Personal Games History Part Two

Right so I’ve reminisced about the Atari, NES, and SNES which are all the first stage of gaming, then along came the world of 3D games.

Doom, The Real First 3D Game!

This generation started off well for me and my brother in gaming, as we had entered a competition to win a N64, I think the question was who is Mario’s brother? After not really expecting to win we got a glowing letter which had told us we were now the proud owners of brand new N64! It was an awesome day, but had a slight problem, we had only won the consol’s, so for a while we just had it set up and were just mesmerized by all it’s glory. Then one day another glowing package came through the door, Mario 64 had entered the building. I think when we got it we actually played the game non stop, it was just pure genius and still is today, I bet most people who enjoyed the days of it bought it again on the ds, I know I did.

The N64 Box, Isn't It Amazing!

The other legendary game on the N64 I think everyone will agree is Goldeneye. I know the week five task is about not giving games scores a stuff, but this game deserves 10 out 10, it just filled all the criteria of a game, I suppose one of the reasons it’s such a historical game is because it started off the whole first person shooting multi player fun filled mayhem of games. But the whole single player part of the game was so well built, with every level having objectives and being able to just achieve victory at the end of every level, and then do it again but really fast to unlock more fun filled stuff (Paintball mode!). And obviously there were many many a times where you have mass multi player games on it, we actually once did a 24 hour marathon of the game, didn’t play it for a long time after that, I wonder why. Then after this came perfect dark which was the same thing in essence, just a lot more shiny and the like.

Now don’t worry I’m not going to explain every game that was “legendary” on the N64, but I am going to list just few; Zelda oot, Zelda Majora’s Mask, Mario Kart 64, Blast Corps (now that game went on forever), Donkey Kong 64, Jet Force Gemini, Mario Party, and countless other great games.

So as the next generation of game arrived I obviously got a Gamecube, and I kind of explained my history and thoughts on this in one of my other posts, but I think it’s worth saying again it’s a lot better than people think, and I don’t know anyone who has owned one and been disappointed. And some really good games on this I think were Zelda (as always), I actually really liked Mario Sunshine as well, I agree it didn’t always feel like it had that Mario spark, but none the less it was good (Mario 2 I always thought didn’t feel like a Mario game). Also Burnout was great, played that to death, actually think too much, remember getting a chain of over 120 burnouts, good times. Time Splitters 2 and 3, they were really good games, 3 was a bit easier to complete 100% but it had a better storyline and feel to it. Also worth mentioning Metroid Primes, Eternal Darkness, Pikmin, Smash Bros. Melee, Luigi’s Mansion, Super Monkey Ball, and I could go on forever so ill stop now.

Right that seems enough for this post now, I think for my next one I’ll talk a bit about the Wii and then the future of games and directions it could end up going, should be fun stuff.

Personal Games History Part One

So my own personal games history, now a lot of this may not make sense as some of it was a long time ago, and it’s not like I ever kept a ‘gaming diary’, but I’m sure I can rustle up some kind of blog entry.

Atari 800 XL, And The Self Test Screen!

My gaming life all started way back with my dad’s Atari 800XL. It was actually such an amazing machine, and we even still own it, but if you set it up you cant walk across the floor what so ever because any vibrations seem to make it crash, and this is a pain seeing as it took about an hour to load a game, ah and gamers of this day moan about 10 second loading times! I remember the games were all on tapes, and you usually had to turn the tape over halfway through, but it had some amazing games on it like Ghostbusters, you even got to customize your car on that, jimmy whites snooker, probable better than most snooker games around now, there was a submarine game as well I remember being very good, oh and Powerdown, that game you could just play forever, and we had loads of others including one dad programmed on it, actually now thinking about it I want to set it up again and relive the awesomeness that it was (I can see me actually wanting to do this with every old game I talk about now, maybe this is the point of the task?).

Powerdown!

So that was where my life of gaming all started, but after that good old Nintendo came into business and brought out the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). I actually had this set up over the summer and it still is to this day an amazing machine. Obviously we had Mario Bros. 1 and 2 on it, but our Mario Bros. 1 was a 3 in one cartridge with Tetris and world cup football on it, now there’s a good football game, you could knock out the other players on the team and just dribble the ball into the goal! RC Pro-Am was a great game and I remember my dad always playing it trying to get as far as possible, I don’t think my dad, brother or me ever completed it. Actually that’s a thing with most old games, they were really difficult and actually challenged you to get better and better at the game, most games these days aren’t hard enough (Gamers these day’s…). Anyway I realise this is probably boring to read but I’m having fun remember all my old memories of games.

The Original Super Mario Bros.!

Anyway before I list all my games for NES I’ll go onto the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and it really was Super). Again there were tons of great games on this, Mario Karts (possible the best version), I remember playing Super Mario World in the arcade before we had the game, but only ever had enough money for the first level. The main game on the SNES though was Super Mario Bros. 3, possible the greatest Mario game ever made. It just had so much content in it with the entire racoon suit frog suit, and probably some more, and the level design was just outstanding in terms of artwork and layout. This is one thing that I think will make Mario galaxy so damn good, for a start it’s got loads of classic references from old Mario games like the ships out of 3 and the colour blocks from 3 the castle styles and just so much, and it does look amazing graphically from what I seen purely because of the artistic style and the effort the designers have put in to make the game have that Mario ‘essence’. This is one thing that makes a good game, having visuals that create an atmosphere in the game and give it character that draws you into the game, and this doesn’t just mean realistic graphics, I mean Mario Galaxy is hardy realistic and from what I’ve heard it just immerses you into the game, in fact Mario 64 and Zelda Ocarina Of Time don’t have ‘real’ graphics, and there like two of the greatest games ever made. Also the problem with all this realistic malarkey is it’s more obvious in the mistakes because we all know how it probable should look, so if something isn’t right you notice and it spoils the game play, whereas with Zelda ocarina of time the graphics allowed your imagination to run wild and fill the blanks.

Mario 64!

Zelda Ocarina Of Time!

Anyway I kind of went away from gaming history there and ranted about graphics again, it’s starting to sound like I’m a real graphics whoer, but I think it’s just because I was sick of random PS2 owners who don’t really know anything about games and just side with the PS3 because they know no better. Anyway I’m going to stop now this topic always starts arguments.

Week Four - Fun And Games

Okay so I last left you with the N64, Playstation, and Saga Saturn. This was the fifth generation of games and was all about 3D games. Mario 64 will always be know as the first true original 3D platform game, and it was truly an amazing game full of life and colour, and yeah if people of this generation (makes me sound old) played it now would say it’s full of faults and impurities, but the fact is this game defined an era, and was truly an amazing game. So the N64 ran strong throughout its life, but it was coming apparent that the Playsation was rolling through the market.

Mario 64, brings back good memories!

All around 2000 the sixth generation of games started to come to life, starting with the Saga Saturn, which lasted two years before production stopped, but by then we had the Gamecube and the Playstions 2 out. Now we all know how this went, and being a Nintendo fan isn’t the easiest thing for me to write, but the PS2 did, well let’s just say it happy few years. Now obviously I had a Gamecube and I think it was amazing, tons of great games, loads of fun with mates and despite what anyone says had damn good single player games, so I stuck with Nintendo throughout it.

And then we get the current generation, which is a little more interesting, but difficult subject as well. We have the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and the much talked about Wii. Now the other generations tend to have a sort of defining factor about them, side scrollers, 3D games, but Wii kind of changed that a bit.

Seventh Genoration war!

Microsoft and Sony have gone for pure power this time round, making games look more and more real and trying to get games as accurate to life as possible. Now this is all great, and some of the games look breathtaking, but if games are heading for pure realism then part of the fun in games will be lost. At the end of the day games have always been there to bring entertainment to the table, and I’ve always said playing games lets you do things you cant do in real life, like flying a space ship across the galaxy or racing go-karts down the motorway, and even more out of this world things like jumping around planets dressed as a plumber saving the princess, so I think game designers need to be careful not to make games so real there’s no imagination involved. Now don’t get me wrong realistic graphics are good and make games like Project Gotham Racing an Halo play a lot more better, but give me a game like Mario Galaxy which has a such an amazing artistic style and I’ll be more than happy for years to come. So the Wii for me has kept the true entertainment and fun value of games. (I actually remember Sony said in a press conference, ‘yes unlike the PS3 the Wii is fun’, don’t think he quiet meant to put it like that but he made a good point). I suppose it all comes down to personal opinion sometimes as both the Wii and Xbox 360 are doing really well, and you can have a great time on both really, but where are games going from here.

Week Three - Rise Of the Machines

So Computer games had effectively been invented, but now it was time for the home video games to have a shot at the market. This started with Ralph Bear’s ‘Magnavox Odyssey’. This had a few games playable on it around the ideas of dots and lines and the like, but due to a number of reason didn’t sell all that well, but all was not lost.

Atari came into the picture and in 1972 release there ping pong influenced game, Pong. When this game was first released on arcade machines it did phenomenally well taking over the world at lunch time. It too was then released into the homes of civilians’, but because it did so well, so many company’s wanted a bit of the action, and there ended up being that many different incarnations no one could keep track. Towards the end of the 70’s the whole video game idea seemed to be declining with the novelty wearing off, the only reason I can see this happening is because everyone one was sick of all this super pong and ultra pong (do you ever think this will happen to Mario party…).

Pong in all is glory!

But the in the early 80’s there seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel as home console’s were given another serious go at. Atari made the Atari 2600 which was the home for space invaders, and all time classic, which introduced the whole concept of high scores which I do actually love and find games don’t have them enough these days, I mean especially with online stuff, the Wii should utilize high score boards for every game, it is suppose to connected to the inter net 24/7. Anyway back to the light at the end of the tunnel, a couple of other company’s released home console’s such as Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum, which was British, and the market leader, just thought I’d say they were British… anyway this light at the end of the tunnel was suddenly closed off in 1983 with the big video games crash.

Apparently this crash is really famous, first I’ve heard of it, and as far as I can tell it’s all ET’s fault, which I think is a little harsh, he only wanted to phone home, not inevitable cause most game company’s to go into bankruptcy because they made more game cartridges’ than consoles and had to put a load in a landfill, apparently.

Anyway I was pleased to find out it was good old Nintendo that brought games out of the dark ages with NES (or famicon as it was also known as). Nintendo had now set the standard for games companies, and were bringing out games that’s are still going strong today, to name a few, Mario Bros., Zelda, Metroid, Metal Gear, and countless other classics. And then also there was Sega (with the Mastersystem) in the running which sparked off possible one the greatest rivalries ever, between Mario and Sonic, of which to this day is still going on, but now there on the same games, madness I tell you. Nintendo also in 1989 stormed the handheld market with the game boy, which was a huge success and always has been with it’s many incarnations. This third generation of 8-bit machines end in about 1992 with the launch of new consol’s such as the super Nintendo and the Sega mega drive. To be honest not too much happened over the next few years, one thing worth mentioning is that Sony would not be around if it had not been for Nintendo. Nintendo approach sony in order to make a console using cd-roms, but the very night before the revealing of the work they had done (which was a snes with cd’s) Nintendo pulled out and all was right with the world again. Then after the snes and mega drive, there was the N64, Sega Saturn, and the Playstation.

Mario and Sonic in there new game, wars will be fought!

So there we go a glimpse look at the history of games, yes I know glimpse, but there really is stacks and stacks of stuff, and the main problem is that it’s not all documented properly, especially in early times. I actually reckon even if someone spent an entire year trying to write a good history of games, there would be countless oddities, and it would be really boring, I mean I’ve just read mine back, and I applaud you if your still reading, anyway not too sure where I’m going with this, so ill stop and leave you awaiting my next post….well I’m sure one person will be looking forward to it, surely.

Casual and Core Gamers

Okay I'm sure we all know the argument that Nintendo is neglecting the core gamer, but have Microsoft and Sony neglected the wider audience of gamers. The following extract if off a forum that I regularly visit and I think is an interesting read.

Whilst the few deem Nintendo have forgot about core gamers it seems to me like Sony and MS have forgot about new/casual gamers.
Take this little story for instance...

I recently had the 'pleasure' of attending a RARE/MS party which included a set up of 360 games and booze. The party was a complete failure in many peoples eyes...Why?

Because of the software available to play.

Many pods were full of gamers crowded around Gears of War/Viva Pinata/Kameo and Project Gotham Racing 4. After a few hours it was the same people playing these games over and over again. I asked various people playing them what they liked about it. The response was unanimous: They all owned the game or had previously played the game at home. I then spoke to some people sat down not playing games and asked them if they had liked any games. Again the response was unanimous: No. Some had played Viva Pinata yet found they had to invest too much time learning all of the buttons/menus to play it. It was apparent - Many of these people had an interest in gaming yet were not even playing because the games were alien to them.

Some people were even sat playing pictochat on their DS's. A bold statement for sure.

After discussions with many people it became apparent to me that MS are probably clamouring for a "friendly" game? Something akin to a party game accessible for all. There was one XBOX Arcade pod sitting primarily empty for long periods of time offering jetpac. Simple enough for non-gamers? Perhaps. Accessible? Hmmm. I was spotting a trend.

And so I figured RARE are possibly the closest MS will get to appealing to a different audience. (Especially with a new Viva Pinata party game in the works). And yet RARE seemed a different company now. A marketting exec talked to his companion for 10mins about if HALO3 was really a "ten" game. (Out of interest they said the single player wasn't, multiplayer was). They then discussed BIOSHOCK and said it was great and never mentioned anyother form of game. (Only FPS fans?? You decide).

And yet I feel with the PS3 Sony could have been on top form pushing a new kind of Singstar and eyetoy ... yet this has also been shunned for raw power. Even with their motion controller nothing simple,accessible has been produced yet.

So it apears Nintendo have the party/casual market sewn up. Yet with their IP's being considerably viewed as "core" games (Zelda, Metroid, Mario) and with developers like Capcom, Sega, Rockstar, Konami backing Nintendo with traditional games (Resi,NiGHTS,Bully,Pro Evo to name but a few) I think rather than us focusing on Nintendo's console ignoring CORE gamers. Maybe we should be applauding them and looking at MS and SONY as the ones ignoring gamers.

Without new gamers our hobby will never be appreciated nor seen as a viable form of entertainment. We should want as many people as possible to enjoy what we are already a part of.

Personally I don't think with games coming out like Metroid, Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros., that Nintendo are forgetting about core gamers, there just creating a new market and in turn getting gaming to become more accepted in the eyes of the world/media. But I had never thought about Microsoft and Sony and the casual market.

Please leave any thoughts you've got, and here's a link to the original thread - http://www.n-europe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17602