>Modern systems will have a harder time reaching classic status because
>they mainly just rehash the same genres with increased 3D power.
Do you really think so? Look at Quake. There's a classic to be.
Civilization is another, imo. Tomb Raider is a classic (2b), as is Final
Fantasy, Sonic, Sensible Soccer, and Madden.
Games written for older systems don't become classics any easier than
today's games excepting by age. For every modern day Clayfighter there's
a Froddo game lurking in someone's collection. Both have big time busts.
>In this respect the 2600 is actually better since it offers
>classifications of games which are no longer done on modern systems so
>poly counts and texture mapping is not really an issue.
Is this really the case? What classifications are there of great games
that we don't see today? Breakout games are few and far between these
days for certain (unless you count the Easter egg in MacOS 7.5!), but if
we eliminate the paddle controllers, what have you got left on the 2600
that hasn't been done again? The 2600 provides a feel that will not be
recreated , but more classics? That's a little too far imo.
The main point is that these genres (if you will) were _first_ done on
the 2600. Almost all of them. Adventure and IDJ are two games that
perhaps best embody the originality of the 2600, and are indisputable
classics, yet they have been improved upon in many ways to produce
another classic, Tomb Raider. And don't forget that the 2600 sported
more than its share of arcade ports, which I consider a game
classification of in itself. Heck, Space Invaders is commonly cited as
the game that saved the 2600 from oblivion!
I am interested in hearing more about your reasoning behind the 2600
producing more classics, Glenn, and hope you'll share more. Is Oystron a
classic and why? What defines a classic and how is that missing (other
than age) from today's games? I'm not so brazen as to think there can't
be something that I'm missing as I spend almost all my game playing time
these days on modern day games! ;) Furthermore, learning and discussing
just what makes a game classic (and I'm not talking specifics, of course)
can make us all better game _programmers_!
Thanks,
Ruffin Bailey
rufbo at cetlink.net
PS I was joking about Sensible Soccer. ;)
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