Best [and Worst] of the Past Decade

[A Black Falcon]

Holy fuck what are doing?? Why did you type out the history of PC games???

Because you obviously don't know it, it's important, and given what you just wrote there you obviously still don't get it.

Here is my understanding:

I mention that over the past decade, western developers have gained more credibility and improved their craft.

Again, that's just not true. Most of the better developers just moved over from PC to console.

They are a force now that Japan recognizes.

Because they're developing on a platform that Japanese gamers and developers actually play games on now. Once again, Japan just never 'got' PC gaming... it's basically used for doujin games (fanmade titles with minimal distribution), hentai games, and not a lot else. Because most of the better Western games were on PCs, they often flew under the radar of Japanese developers.

Before I continue however, how about I mention some exceptions. Here's one major one: RPGs.

The RPG of course was essentially created by the Dungeons & Dragons pen & paper game. Starting from the early 1970s at the latest, people at the few American colleges with computers started designing D&D-inspired games as best they could. The early ones were text-based. In the late 1970s came the first graphical RPG, Richard Garriot's Akalabeth (aka 'Ultima 0'). Ultima 1 and Wizardry followed in the next two years (by 1981). The Ultima and Wizardry series defined early RPGs. They were gruelingly hard dungeon crawlers with minimalist graphics, lots of required mapping, some humorous elements, and more. They did not immediately catch on in Japan, however. For one thing, the games were mostly on the Apple II, PC, etc, systems not popular there...

The first real RPG made in Japan was in fact actually made by an American, Henk Rogers. You may know him better as the guy who played the crucial role in Nintendo getting Tetris and the owner of The Tetris Company and Bullet-Proof Software before that, but before he got into that he made an RPG, The Black Onyx. He made it for a Japanese computer, the NEC PC-8801. He pushed hard to get Japanese gaming magazines to review it; they weren't interested at first, but he eventually convinced one to (using his connections or something I think, I read an article online describing the whole thing sometime last year), and they liked it.

It was the spark that first made the RPG popular in Japan. The Wizardry and Ultima games would then be released there to great success. A year or two later Dragon Quest was released, one of the first native Japanese RPGs, directly inspired by the Wizardry and Ultima games, and The Black Onyx.

... Oh yeah, and the Japanese mostly missed the humor in the PC RPGs, evidently. Take, for instance, Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge... the titular Cosmic Forge is none other than a pen. Evidently translations missed that humor...


Most major genres originate in America. There are few exceptions of note. Now, many of those genres were based on older board games, sports, etc. that were often not American of origin (European miniature wargames, tennis, etc.), but the first games were. This makes sense, considering that the computers and technology were here.

Multiple Japanese development studios give kudos to western devs, the creator of Metal Gear said 'Japan is failing where the west is succeeding' and specifically talking about the drama, writing, scope, cinematics, voice acting and all the things that Metal Gear strive for. Now, western devs actually create content that is on par or even superior to Japanese efforts. this was not the case in the 90's, well that's not true exactly, in fact it probably really started in the 90's with Turok the Dinosaur Hunter on Japan's Number 1, Donkey Kong Country though was when Nintendo found out that places other than Japan can do it right. Name one video game (other than Tetris) that sold anywhere near the numbers of Donkey Kong Country on any system (including PC) that was made by a European or American developer in or by 1994. That's the same year Doom 2 came out btw. And that's all western development was: First person shooters, shitty simulators, I think Wing Commander was out by then which no one liked save for extremely anal people. We had Warcraft from blizzard that created the first (very primal) WoW game minus the World. These weren't contenders, compared to Japanese software, these were garbage. Doom 2 excited people because of the 3-D. The same year, we were getting Super Metroid, Earthbound, Ridge Racer (for the psx, also released in 94 I think). Japanese developers had 3-D down to a science without the need of mode-7 like scaling, but actual polygons.

Ah, so now we get to the point. You hate PC games, which is why you keep bashing them. Right. I won't expect you to change your mind one bit then.

I mean honestly, bashing PC game genres as if they're worse than console ones or something, just because they're different and generally more complex? That's really stupid, and doesn't even really deserve an answer. Saying "I hate that" is not an answer to the points I'm making, it's just a statement of opinion that has minimal bearing on the issue, except to explain why you are saying the kinds of things you are.

I mean, I like the SNES too. It has lots of great games, and I'm not questioning that. It's just that the PC does too... and it has the vast majority of the Western games worth mentioning from the crash to the Xbox.

Rare, Naughty Dog, and Western arcade game developers like Midway are exceptions, but they are just that: exceptions.

-Wing Commander is not a complicated game at all. As far as space combat sims go, in fact, it's decidedly on the simplistic side. That's why I always preferred Totally Games' X-Wing/TIE Fighter games, they have so much more depth... and are better games overall of course, that helps too. :)

-Warcraft I is an RTS, not an MMO. Absolutely no connection except for the world they're set in and you know it. Also, it was an amazing, groundbreaking game, and helped define the RTS -- it was only the second major title in the genre, after Westwood's Dune II. A true classic.

-Doom II ran on the Doom I engine. In 1993 when it came out Doom was a serious technical achievement, and consoles of the time struggled badly to do Doom justice -- there were SNES, 32X, 3DO, and Jaguar ports, but all were bad compared to the PC version. Even Saturn Doom was pretty bad... PSX Doom was okay, and Doom 64 good (though entirely different levels-wise), but those came years later. Console FPSes in 1994 had definitely not caught up to Doom I on the PC yet, much less Doom II.

-The PSX and Saturn came out in 1994, sure, and yeah, PC games couldn't match them graphically. So? It's not like most of those early 3d PSX and Saturn games were that great... and graphics don't make gameplay! Plus, early 3d looked quite ugly... 2d looked better. In 1994 the PC could certainly beat the SNES or Genesis graphically. As for 3d, it wouldn't be until late 1996 that the serious revolution came, with the 3DFX Voodoo card, but the first 3d accelerators came in 1995 and did make 3d graphics on a near-PSX level possible. The games looked just as bad as PSX games from the same era though, so they've aged just as badly.

Still, there were many first-person and 3d games in 1994 on the PC, and many of them look quite okay for the time -- Doom II, Descent, TES: Arena, the flight sims, etc, etc. See this for instance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgg2SI17Vpo


Anyway, 1994 PC games? One of the best years in the history of the industry. Here are some notable 1994 PC games. I listed genres, because I'm sure you've never heard of these games (I have heard of all of them and own some). These are all American or European games. Some were also on consoles, but the computer versions were usually first (this is only not true for a very few games on this list).

Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist (graphic adventure)
Archon Ultra (strategy-boardgame update of a classic)
Aces of the Deep (military sub sim - WWII)
Alone in the Dark 2 (survival horror (action/adventure))
Boppin' (platform-puzzle shareware game)
Battlehawks 1942 (military flight sim - WWII)
Battle Isle 2200 (turn-based strategy)
Cannon Fodder (1 and 2) (top-down action with some strategy)
Cyberia (CG FMV action/adventure game)
Beneath a Steel Sky (graphic adventure)
Dungeon Master II: Skullkeep (dungeon crawling RPG)
Heimdall 2 (isometric RPG)
Daryl F. Gates Police Quest: Open Season (graphic adventure with a bit of action)
Descent (six-degrees-of-freedom first-person shooter)
Doom II (FPS)
Disney's Aladdin (port of the Genesis game, but with 256 colors)
Empire Deluxe Masters Edition (compilation of a newer version of one of the first ever PC strategy games)
Frontier: Elite II (space trading sim with a little bit of action)
The Elder Scrolls: Arena (huge scale first-person RPG)
The Legend of Kyrandia (2 and 3) (graphic adventure games)
Hardball 4 (sports - baseball)
Heirs to the Throne (strategy)
Inca II (adventure/puzzle)
In Search of Dr. Riptide (mediocre shareware shmup)
Jazz Jackrabbit (2d platformer)
Jagged Alliance (strategy/wargame with some RPG elements)
Great Naval Battles Vol. II: Guadalcanal 1942-43 (wargame)
Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out! (graphic adventure)
Out of this World (cinematic platformer I guess?)
King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride (graphic adventure)
Krypton Egg (shareware Arkanoid-style game)
King Arthur's K.O.R.T. (simple but fun little turn-based strategy game shareware game)
Lords of the Realm (turn-based strategy with real-time battles)
Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos (first-person RPG)
M1 Tank Platoon (military tank sim)
Metaltech: EarthSiege (mech sim)
Mystic Towers (action-platformer shareware game)
Pizza Tycoon (building/management sim (think SimCity)
Pacific Strike (military flight sim)
Microsoft Space Simulator (space sim/educational)
Transport Tycoon (building/management sim)
Master of Magic (turn-based 4X strategy, like fantasy Civilization. Fantastic game.)
Magic Carpet (very unique first-person strategy/action ish game, hard to explain)
Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.0 (flight sim)
NASCAR Racing (racing sim)
One Must Fall 2097 (fighting game)
Realms of Arkania II: Star Trail (RPG)
Serf City (strategy)
Superhero League of Hoboken (RPG)
The Incredible Toon Machine (puzzle)
The Incredible Machine 2 (puzzle)
The Lemmings Chronicles (puzzle/platformer)
Theme Park (building/management sim, great game!)
Tubular Worlds (shareware shmup, okay but not great, looks nice though)
Outpost (strategy)
Microcosm (rail shooter)
Novastorm (rail shooter)
Mortal Kombat II (fighting game)
Panzer General (wargame, but not hardcore -- this was a "casual" wargame. One of the most successful wargames ever.)
Perfect General II (wargame)
Raptor: Call of the Shadows (shmup shareware game, one of my favorite shmups of all time)
Quarantine (FPS)
Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure (1994 Germany, 1995 USA) (action-adventure)
Rise of the Triad (FPS)
Revenge of the Mutant Camels (shareware action game)
Star Wars: X-Wing Collector's CD-ROM (space sim)
Star Wars: TIE Fighter (Without any doubt the best game released in 1994 for any platform, and still one of the best games of all time.) (space sim)
System Shock (innovative and original FPS-RPG)
Sid Meier's Colonization (turn-based 4X strategy)
Super Solvers: Treasure Cove! (educational puzzle/adventure)
Super Solvers: Treasure Mountain! (educational puzzle/adventure)
Traffic Department 2192 (topdown vehicular combat with lots of story)
Ultima VIII: Pagan (isometric RPG, huge scale)
Warcraft: Orcs and Humans (RTS)
X-COM: UFO Defense (turn-based strategy)
Wacky Wheels (kart racing, really good Mario Kart style game)
Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (space 'sim')
Wing Commander: Privateer: CD-ROM edition and Riteous Fire expansion pack (the original game is from 1993) (space trading sim game with some combat)
Under a Killing Moon (cinematic graphic adventure)
U.S. Navy Fighters (military flight sim)
World at War: Stalingrad (wargame)

... and more. That is not a complete list. Any of the better ones are easily comparable or better than anything on the 1994 SNES list. Saying otherwise is purely opinion and has no basis in fact. And of course everyone is entitled to their opinions, and plenty of people would prefer the simple action of console games over the much more complicated gameplay of many of those titles...

Oh yeah, notice that it's not exactly dominated by FPSes and RTSes, but has a wide variety of genres (with adventure games leading the way I think)? Yeah, both of those genres were in their infancy then. It wasn't until the mid '00s that the PC became the "FPS MMORPG and RTS Only Machine". Before then there were some of those games, but not too many, and there were lots of other kinds of games as well.

I understand that you dug the PC side of things but the rest of the world didnt, the variety that you found on PC was paltry compared to any console and the entire reason PC gaming was funneled and almost killed (saved by Bethesda and Blizzard) is because there just wasnt enough good content on the platform UNLESS you just wanted eye candy or online play.

Nine parts ignorant trolling, one part factually incorrect...

Europe was even more focused on PC games over console games than the US, actually. In the second half of the '80s and the early '90s, most people gaming in Europe did it on computers such as the Atari ST, Amiga, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC. While in Western Europe eventually consoles became quite popular, though PC games are still much more popular in Germany and some other Western European countries than they are in the US, in Eastern Europe most gaming is still done on PC. That is why so many PC games these days come from Eastern Europe.

It was only Japan where consoles dominated...

But wait, even in Japan there were PCs in the '80s, with a stronger gaming scene than they had in the '90s and beyond. The NEC PC-8801, NEC PC-9801, MSX I and II, FM Towns, and Sharp X68000 all had real markets back in the '80s and into the early '90s. The MSX particularly was very successful in Japan. It's too bad that the PC didn't keep that market going but instead almost everything went to consoles... but yes, for a while computer games did have some success in Japan. :)

You say they didn't improve, they just went from PC to console. So prove that, show me the amazing software they did on PC before going to console. It's not there. You have development of 3-D tools, game engines, but nothing great was done with it until was sold out and distributed. It was ooh, ahh look at the effects but other than creating an engine there wasn't any CONTENT. It was just doom over and over again with better graphics or the same text based adventures with FMV's. They were great at creating engines, but they couldn't make games. Two companies broke that mold: Bethesda and Blizzard. Bethesda in 1994 made Doom 2 but with a twist, add RPG elements and it was genius. They expanded on the idea all the way to today where the same principal of first person shooter as an RPG is done to extreme levels. The gameplay, the story, the writing, all of it is beautiful and well done.

Blizzard, as I assume you know made shitty chess games until Rock and Roll Racing and Lost Vikings hit the consoles, these types of games brought them in money, they expanded, they really wanted to make Warcraft something big - they had the idea of massive online game from the start but couldn't implement it and needed to expand until it was feasible. Then we had Blackthorne on SNES and Genny, then they pulled out Diablo which never hit consoles that I know of and Starcraft, two amazing series. then Warcraft: Battle.net changed the game and Diablo 2 really put them on the map. Art, music, gameplay, it's amazing - they really know their shit. Blizzard blatantly lamented: We will never put it (warcraft) on a console. Are these the companies you're talking about? But that's 2 companies and neither of them became console oriented.

I don't know if it would be possible to write two paragraphs that more fundamentally fail to understand early '90s PC gaming...