Gaming History Must Plays

[DarkCloud]

Hello,

Just wondering, does anyone have a list of the most innovative games from 1985 onwards. I'd assume such a list exists.

I was wondering what a "video game university" would include for the history of game design. I could try to create my own list, but I am certain that gamasutra or wikipedia or someone somewhere has a list of the diverse different styles and types of games created everywhere... For example, it would indicate which are the "Parents of their Genre" for example, the Populous-Genre, or the Sim-City Builder Genre, etc. I think such a list would be quite inspirational.

Sort of like, if you wanted to send someone to "Gamer College" what would be the courses?

[Zero]

I'd personally add WoW into 'gamer's college' list but i wouldn't call that game a must play.

[DarkCloud]

Perhaps I should have chosen a different title.
You understood what I wanted- I should have titled this "Gamer's College- Courselists"

For Example:

MMO Design [MMO]

[MMO201] MUD Design, Community, Philosophy:
From Closed MUDs to Developed Content to Emergent Gameplay
A study of _____, to BBS Door Games (Legend of the Red Dragon, Usurper), to _______, to _______

[MMO202] Evolution of Clans: Cooperative Gameplay
From Clans in Legend of the Red Dragon, to Ultima Online, Everquest, Lineage: The Bloodpledge, and World of Warcraft

[MMO203] Events and GM Interaction in MMOs
Weddings, Funerals, and Parties in MMOs from Ultima Online to Asheron's Call to World of Warcraft.

[MMO211] Graphical and Interface Evolution in MMOs
From the Isometrics of Ultima Online, to the flat characters of browser games such as ____(pirate one?)____, and _____, to 3D gameplay of World of Warcraft, and RTS-style MMOs such as ______.

[MMO221] Economics of MMOs
From early "virtual currency" economies in Legend of the Red Dragon, to Ebay bidding on items for Everquest and Ultima Online, to Eve Online's cash system, to micropayment systems in games such as _____ and the standardization of MMO-Economics.

[MMO231] Player Philosophies and MMO-Adoption
An in-depth look into why humans adopt MMOs, what type of personalities lead humans to choose certain MMOs. Contains a general analysis of what and why people game.

[MMO232] MMOs in Popular Literature
A discussion of media coverage of MMOs and MUDs from 1984?? to present.

[MMO241] Disasters in MMOs
A discussion of the worst MMOs ever released and the most disturbingly unready releases, from _____ to Age of Conan.

[MMO321] Great Scams and Cons in MMOs
Building off of Economics of MMOs, this class discusses the legal in-game and out-of-game ramifications and consequences of "scamming."
Prerequisites: Economics of MMOs [MMO401]

[DrSpike]

Re: Gaming History College?

Originally posted by DarkCloud



Sort of like, if you wanted to send someone to "Gamer College" what would be the courses?

I love games, but I think that I'd advise them to do a different course.

I've never seen anything like you've described, but there are several evolution of genre articles I've seen.

Here is a good one for RPGs (there are later parts too).

http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/node/1081

[DarkCloud]

Thanks for the link. It's fascinating.

[DarkCloud]

Adventure Games

[ADV 101] A Brief History of Adventure Games 1979-2009
Syllabus: http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/node/1081
- Akalabeth (1979)
- Rogue (1980)
- Wizardry (1981) [Sir-Tech]
- Dungeons of Daggorath (1982) [Innovative Display/Interface Techniques]

http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/node/900

- Tunnels of Doom (1982) [Graphical Adventure]

http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/node/1024

- Telengard (1982) [Hack and Slash]
- Ultima III (1983) [Origins]
- King's Quest (1984) [Parser Gaming]

[ADV 110-111] Dungeon Crawling and World Exploration
A study of how games help players experience a world.
From Akalabeth (1980), Zork, Ultima III: Exodus (1983), Moraff's World, to the King's Quest and Quest for Glory series (In 110). [For 111] VideoRPGs like Phantasmagoria, Innovations in storytelling structure like Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II, and Mass Effect.

[ADV 120] Party-Based Versus Single Player Designs
- Ultima (Single) v. Wizardry (Party)
- Baldur's Gate I&II v. Icewind Dale I&II

[ADV 130] Scripted Stories and Emergent Gameplay

[ADV 140] Adventure Game Interfaces

http://www.strangehorizons.com/2008/20080804/newheiser-a.shtml

[El_Cid]

The Art of computer games design by Chris Crawford:

http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Chapter1.html

Not everyone might like him or his games, but his articles are game design ABC's in my book.

http://www.erasmatazz.com/ - a bunch of other stuff from Crawford.

I think it's his insights on 'interactivity' in computer games, as opposed to how movies+books work. Although his whole focus these days IS on creating software to tell stories. Complex guy, but ahead of his time in many ways.

[Unimatrix11]

Originally posted by DarkCloud
Adventure Games

[ADV 101] A Brief History of Adventure Games 1979-2009
Syllabus: http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/node/1081
- Akalabeth (1979)
- Rogue (1980)
- Wizardry (1981) [Sir-Tech]
- Dungeons of Daggorath (1982) [Innovative Display/Interface Techniques]

http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/node/900

- Tunnels of Doom (1982) [Graphical Adventure]

http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/node/1024

- Telengard (1982) [Hack and Slash]
- Ultima III (1983) [Origins]
- King's Quest (1984) [Parser Gaming]

[ADV 110-111] Dungeon Crawling and World Exploration
A study of how games help players experience a world.
From Akalabeth (1980), Zork, Ultima III: Exodus (1983), Moraff's World, to the King's Quest and Quest for Glory series (In 110). [For 111] VideoRPGs like Phantasmagoria, Innovations in storytelling structure like Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II, and Mass Effect.

[ADV 120] Party-Based Versus Single Player Designs
- Ultima (Single) v. Wizardry (Party)
- Baldur's Gate I&II v. Icewind Dale I&II

[ADV 130] Scripted Stories and Emergent Gameplay

[ADV 140] Adventure Game Interfaces
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2008/...heiser-a.shtml

Well those would be RPG. ´Adventures´ would be

[#] ´Pay attention to parser´

The history of the ´text´-adventure
a) ´A Vision without a picture´ - From the interactive book to clicked words. Tags: ´Intercom´, ´Magnetic Scrolls´, ´Sierra´, ´LucasFilm/Arts´.

b)´Virtual Imagination and intuitive manipulation´
The takeover of graphics as the primary quality measurement, and its effect on the player´s psyche (e.g. what happens (not) inside the brain when confronted with pictures rather then text). The dissapperance words in interfaces. Effect of hardware progress and market expansion on the genre. ´SWOT-analysis´ for the genre. Tags: ´LucasArts´, ´Myth´

(I dont quite know where to put ´Alone in the Dark´ here - never played it)

-------

Now, if i did that for a whole Uni, it would probably split the whole thing into two branches: One for the genres (which each may of one or more classes) and one for ´general studies´ which would have things like ´the fun in games´ and ´Creative design: design creativity´ and ´games and society´ and ´levels of interaction - pull the strings of be the puppet´ (like in: Say ´Bioshock´, it becomes obvious, that you are being guided all along the way - compare that, to say, ´Elite´ - what requirements and restrictions come with each concept ?). Also ´modeling - how to REALIZE a game´. And ´You name it´ - a guide on how to give classes rediculous names.

[LDiCesare]

Adventure games is indeed more RPG. Rogue for instance is the ancestor/inspiration for NetHack and more importantly ADOM which itself inspired Diablo, and neither Diablo nor Diablo II are adventure games but action-RPG's.
RPGs would also have to mention stuff like Fallout.

[snoopy369]

Roguelike games

[DarkCloud]

Thanks for the suggestions Unimatrix, but the progenitors of the modern RPG, as LiDiCesare agrees, are the Adventure Parser games. Combining the two makes a good deal of sense.

And indeed, in what way is a RPG player really playing any more of a "role" than someone who is playing starcraft? The category of RPG really appears to be something of a misnomer and RPGs bear many similarities to adventure games- you go places, complete quests and get rewards.

By the strict definition of "Role Playing", Starcraft could be considered a RPG. In Starcraft your "role" is as a commander of human/protoss/zerg forces; much as in Baldur's Gate, you are a commander of a force of adventurers.

[Zero]

Originally posted by El_Cid
The Art of computer games design by Chris Crawford:

http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Chapter1.html

Not everyone might like him or his games, but his articles are game design ABC's in my book.

http://www.erasmatazz.com/ - a bunch of other stuff from Crawford.

I think it's his insights on 'interactivity' in computer games, as opposed to how movies+books work. Although his whole focus these days IS on creating software to tell stories. Complex guy, but ahead of his time in many ways.

People like him and sirlin use such analytical method on game design, much like scientific method does for field of science.

Sad part is you wouldn't expect scientists to be not trained to think analytically (although some loonies do end up sneaking in there seldomly). How crazy would it be if a scientist didn't know what a scientific theory is? Yet most designers trained in graphic design and computer programming are ill trained on the abstract concept of game design.

Making a game is an art, but I wonder how long it's gonna take industry to realize it's not all voodoo magic gamble to conjure up a solid game design. The methods they use to create games are so primitive... (make every crap and copy the ones that succeed) Its gotten better since the last decade but it's still quite primitive. It still feels like I'm stuck in a age of wizards and alchemy compared to world of science!

[Unimatrix11]

Well, at least in the beginninng - the 80s - there was quite a viewable distinction between ADV and RPG.

ADV titles were, as indicated above: Hitch hikers guide to the galaxy (infocom, pure text), The Pawn (Magnetic Scrolls, stand still pictures + text), Space Quest (Sierra, clickable gaphics + parser), Maniac Mansion (LucasFilm Games, pure click)...

RPG titles were: The Bard´s Tale, Ultima, Wizardry.

Each among more others of course.

Basically, and very much abstracted, it was like:

ADV = story + puzzles
RPG = story + puzzles + character development

story is btw not the sole defining part of an ADV: Almost any type of game has a story. Diablo is clearly a hack´n´slay action-RPG. It´s focus is not the story, nor on the puzzles. It´s on character development - the defining part of the RPG. If a game doesnt have a story, it cant be all sorts of games, but if it doesnt have character development in any form, it cant be an RPG. And if doesnt have puzzles, it cant be an adventure (but an RPG without puzzles is imagineable - the less puzzle, the more hack´n´slay (->strategy/action) usually).

An example: Bioshock doesnt have puzzles, and just because it has a story, it doesnt make this action game an adventure - it´s just R-Type in pretty 3D with a story. It´s not an RPG either, just because of the plasmids - remember all the extra-weapons in Katakis ? That´s just it. If BioShock was an adventure or an rpg, so would Doom I.

[Alinestra Covelia]

These are all games that feature highly on the "games as story, games as plot" course.

Ultima IV absolutely must be on the list. You've got U3, which is good, but U4 was the one that finally took the game away from "whack the badguy" and more towards "become a better person". Each action you take now has a clear moral element to it, and repercussions on your virtue and reputation will follow - a model that later appeared in all Ultima games. And while you're at it, U6 deserves a really important mention because it raises the question of "what happens if your demonized enemies turn out to be just the same as you?". Well worth playing, both as excellent games, and as a commentary on sociopolitical issues. The quasi-religious philosophy that Richard Garriott invented (more or less out of whole cloth) for U4 is pretty staggering.

TIE Fighter took a genre (the space flight sim) that already had excellent story and game play, and turned it on its head. Now you're flying for the Empire - and guess what? They don't seem like such bad people. Far from the ruthless oppressors of the movies, this game presents them as just another faction - trying to keep the peace and enforce unity, and one that rational people just trying to get by will fight and even die for. No other game or even novelization has come close to this "other side of the fence" look at the Empire - possibly because of licensing requirements. But the best Lawrence Holland game ever made also happens to be the most thought provoking and fun. The in-game strategic rivalry between two Imperial Grand Admirals (Thrawn and Zaarin) will keep SW fans on the edge of their seats throughout.

Thief was a new take on the FPS, with "S" standing for Stealth. While other games have tried to copy its sneaky segments, Thief still holds its own because of the open-ended nature of its stealth challenges. They're not limited to simple sequences or sublevels within a game - the entire game is a massive exercise in evasion, tactical movement, and conservation of limited weaponry and resources. Most problems have multiple solutions, outdoing even later offerings like the Tom Clancy series. With a design team that was fully one-third female, this game shifted the focus away from fighting and more towards cerebral issues (most notably stealing everything that wasn't nailed down, prising up everything that was, and then stealing that too). The storyline is one of the most subtle, nuanced storylines ever done in FPS format. It then went on to spawn similar games such as System Shock 2, Deus Ex, and even the distant spiritual successor Bioshock - all with similarly complex storylines. But it all started with the early struggle between Hammer and Wood.

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth was clearly an ambitious game, done by a junior design house. Though the implementation had a few quirks, the ideas were solid. Take an FPS, and make it as immersive as possible. Make the player there. Make the player scared. With no HUD at all, the game ups the stakes in ranged combat. To aim, a button will center your gun onscreen, leaving you to figure out the iron sights. Aim for too long, and your stance wavers. Take damage, and blood spots cloud your lurching vision - leaving you to find someplace quiet to open your first aid box and treat each wounded limb with a variety of medic supplies. Most innovative of all, the game dared to include mental effects, like dizziness, vertigo, and even creeping insanity. These effects are not new - they've appeared in Eternal Darkness for the GameCube, but this is a very powerful first-person application. CoCCotE turns the FPS into a horror experience previously held by third person games such as Resident Evil - and it shows eloquently how scary it is when you're literally in the head of the victim. The game also stands as a testament to the right way of handling a preexisting book franchise - H. P. Lovecraft's otherworldly horrors are faithfully represented just as he intended.

Lula - the Sexy Empire is actually a really bad game. I just put this in to make sure you're still reading.

Fallouts 1, 2, and 3 - many games bring fun mechanics to the computer, giving tabletop gamers something to do when they're at home in the computer room. Others have interesting plots with a believable world based on plausible science fiction. With the Fallout franchise, Interplay and Bethesda Softworks managed to merge both. Combining equal doses of addictive gameplay, solid plot-writing, and masterful moments of irony and rug-pulling (not an anatomical euphemism), these three games are also noteworthy because of their successful evolution from isometric hex TBS to fully-realized 3D FPS. Much as Nintendo's Metroid series did before it, the custodians of the Fallout name succeeded in adapting the game to industry progress, while still remaining true to the central premise.

[duke o' york]

Sensible Soccer - how to make a more playable and fun game than FIFA 08, even though it won't exist for another 16 years.