No Graphics Needed: Changing the Tune

[RaychelSnr]

There is a moment in life where you know what you want to be. For some, it happens on the football field or the basketball court. For others, it happens in college or high school. For me, it was when I received the best gift a five-year-old kid could dream of: a Nintendo Entertainment System. Shooting ducks, running the 100 meters and stomping on turtles were some of the most amazing sights I had experienced at that point in my life. It was on that day that I wanted to learn how to make these games.

As I grew up, I learned more and more about computers and started to tinker around with them. When I was a freshman in high school, I became a programmer. And the first day I began programming was the day I realized my dream could become a reality.

Read More - No Graphics Needed: Changing the Tune

[Felkmaster]

Graphics killed RPGs. NES & SNES still have the best.

[TheShowRocks]

Disagree,, people let Nsstalga to cloud their judgement, it's human nature. To say NEs and SNES had the best RPG's is quite laughable, when you compare their simplicity and them being more action adventure then RPG. Now you have complex branching stories, that change depending how you play, very immersive, complex and deep combat, huge worlds, etc... Games are as good as they ever were, with the exception of the dominance of publishers and overhpyed franchises (COD cough).

[Kaanyr Vhok]

Disagree,, people let Nsstalga to cloud their judgement, it's human nature. To say NEs and SNES had the best RPG's is quite laughable, when you compare their simplicity and them being more action adventure then RPG. Now you have complex branching stories, that change depending how you play, very immersive, complex and deep combat, huge worlds, etc... Games are as good as they ever were, with the exception of the dominance of publishers and overhpyed franchises (COD cough).

Pool of Radiance on the Commodore 64 is still my favorite RPG. It had better combat than any console RPG until maybe Shenmue, which is the king of action RPGs. The story is the still the best I have ever seen.

[jyoung]

More complex =/= Better.

Madden 10 is a lot more complex than a simple game like Tecmo Super Bowl, but that doesn't automatically make Madden 10 more fun to play; in fact, I think a lot of people would much rather play Tecmo Bowl than Madden 10.

It's not a matter of nostalgia, it's just that they'd rather play a game that does simple things well over a game that handles complex things poorly.

[HealyMonster]

I dont understand saying "I am a programmer" and therefore I know "programmers are not lazy". Thats like me saying I was in the Army therefore i know everyone in the Army is "a good person". I understand the concept behind what you are trying to bring to light, I just think there is much more for you to talk about outside of individual criticism. You should start off by talking about your job and your career which, in turn would automatically open peoples eyes. To attack specific criticism will get you nowhere and to make assumptions of an entire career field based on your own work ethic is a bit "out there". I appreciate what you are trying to do and I look forward to your next article, I would suggest a different angle though. Good Luck!

[stlstudios189]

I think that these games are getting too complex for themselves. Whenever things get more steps in the process that don't help the process it can get messy. Look back to 1989 games were getting big but, there was no huge marketing dept., no internet, no set release dates, or development cycles. now these sports games have cover athletes, millions of $$ are spent on ads, and investors want as much profit as possible.

[Felkmaster]

Disagree,, people let Nsstalga to cloud their judgement, it's human nature. To say NEs and SNES had the best RPG's is quite laughable, when you compare their simplicity and them being more action adventure then RPG. Now you have complex branching stories, that change depending how you play, very immersive, complex and deep combat, huge worlds, etc... Games are as good as they ever were, with the exception of the dominance of publishers and overhpyed franchises (COD cough).

The games i played on NES & SNES weren't more action RPG. I'm talking true turnbased RPGs. They were plenty complex & weren't filled with bugs either. I still think Dragon Warrior IV on NES is the greatest RPG.

[TheShowRocks]

Nostalgia is in full force. deny all day long, but nostalgia has en effect, remembering back the golden days will always bring back fond memories, nostalgia will always be a factor no matter what anyone says, it's human nature. games have progressed to a point where we have huge cinematic experiences, not some blob on the screen that can't talk, and very simplistic combat ina flat 2 d world.. Like it or nor graphics goes a lng way to immersing the player in the game, if they weren;t important we would still be playing pong. games are as good today as they ever were. Games like The Witcher, Dragon Age are a lot more evolved then games like Dragon Quest.

[Felkmaster]

Nostalgia does play a part & graphics are good for some games like sports & shooters. I don't like playing movies & having long cinematic cut scenes. I agree games are fantastic today, but turn based RPGs are one genre that isn't as good as it used to be. I may be in the minority but I believe Final Fantasy VII is where turnbased RPGs went bad. It was like playing a movie. It was very linear & was all about graphics over gameplay.

Dragon Age is a good game but i think the combat is awful. Not having full control over my entire party is a big problem.

TheShowRocks, you mentioned games in the past were more action adventure oriented but all you named were games from today that are action combat oriented. Can you name a few good newer console Turn Based RPGs? I would love to play one. The only ones I find nowadays that are good are on the DS & a couple on the PSP.

"You can paint a turd to make it look beautiful, but it's still a turd."

[The GIGGAS]

Re: No Graphics Needed: Changing the Tune

I dont understand saying "I am a programmer" and therefore I know "programmers are not lazy". Thats like me saying I was in the Army therefore i know everyone in the Army is "a good person". I understand the concept behind what you are trying to bring to light, I just think there is much more for you to talk about outside of individual criticism. You should start off by talking about your job and your career which, in turn would automatically open peoples eyes. To attack specific criticism will get you nowhere and to make assumptions of an entire career field based on your own work ethic is a bit "out there". I appreciate what you are trying to do and I look forward to your next article, I would suggest a different angle though. Good Luck!

I just want to point out that I said that I have some authority, not absolute. I'm not expecting to talk for everyone in the industry, but from my perception of my work and other programmers (in my company, in other companies in my area, and especially game programmers), people work really, really hard.

I know of workers who bring their work home even though they're not required to. I also know ones that goof off at work, but come up with amazing features and fixes. It's quite important to allow your brain's subconscious to look at a problem in a different way that you actively think of.

I'll be touching on how hard game programmers work in my next article, which should be coming out later this week.

Keep tuned into No Graphics Needed.