Your favorite gaming memories...
by Stephen Clark · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 04/25/2005 (4:47 pm) · 29 replies
Here at my school there is a radio show "The Weekly Geek" and while its normally just praising Nintendo games this last week they had a little segment that was people calling in and talking about how games influenced them in a positive way. This was a counterpoint to how games cause kids to shoot each other, etc. Well, I just wanted to share some of my fond nice memories and invite yall to share as well....
I have a little brother who is 8 years younger than myself. The age divide meant that we didnt play together too much, as by the time he was old enough I was out and about w/ friends most of the time. But, we did share one love: Realmz! Now if any of you dont know what Realmz is, its a shareware fantasy RPG that as I remember had lots of items and monsters and the scenarios had multiple ways they could be completed. Each scenario was not too long (depending on how you played), which was great for me (not a huge RPG fan) and for a kid w/ a short attention span. The stories were compelling and it was the first RPG game that made me and my little bro really want to fight with fear/valor/anticipation. It was our little secret thrill/alt life and one of our childhood bonds.
Interestingly enough, Realmz used a system where the game was free and then you bought content (the scenarios). I still see this system being discussed here!
Other games:
Bolo!! Oh hell yes, bolo was big time fun back in the early days of networkable games. I've always loved strategy board games and this was the first video game that came close to the kind of thought that is required for strategy board games. It was also the first that combined strategy and action, my fav genre to date.
-s
I have a little brother who is 8 years younger than myself. The age divide meant that we didnt play together too much, as by the time he was old enough I was out and about w/ friends most of the time. But, we did share one love: Realmz! Now if any of you dont know what Realmz is, its a shareware fantasy RPG that as I remember had lots of items and monsters and the scenarios had multiple ways they could be completed. Each scenario was not too long (depending on how you played), which was great for me (not a huge RPG fan) and for a kid w/ a short attention span. The stories were compelling and it was the first RPG game that made me and my little bro really want to fight with fear/valor/anticipation. It was our little secret thrill/alt life and one of our childhood bonds.
Interestingly enough, Realmz used a system where the game was free and then you bought content (the scenarios). I still see this system being discussed here!
Other games:
Bolo!! Oh hell yes, bolo was big time fun back in the early days of networkable games. I've always loved strategy board games and this was the first video game that came close to the kind of thought that is required for strategy board games. It was also the first that combined strategy and action, my fav genre to date.
-s
#22
For those not in the know, the BoB was basically a human. In the first level of Marathon, there's a maze-like section in some ventilation shafts. Dark, green and creepy. Upon checking the map, a strange blue dot is there, in the middle of what appears to be a solid block...
No aliens nearby, the volume up, out of ammo for my handgun. I tentatively circle around the block, tapping the action key as you do looking for secret doors.
*WOOSH*<- Door
"THEY'RE EVERYWHERE" <-Bob
AAAAAH! <- Me
I was like 8 years old at the time, and it scarred me for life. Green SOB's....
05/04/2005 (6:04 am)
Playing Marathon for the first time. It was the prerelease demo, back from 1994. First time I'd ever seen anything like it, looking up and down (which was just an illusion with the geometry, as I found out recently, there wasn't any actual looking), the creepy darkness and that DAMN BoB HIDDEN IN THE SECRET ROOM IN THE MAZE!For those not in the know, the BoB was basically a human. In the first level of Marathon, there's a maze-like section in some ventilation shafts. Dark, green and creepy. Upon checking the map, a strange blue dot is there, in the middle of what appears to be a solid block...
No aliens nearby, the volume up, out of ammo for my handgun. I tentatively circle around the block, tapping the action key as you do looking for secret doors.
*WOOSH*<- Door
"THEY'RE EVERYWHERE" <-Bob
AAAAAH! <- Me
I was like 8 years old at the time, and it scarred me for life. Green SOB's....
#23
I spent many hours playing Doom over the next few years; there was such a wealth of quality maps to play from the likes of TeamTNT and other megawad groups, as well as Final Doom. SUCH good times, and my all time favorite game.
My memories of Doom make me want to make an FPS for Torque that pays homage to Doom's gameplay. No flashy storyline, no overly detailed environments, just smooth gameplay and LOTS of shooting. Maybe someday when I've got a bit of spare time...
05/04/2005 (6:17 am)
Mine also goes to Doom. I remember I was 13 and a friend of my brother's brought over the shareware version on floppy. I played through the entire episode, eyes focused on the screen and, for some reason, my ears were burning from the intensity.I spent many hours playing Doom over the next few years; there was such a wealth of quality maps to play from the likes of TeamTNT and other megawad groups, as well as Final Doom. SUCH good times, and my all time favorite game.
My memories of Doom make me want to make an FPS for Torque that pays homage to Doom's gameplay. No flashy storyline, no overly detailed environments, just smooth gameplay and LOTS of shooting. Maybe someday when I've got a bit of spare time...
#24
- system shock 1 (and number 2 for cooperative multiplayer)
- alpha centauri (and master of orion, close up)
- quake 2 (we are warriors! but having doom in memory for sure)
- ultima underworld 1 & 2 (never saw a better, exciting and more interactive world-simulation)
- simcity
- battle isle 2 (still most challenging strategy experience)
- alone in the dark 1 (lovecraft! shub niggurath! pure true fear)
oh i love toplists...
just dont think im leaving newer titles out by purpose (ok, system shock 2 cooperative is inside..), no, but nothing nowadays gets close to THESE..
is it because of high end grafics, so more developers are needed for visuals instead of gamedesign, is it because the golden age has past or because of my age, i dont know for sure..
ka
05/04/2005 (6:19 am)
My most .. beloved.. ones:- system shock 1 (and number 2 for cooperative multiplayer)
- alpha centauri (and master of orion, close up)
- quake 2 (we are warriors! but having doom in memory for sure)
- ultima underworld 1 & 2 (never saw a better, exciting and more interactive world-simulation)
- simcity
- battle isle 2 (still most challenging strategy experience)
- alone in the dark 1 (lovecraft! shub niggurath! pure true fear)
oh i love toplists...
just dont think im leaving newer titles out by purpose (ok, system shock 2 cooperative is inside..), no, but nothing nowadays gets close to THESE..
is it because of high end grafics, so more developers are needed for visuals instead of gamedesign, is it because the golden age has past or because of my age, i dont know for sure..
ka
#25
The only series and three of the very few games that I've actually played all the way through. They had one of the deepest storylines I've seen in any game, especially in the FPS genre.
Bolo was cool too. My brother and I didn't have internet access(we got games from friends subscriptions to MacAddict) so we couldn't get any map generators for it and so to create our own maps we would destroy almost the entire island and rebuild it. Hours and hours of work :)
05/04/2005 (7:04 am)
Definitely the Marathon Trilogy.The only series and three of the very few games that I've actually played all the way through. They had one of the deepest storylines I've seen in any game, especially in the FPS genre.
Bolo was cool too. My brother and I didn't have internet access(we got games from friends subscriptions to MacAddict) so we couldn't get any map generators for it and so to create our own maps we would destroy almost the entire island and rebuild it. Hours and hours of work :)
#26
Falcon 4.0 - The axiom is "One pass, haul a**." I was leading an airfield attack. In our first pass, we took out out the lone AAA (the defenses had already taken a pounding from a previous mission). The runway was already cratered by my wingmen, and I had a bunch of iron bombs on the wings I wanted to see move some mud.
Since they couldn't take off any more aircraft, I figured we were pretty safe. So I loitered in the area for a couple of minutes, demolishing everything I could one bomb at a time. I even took out some fuel trucks with my guns when I ran out of bombs.
I was about to knock it off anyway when I caught some inbound bogies coming from the north. No worries - my airbase was behind friendly lines about 50 miles to the south. I could be there in minutes.
Then I saw the contacts to the west. They could possibly intercept us. Because of our heavy bomb loads, all I had were two sidewinders (short-range, heat-seeking missiles). Based on the "sound" of their radar on the TWS, they were using older radar systems - probably MiG-21s. They were unlikely to have long-range missiles, but they could probably intercept us and force us into a short-range fight. If we HAD to dogfight them, we could... the question was if we could defeat them before their buddies from the north could catch up to us.
Then we got the signals to the southeast. We were definitely being intercepted. Since Falcon 4.0 used a "dynamic" campaign systems, these weren't pre-canned missions scripted by some designers imagination of what the player would possibly do. No, instead the AI had deliberately vectored several flights - which had ALREADY been in the air by the time we attacked the base - to intercept us. Because I'd gotten so cocky taking out the airfield, they'd had time to get to us.
I was about to pay for my mistake.
In the ensuing dogfight, I managed to take down one of the incoming aircraft before they blew us away. I wasn't even able to eject.
05/04/2005 (10:29 am)
Continuing the thread of moments...Falcon 4.0 - The axiom is "One pass, haul a**." I was leading an airfield attack. In our first pass, we took out out the lone AAA (the defenses had already taken a pounding from a previous mission). The runway was already cratered by my wingmen, and I had a bunch of iron bombs on the wings I wanted to see move some mud.
Since they couldn't take off any more aircraft, I figured we were pretty safe. So I loitered in the area for a couple of minutes, demolishing everything I could one bomb at a time. I even took out some fuel trucks with my guns when I ran out of bombs.
I was about to knock it off anyway when I caught some inbound bogies coming from the north. No worries - my airbase was behind friendly lines about 50 miles to the south. I could be there in minutes.
Then I saw the contacts to the west. They could possibly intercept us. Because of our heavy bomb loads, all I had were two sidewinders (short-range, heat-seeking missiles). Based on the "sound" of their radar on the TWS, they were using older radar systems - probably MiG-21s. They were unlikely to have long-range missiles, but they could probably intercept us and force us into a short-range fight. If we HAD to dogfight them, we could... the question was if we could defeat them before their buddies from the north could catch up to us.
Then we got the signals to the southeast. We were definitely being intercepted. Since Falcon 4.0 used a "dynamic" campaign systems, these weren't pre-canned missions scripted by some designers imagination of what the player would possibly do. No, instead the AI had deliberately vectored several flights - which had ALREADY been in the air by the time we attacked the base - to intercept us. Because I'd gotten so cocky taking out the airfield, they'd had time to get to us.
I was about to pay for my mistake.
In the ensuing dogfight, I managed to take down one of the incoming aircraft before they blew us away. I wasn't even able to eject.
#27
05/04/2005 (11:53 am)
Too many to count, but I'd have to say going over to one of my first girlfriend's house to play Sierra games was up there, since half the time we'd just end up making out...
#28
Aliens Vs Preditor 2. I still install this every now and then, i love the alien missions, once u get used to sticking to the walls you can pull off some great moves, like running up a vertical shaft, leaping onto a bridge and biting someones head off, all without stopping to think :D
The marine missions i remember clearest for getting the willies scared out me a lot. I hope they make a 3rd one
Jedi Outcast. I played this till 3am the day i bought it cos i REALLY wanted to get that lightsabre. Had to go into work the next day as well :S
Thief 2!!
I love the tension of just sitting there waiting for the guards to move, sounds crazy to a lot of ppl. I remember playing it on very hot nights with the lights out and a jack and coke beside me. I hope they make a 4th one but with the rope arrows and scouting orbs.
I could go on all day, think i'll stop now.
05/05/2005 (2:20 am)
Civilization. The time just zips by.Aliens Vs Preditor 2. I still install this every now and then, i love the alien missions, once u get used to sticking to the walls you can pull off some great moves, like running up a vertical shaft, leaping onto a bridge and biting someones head off, all without stopping to think :D
The marine missions i remember clearest for getting the willies scared out me a lot. I hope they make a 3rd one
Jedi Outcast. I played this till 3am the day i bought it cos i REALLY wanted to get that lightsabre. Had to go into work the next day as well :S
Thief 2!!
I love the tension of just sitting there waiting for the guards to move, sounds crazy to a lot of ppl. I remember playing it on very hot nights with the lights out and a jack and coke beside me. I hope they make a 4th one but with the rope arrows and scouting orbs.
I could go on all day, think i'll stop now.
#29
BBC'B':
Elite, Boffin, Guardian, Chuckie Egg, Freefall, Citadel, Revs, Thrust, Repton, Repton 3, Sabre Wolf and Exile. And two small games: dogfight and tanks.
PC:
Wolfenstein, Doom1/2, Rally Championship (MP), USNF, Dune2, Colonisation, Warcraft, Quake1 MP, Quake2:Weaponsfactory MP Mod, Railroad Tycoon, Civ, Duke Nukem 3D MP, Aces of the Deep, Sim City 2000, Rally Champ 2K, Grand Prix Legends, C&C MP, Trackmania MP, Transport Tycoon, Luxor, Chronicles of Riddick, Call of Duty, R:TW, Kingpin and some other I forgot.
05/05/2005 (2:48 am)
Golden oldies.. lemme think :)BBC'B':
Elite, Boffin, Guardian, Chuckie Egg, Freefall, Citadel, Revs, Thrust, Repton, Repton 3, Sabre Wolf and Exile. And two small games: dogfight and tanks.
PC:
Wolfenstein, Doom1/2, Rally Championship (MP), USNF, Dune2, Colonisation, Warcraft, Quake1 MP, Quake2:Weaponsfactory MP Mod, Railroad Tycoon, Civ, Duke Nukem 3D MP, Aces of the Deep, Sim City 2000, Rally Champ 2K, Grand Prix Legends, C&C MP, Trackmania MP, Transport Tycoon, Luxor, Chronicles of Riddick, Call of Duty, R:TW, Kingpin and some other I forgot.
Torque Owner Tim Heldna
International Karate plus c64
Alex the Kid in Miracle World Sega Master System
Ghost Busters MegaDrive
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade GameBoy
Street Fighter II Snes
Wave Race & Golden Eye N64
Need For Speed Underground Xbox
Grand Theft Auto III PS2
Metal Slug Neo Geo
Maniac Mansion x286 PC
Battlefield 1942 PC
Final Fight & Shadow Warriors & Double Dragon Arcade