Essay: Adventure/RPGs of the '90s

[Typhoon]

I'm currently writing a comparison/contrast essay for my ENG course. I thought about explaining that there was a difference in RPG/Adventure computer games of the early '90s vs. computer games of this generation. The main difference I believe I saw was that a lot of games made back then had more comedic appeal in them, but now I don't see much comedic appeal in the games of this generation. Has anyone seen this difference? I might just write about dogs instead, but I just want to get some feedback on this first...

[Mark Kenepp]

Interesting subject, especially for gamers that have been playing those types of computer games for the past ten plus years.

I would be curious as to what kind of sources you find.

Some of my memory of adventure games support your arguments. In the 90's, I was playing a lot of Sierra adventure games like the King's Quest series (http://www.vintage-sierra.com/kingsquest.php), the Space Quest series (http://www.spacequest.net/) and Leisure Suite Larry (http://www.vintage-sierra.com/lsl.php).

In fact, my first experience with animated graphic adventure games was Leisure Suit Larry I, in the Land of the Lounge Lizards. I played it on my friends Mac classic, though I don't think it was called classic back then ;)

Another favorite of mine was Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender (http://www.members.tripod.com/~RNandtheCGB/alreview.html).

I miss those kind of games.

The Role playing games I remember, however, did not have a humourous element. The SSI Dungens and Dragon games like Eye of the Beholder (http://members.tripod.com/~stanislavs/games/eob1.htm) and Gateway to the Savage Frontier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_to_the_Savage_Frontier) did not seem to have much of any humorous element. Those were the only RPGs I played at the time, though.

The one thing I think about all the time when I think back on my gaming in the 90's is that there were a plethora of flight simulators. Pretty much if there was a military aircraft, there was a computer simulation for it. I was a big fan back then. I had all the Sierra Dynamix games, Aces of the Pacific (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aces_of_the_Pacific), Aces Over Europe (http://www.computerhope.com/games/games/aces.htm), A-10 Tank Killer (http://www.vintage-sierra.com/dynamix/aten.php) and Red Baron, the first one which does not seem to have a website. I also had a lot of Microprose simulations (Microprose also was the distributor of Rex Nebular) which I would play for hours on end. I remember on new years eve in 1994, I wouldn't go out but stayed home and played B-17 Flying Fortress with the intent of being over some city in Germany, dropping bombs at the stroke of midnight. That was a great way to ring in the new year :D

Back to your thesis,

I wonder if the limited graphic abilities of computers back then led to cartoon like images which lent themselves to humorous story lines? It certainly seems that now the trend is toward realistic graphics and realistic scenarios.

[Typhoon]

Yea, I agree. Actually, the truth is that I haven't been playing video games seriously for the past 12 or so years, so I don't know what has been happening on the console scene. But it appears that for the computer scene, games like the Sierra adventure games don't get made anymore. I was thinking...that maybe some of the computer games went for comedy long time ago or entertainment, because like as you mentioned, the games were not capable of really good graphics. But as graphics cards allowed for far better graphics, esp. in the 3D realm, to me, it appears that everyone wanted to make a "movie". It seems that everyone is going for shock value. They want to make players remember their game like a good movie.

But just as everyone likes a good movie, I think every now and then, everyone wants to skip the seriousness and see a good comedy. For me, it is the same with video games.

Yeah, whenever someone brings up the same thesis I brought up, everyone refers back to Sierra On-line and a Lucas Arts. Those were some really cool games. But then I wonder...was it cooler because we were younger and easier to impress??

No doubt there have been a lot of good games since the mid or early '90s, but will anyone ever develop a game w/good comedy in it? I really have no hope...LOL all I can do is just wait.

I bet this is a topic that will make a lot of people around our age respond. As for those who started playing computer games past 1995...LOL they probably don't know what we are talking about.

[DefaultName]

There's no difference actually. It still all about wars. But in the 90's, they did it in teams. Today however, teams still work but you still work on your own.

[Typhoon]

There's no difference actually. It still all about wars. But in the 90's, they did it in teams. Today however, teams still work but you still work on your own.

You are saying that there is no difference between games from the early 90's and now? If so, why?