Dynafire has 132 chronicles

1. Gaming has come a long way in a decade.
   

   Player Chronicle -- Posted on Aug 27 2008

   Yesterday, I stumbled upon my cache of psx demo discs, and for nostalgia's sake, I popped a few of those bad boys in my newly purchased PS1 that I bought off of some guy on Craigslist. (It was cheap and came with a bunch of games)
   
   All I can say is wow...gaming has indeed come a long way in the last ten years. Graphically, you can't expect too much, as we're spoiled with the awesome graphical capabilities of our current generation of systems. However, the main difference I notice lies in the physics. I played a demo version of Test Drive 5, and the physics engine is most definitely broken. While flying down the road at 100mph plus, I tapped the brakes ever so slightly, and went into an uncontrollable spin out, and slammed into the wall. Upon hitting this wall, I merely stopped on it. No crash mechanics or anything. I don't know if those may have made it into the final version of the game, but it's just awkward to drive headlong into a cliff, stop dead in your tracks, and continue along like nothing ever happened.
   
   Another Demo I played was Duke Nukem:Time to Kill (yeah, remember when they actually made those? ) The frame rate was pretty awful, and character animations were fairly stiff, as well as the controls. It was still a fun little demo, though.
   
   I still enjoy games from the psx era, but just seeing a couple of older games in action made me realize how far we've come since 1999.
   
   Edit: I think my message is coming across in a way I hadn't intended. I am in no way trying to slam those particular titles, or older systems in general. The main focus was supposed to be about how much the technology has advanced in such a short time period. Don't get me wrong: the psx is still my favorite console - I played my first RPG on it (FFVII), which got me into the RPG genre, and it still gets a fair amount of play, even with the 360 being close by.
   
   I agree with you, Ben, that not everything needs to play like it would in a real world setting. The industry seems to think otherwise, though. Take a look at any game out there - the overwhelming majority attempt to make objects act like their real world counterparts. I guess the jist of it is, I don't care what a game looks like, or how the physics work, as long as the controls are decent, and the gameplay is enjoyable

   
   

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Dynafire has 4 comment s on this chronicle.

1. JackDaniels624
   Posted On Aug 27 2008

   I most definately agree with you and Ben. As mentioned in my chronicle about hugging your 360, playing a game on a PS2 (cuz the 360 got the RROD) and then on the 360...wow...it is SOOO much better! And simple does sell. Like Mario, a game where you jump and run, and occassionally shoot a fire ball...and it's an amazing game! I've noticed that people do like simple things...like the 2 most popular kinds of music in America right now, Country and Rap (not my style, but extremely popular none the less)

2. BEN
   Posted On Aug 27 2008

   haha, this could get those retro gamers a bit ruffled Dynafire, but it is such an interesting topic
   
   I agree that it's hard to even compare games from different generation consoles, but I also think SmartPuppet has a good point...I love NBA JAM (for instance) because it is ridiculous and not so strict to real-life physics. Simple sells in many markets, even video games sometimes.
   
   The thing that really gets me, is how alot of people think that this generation of gaming represents the best we can do. Even I have a hard time thinking about what we could do to seriously advance the industry, but for now, I think the major advancements will be in the area of peripherals, accessories, and online capabilities...similiar to the way Wii, GH, and Halo have revolutionized the interactivity of video games!

3. Dynafire
   Posted On Aug 27 2008

   I'm not saying they're bad games or anything, but compare them any game of the same genre on a current generation console, and you'll see a huge difference in the physics. After playing stuff like Forza or Gears of War, TD5 and Duke Nukem just seem really sluggish and stiff. But who cares about that as long as the gameplay is enjoyable, right?
   
   I'm just trying to show how far the technology has advanced in such a short time frame, and I'm very curious to see what the industry has in store for us in the future.

4. KSI SmartPuppet
   Posted On Aug 26 2008

   you make very valid points but i think that the sheer base mechanics of most of those games r wut made them fun
   if your like me and you break out the sega or 64 every now and again you can definately feel the difference but i still feel that the oldies but goodies r some of the best games there are