What's Your Golden Age of Gaming?
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Sega Saturn, PSX, N64 and Dreamcast era.
Particularly the Dreamcast moments. First fully fledged online console, with the biggest jump in technology from one gen to another. The games themselves like Soul Calibur, Crazy Taxi, DOA2, etc being flawless arcade games.
Also, with the PSX, games like MGS, Tomb Raider, Wipeout series, etc, showed that mainstream gaming was rapidly maturing from the Sonic/ Mario age before it.
Particularly the Dreamcast moments. First fully fledged online console, with the biggest jump in technology from one gen to another. The games themselves like Soul Calibur, Crazy Taxi, DOA2, etc being flawless arcade games.
Also, with the PSX, games like MGS, Tomb Raider, Wipeout series, etc, showed that mainstream gaming was rapidly maturing from the Sonic/ Mario age before it.
Ps1 era will always be the golden years for me, I'd include the ps2 era as well but that's just being greedy.
And despite calling it the "ps1 era", it was around this time that games like xcom, jagged alliance, deus ex and many more awesome pc classics that I still play today via gog came out, so it was truly a golden age for both console and pc gaming.
I admit...I wouldn't be sad if those days never ended, ain't the biggest fan of modern gaming.
And despite calling it the "ps1 era", it was around this time that games like xcom, jagged alliance, deus ex and many more awesome pc classics that I still play today via gog came out, so it was truly a golden age for both console and pc gaming.
I admit...I wouldn't be sad if those days never ended, ain't the biggest fan of modern gaming.
1876: the year the Cup and Ball ruled all.
If I could go back in time it'd be to make sure developers actually recognised that Immersive Sims were the way to push the medium. I'm completely detached from the PS1/2 and virtually everything by Nintendo, so it just kind of makes me resentful that gaming's mostly gone the way it has.
The late 90s/just peeking into the 2000s. For me for Deus Ex and Thief, but then also for Half-Life, all those fast-paced multiplayer shooters which ruled the roost, Baldur's Gate 1/2, so on and so forth.Irridium said:
If I could go back in time it'd be to make sure developers actually recognised that Immersive Sims were the way to push the medium. I'm completely detached from the PS1/2 and virtually everything by Nintendo, so it just kind of makes me resentful that gaming's mostly gone the way it has.
My golden Age: 1996 to 2005 (Starting with Quake 1, and Super Mario RPG. Ending with Tribes: Vengeance, and Vampire Masquerade: Bloodlines)
There are just too many great games to list, and variety within genres to actually choose from.
For consoles AND PC.
On the flip side, my Dark Ages are 2006-> Early 2011 (the Age of Halo Clones and QTEs)
There are just too many great games to list, and variety within genres to actually choose from.
For consoles AND PC.
On the flip side, my Dark Ages are 2006-> Early 2011 (the Age of Halo Clones and QTEs)
I don't think I could ever pick just one.
To be honest, the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis era is probably my favourite, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Mega Bomber-Man, Ms. Pac Man, Batman, Shinobi, Jurassic Park (yes I liked the Jurassic Park Sega game!) the list goes on!
To be honest, the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis era is probably my favourite, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Mega Bomber-Man, Ms. Pac Man, Batman, Shinobi, Jurassic Park (yes I liked the Jurassic Park Sega game!) the list goes on!
2001 - mid 2010 & bits of 2011 - 2012.
UT99/'04, Doom, Castle Wolfenstein, Theme park/hospital games, RollerCoasters Tycoon's, C&C, SWAT series, Rainbow Six series, Medal of Honor originals, GTA, Carrmageddon (I played a lot of 90's games in the early millennium, I was catching up for being 12 at the time);
Runescape w/ many many friends, WoW, Warcraft, 40k, Oblivion, Orange Box, BFBC's, Bioshock, Mass Effect's, Just Cause 2, Fallout 3, Halo pre-Reach, CoD 1 & 4, more C&C's, more GTA, more MoH, LOTR games, Most TC games pre-GRAW, SWAT, more Doom, Black & White, Tony Hawks up to TH:AW, Assassins creed 1, Red Dead games, Monster Truck Madness, Super Smash Brawl's, Crash Bandicoot's games, Rayman's games, button-mashing Tekken, Demolition Derby, NFS, The Sims, GRID, Spider Man games, Fable-in-fact most Lionhead games, Burnout series, James Bond titles, Pokemon ... [HEADING=2]oh, the list is endless![/HEADING]
BF3 and Skyrim earn honourable post-epic times mention.
Anyone agree with most of the games in that list?
UT99/'04, Doom, Castle Wolfenstein, Theme park/hospital games, RollerCoasters Tycoon's, C&C, SWAT series, Rainbow Six series, Medal of Honor originals, GTA, Carrmageddon (I played a lot of 90's games in the early millennium, I was catching up for being 12 at the time);
Runescape w/ many many friends, WoW, Warcraft, 40k, Oblivion, Orange Box, BFBC's, Bioshock, Mass Effect's, Just Cause 2, Fallout 3, Halo pre-Reach, CoD 1 & 4, more C&C's, more GTA, more MoH, LOTR games, Most TC games pre-GRAW, SWAT, more Doom, Black & White, Tony Hawks up to TH:AW, Assassins creed 1, Red Dead games, Monster Truck Madness, Super Smash Brawl's, Crash Bandicoot's games, Rayman's games, button-mashing Tekken, Demolition Derby, NFS, The Sims, GRID, Spider Man games, Fable-in-fact most Lionhead games, Burnout series, James Bond titles, Pokemon ... [HEADING=2]oh, the list is endless![/HEADING]
BF3 and Skyrim earn honourable post-epic times mention.
Anyone agree with most of the games in that list?
This gen to be honest. We're getting close to basically doing all we can with gaming in its recognisable form (HD graphics, controller etc) until we invent a new type of gaming like VR. Plus, this is the generation that gaming has become much more socially acceptable. 10 years ago most people probably thought a game wouldn't hold the title of media release to make the most money ever (MW3).
That sad, I fondly remember the early PS2 days and 2004 for the great RTS games (Rome Total War and Dawn of War. But this gen is definitely the golden age.
That sad, I fondly remember the early PS2 days and 2004 for the great RTS games (Rome Total War and Dawn of War. But this gen is definitely the golden age.
The PS2/Gamecube era.
Back before consoles were trying to just be a heavily restricted gaming PC.
Back when a game that came out and you were positive you were getting a full game.
Back when there were more aesthetic choices than "hyper-cartoony" or "drown everything in grey".
Back when console gamers weren't as unwelcoming, elitist and anti-newcomer as PC Gamers.
Back when the idea of a game not appealing to you didn't mean "the entire industry is doomed and this company sucks"
Back when people didn't assume the very existance of a sequel was the surefire sign of the death of creative thought.
Back when hardware failures were not only not the norm, but were FUCKING UNACCEPTABLE.
Back when a dev couldn't try to excuse shoddy programming by promising to fix it later.
Plus, there wasn't a clear "leader" to follow in that gen. Not everyone was trying to be Sonic/Street Fighter/Mario 64/Call of Duty.
Were there issues? Were there improvements since then? Oh fuck yeah.
Console fanboyism is and always was an issue. Less games were multiplatform. No online. Games were still expensive. You either had to deal with a jumble of tangled wires or a controller that devoured AA batteries like french fries. There was always a clear pattern of "follow the leader". And of course games weren't as powerful. And I won't deny the rise of indie games and free-to-play have been a benefit.
But my point is that for all the good things that came this generation, there were bad things added, and there were actual steps backwards. Last gen was nothing but advances forward. Business practices were better, there was far more variety, and the community was generally just a lot nicer. They were still annoying and angry, but not the hate-filled hipster cynics that plague "hardcore gaming" these days.
Back before consoles were trying to just be a heavily restricted gaming PC.
Back when a game that came out and you were positive you were getting a full game.
Back when there were more aesthetic choices than "hyper-cartoony" or "drown everything in grey".
Back when console gamers weren't as unwelcoming, elitist and anti-newcomer as PC Gamers.
Back when the idea of a game not appealing to you didn't mean "the entire industry is doomed and this company sucks"
Back when people didn't assume the very existance of a sequel was the surefire sign of the death of creative thought.
Back when hardware failures were not only not the norm, but were FUCKING UNACCEPTABLE.
Back when a dev couldn't try to excuse shoddy programming by promising to fix it later.
Plus, there wasn't a clear "leader" to follow in that gen. Not everyone was trying to be Sonic/Street Fighter/Mario 64/Call of Duty.
Were there issues? Were there improvements since then? Oh fuck yeah.
Console fanboyism is and always was an issue. Less games were multiplatform. No online. Games were still expensive. You either had to deal with a jumble of tangled wires or a controller that devoured AA batteries like french fries. There was always a clear pattern of "follow the leader". And of course games weren't as powerful. And I won't deny the rise of indie games and free-to-play have been a benefit.
But my point is that for all the good things that came this generation, there were bad things added, and there were actual steps backwards. Last gen was nothing but advances forward. Business practices were better, there was far more variety, and the community was generally just a lot nicer. They were still annoying and angry, but not the hate-filled hipster cynics that plague "hardcore gaming" these days.
Ooh man that's a hard one, but I'd say either my PS1 days:
Future Cop L.A.P.D
Spyro The Dragon
Spyro 2
Spyro 3
Croc
Distreaga
Tekken 3
or my PS2 days.
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Ratchet and Clank 1, 2 and 3
Jack and Daxter 1, 2 and 3
War of the Monsters
Max Payne 1 and 2
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
This gen is shaping up to be pretty awesome so far, with some games I've waited my entire gaming life to get made (Red Dead Redemption, Dragon's Dogma, etc.) but I'd not say it's my "goldern era", at least not yet.
Future Cop L.A.P.D
Spyro The Dragon
Spyro 2
Spyro 3
Croc
Distreaga
Tekken 3
or my PS2 days.
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Ratchet and Clank 1, 2 and 3
Jack and Daxter 1, 2 and 3
War of the Monsters
Max Payne 1 and 2
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
This gen is shaping up to be pretty awesome so far, with some games I've waited my entire gaming life to get made (Red Dead Redemption, Dragon's Dogma, etc.) but I'd not say it's my "goldern era", at least not yet.
Right now. Props to all previous generations, all were necessary steps. But right now, we have the technology that allows us to make basically any game we can imagine (Not just graphics, but in terms of physics, complex rules systems, interconnectivity, etc), there is the incentive for huge, expensive productions, there is enough history and understanding of the medium to work on strange and unique indie projects, croudfunding has made a lot more things possible, and people are finally truly comfortable with the idea of interactivity. We may have to wade through shovelware here and there, but i think that Games are evolving faster then any other medium, and we are really hitting that point of exponential innovation. All the pieces are in place. This is the golden age.
I have yet to experience what I believe to be a golden age because for as long as I've been gaming (beginning when I was a youngster in the early 90s), I've felt that the games I played could be better in some way. And thankfully, they have been improving.
I'd say that right now we're in a gilded age. Most of us will agree that even though they could be better, most games that aren't military shooters are pretty damn good and are becoming more commonplace, but there are many issues with creativity, pricing, DRM, and DLC.
I'd say that right now we're in a gilded age. Most of us will agree that even though they could be better, most games that aren't military shooters are pretty damn good and are becoming more commonplace, but there are many issues with creativity, pricing, DRM, and DLC.
Same as you, late 90's and Early 2000's were the best!LookingGlass said:
and don't forget The Age of Empires & Commandos Series!