The best game studio

[Kalfear]

Blizzard was good but then they created that POS called World of Warcraft and pretty much lost all respect from me cause of it.

 

Only other studio I can think of (in the old old past) was SSI RPGs. Those I would buy soon as I saw.

That's odd. Most people usually agree that World of Warcraft is the best thing that's happened to MMORPG's so far. I'd say it's a great game. I never liked strategy games though and Diablo (both of them) suck in my opinion, so..

 

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

heh, all depends who you talk to.

 

I was around for the original MMORPG and have played pretty much everyone since.

 

World of Warcraft to me is just a travisty showing how far the original concept of the genre has fallen.

 

MMORPGs are suppose to be about adventure, excitement, questing, ect. Much the same feeling as you get from playing K1 or K2 but in a multiplayer atmoshpere. MMORPGs got nothing what so ever to do with making sure everyone and anyone can max out in 2 weeks. Punishing those who play more. And all that crap found in WoW.

 

And the saturday morning cartoon graphics turn me right off.

 

As I said, just depends who you speak to. Most of my crowd are older so doesnt appreciate how dumbed down WoW made its MMORPG. Newer players to the genre love it for what ever reason though.

 

In my eyes, WoW was nothing more then a well thought out cash grab. Instant gratification for the no patience crowd and their parents disposable money.

 

Cant blame Blizzard (as a company) for doing such a thing but doesnt mean I have to respect them for it and their greed will (far as this ONE consumer concerned) cause me to seriously rethink buying their future products with out solid first hand experience and info on them, prior to purchase.

 

Not my cup of tea I prefer content and quality over flashy cartoons and free give aways.

[Darque]

That's odd. Most people usually agree that World of Warcraft is the best thing that's happened to MMORPG's so far. I'd say it's a great game.

 

That's what I hear too.

 

I also hear it uses too many "easter eggs"... but some people like that.

 

But I do agree with you about the SSI games. I used to buy the Gold Box games as soon as they reached my game store shelves, without thinking twice about it. I had totally forgotten how it felt to trust a game company so completely until you reminded me just now. I wish there were more companies like that..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I totally forgot about SSI... they made some fantastic games

 

I played the Dark Sun games a few years back... while buggy and while the sequel sucked... that first one was excellent

[Gabrielle]

I like Easter eggs. Fallout 1 and 2 had plenty of those.

[Darque]

I know

 

I enjoyed using my weapons on them. <_<

 

Oh, I forgot to mention I detest easter eggs

[Gabrielle]

That is so uncool.

[Darque]

what what?

[Calax]

Westwood

Blizzard

The guys who made Mechwarrior2(activision?)

Relic

Ion Storm

[Diamond]

Bioware, Black Isle, Square

 

Rarely mentioned:

 

Bullfrog (Populous 3 )

Logic Factory (Tone Rebellion )

[alanschu]

Blizzard was good but then they created that POS called World of Warcraft and pretty much lost all respect from me cause of it.

 

Only other studio I can think of (in the old old past) was SSI RPGs. Those I would buy soon as I saw.

That's odd. Most people usually agree that World of Warcraft is the best thing that's happened to MMORPG's so far. I'd say it's a great game. I never liked strategy games though and Diablo (both of them) suck in my opinion, so..

 

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

heh, all depends who you talk to.

 

I was around for the original MMORPG and have played pretty much everyone since.

 

World of Warcraft to me is just a travisty showing how far the original concept of the genre has fallen.

 

MMORPGs are suppose to be about adventure, excitement, questing, ect. Much the same feeling as you get from playing K1 or K2 but in a multiplayer atmoshpere. MMORPGs got nothing what so ever to do with making sure everyone and anyone can max out in 2 weeks. Punishing those who play more. And all that crap found in WoW.

 

And the saturday morning cartoon graphics turn me right off.

 

As I said, just depends who you speak to. Most of my crowd are older so doesnt appreciate how dumbed down WoW made its MMORPG. Newer players to the genre love it for what ever reason though.

 

In my eyes, WoW was nothing more then a well thought out cash grab. Instant gratification for the no patience crowd and their parents disposable money.

 

Cant blame Blizzard (as a company) for doing such a thing but doesnt mean I have to respect them for it and their greed will (far as this ONE consumer concerned) cause me to seriously rethink buying their future products with out solid first hand experience and info on them, prior to purchase.

 

Not my cup of tea I prefer content and quality over flashy cartoons and free give aways.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

That's because most people are not interested in taking a year of real time to complete a quest.

 

There's a reason why WoW sold as fast as it did (and continues to sell fast now) when it was released. It got rid of the "stupid" aspect of MMORPGs, and opened up a market to non-gamers by allowing them to actually accomplish something even if they only play for a half an hour. Anytime a game can bring non-gamers into the fold is a good thing. I don't care much for The Sims as a game, but I love the fact that it gave exposure to the mass market.

 

The funny thing is that you accuse Blizzard for pulling a cash grab. I considered Sony's model with EQ to be much worse. They were very smart with their reward model, providing just enough to keep you coming back, bringing you in for multiple months and counting on the social aspect to bring people in for years at a time. I say kudos to Blizzard for not squeaking out every possible dollar out of their customers. I still don't consider it any more of a "cash grab" than any other company. They recognized the MMORPG market, and addressed many of the drawbacks of the established models.

 

The fact that World of Warcraft sold so well is because that's what the market wanted. The old model is outdated and most people aren't a big fan of investing substantial amounts of money into a video game only to accomplish very, very little. There's a reason why World of Warcraft has absolutely demolished its western competitors.

 

As for your "old" players, it's not surprising that they feel that way. It's not <game X> and doesn't play just like <game X> so "obviously" they'll hate it. There are people out there that still feel that vinyl records are better than compact discs. If there is enough of your "old" friends that like playing the older style MMORPG, then there is still a market for it and someone else will come along. Perhaps most people aren't the type of person that is willing to bring jars into their bedroom so that they can put their bodily waste into it for fear of missing a rare mob spawn.

[CoM_Solaufein]

Bullfrog (Populous 3 )

Logic Factory (Tone Rebellion )

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Never heard of them.

[Diamond]

Bullfrog (Populous 3 )

Logic Factory (Tone Rebellion )

Never heard of them.

Then you've wasted many years of your life.

[Musopticon?]

Or he's just new to this stuff.

 

 

For the record, I loved Dungeon Keeper. I can still chant some of the spell incantations from memory and remeber the sacrifices needed to summon Horned Reaper :D

[Shadowstrider]

Thread pruned for the last time, and I left some of the off-topic discussion in tact. Next time this thread (and several kittens) will be sporked.

[Kalfear]

Wow Alan, just a few built up issues over those older then you?

 

Anyways, you have your version of WoW, I have mine. No sence argueing about it as it obviously appeals to you and doesnt to me.

 

And yes, WoW has broken all western sales records for a MMORPG (never said other wise) but lets not leave out anouther fact, its also SHATTERED WORLD (not just western) records for largest turn over rate with in first 2 months of activation in a MMORPG.

 

So goes both ways im afraid.

On the plus side they have indeed sold more copies then any other MMORPG ever made.

On the negative: Its entertainment value (over time) is also more limited then any previous MMORPG ever made.

 

Leave it at that

 

PS: and seak proffessional help for your hatred of those older then you No reason for your envy really!

 

That's because most people are not interested in taking a year of real time to complete a quest.

 

There's a reason why WoW sold as fast as it did (and continues to sell fast now) when it was released.  It got rid of the "stupid" aspect of MMORPGs, and opened up a market to non-gamers by allowing them to actually accomplish something even if they only play for a half an hour.  Anytime a game can bring non-gamers into the fold is a good thing.  I don't care much for The Sims as a game, but I love the fact that it gave exposure to the mass market.

 

The funny thing is that you accuse Blizzard for pulling a cash grab.  I considered Sony's model with EQ to be much worse.  They were very smart with their reward model, providing just enough to keep you coming back, bringing you in for multiple months and counting on the social aspect to bring people in for years at a time.  I say kudos to Blizzard for not squeaking out every possible dollar out of their customers.  I still don't consider it any more of a "cash grab" than any other company.  They recognized the MMORPG market, and addressed many of the drawbacks of the established models.

 

The fact that World of Warcraft sold so well is because that's what the market wanted.  The old model is outdated and most people aren't a big fan of investing substantial amounts of money into a video game only to accomplish very, very little.  There's a reason why World of Warcraft has absolutely demolished its western competitors.

 

As for your "old" players, it's not surprising that they feel that way.  It's not <game X> and doesn't play just like <game X> so "obviously" they'll hate it.  There are people out there that still feel that vinyl records are better than compact discs.  If there is enough of your "old" friends that like playing the older style MMORPG, then there is still a market for it and someone else will come along.  Perhaps most people aren't the type of person that is willing to bring jars into their bedroom so that they can put their bodily waste into it for fear of missing a rare mob spawn.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Volourn]

"PS: and seak proffessional help for your hatred of those older then you No reason for your envy really!"

 

As opposed to the older genrations hating on the young 'uns. Blaming all the ills of the world on the youth when it's mostly simply jealousy that the young aren't crippled and ain't gonna die within 10 years.

 

Hehehe.

 

I love old folks. "

 

 

Favorite oldtimer quote: "In the good 'ol days..."

 

 

They always seem toleave out the force amrriages of barely 10 year girls, the slaughter of millions of Jews, the slaughter of Natives, and the list of past atrocities go on.

 

P.S. BIO is #1!!!

[Gabrielle]

"PS: and seak proffessional help for your hatred of those older then you  No reason for your envy really!"

 

As opposed to the older genrations hating on the young 'uns. Blaming all the ills of the world on the youth when it's mostly simply jealousy that the young aren't crippled and ain't gonna die within 10 years.

 

Hehehe.

 

I love old folks. "

 

 

Favorite oldtimer quote: "In the good 'ol days..."

 

 

They always seem toleave out the force amrriages of barely 10 year girls, the slaughter of millions of Jews, the slaughter of Natives, and the list of past atrocities go on.

 

P.S. BIO is #1!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Pruning the human population??

[Lyric Suite]

MMORPGs got nothing what so ever to do with making sure everyone and anyone can max out in 2 weeks. Punishing those who play more. And all that crap found in WoW.

 

I took me 3 months to max out my character in WoW. Obviously not everybody is interested in leveling, perhaps this is one of the reasons old MMORPGs fans don't like the game, it doesn't offer that peculiar level of brainless grinding they crave for. Personally i don't see the appeal in waisting thousands of hours doing the same thing over and over with the single reward of upgrading your character sheet every other eon or so, but to each their own.

 

I for one enjoy how Blizzard has put some effort in creating a real game in between the level grinding. WoW is actually the closest thing a MMORPG has ever gotten to a single player CRPG. Nothing that would shock an hardcore CRPG fan, but not bad considering how hard it is to script anything in an online game. For a big portion of the game you even get a main story line and series of quests. Most people could stop right here and never get into the MMORPG part of the game.

 

I also like how rich and detailed the world is compared to other games of the genre, You can really tell they actually put some efford in creating each realms. The fact each race has it's own unique areas all the way to level 60 is amazing. Casual gamers can just play a couple of months, max out a character, take a brake then make a new character of a different race and have a whole new fresh experience all over again.

 

As far as the multiplayer component goes, it's not easy to move around the hordes of battle.net kiddies all bent at ruining your game experiences and just being obnoxious all around (my IQ was really going down the toilet after playing with some of the people in my server), but every now and then you find somebody you like. Once you find enough people you enjoy playing with you don't have to play the game alone anymore. The fact WoW is perfectly soloable all the way to 60 gives you all the time in the world to find a decent group of people to play with.

 

End-game is also a lots of fun. I love the fact most instances are designed for a group of five. You can raid most of them, but playing with a small group requires actual real strategy and this is where Blizzard's background in RTS really shines. The warrior class in particular was amazing to play. WoW is the first game where the warrior isn't the preferred newbie choise but is actually the most difficoult class in the game.

 

If you have a group of decent players to do instances with it can become one of the most fun multiplayer experiences in any game. The fact each instance can be completed in 1-2 hours is also a bonus for those who don't have 15 hours a day to waist in a video game.

 

All in all i think WoW is the best Blizzard game since Starcraft. I was also one of the lucky ones who never experienced severe server issues.

 

The only reason why i stopped playing is that i just don't have that kind of time anymore. Even with the casual nature of the game WoW is still a MMORPG and can still become a time sink, and frankly, i got better things to do with my life then waist my free time on a single video game.

 

Other then that i can't really say i wasn't impressed.

 

And the saturday morning cartoon graphics turn me right off.

 

Personally i think WoW is one of the best looking games i ever seen. The art direction is amazing, and the cartoon style allows for good visuals without having to rape your system in the process, which is obviously a bonus in a multiplayer game.

 

One aspect of the game i really enjoyed was the fact each zone had it's own unique style. You could tell where you were at all times just by looking at your surroundings.

 

Other MMORPGs all look boring and uninspired to me...

[Shadowstrider]

Closed since the conversation has completely shifted to WoW.