Tired of the entire gaming industry?
No. Why? ...because I don't ignore indie titles.
My new Youtube Channel with CoH info
You might know me as FlintEastwood now on Freedom
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Got any good indie single player RPGs?
Be well, people of CoH.
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ever play two worlds 2?
ok, not indie, but pretty small dev team.
oh an chantalise is fun, but the image of bilz playing it is giving me giggle fits.
The whole "pay to win/nickle and dime the users to death" model that the gaming industry is diving face first into rather disgusts me. I'm guessing that this is because I'm an old fogy pining away for days long gone.
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For a game to make any money they have to be played by thousands, hundreds of thousands. If it does not, it wont get momentum, there wont be word of mouth to spread it or sustain it.
You are forced to spend insane budgets into marketing that sometime exceeded development costs (marketing costs for new titles were between the things blamed for NCSoft losses last quarter.)
The alternative has become clear: just give the game away for free. People play it then, and the voice spreads more effectively. Plenty wont pay, just as many pirate and never buy standalone single player games, but others will start sinking money into the game out of pure support or falling victim to those schemes we tend to come up with (despite me saying we, I have not shipped a game doing this... yet.)
If lucky, the free game becomes popular enough to the point where the 3% that end up spending money amount to enough people to cover development and marketing costs.
It's annoying; I hate it but at the same time feel forced to do this. Both large and small studios are being forced against a wall to do this. The piracy driven mentality of the newer generation is a huge reason for this mentality. No one wants to pay even 99c for a game they will play for a week or more.
There is still some money to be made off sales if you manage to get a viral marketing campaign going, but thats as likely as winning the lottery without playing, by having the winning ticket accidentally be dropped on your lap while you are at the local junkyard.
Not saying you have to do the pay-to-win thing though. But its sadly a model that has proven a bit more effective than pay-for-cosmetic-trinkets.
I remember when you had to go look for game patches and know what you were doing to get them installed.
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I think alot of the problem is as computers have become capable of more, we gamers demand more and more. This means longer development times, if the studio even gets the time it needs to put the game out in a functional form, which means it has to make a great deal more money than it can get just from selling the box. Even single player games seem to need as much DLC revenue as they can get.
@Doctor Gemini
Arc #271637 - Welcome to M.A.G.I. - An alternative first story arc for magic origin heroes. At Hero Registration you heard the jokes about Azuria always losing things. When she loses the entire M.A.G.I. vault, you are chosen to find it.
I remember when I first loaded Wolfenstein 3D. I remember Doom, Wing Commander and spending days in and out playing Mechwarrior. I remember DOS and Glide and my voodoo video cards. I remember all of this through, I'm sure, rose-tinted glasses.
I remember when you had to go look for game patches and know what you were doing to get them installed. The Mechwarrior MMO is about to come out and I'm sitting on a closed beta invite that I'll probably never use. The whole "pay to win/nickle and dime the users to death" model that the gaming industry is diving face first into rather disgusts me. I'm guessing that this is because I'm an old fogy pining away for days long gone. I was disgusted by how empty/shallow Dragon Age 2 was compared to DA:O. I was disgusted by having to install the Origin service to play ME3 and I was disgusted at how pathetically the ending was written. I'm disgusted by NCSoft's handling of the CoH shutdown. I've never been very good at tolerating what I consider to be ********. Hell, I left this game twice over the forced teaming/screw the soloists mindset I saw coming from the devs. I can't shake the feeling that the bean counters have, again, won the war; that there won't be anymore games where the taint of greed doesn't overpower the happy smells of beautiful art, smooth animations and fun gameplay. I wonder if I can find a working 486 anywhere... |
I still remember going to Arcades and playing fighting games (Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter in all its incarnations). I didn't mind dropping quarters into the machines because the games were fun and the experience was there.
Nowadays... everything just feels like a grind-fest to me. Whether it's grinding to boost your stats or in game wealth there doesn't seem to be a level playing field.
What I really liked about CoH early on was that the "loot" system was pretty basic. There wasn't much you had to worry about and you could thoroughly enjoy the game without having to worry about getting the new shiny. And even with the invention system, it was a supplement to the simple system that was already in place.
I look at screenshots for other MMOs and I see the interfaces and I'm totally lost. There are just so many icons and so much information on the screen that I go crosseyed. To me that's not fun. I don't want to have to remember every single situational specialized ability to feel like I'm being productive.
And on the monetary side of things - I truly believe that once the game companies realized that people would shell out small amounts of money for shineys they all just jumped on the gravy train. Stuff that would've normally been included with a release was put on the side and then charged for separately. For 1s and 0s these companies really do make a killing. In another recently release MMO I saw them releasing weapon skins for $10 a pop. Seriously? For -1- skin... $10. And (if I'm not mistaken) it was -per character-. And the sad part is that I'm sure there were people who bought them. Even though I wasn't a fan of the Paragon Market in general, I still think we got the most bang for our buck with it. I was one of the few who thought that the NPC Costume Transformations were appropriately priced when they were first released.
Anyway, yea, video games... I love(d) em... but these days... I dunno anymore.
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I'm finding myself drawn more to indie games lately. Paying 60 bucks for a game that might disappoint is too much of a gamble. Indie games are not only cheaper, but seem to leave a bigger mark in me.
When it comes to big games, I wait for years before getting those. Just recently got Elder Scrolls IV when it was on sale.
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Indie Games I can recommend wholeheartedly:
Aquaria - A Metroidvania style 2D game with beautiful art and an even more beautiful soundtrack.
Spelunky - A freeware 2d game where you take on the role of an adventurer exploring a series of caves where death can be anywhere and treasures to grab.
Iji - A freeware 2d platformer that is basic on looks, big on style. Game branches depending on how you proceed with a few big twists and an end game boss that screams of design awesomeness.
The Binding of Isaac - A fun rogue-like/Zelda style game from the artist behind Super Meat Boy.
Dungeons of Dredmor - Another fun rogue-like game. Lutefisk for the lutefisk god!
AAAaaaAAAaaaAAAaaaAAA!!! For The Awesome - Base jumping in crazy style.
The Wonderful End of the World - A Katamari Damacy type game by the developers of AAAaaaAAA!, Dejobaan Games.
Audiosurf - How many levels does this game have? How big is your music collection?
Beat Hazard - Audiosurf meets Asteroids meets Bullet Hell. Your music defines the game.
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale - A cute JRPG where you raid dungeons and find items. And then sell them in your shop for maximum profits. Capitalism, Ho!
Cthulhu Saves The World - 16-Bit RPG goodness, full of snark and humour.
The Geneforge/Avernum/Avadon games - Oldschool Western RPGs from a shareware studio that has been about for years, Spiderweb Software.
Cave Story + - One man studio makes awesome, fun, difficult platformer.
Bastion - Gorgeous game, gorgeous soundtrack
Trine 1+2 - Fun action/adventure platformer games.
Defense Grid: The Awakening - A very enjoyable tower defense game, along with...
System Protocol One - Another tower defense game, this time with a quirky computer defence theme.
Mount & Blade: Warband - Be an epic general, adventurer, trader, brigand or whatever you desire. Lead small elite teams or massive armies to victory.
Ys: The Oath in Felghana/Ys Origin - JRPG beat-em-up with amazing soundtracks and involved boss fights.
Jets N Guns Gold - Side-scrolling shoot-em-up with an awesome soundtrack and lots of weapon customization.
Eh, sometimes. I think the "wonder" of video games (especially online games) has long worn off, for me anyway. However, I'd still rather play a game than watch TV. That said, I don't get games at release any more, instead waiting for them to go on sale or become used... $15 is the point where I usually start -considering- buying a game. After all, there are many alternatives on the market (quite frankly, I think the games market's become oversaturated) and I've already got a rather meaty game collection.
As for indie games, some are good and worth checking out, but most are crap or overpriced. For every World of Goo or N+ there's a thousand indie titles that just plain suck.
i have to agree that dungeons of dredmore and cthullu saves the world were both very fun games
i loved the dialogues in cthullu saves the world
a non RPG game that i have enjoyed is terraria (cause i dont prefer minecraft)
feel free to look me up on steam, i usually write recommendations for games that i have played all the way through
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Indie developers.
Like: Mojang
If I was going to develop a game, I would do it along the lines of Minecraft and avoid the producers. Notch essentially self-published the game.
CatMan - some form on every server
Always here, there, and there again.
Thanks for the recommendations, folks. I'll take a look on steam. I have tried out a few retro games but I think my addiction to eye candy is going to stop me dead in my tracks on a lot of potential fun.
Be well, people of CoH.
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Thanks for the recommendations, folks. I'll take a look on steam. I have tried out a few retro games but I think my addiction to eye candy is going to stop me dead in my tracks on a lot of potential fun.
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Also, JnG is not free, the other two are.
Minecraft with a high resolution texture pack Both creative and survival are rather fun, although tend to appeal to different people (I prefer survival, I like the constraints when I'm trying to make anything). It's also still under quite heavy development by Mojang, and it looks like they've still quite quite a few ideas of where to take it in the future.
Originally Posted by ShadowNate
;_; ?!?! What the heck is wrong with you, my god, I have never been so confused in my life!
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I might be tired of the Industry, but the Indie PC Gaming seen is the best it's ever been. Just look at the games that have been mentioned in this thread so far!
Don't despair... rejoice!
Agua Man lvl 48 Water/Electric Blaster
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"To die hating NCSoft for shutting down City of Heroes, that was Freedom."
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Somewhat related to the OP: I'm more excited about Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition (releasing one week from today!) than I am about any new game on the horizon...
@Quasadu
"We must prepare for DOOM and hope for FREEM." - SirFrederick
Minecraft with a high resolution texture pack
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Their "forums".
CatMan - some form on every server
Always here, there, and there again.
Somewhat related to the OP: I'm more excited about Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition (releasing one week from today!) than I am about any new game on the horizon...
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Oh! I can also recommend topdown shooter Jamestown, and periodic table puzzler Spacechem.
I'm always dismayed that nobody seems to really be making the kinds of strategy and rpg games I want to play anymore. Everything's gotta be faster, ideally real time. Everything's gotta be simpler, streamlined (or, from my perspective, dumbed down). Usually they have to be easier, too. And hey, sometimes I enjoy those simpler and more accessible games, but I really miss the older more thoughtful and complex games, and it depresses me that there just doesn't seem to be much of a market for anymore.
Worst of all is when a big name publisher or dev team decides to remake an old title that I loved... but while they'll spruce up the graphics (great), sometimes improve on often clunky interfaces (awesome), they rarely take the original feature set and add to it (which is what I really want), no, instead they gotta strip away half the stuff that was in the original, reduce the options and features, possibly even switch genres (or at least sub-genres), just to make sure it's appealing to a modern mass audience - even if the original(s) never really did. That's worse not only because it leaves me a bit disappointed at yet another game in my genre of choice that just didn't give me what I was looking for (hello just about every 4x space game for the last I don't know how many years), but its the one time that it *should* have turned out exactly what I wanted. And perhaps even worse than that, it removes the small glimmer of hope that maybe one day someone will revisit game/franchise X and let me experience it again - it's been revisited now and that's usually it off the table (at best you'll get a string of sequels in the new style).
I dunno, there may be an element of nostalgia at work there, maybe the older games wouldn't really appeal to me so much if I played them for the first time now. But certainly most of the modern attempts at genres I used to love are mostly just leaving me disappointed these days.
(and yeah, Baldur's Gate EE is probably the only game on the horizon that's really appealing to me right now - from what I've read about it, *that* is what I'm looking for when someone remakes an old series I used to love)
Seconding Space Chem. Absolutely loved it, though it isn't for everyone.
Mark of the Ninja just came out on XBox, and it's pretty amazing. Stealthy ninja-stabby-killy.
SPAZ (Space Pirates and Zombies) is a really fun game; I've sunk a good 25+ hours into it already.
I'm also anxiously awaiting Skulls of the Shogun. I got to play this at PAX, and I was pretty wowed.
The AAA industry isn't out of the game yet, either, with Dishonoured, Assassin's Creed 3, and X-Com: Enemy Unknown all coming out in the next month or so.
As far as MMO's go, I've been having a lot of fun in Firefall of late. It's a bit lacking in content at the moment, but the core game is really well done, and I'd say it's a textbook example of how to do a game right.
@Morac | Twitter
Trust the computer. The computer knows all.
I admit, I do get a weird craving now and then... for a good 'god' title like a SimCity/Black & White type.
It was more about the building and crafting on top of automation for me - and no, Minecraft doesn't fit what I am talking about.
Theme Hospital + Dungeon Keeper 2 by old Bullfrog was a hoot.
My new Youtube Channel with CoH info
You might know me as FlintEastwood now on Freedom
![](http://www.jaybonaut.com/Stuff/heroes/Samuraiko.jpg)
I haven't played Cthulhu Saves The World (though it, like many other games is languishing in my Steam library). I have, however, played Penny Arcade's On The Rainslick Precipice of Darkness 3, which I am told is very stylistically similar, and which I also recommend.
EDIT: JayboH, if you can get past a ridiculous learning curve and extremely simplistic graphics, I highly recommend Dwarf Fortress.
@Morac | Twitter
Trust the computer. The computer knows all.
I remember when I first loaded Wolfenstein 3D. I remember Doom, Wing Commander and spending days in and out playing Mechwarrior. I remember DOS and Glide and my voodoo video cards. I remember all of this through, I'm sure, rose-tinted glasses.
I remember when you had to go look for game patches and know what you were doing to get them installed.
The Mechwarrior MMO is about to come out and I'm sitting on a closed beta invite that I'll probably never use. The whole "pay to win/nickle and dime the users to death" model that the gaming industry is diving face first into rather disgusts me. I'm guessing that this is because I'm an old fogy pining away for days long gone.
I was disgusted by how empty/shallow Dragon Age 2 was compared to DA:O. I was disgusted by having to install the Origin service to play ME3 and I was disgusted at how pathetically the ending was written. I'm disgusted by NCSoft's handling of the CoH shutdown.
I've never been very good at tolerating what I consider to be ********. Hell, I left this game twice over the forced teaming/screw the soloists mindset I saw coming from the devs.
I can't shake the feeling that the bean counters have, again, won the war; that there won't be anymore games where the taint of greed doesn't overpower the happy smells of beautiful art, smooth animations and fun gameplay.
I wonder if I can find a working 486 anywhere...
Be well, people of CoH.