Required Playing

[Xelioth]

hmmmm.....

1} Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World. doesn't matter which.

2) Half-Life 2

3) Chrono Trigger

get a good, solid, basing of the 3 main genres of video games. I would put Shadows of the Colossus on this list, but I feel those 3 are slightly more required than shadows. shadows would, however, be my fourth place pick.

Actually, I think Shadow of the Colossus is a better platformer/puzzler than any of the mario games, but I'm in the vast minority.

well, honestly, I think you pretty well have a point there, but I think that if someone were to be required to play only 3 video games, mario would have to be one. not necessarily because it's the best platformer ever made, but because it's fscking mario.

come to think of it. I think I'll replace Chrono trigger with Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

 

[MStrauss]

only 3 so lets get he best mult-genre
System Shock 2 - horror-rpg-shooter like said before father of deus ex and bioshock
Diablo - Action/exploration/rpg/pvp - I got all 3 Character from 1 to 50 legitimaly, still have it installed and still play it at least twice a month(should i seek help?), love teh sequels and awaiting eagerly for Diablo 3: Bratz land.
Planescape: torment- Chracter Driven/action/strategy/RPG/youbetternotpointaflaworillbreakyourneckgenre - becouse I love it that much

honorable mentions to snes loz and mario kart for sucking my childhood away.

 

[curlycrouton]

Postal, because it just sunk so low

Mass Effect, for the engaging story.

Bioshock, for the game's interesting philosophy, especially that of Andrew Ryan.

 

[dukethepcdr]

Usually, literature classes start with timeless classics that defined genres of writing for future books, so I'd do the same with games.

Original Legend of Zelda: popularized the adventure game genre

Doom: the beginning of the First Person Shooter genre

Pong: First widely successful video game. Also one of the very few early games that can still be purchased today in several different formats (including a pretty neat one for the DS as part of the Atari Retro collection cartridge).

 

[Darth Marsden]

Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Because, despite what you may say after I post this, it IS a better game better then Super Mario 64.
Half-Life - The first, and one of the few, FPS game to really get it right.

The third game is actually really hard for me to pick. But I'll go with...

The Secret of Monkey Island - An absolute gem of a game, and the one every adventure since has aspired to.

 

[The Wooster]

Tomb Raider should make everyone's list.

 

[Xerosch]

Any game of the 'Thief' series
Revolutionized the Stealth Genre
Incredible atmosphere and the most original cutscenes ever

Shadow of the Colossus
Action Adventure
Proof that videogames can be art

Xenogears
RPG
You´ll never say videogames are superficial and unemotional again

 

[CmdrGoob]

I'd look for games that were not just good, but have created some sort of phenomenon.

Half-Life + mods - It's a great game in its own right, but what really makes it worthy of study is how a huge collection of independent mods were made for it like Counter Strike, Day of Defeat and Natural Selection and took it from great to phenominal.

Starcraft - Epic game, changed the RTS genre and became a huge pro-gaming phenomenon, it's probably bigger than any other game for pro-gaming. Definitely worth studying that.

World of Warcraft - Huge game, dominates the genre. I don't think many other games dominate their genre in the same way WoW does. Definitely plenty to study in discussing how that came to be.

 

[Monogamie]

I'd say 'Earthbound'. No game has ever resonated with me in such a way. The themes of growing up, of separation, the amazing script, the unique art and setting.... There's so much value to dissect and discuss here.

About Fallout: http://www.brainygamer.com/the_brainy_gamer/2008/10/fallout-3.html

 

[Demir23]

Disgaea
Portal
Metal Gear Solid

It has it all, Strategy, RPG elements, Puzzle Solving, Espionage, and Humor. What more could you ask for?

 

[x434343]

Unit One:
"The Japanese Monopoly on Games"
-Super Mario Bros.
-Legend of Zelda
-Metroid
(Teaches how old games can be great, teaches how Nintendo made most of the 1980's hits)

Unit Two:
"Americans rise with PC Games"
-Doom
-Diablo
-Half-Life
(Teaches how American games began revolutionizing and straining processors and graphics cards)

Unit 3
"Strives for Realistic Stories"
-System Shock 2
-Far Cry (A "Modern Times Sci-Fi Shootemup with only a bit of scientific inaccuracy")
-Half-Life 2
-Unit Bridge: BioShock
(Teaches how developers decided to go forward to keep the aspect of a realistic game the story)

Unit 4:
"Graphical Perfection"
-BioShock
-Crysis
-Crysis Warhead
-Far Cry 2 (Hurry up and fnuckin' unlock it, STEAM)
(Teaches how Graphical games can and can't have stories)

Sixth Unit:
"Casual and Indie games become popular"
-Spore
-World of Goo
-Audiosurf
(Teaches casual games aren't as kiddie or boring as they are)

Final UniT
"Multiplayer"
-Crysis Wars
-Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 (Co-op campaign)
-Team Fortress Classic
-Team Fortress 2
-Left 4 Dead

 

[Archereus]

i would chose any metal gear game series for the endless talking and cut scenes, thestudents might learn alot about litterature then. Then i would probably make them play warcraft 3 to see an amazing story line and then probably... let me think a second here....ummm...oh pizza is here.... be right back... ok i'm back... i would go now that i had a minute to think legend of the dragoon for its endless writing sequences also

 

[wgreer25]

Well, I would look at it from an educational standpoint. What games would be able to accurately portray what the gaming industry is about, and what games would be good for overall teaching.

1. Assassin's Creed - From a technology standpoint, a very good and beautiful game. But I would choose this one for it's historical references and for its scientific references. Make your students actually research the "assassinated" people (because the targets were all based off of real people) or have them examine the technology side of DNA-memory reading (it is actually not that far fetched)

2. Donkey Kong or Pac-Man - go classic, make them study how the gaming industry really got it's start, and how those games are still played at a professional level. What was the influence of these games of the future gaming industry? Where are the creators now?

3. Starcraft - For so many reasons. Starcraft was the pinultimate RTS (yes C&C paved the way, but I think this one has had more influence). They can study the story telling aspect of the game. They can study the balancing of the races. But more importantly, they can study the worldwide craze that seems to exist around this game. This game would be a good example of how gaming can be seen as a professional sport. Hell, in Korea, their Starcraft Elite are celebrities.

I think those three would give a wide range of topics to discuss and study and also be a mix of different game types.

 

[wgreer25]

Usually, literature classes start with timeless classics that defined genres of writing for future books, so I'd do the same with games.

Original Legend of Zelda: popularized the adventure game genre

Doom: the beginning of the First Person Shooter genre

Pong: First widely successful video game. Also one of the very few early games that can still be purchased today in several different formats (including a pretty neat one for the DS as part of the Atari Retro collection cartridge).

I like your idea of going to the origins. I also listed on my list a classic. And to make a little correction to your list, Wolfenstein 3D is widely accepted as the beggining of the FPS. I only mention it because W3D was the frontrunner for Doom and also created by Id, so W3D was kinda like a beta for Doom. It might also have a little more influence because it was also the first WW2 shooter (the bastard that started it all), just kidding about that. Doom was the first, however, to have multiplayer and texture maping. So it is kinda like the chicken and the egg thing, but if you are going to talk origins of FPS, I think both should be mentioned. Not to be a douche and call you out, just sayin'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-person_shooter#Origins

 

[Uncompetative]

I would completely ignore story. Ludology > Narratology - if you want to be fancy about it.

1. Super Mario 64

Shigeru Miyamoto defined the controls first and then worked on what empowered experience the player could skillfully accomplish with them.

2. Robotron 64

How to update a classic 2D arcade game into 3D, comparing it to the original. As well as how little 'story' games actually need.

3. Halo 3 Multiplayer, the Forge Map Editor and Theater, but not the Campaign

Continually varied cinematic action, fostering a user community (see Bungie.net and ForgeHub, etc.) as well as the YouTube 'dib u z dat!'.

However, you could replace all of these with just one game. Little Big Planet. You would then be able to argue about whether Sony was entitled to sell its own products to the widest possible market, or whether the use of sung sacred Koranic text in one of the game's soundtrack's songs was removed out of inappropriate Political Correctness, etc. Discuss...

 

[meglathon]

For me the three the I would pick are.

1) Call of Duty 4
2) StarCraft
3) Final Fantasy IV or III

 

[dukethepcdr]

Usually, literature classes start with timeless classics that defined genres of writing for future books, so I'd do the same with games.

Original Legend of Zelda: popularized the adventure game genre

Doom: the beginning of the First Person Shooter genre

Pong: First widely successful video game. Also one of the very few early games that can still be purchased today in several different formats (including a pretty neat one for the DS as part of the Atari Retro collection cartridge).

I like your idea of going to the origins. I also listed on my list a classic. And to make a little correction to your list, Wolfenstein 3D is widely accepted as the beggining of the FPS. I only mention it because W3D was the frontrunner for Doom and also created by Id, so W3D was kinda like a beta for Doom. It might also have a little more influence because it was also the first WW2 shooter (the bastard that started it all), just kidding about that. Doom was the first, however, to have multiplayer and texture maping. So it is kinda like the chicken and the egg thing, but if you are going to talk origins of FPS, I think both should be mentioned. Not to be a douche and call you out, just sayin'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-person_shooter#Origins

Correction duely noted. I almost forgot about Wolfenstein 3D being before Doom. Wolfy kind of got lost in Doom's shadow once that game came out. I've played both games and I enjoyed Wolfy as much as I did Doom.