November 11th, 2007 by Falconer
Roleplaying Games
Ultima: The First Age of Darkness, 1986 - Ultima IX: Ascension, 1999 (hover image to view)
When RPGs first went digital, they didn't look too good. Players had to have a lot of imagination to get any sort of satisfaction out of these games. Some of the oldest weren't much better off than the text adventures of old. I am sure that the legendary Ultima series is responsible for more than a few failed tests back then, keeping people awake through the night and away from their homework. The absolutely fantastic looking Ultima IX had groundbreaking graphics... and game-breaking bugs that were never fixed.
One of my all-time favourite games is Eye of the Beholder. In some ways you could call it a RPG version of Wolfenstein 3D, with the notable exception that you were controlling 4 characters and killed monsters from the fantasy realm of Dungeons and Dragons, rather than Nazi's.
The recently released The Witcher sets new standards when it comes to both graphical quality and art direction. The fantasy worlds created in today’s graphics engines are often breathtaking and instil the player with awe.
|
 Eye of the Beholder
Released: 1991  The Witcher
Released: 2007 |
First Person Shooters
Quake, 1996 - Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, 2007 (hover image to view)
The first ever First Person Shooter was of course Wolfenstein 3D. Even then, id Software was not afraid of blood and gore. Most of us got incredibly sick playing the game for the first time as we weren't used to the quick changes on the screen. I think this was also the first game that made people go out and buy new hardware. Most PCs back then were equipped with a screen that had 4 or 16 colours. Wolfenstein 3D required a VGA screen and video card which meant a $1000 dollar investment for most people. But it was worth it! I think you can actually count the pixels if you'd try though.
After the lacklustre Spear of Destiny, the game makes its first real comeback in 2001. The game carries the aptly chosen name 'Return to Castle Wolfenstein' and while it doesn't disappoint, gamers had perhaps expected a little bit more from id Software.
I shudder to think about the amount of time I spent playing Quake. There was something absolutely magnetic about the game. Network play was fantastic but Internet connection speeds were a definite problem back then. People started playing the game at work, and not just during lunch break.
The latest offering from id Software (or at least powered by their engine) is Enemy Territory Quake Wars. There is no other genre that has pushed the graphical envelope as much as the First Person Shooter genre and id Software has been instrumental in the progress that has been made over the years. I challenge you to count the pixels on this one...
|
 Wolfenstein 3D
Released: 1992  Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Released: 2001 |
Racing
Colin McRae Rally, 1998 - Colin McRae DiRT, 2007 (hover image to view)
When you see some of the early racing games, it makes you wonder what possessed people to play them in the first place. When I was 10, my friend had a Commodore 64 which was the gaming machine at the time. We often played Pitstop, a formula one simulator that even had a damage model: hit your opponents a bit too often and your tires would go red, a sign that they were about to explode on you.
Colin McRae's racing games have graced our gaming rigs for nearly a decade (he will be missed). My first encounter with the game was paired with many a "ooh" and "aah" as there hardly seemed to be any difference between Colin McRae Rally and the Sega Rally games that I used to play in the arcades. The game has come a long way since. I played Colin McRae DiRT with my tongue hanging out of my mouth, causing me dehydration problems. Such an amazing looking game!
But nothing prepared us for this test. It is neigh on impossible to see the difference between real life and Gran Turismo HD. The screenshot included to the right is in-game. Serious.
|
 Pitstop
Released: 1983  Gran Turismo HD
Release: TBA 2008 |
How did we do it?
It is not hard to imagine the coming transition from 'graphical impression' to graphics that are impossible to distinguish from real life. The question remains if that is something we should want. Right now, pointing a gun at an in-game character and pulling the trigger isn't a big issue. It is easy enough to distinguish between what is real and what is a game. But Grand Turismo HD proves that this won't be the case for much longer.
With such richly detailed games, very little is left to the imagination of the player. An often heard complaint is that games these days don't seem to be as much fun as they were way back then. Perhaps the fact that it is no longer necessary to have a creative mind to enjoy games is one of the causes for this complaint.
Yet, we have come an incredibly long way. While making this special, I scratched my head more than once, wondering how we ever got this far. The 'original gamer' must have been nuts (myself included) to see any entertainment value in some of the games we have shown above. But they did. And with that, companies saw viable business opportunities and started an industry that not only entertains but touches, moves, angers, frustrates and glorifies millions of gamers every day. This year especially, it is great to be a gamer.
|
