>[Game designers of today] have to outdo eachother
>with fancier artwork and production values to the point where you are
>really watching more of a movie than playing a game, in an experience that
>is far too linear and predictable.
>By writing for the 2600 it gives a programmer a license to create a game
>in this style whereas if he wrote a game like that for the PC people would
>be crying "why isn't it 3D" or "where are the powerups" or "where are the
>bosses" or "where are the 24-bit backgrounds??".
Well put and thank you. The number of people that are put on a game
now-a-days for those items that are _not_ strictly gameplay (that you
list above) is quite suprising. And I do agree that games these days are
much more linear than ever before. TR follows a storyline as does
Resident Evil (to the point I was even looking forward to RE2's final
scenes before I started playing. Now this sort of movie reward reminds
me of when I first saw Ms. Pac-Man meet Pac-Man, but that's another
thread ;), Civilization, and even Madden! There are no more, "Boy my
thumb is tired [but it was worth it]!" games like Asteroids or Yars'
Revenge.
And with the exception of Yak's [retro-game of your choice] 2000, there
really isn't much that can capture that Robotron/Yars' Revenge/Pac-Man
feeling. Even the '2000 series use old premises as an "excuse" to make a
classic game.
I believe that what you are creating parallels the evolution of the term
"modern art". The modern period has been over for quite some time now,
and began with (oh, my sister told me and I forgot!) Monnet (not Monet)
back in the early 1900's (I think). Though I still think of "modern" as
cutting edge, that connotation is starting to fall from usage.
The classic period is pretty much over in this sense. Games (and
consoles) these days are not classic, though they too may become future
"classics" in a more colloquial sense.
Again thank you for you furthered explanation, and I apologize for my
sudden verbosity. My wife is out of town and that leaves me with too
much time on my hands. ;) I am getting a little better at Team Fortress
Quake. :( Gotta go run...
Ruffin Bailey
--
Archives (includes files) at http://www.biglist.com/lists/stella/archives/
Unsub & more at http://www.biglist.com/lists/stella/stella.html
