A review over at Deeko (some place I've never heard of). So, two reviews so far, 7.5 from each! We're doing better than my prediction of a 7.0, and I thought I was optimistic
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Yeah, we looked at Prince of Persia. But HOLY CRAP THAT GAME IS HARD. There's no way that style of gameplay would make it in today's gaming world.
In fact, I'm not sure why we did play it at the time. The animations were amazing, the environment amazing to move around in, but WHY WAS IT SO HARD.
A friend here compares vertical shooters to puzzle games. Prince of Persia was like that. A precisely timed puzzle game masquerading as a sidescroller.
(That doesn't mean I don't try it out again every once in a while, but I think it teaches some very important lessons about game design)
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Regarding well-programmed anything, I'm glad he didn't notice. The way I see it, people only talk about AI if a) it sucks, or b) it's an FPS and the AI actually takes cover (which, by this modern age, should stop being something amazing).
Good points about AI. I love how AI doing anything except standing there = godly, and starwars crap AI is explained by "Stormtroopers are supposed to be stupid"
The review was really positive, NICE.
Prince of Persia blew my mind back in the day. Jesse and I played it for snes and then I got it on gameboy and played it everyday. I got really really far, and loved it. The game is hard, but it has beautiful atmosphere. Originally a mac game... Sooooo cool.
I haven't had time for games recently, too much music. I have been playing Super Robot Wars... Advanced wars has prepared me for any strat. game. Super Robot Wars is a bit on the easy side, but nothing is cooler than managing your robots, upgrading them and then sending them into battle.
Man, I so want a Super Robot Wars in English!! Oh well, I've been so busy lately that I think I'm going to chill by playing some tabletop games with NO COMPUTER AROUND after my current project's over.
The lessons that Prince of Persia (in particular) offer gaming are: * Solid animation are appreciated. * Atmosphere is key to immersion, and achievable even on the elder machines of yore. * Remain consistent within the rules of your world. Your player builds a working model of the game world's rules in their head and reacts accordingly.
Yeah, there are definitely ways to give memories and preferences to the AI. Unfortunately, I haven't needed to do something along those lines, and don't forsee it in my future (my next sooper-secret project is heavy on the AI, but not on the intelligent enemies).
My favorite AI's (real AI, not pattern-based stuff, like Castlevania enemies) are the ones that cooperate. They don't have to be hard as hell, just the whole "Holy crap! They're working together!" I think the original Half-Life still has some amazing soldier enemies (where their intelligence is "artificially enhanced" for the player by their chatter).
(the following is not an attack on anything that you stated, just random ramblings from the brain activity that it's caused me... I've never thought about the genre much
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The difference between a pure puzzle game where you can memorize the moves (a la Dragon's Lair) and a "static" game like Mario Bros, is that with Mario Bros, the slightest change in your actions early can have very large effects later. It's the butterfly effect.
Which means that while you could create a static game, like Arkanoid, it's not necessarily a puzzle because the slightest change in your behavior in the beginning forces you into entirely different situations by the end.
Whereas in Myst or Dragon's Lair, you aren't under those constraints. You can try something again and again and, regardless of your timing, you'll still have to solve the number problem or press up when the door flashes 10 seconds into the animation. There's no variation in tasks.
(The comment has been removed)
In fact, I'm not sure why we did play it at the time. The animations were amazing, the environment amazing to move around in, but WHY WAS IT SO HARD.
A friend here compares vertical shooters to puzzle games. Prince of Persia was like that. A precisely timed puzzle game masquerading as a sidescroller.
(That doesn't mean I don't try it out again every once in a while, but I think it teaches some very important lessons about game design)
---
Regarding well-programmed anything, I'm glad he didn't notice. The way I see it, people only talk about AI if a) it sucks, or b) it's an FPS and the AI actually takes cover (which, by this modern age, should stop being something amazing).
Reply
The review was really positive, NICE.
Prince of Persia blew my mind back in the day. Jesse and I played it for snes and then I got it on gameboy and played it everyday. I got really really far, and loved it. The game is hard, but it has beautiful atmosphere. Originally a mac game... Sooooo cool.
I haven't had time for games recently, too much music. I have been playing Super Robot Wars... Advanced wars has prepared me for any strat. game. Super Robot Wars is a bit on the easy side, but nothing is cooler than managing your robots, upgrading them and then sending them into battle.
Reply
The lessons that Prince of Persia (in particular) offer gaming are:
* Solid animation are appreciated.
* Atmosphere is key to immersion, and achievable even on the elder machines of yore.
* Remain consistent within the rules of your world. Your player builds a working model of the game world's rules in their head and reacts accordingly.
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
My favorite AI's (real AI, not pattern-based stuff, like Castlevania enemies) are the ones that cooperate. They don't have to be hard as hell, just the whole "Holy crap! They're working together!" I think the original Half-Life still has some amazing soldier enemies (where their intelligence is "artificially enhanced" for the player by their chatter).
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Reply
Which means that while you could create a static game, like Arkanoid, it's not necessarily a puzzle because the slightest change in your behavior in the beginning forces you into entirely different situations by the end.
Whereas in Myst or Dragon's Lair, you aren't under those constraints. You can try something again and again and, regardless of your timing, you'll still have to solve the number problem or press up when the door flashes 10 seconds into the animation. There's no variation in tasks.
Reply
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