How did they get this game so right?

[druidbob]

Originally Posted by azeth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Eq's itemization until around PoP is probably the best in gaming history. For me, that's what separates it from other MMOs - they absolutely perfected the carrot on the stick.

You can tell exactly what somebody is wearing, know where they got it, know what it took to get it, and probably even guess what guild they're in just by their appearance without inspecting them

That reminds me, why did people back in live always get butthurt when you inspected them? I remember starting out and seeing a mage in a cool robe and I wanted to know what it was so I inspected, only to be told this was some huge taboo to do that without asking first. Why though?

[aussenseiter]

Originally Posted by druidbob [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

That reminds me, why did people back in live always get butthurt when you inspected them? I remember starting out and seeing a mage in a cool robe and I wanted to know what it was so I inspected, only to be told this was some huge taboo to do that without asking first. Why though?

If I walked up to you and started fingering your trousers, would you like that?

[unsunghero]

Originally Posted by druidbob [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

That reminds me, why did people back in live always get butthurt when you inspected them? I remember starting out and seeing a mage in a cool robe and I wanted to know what it was so I inspected, only to be told this was some huge taboo to do that without asking first. Why though?

What’s weird was the cultural paradigm shift in WoW (maybe this eventually happened in EQ) where part of being in the “end game” was standing near the mailbox or bank and watching people ogle your gear

Countless memes and satire vids made about it

[long.liam]

Originally Posted by Tushy_master [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

It had to be luck right? Or was Brad a genius?

They were basically just ripping of DnD and MUDs. But so many other mmorpgs sucked ass.

They got a lot wrong too. Mostly they copied a lot of previously established RPG stuff from DND and such.

[Vexenu]

There was seriously just something in the water in 1998-1999 that resulted in a plethora of the greatest and most influential games of all time being released that year. Consider just a partial list of the titles released in that time frame:

Half-Life
StarCraft
EverQuest
CounterStrike
Team Fortress Classic
Baldur's Gate
Quake 3 Arena
Starsiege: Tribes
Unreal Tournament
System Shock 2
Age of Wonders
Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Planescape: Torment
Jagged Alliance 2

Like honestly, what the fuck? You literally have a single calendar year in which over a dozen absolutely legendary PC games were released, many of which were incredibly innovative and groundbreaking in their own right (HL, EQ, SC, Tribes, AoW, BG, CS), others of which perfected the formulas of previous releases (SS2, HOMM3, JA2, Q3, TFC).

But they all absolutely nailed it. Really incredible in hindsight. It's been almost 25 years since then and we still haven't had another year of PC gaming remotely comparable to that one. And I very much doubt we ever will.

[Trexller]

investment bankers got ahold of the video game industry after the success of early titles like that

prior to wall street realizing that gaming is the future of entertainment, game developers put all their effort into making a game good and fun to play.

these days, devs put all their effort into making a game profitable, and more profitable each time. the effort put into making a game good and fun to play, only goes as far as they need to in order to get people to buy the game and then pay for extras

[Sadre Spinegnawer]

Originally Posted by wuanahto [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

too much time is a thing
this game sucked up time
then warcraft happened

Yup. There isn't too much time anymore, near as I can tell. Not among normal folks.

NYT has an article on Texas' death row (200+ peeps) and how they are getting deep into D&D. Someone hook these poor bastards up with a new p99 server! Can't be a TLP cuz that's cruel.

Gotta work on a nursing home server too. But that is pure $$ and so DPG will put the kibosh on that. Those folks will rejoice if they delevel. Have to take that into account in game mechanics.

[zelld52]

Originally Posted by Trexller [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

investment bankers got ahold of the video game industry after the success of early titles like that

prior to wall street realizing that gaming is the future of entertainment, game developers put all their effort into making a game good and fun to play.

these days, devs put all their effort into making a game profitable, and more profitable each time. the effort put into making a game good and fun to play, only goes as far as they need to in order to get people to buy the game and then pay for extras

BG3 is great fun, and is being praised for doing the opposite of this. It turns out a game can be really well-crafted, hit all the marks for fans, lack any add-on content, and still sell a lot of copies.

Hopefully we see a shift in this predatory behavior from Gaming (aka Investment) companies

[Tormmac]

Originally Posted by zelld52 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

BG3 is great fun, and is being praised for doing the opposite of this. It turns out a game can be really well-crafted, hit all the marks for fans, lack any add-on content, and still sell a lot of copies.

Hopefully we see a shift in this predatory behavior from Gaming (aka Investment) companies

bg3 is a gay dating sim pretending to be a game for lonely people who dont go outside

[Trexller]

Originally Posted by Tormmac [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

bg3 is a gay dating sim pretending to be a game for lonely people who dont go outside

basically yeah, not to mention exposing children to nudity and bestiality