you wanna incorporate that. There are also a few choose your own adventure books that were actually written by Steve Meretkzy, which are kinda cool.
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Post by Garamoth on Sept 5, 2009 7:43:43 GMT -5
They have a bunch of Zork games, including Grand Inquisitor, on Gametap www.gametap.com/. I don't know if they still have a "0,99$ for the first month" dealie, but one month should be enough to go through the game and that should make the process pretty painless.
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