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HHave we passed the golden age of PC gaming?

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I think it seems that way because people, in general, do not have good memories.

I remember how much I enjoyed playing Myst. I don't remember all the crap games that were out around the same time.

Most recently I have enjoyed playing Portal 2. The only difference is I know all the crap games that are available right now.
 
You should take a look at some of indie offerings if you're discouraged by the mainstream games being released as of late. Games like Dear Esther, Amnesia, and Dungeons of Dredmor are a few of the more recent ones that come to mind. Those are all of very good quality (story wise and even graphically in the case of the first two) and we're developed for the PC specifically.

I don't necessarily disagree with what you're saying, I just think to truly find the kind of PC games you are referring to you have to dig a little outside of the mainsteam box so to speak.
 
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Yeah, I think we have passed the "Golden Age" of PC gaming. We'll continue to get good games on the PC, but the number with PC-specific features (like optimized controls for mouse/keyboard) will continue to decline. The traditional PC is just one slice in the gaming hardware universe now, and a shrinking one.
 
mindcycle said:
You should take a look at some of indie offerings if you're discouraged by the mainstream games being released as of late. Games like Dear Esther, Amnesia, and Dungeons of Dredmor are a few of the more recent ones that come to mind. Those are all of very good quality (story wise and even graphically in the case of the first two) and we're developed for the PC specifically.

I don't necessarily disagree with what you're saying, I just think to truly find the kind of PC games you are referring to you have to dig a little outside of the mainsteam box so to speak.
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Yes, I am aware of those games. Amnesia looks interesting, though I am currently on track to play the latest "Deus Ex".
 
runzwithsizorz said:
Yes, I am aware of those games. Amnesia looks interesting, though I am currently on track to play the latest "Deus Ex".
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I'm actually playing through Dues Ex right now. It's a pretty faithful addition to the series IMHO. I was expecting a lot worse.

Just remember to turn off object highlighting.. lol
 
There are some great games today, but most of the mainstream ones just seem tired to me. I can't fathom why people pay $60 for the same Call of Duty / Battlefield shooter ever year, repackaged in a slightly prettier facade. On the other hand, you have Skyrim - a true piece of art.

The indies are the passion projects that are appealing to people who truly want special game experiences. And with Kickstarter I really think we're entering a new hey day of gaming. That is, developers are getting back to their roots and eschewing all the suits, producers, and other roadblocks to their vision.
 
georgec84 said:
There are some great games today, but most of the mainstream ones just seem tired to me. I can't fathom why people pay $60 for the same Call of Duty / Battlefield shooter ever year, repackaged in a slightly prettier facade. On the other hand, you have Skyrim - a true piece of art.

The indies are the passion projects that are appealing to people who truly want special game experiences. And with Kickstarter I really think we're entering a new hey day of gaming. That is, developers are getting back to their roots and eschewing all the suits, producers, and other roadblocks to their vision.
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I did buy "Oblivion" in preparation for "Skyrim". Will download mods for graphics enhancement, etc. I usually wait to buy a new game until all the problems are worked out.
 
No.

The best RPG I have ever played was made.last year (The Witcher 2). The best single player Space Sim was released before Christmas (Albion Prelude). Mount and Blade: Warband was probably the best true role playing game I have ever played as well.

I enjoyed Doom and Doom 2, but they weren't that great to todays standards. I replayed Space Quest and Under a Killing Moon recently and they weren't as good as I remember either. While I still enjoy a game of Ultima 7 or XCOM, both had their issues. The biggest thing I miss are the Adventure games, but LA Noire isn't a bad modern Adventure game, although it isn't great either. Fighter sims are missing too, but I have been playing the new Wing Commander Saga game and it is pretty fun too.
 
well, its true that we have created some reak gems in the past but i definitely dont think we're spiralling down. I think that most of our EPIC games are epic thanks to the "nostalgia" factor. Not taking anything away from those games thoough. There are some true classics in the list you mentioned - the longest journey, myst, syberia. Felt so good to be reminded of these.

But I'd also like to add that there are a lot of games that are trying to reinvent the wheel and trying to create new genres. The only problem is that they are not publicized as much which means instant death. "Rock of Ages" comes to mind. The problem we face currently is the mighty corporations which we helped get "mighty" in the first place, are the ones backstabbing us. The day the first DLC released was probably when the whole situation turned to a money-milking matter IMO. Bioware, Infinity ward, Activision, EA.... Damnnn!!! what fcked up times we live in....
 
HardcoreRobot said:
i disagree, but i think its a natural reaction to anyone that felt a strong emotional connection to an 'era' of anything. just how people will say music peaked in the __s and hollywood just does remakes now. blah blah. i think there are still plenty of interesting and unique games coming out. i also think the rehashes are actually evolutionary, which is actually a great thing, but many people seem to want every game to be revolutionary...

im sure today's teens and twenty somethings will be posting the same thread about todays games 10-15 yrs ago. old person's syndrome.
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Ding.

Every week/month/year/whatever there's good games that come out. The signal to noise ratio varies inevitably but just because it's not a game that you're interested in or know about doesn't mean it's not there and not quality.

When I was a kid I would read EGM and Nintendo Power religiously, so I always knew what was coming and what was in the rumor mill and what games were getting a lot of attention. Ten years later I haven't picked up a gaming mag in ages and my 'in the loop' status basically wavers on nothing more than word of mouth. I haven't heard of a lot of what's coming out, big or small, bad or good. But that doesn't mean it's not there.
 
As I look back at pc gaming (I bought my first PC game in either late 1994 or early 1995), I can think of a couple of times when something revolutionary happened.

Command and Conquer gold and Red Alert
Doom
Warcraft II
Diablo
Quake
Team Fortress
Half-Life
Counter-Strike
Then there were the various call of duty clones, and various role playing games

It seems that the quality of the gaming community has been hit and miss. Its like looking for a diamond in the rough. For every 10 bad games, there is 1 good game.

The last time I saw something that was a complete game changer was Left 4 Dead. Skyrim looks like a great game, my son really enjoyed it. Skyrim is one of those diamonds in the rough.

Has the golden age of pc gaming passed, yes I think it has. That is not to say no more good games are being released, its that we are in a new era then we were during the 1990s.
 
Texashiker said:
As I look back at pc gaming (I bought my first PC game in either late 1994 or early 1995), I can think of a couple of times when something revolutionary happened.

Command and Conquer gold and Red Alert
Doom
Warcraft II
Diablo
Quake
Team Fortress
Half-Life
Counter-Strike
Then there were the various call of duty clones, and various role playing games

It seems that the quality of the gaming community has been hit and miss. Its like looking for a diamond in the rough. For every 10 bad games, there is 1 good game.

The last time I saw something that was a complete game changer was Left 4 Dead. Skyrim looks like a great game, my son really enjoyed it. Skyrim is one of those diamonds in the rough.

Has the golden age of pc gaming passed, yes I think it has. That is not to say no more good games are being released, its that we are in a new era then we were during the 1990s.
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don't forget starcraft
 
It's like with music, the music you grew up with is the golden age and this new stuff is all garbage.

We remember the 10% that was good to great, but Sturgeon's Law applies to PC gaming too: "90% of everything is crap".

I loved Doom 1-2 at the time, but Borderlands is better.
 
Honestly I think people are just remembering old games in a different light based on nostalgia. Back then most games had something new to offer simply because gaming was still so new. Nowadays the quality of games has risen drastically which has in turn caused our expectations to rise.

We aren't past the golden age of gaming because I honestly don't think we've reached the peak yet. We are currently experiencing a stagnation in game development simply because the current console generation is holding developers back. I think we reached a kind of peak about the time cod4 came out, which was honestly the last truly great FPS to be released. Unfortunately the console generation has seen the re-release of cod4 as different iterations every year since it's release.
 
Soundmanred said:
Every generation thinks this is true.
/thread
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I tend to agree somewhat, but it really does seem to be different now.

I don't see consoles (or the tablet/handheld market) fading away, and that's what it would take to stop the marginalization of PC gaming.
 
Via said:
I tend to agree somewhat, but it really does seem to be different now.

I don't see consoles (or the tablet/handheld market) fading away, and that's what it would take to stop the marginalization of PC gaming.
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Every generation thinks theirs is unique.

They are in a way, but not really in the sense that one more of a crucible than another.
 
KaOTiK said:
I think we passed the golden age for gaming in general. Ever since it has become truly mainstream it has been going down the shitter. Sure we get some good games still, but the amount of crap that comes out is crazy and the worst part, that crap sells really well so it just continues a self fulfilling cycle of shit.

I've said it for awhile and still believe it to be true, the gaming industry needs another crash.
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This, and it needs to take down EA and Activision for good.

Then the new dawn of gaming will see small devs and indys putting their hearts into games again rather than invoking a business model of profit above all else including the product itself.
 
Via said:
I can't imagine your average gamer today looking at this

sidalpha_screen001.jpg


and having anything other than mental implosion happen.
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No, but they could look at a resolution-independent version just fine, with a 3D world in the background, which is what a strategy or sim game today will have.

But, today, you can expect a release-day DLC, as well, and if your favorite d20 (gamescience topaz, in case you're wondering) rolls a 1, some kind of DRM problems.

IMV, PC gaming had at least two golden ages: pre-shareware DOS, and early PC 3D. Being past it doesn't mean we don't have or won't have good games, but expecting games that are very good, even if just good by being substantially different (many games that were fun at the time haven't aged well, while others have), is more rare.

Video games in general, still have plenty of room to improve in about every way, just don't expect the Microsoft-powered PC to be any more likely to get the next awesome game as any other platform, nor that it is likely to come from a well-funded company with plenty of marketing.
 
Whut? We passed the golden age of PC gaming at around the millenia

@Vulgar

Not true. In the past year I have played The Longest Journey and Planescape: Torment for the first time - omg I have missed out - the quality is insane.
 
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