🚀 go-pugleaf

In news:4nprf2pq17rqeot9bf590pcq8kajjq518e@4ax.com,
Thrasher <spectre911@hotmail.com> typed:

> On Thu, 6 Jul 2006 14:56:07 -0700, "Don Freeman" <freemand@sonic.net>
> wrote:
>
>>> A-list developers/publishers don't do space sims anymore.
>
> A-list developers don't make anything worth playing at all, and never
> did. Start-ups make the revolutionary games, and then get bought out
> by "A-List" devlopers (or they evolve into A-List devlopers) at which
> point all the creative life is sucked out of them and they start
> cranking out tedious formulaic garbage that they think they can pawn
> off to 12 year olds and retards.

I'd have to disagree with that statement to some degree - there are some 
"A-List" developers producing content that's at least fun to play. I've just 
got hold of Half-Life 2 Ep 1, and it's great fun. No, it's not original 
content and certainly not revolutionary, but still fun if you fancy a 
mindless few hours shooting things. Although not A-List, Looking Glass 
performed some real magic with Thief 1 and 2 (let's not go there for Thief 
3, eh?) and they certainly had some cash behind them.

In the main though, I'd have to say that *most* A-Listers are producing 
shite. The odd one comes out with something good, but they're few and far 
between now. Go back to the high point of my gaming life - 1982 to 1990 and 
most developers were start-ups as the genre was fresh and boundaries were 
being pushed back. Ocean software were, back then, the equivalent of the 
A-List we have now and the certainly produced the goods as far as playable 
and well written games were concerned, as were a number of other major 
software houses (remember when we called them that?). Once it became 
recognised that people would shell out for a game based purely on the name 
behind it, then things went tits-up :(

> Of course they are stale. Just like the games are stale. And for the
> same reasons. Nobody is being creative anymore.

And that is so true.

There have been some good examples of excellent, engaging gameplay - 
Introversion produced Darwinia and Uplink, both excellent, imo. Marc Incitti 
produced the ill-fated GridWars which is so much fun it hurts. The Oolite 
team have reproduced and enhanced Elite marvellously (until Braben gets 
heavy handed again).

However, none of the recent great games have been in the slightest bit 
innovative :(

D.