Most original games you have played?

The same principle applies for movies, TV programs, everything. We're all consumers and companies want to make money. They won't take risks by making something original, it's easier to remake the same movie or the same game and forcefeed it to consumers especially during the holidays (where I live if you switch on the TV you're bound to watch a rerun unless you're lucky enough to have the cable).

Dungeons and Dragons was (somehow) original in the mid 70s and early 80s, now it isn't anymore. It's cliched. It inspired movies, games, cartoons, series, books, etc.

What we have is the result of economic decisions by corporations bent on making money. People want dragons, we're going to give them dragons. So we get loads of games featuring dragons and scantily clad female warriors. Sex and dragons sell, originality doesn't sell that well however.

Consider BG1, BG2, IWD1 and IWD2. They are similar in many ways yet IWD is all about hack and slash (almost Diablo like -I know I might get burnt like Viconia in Athkatla for saying that on the boards). BG1 had a nice story and some opportunities for making RPing decisions. Few games offer that nowadays.

Think about Morrowind. Now that was a big disappointment. A wonderful world to explore, non linearity... and some very very bad dialogue options. I'm not saying NWN is much better. Nevertheless NWN is based on D&D. It feels like playing D&D with a very average DM (the campaigns are so restrictive: follow the plot or... die; the dialogue options are not thrilling -with minor exceptions however, all in all it's not that stimulating).

Most recent games are more like reading a fantasy book, you get a railroad plot and you make a few decisions which do not alter the outcome anyway.
Oh and don't even think that this is a really good fantasy book. I'm not talking about LotR here or even series like Conan or Elric the Necromancer. I'm talking about the sort of books you read and forget, the average stuff by Salvatore and the like. It might be entertaining for a while but let's face it, the writing is not extraordinary and there is nothing really original about the story and the characters.

Think about Lionheart, it was rather original despite its limitations. I'd like to get hold of a copy of Arcanum. I heard it was different. Sometimes I need to go off the beaten track. The most original game I ever played was the first Fallout. IMHO it's still the best.

 

Ah. Now that I agree on, Tal. This WW2 obsession is getting ridiculous. And the need for new sports games every year to account for roster changes is somewhat dubious IMO. But the number of sequels coming out is sort of a mixed bag. Yes, there's little innovation between games, but not every game type lends itself to unlimited replayability. At a certain point, you need a new story, or new challenges to complete, or whatever, and releasing a dozen expansions seems a bit silly.

Sadly, some people (myself included) are lazy in their game-buying habits. They're not looking for something new, they're looking for more of what they already know they like. And the game industry seems to be catering to this. Innovation has slowed to a crawl, right on the speed of fads. The WW2 fad will likely give way to a single innovation that will begin the next big fad, which will give way a few years later to another innovation/fad, etc.

You would think this would spell the end of the gaming industry, but people continue to buy these new versions and prop it up. They lowered their standards, and we've lowered ours right along with them.

Actually, I'd peg Morrowind as pretty innovative, and very good despite some problems.* It was the only actually *enjoyable* single-character action-RPG that I've ever played, and believe me that I've been looking for a very long time.

*BTW, what dialogue options? Except for the occasional yes/no or the rare tri-pronged option, or the two question sessions in the main quest, there's no dialogue choices at all. Just the topics menu, which is a hell of a lot better than even BG dialogue choices.

[ December 29, 2006, 14:54: Message edited by: Felinoid ]

 

Well that's exactly what I mean. I do consider yes/no to be dialogue options. So poor choice in MW.

Even though the lines can be reductive sometimes in BG1 I still prefer choosing entire sentences (sometimes witty and well written) rather than picking "topics"... BG may not be perfect (it's far from being as good as Fallout which allowed you to actually complete the game with a diplomat and took into account your actions, your rep/karma and INT) but BG is not that bad compared to MW (but that's just my opinion).

 

Add my voice to Fel's praise of Morrowind.

@Sir Fink: I believe things were good when there were other platforms than PC available (before consoles, that is). There were some things here, some there, some on several or all systems. Inspirations going there and back. There was quite a number of games and not half the hardware pressure.

I suppose the state of hardware to game software relations was a bit equivalent to what we would have today if we agreed that games are made with the average PC in mind, but should also run on slightly less (although those guys should be more understanding if it lags a bit or something) and be playable (if without flare) on something less still. On the other end of things, a better CPU/GFX could give you some additional fun effects that normal stuff can't handle (unless you're fine with some lag on your own responsibility). I think that would be nice.

 

Love it or hate it, there's no denying that Katamari Damacy is extremely original.

 

Erm... That's been a while.

Sopwith: the sidescrolling airplane shoot'em up from the early 80s or so.
Paratroopers: 1982 game. Use a Flak to shoot paratroopers from the sky.
Alley Cat: You know Alley Cat.
King's Quest: My very first adventure game.

Edit: Oh wait.
These were just the first games I played. I guess KQ was pretty original.

 

Railroad Tycoon. That was pretty innovative and helped spawn a load of 'builder' type games. SimCity would be another to put into that mix. Who would have guessed that that idea could be at all interesting?

 

It is usual nowadays that new games are just 'improvements' ideas from other games, 3d shooters are the best example.
I own lots of new games and one of them is LEGO Star Wars II the Original Saga and I must say that is fantastic, very original and it made me stop playing other games, is long, entertaining and you can reply it at least two more times just to collect the stuff you can't playing the story.

 

I can't help but feel that I'm being ignored in this thread by people who *want* the current state of gaming to be miserable and boring so they can bitch about it and say how much better things were in the good old days...

Here's another one - Steam Brigade: http://www.pedestrianentertainment.com/
(site seems to be down atm though...)

It's a side-scrolling RTS game set in a kooky steampunk world. Not original enough for you...?

 

Abe's Oddysee and Exoddus.

Doom.

Half-Life.

Only ones I can think of currently.

 

lmao

 

Wolfenstein and Defender of the Crown comes to mind. But also SimCity and Civ. Spaceinvaders

 

Tal, if you want originality on the PC, look at the Sims (admittedly, not too recent) and the upcoming Spore. Will Wright is a wonderful man

 

Well, in MY day...

Will Wright is one of the few bright spots of originality in this industry.

=Sim City
=The Sims
-Spore (maybe?)

Mind you, he's had less successful ideas, but at least he TRIES.

Peter Molyneux of Bullfrog/Lionhead/etc. Originator of the 'sandbox' genre; Populous, Syndicate, Magic Carpet, Dungeon Keeper (I LOVED smackin' around my minions to make them work faster ) And he gave us the 'theme park' genre...

Sid Meier: Pirates! (wanna be a Fairbanks boy?), Railroad Tycoon (wanna be J.P. Morgan?), Covert Action (wanna be James Bond?), and how can we forget Civilization ("I agree, your excellency." )

Warren Spector gave us Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Deus Ex, not to mention the origin of the 'sneak shooters,' Thief.


And then we got the big daddy that really brought computer gaming into the mainstream public eye with a little shareware game he named so he could quote The Color of Money:

One of the founders of the FPS genre, John Carmack...

 

The Incredible Machine (or how to build an engine with a cat, a rocket, and two bowling balls) was probably the most imaginative game I've ever played.

 

Solid wargames are still being turned about by Shrapnel and Matrix on a consistent basis, and Battlefront on a less consistent basis (not that the quality is subpar; they just don't have as large a stable of titles). Most of them are fairly original. And anyone arguing that Combat Mission: Shock Force isn't original gets a bat to the head.

Introversion's been pretty reliable for solid, original games.

There are still some solid flight sim and racing sim developers, some of whom are doing rather interesting things (the ex-Papyrus guys trying to simulate pretty much the entire motor racing sport, for instance).

But, sure, as far as mainstream, big name titles go, there isn't that much out there that's very original.