Hooo boy... yes and no. I'd have to say that the visuals have improved so much that we have damn near photorealistic worlds. Human and humanoid creatures have a long way to go. Even the best looking ones still have too many inconsistencies with real people. Like the huge elephant hands in Far Cry or the lumpy potato heads in Fallout.
However, as graphics improve, the gameplay gets worse. Take Far Cry again as an example. The actual story in that game is about 4-5 hours worth of gameplay, but it's surrounded by repetitive busy work. It's still fun, but after capturing the 20th outpost I sometimes wonder why I'm still playing.
Baldur's Gate, on the other hand, was absolutely loaded from beginning to end with story, and not much busy work at all. Why can't I seem to get a game with the depth of Baldur's Gate and the graphics of Witcher 3?
What is this game you speak of and where can i find it?
WoW, FFXIV, RIFT, Skyforge, and Wildstar all have great dungeons. You may end up disliking other things about them, but their dungeon designs are solid and plentiful.
No. They all have the same linear junk that's been plaguing this genre for a while now. They can all be completed in no time at all with little to no deviation or exploration possible.
Where's the ability to get lost? Where's the ability to spend hours exploring? Where's the danger? Where's the complexity requiring actual thought? Where's the actual dungeon crawl?
Look, i play or have played all those MMO's. While they have an abundance of dungeons, they're all the same. Quick leveling group content. Maybe that's the definition of a dungeon today, but it's not what i'm looking for.
Dungeons are kept interesting by presenting new bosses with new mechanics, and these games do an incredible job with that. I am curious what you are looking for in a dungeon crawl if you don't enjoy boss fights. You said you played all these games and describe them as lacking complexity and danger, which is odd as the bosses in these games can get crazy complex and wipe organized groups for months.
I remember one of my favorite WoW fights involved melee and tanks needing to pick up cleaving adds that spawned 270 degrees around them and one shotted any non tank all while trying to avoid cone lighting attacks from the main boss while simultaneously ranged had to kite a mob that would one shot them in a circle around the melee (but not too close or it would fear them into the cleaves) while other ranged split up into 4 groups to kill other constantly spawning adds that would buff the boss some of which could be looted to grab a rock that immobilized you (making you vulnerable to the kiting mob and spawning cleave mobs) that you would have to throw around to your teammates to get it close enough to a pedestal that a teammate could put it on top. You had to do that four times, and keep DPS on everything high enough that there was never too many adds. That was just one phase of three. That boss was not even the hardest or most complicated from that expansion, let alone all of WoW. Archimonde from WoD seems far more complicated (though I haven't subbed to do it myself). Fun side note, it came out much later that the world first kill of lady vashj abused a glitch, and the world second kill was achieved by soulstoning every single member of the raid with a second raid of warlocks waiting outside.
The MMOs I listed certainly do lack any kind of exploration as bosses are usually gated behind one another. They do also offer 'leveling group content' as you said, but I dont think more content is a detriment, and leveling dungeons will always be tuned to allow players to learn their classes and bring suboptimal gear. If you were specifically looking for smaller challenging group content, I recommend Skyforge again as you can adjust the difficulty level. Mare Sacro Monastery used to break groups just on trash pulls, not even reaching the bosses. The healing mechanic in the game also makes it more important for every player to play well - your group can't spare that healing orb on a dps eating unnecessary damage.
If you can list some MMOs that fit your idea of what a dungeon crawl should be, please do. To me a dungeon crawl has always been about the bosses, and maybe some interesting trash/dungeon mechanics. What you described to me sounded like you wanted a randomly generated instance (otherwise how could you explore it after the first time?) loaded with dangerous and complex trash (because you don't seem to find bosses enjoyable?). If that is accurate, than you might enjoy one of the many ARPGs I listed at the end of my earlier post.
When I first started playing PC games it took 30 min to load up each side of the cassette drive on my TRS80. So in most respects, I would have to agree with the OP.
I do have some fond memories of past MMO's I have played like EQ and UO but its nice having so many different options now. The graphics, stories and immersion have reached levels I would never have imagined decades ago.
I have yet to muster the means to play in VR, but I am definitely looking forward to it.
Strictly in terms of MMORPG's I still hold to the romantic notion that the late 90's is the greatest generation as it represents the birth of my favorite gaming genre. After that, each year moving forward seems to bring with it something new which keeps me more entertained.
I will always have faith that the best generations are still ahead of us
Del Cabon A US Army ('Just Cause') Vet and MMORPG Native formerly of Trinsic, Norath and Dereth. Currently playing LOTRO.
Currently I have a bunch of online games I enjoy playing. I've never had so many games to play depending on my mood. None of them have a sub, so I don't have to worry about dropping any of them at any time.
- Black Desert - Overwatch - SMITE - Hearthstone
There are literally TONS of other online choices for PC gaming. With STEAM and Kickstarter going strong, there are new games being made constantly. Almost every week it seems like there's a new interesting game to check out on PC.
I think back to a couple years ago and I would be playing like 1 online game, and there would be 1 or 2 decent offline games made every 6 months or so.
This is the greatest era of PC gaming, and it shows no sign of stopping any time soon.
1) I'm glad you are enjoying gaming at the moment
2) Your personal level enjoyment has no bearing on the current state of the PC gaming market.
3) If you want to make sweeping statements about PC gaming, back it up by facts.
Now, the PC gaming market is in a really good place right now. In terms of absolute size, the pc market is the biggest its ever been. In terms of relative size (to consoles), its also doing extremely well. In terms of growth, again, PC is doing is extremely well with consistent year-on-year growth.
That said, "Golden Age" implies a peaking in the quality of games released, that the games being released now and for the last few years are of significantly higher quality and popularity than at any time in the markets past. That I can't agree with, in fact, I'd vehemently disagree with. First, we've largely lost the middle ground - we either get AAA or indie with very few in between. This is a negative compared to the past. Second, the ever increasing cost of development has resulted in many companies playing it safe, so the AAA market is extremely bland at the moment. Third, we're lacking gameplay innovations, actual minute-to-minute gameplay today is pretty much the same as it was 10 years ago.
Finally, you have personal opinion. The four games you listed I dislike, so you holding them up as examples of why this is a golden era holds no merit because its just your opinion.
For me, there are two periods in time that would beat now for golden age of PC gaming:
1) 1997 - 2000
Personal computers had had a few years to mature and get into many people's houses and this is the time period that gave us modern shooters and modern RTS's. Unreal Tournament, Quake 3 Arena, Theme Hospital, Roller Coaster Tycoon and Age of Empires. The market for PC gaming exploded and saw rapid growth, whilst still being new enough to have tons of innovation and creativity.
2) 2003 - 2006
This is the time period where the internet really changed the PC gaming landscape. Again, it'd had enough years to mature and get into peoples homes, but this is when broadband became mainstream and online gaming became natural. MMOs entered mass market, online shooters really took off, as well as the natural growth in other genres.
Currently Playing: WAR RoR - Spitt rr7X Black Orc | Scrotling rr6X Squig Herder | Scabrous rr4X Shaman
If you need to keep telling yourself that to justify why you hop from game to game to game, sure go ahead.
Quality indeed.
Uh ok...
You've been playing Eve Online for 9 years straight. And I'm the weird one.
Seriously.
Eve.
Not sure why you think I'm a game hopper other than some trolls have called me that. I've been playing Hearthstone for over a year and a half. SMITE for like 3 years.
I didn't play any MMO last year because I didn't find any to be appealing.
Everything about your OP calls you out as a game hopper, can't help it if you self-identified with the group.
"Currently I have a bunch of online games I enjoy playing. I've never had
so many games to playdepending on my mood. None of them have a sub,
so I don't have to worry about dropping any of them at any time.
- Black Desert - Overwatch - SMITE - Hearthstone
There
are literally TONS of other online choices for PC gaming. With STEAM
and Kickstarter going strong, there are new games being made constantly.
Almost every week it seems like there's a new interesting game to
check out on PC.
I think back to a couple years ago and I would
be playing like 1 online game, and there would be 1 or 2 decent offline
games made every 6 months or so."
So not quite sure how I got it wrong, you were speaking more metaphorically, meaning there "are" a lot of game out there now, but you don't actually play them?
I would call anyone rotating through 4 games regularly with some PC games stuck in between pretty much a game hopper. Are there those "worse" than you, sure, but in my book more than 1 or 2 titles a year, and more than 1 at a time pretty much shows a lack of satisfaction.
BTW, I've only been playing EVE steady for about two years now, I took breaks since 2007 to try out many of the major (and not so major) MMORPGS (I don't play single player games, I'm not a gamer) and came to the conclusion that none did nor were any likely to ever offer a similar experience to EVE (well, COE might be an exception) so I have stuck with it for the long haul.
For me, it's the right style of game play, so I might as well support what I like, rather than endlessly try games looking for something else that "might" entertain me.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
For me, not at all near "the greatest era." I'm not an action combat player and nearly 100% of MMOs and even single player RPGs are focusing on action combat. People forget that there is more to gaming than killing things.
For me, the quantity is up, the variety is down, and quality is about the same. Overall: Not so great.
EDIT: For me, the best era was early 1990's, before game design became formulaic. Anything and everything was possible. Create your game and see what sticks. Now? Follow the formula.
If you need to keep telling yourself that to justify why you hop from game to game to game, sure go ahead.
Quality indeed.
Uh ok...
You've been playing Eve Online for 9 years straight. And I'm the weird one.
Seriously.
Eve.
Not sure why you think I'm a game hopper other than some trolls have called me that. I've been playing Hearthstone for over a year and a half. SMITE for like 3 years.
I didn't play any MMO last year because I didn't find any to be appealing.
Everything about your OP calls you out as a game hopper, can't help it if you self-identified with the group.
"Currently I have a bunch of online games I enjoy playing. I've never had
so many games to playdepending on my mood. None of them have a sub,
so I don't have to worry about dropping any of them at any time.
- Black Desert - Overwatch - SMITE - Hearthstone
There
are literally TONS of other online choices for PC gaming. With STEAM
and Kickstarter going strong, there are new games being made constantly.
Almost every week it seems like there's a new interesting game to
check out on PC.
I think back to a couple years ago and I would
be playing like 1 online game, and there would be 1 or 2 decent offline
games made every 6 months or so."
So not quite sure how I got it wrong, you were speaking more metaphorically, meaning there "are" a lot of game out there now, but you don't actually play them?
I would call anyone rotating through 4 games regularly with some PC games stuck in between pretty much a game hopper. Are there those "worse" than you, sure, but in my book more than 1 or 2 titles a year, and more than 1 at a time pretty much shows a lack of satisfaction.
BTW, I've only been playing EVE steady for about two years now, I took breaks since 2007 to try out many of the major (and not so major) MMORPGS (I don't play single player games, I'm not a gamer) and came to the conclusion that none did nor were any likely to ever offer a similar experience to EVE (well, COE might be an exception) so I have stuck with it for the long haul.
For me, it's the right style of game play, so I might as well support what I like, rather than endlessly try games looking for something else that "might" entertain me.
When I said, "there are literally tons of other online choices out there", I'm advising people on this forum that don't have a game they like playing currently and complain about that fact constantly.
This thread is meant to counter the endless threads complaining about how there's nothing good to play that show up on this forum constantly. I'm open for debate and I want there to be discussion on the subject, but coming in here and calling me a game hopper isn't productive.
I have plenty of online games to keep me occupied, although if new ones come out, I really don't see what's necessarily bad about me trying them...
Why is it suddenly a badge of honor to play one game for years and not try other games?
And besides, I've been playing 2 of the 4 games for over a year. How is it "hopping" if I'm sticking with them? I haven't been playing BDO and Overwatch for over a year because they just came out...
So basically your main point is that I'm playing more than one video game and that bugs you for some reason. It's no doubt jealousy since all you have to play is Eve.
We could all play this game. Let's take 1993 (for example), in a single year:
X-Wing
Star Fox
Maniac Mansion
Myst
Doom
Syndicate
There's some very important titles, and only a small part of the total output for that year.
You look around at this year's output for significant titles ... ... ...
Have to wonder just how much of this year's output will be fondly remembered even five years down the road, let alone twenty-five.
I think the present and future of pc gaming is going to have less to do with "significant titles" and more to do with the expansion of Steam games and kickstarted games, meaning there's going to be much more variety and less "this is the one game everyone is playing".
Online games like MOBAs and overwatch/hearthstone have really come into full bloom, meaning you can play some of these games as a side game for years. Twitch showcases pc gamers and offers a unique viewing experience.
That's why I think people like I quoted that aren't playing anything and only have a sequel of a game they liked to look forward to are missing out.
I think that concept of I'm going to play one game this year, or, I'm looking forward to one game this year, it's just an outdated attitude. There's too much quantiy and quality that you're missing out on, especially if you aren't even willing to try many good f2p titles.
Well, if you like Steam, MOBAs, and TCGs, sure. And you still think there is more variety now than in decades past? I disagree.
That attitude you disdain has fallen by the wayside because today's games are made to be "beaten/won" quickly. How else can a developer/publisher make money unless you buy 5-10 games from them every year?
Hooo boy... yes and no. I'd have to say that the visuals have improved so much that we have damn near photorealistic worlds. Human and humanoid creatures have a long way to go. Even the best looking ones still have too many inconsistencies with real people. Like the huge elephant hands in Far Cry or the lumpy potato heads in Fallout.
However, as graphics improve, the gameplay gets worse. Take Far Cry again as an example. The actual story in that game is about 4-5 hours worth of gameplay, but it's surrounded by repetitive busy work. It's still fun, but after capturing the 20th outpost I sometimes wonder why I'm still playing.
Baldur's Gate, on the other hand, was absolutely loaded from beginning to end with story, and not much busy work at all. Why can't I seem to get a game with the depth of Baldur's Gate and the graphics of Witcher 3?
Human/Humanoid creatures will take such a long time to catch up to scenery (in terms of realism). The uncanny valley is dark and full of terrors.
If you're playing a game you like, why quit and move on? If you're happy, stay happy.
I agree there's no need to, but I think too many on this site aren't even willing to try new games.
If you're playing something you like- cool. But if you're not playing anything and the only thing you're looking forward to is a sequel of something you liked before- I'm suggesting that maybe the problem is not with the games but perhaps with your approach to them.
But most new games are pretty much the same experience, for me. I'm old enough to know what I like and dislike. The era today is full of games that do not play in a way I enjoy.
I didn't play any MMO last year because I didn't find any to be appealing.
And yet, "This is THE GREATEST ERA in gaming."
The ERA just started. Pretty much when BDO came out, naturally.
BDO came out 2 years ago. But regardless of whether or not anyone considers this to be the "Best Era", I'm not sure why people are throwing around the term "Game Hopper" like it's an insult. There's nothing wrong with game hopping. Games are entertainment, it's not a relationship that someone needs to stay committed to long term.
I didn't play any MMO last year because I didn't find any to be appealing.
And yet, "This is THE GREATEST ERA in gaming."
The ERA just started. Pretty much when BDO came out, naturally.
BDO came out 2 years ago. But regardless of whether or not anyone considers this to be the "Best Era", I'm not sure why people are throwing around the term "Game Hopper" like it's an insult. There's nothing wrong with game hopping. Games are entertainment, it's not a relationship that someone needs to stay committed to long term.
Game hopping isn't necessarily a bad thing (it is for mmos, but meh), but in the context of this discussion, if someone is a game hopper then it means the current crop of games can't hold their attention for very long, which means they aren't very good (probable cause) or the person has a short attention span (adhd).
Also, for an "era" to start / finish, there needs to be some quantifiable change in the market, something significant that changes the landscape. As far as I can tell, we're in the 4th or 5th era of PC gaming:
1) Early adoption - very small proportion of people had home computers so was extremely niche. This is your Windows 3.1 kinda time period where people played Doom, Duke Nukem and Lemmings.
2) Home computing - Windows 95 changed the landscape, many more people started getting home computers, they were easy to use, accessible etc. RTS's, proper shooters etc, this was their era.
3) Broadband - Hard to put a definite date on this, but adoption of broadband internet (late 90s / early 2000s) changed the gaming landscape dramatically for PC gamers. MMOs, online shooters etc, broadband opened up a lot of options.
4) Digital Distribution - aka Steam. Love it or hate it, Steam changed the PC gaming landscape. Crazy deals, ease of acquisition.....digital distribution made it easier and cheaper for us to buy games and get quick access. Games could now be sold for more than just a couple of months, you can sell them online indefinitely. Killed off a lot of the second hand market too.
5) Crowd Funding - aka the indie scene. This seems to have been the latest big thing in PC gaming and kickstarter, greenlight, early access etc has all changed the gaming landscape. Some love it, some hate it, but the indie scene has exploded in comparison to a few years ago. I'd still say we're in the early phase of this and I'm not sure how much of an impact it's had, certainly less than the previous 4 eras which is why I don't think this is actually a new, distinct era of pc gaming.
So, with BDO, I can't see how that indicates the start of an era. Sure, MMOs are moving towards spammy action combat, but not all of them and not the whole of PC gaming.
Currently Playing: WAR RoR - Spitt rr7X Black Orc | Scrotling rr6X Squig Herder | Scabrous rr4X Shaman
That attitude you disdain has fallen by the wayside because today's games are made to be "beaten/won" quickly. How else can a developer/publisher make money unless you buy 5-10 games from them every year?
Game hopping isn't necessarily a bad thing (it is for mmos, but meh), but in the context of this discussion, if someone is a game hopper then it means the current crop of games can't hold their attention for very long, which means they aren't very good (probable cause) or the person has a short attention span (adhd).
Or it means that there are a lot more worthwhile choices now than there was before.
I would argue that more players are playing more games because there are more options, not because there are better games.
Back in the day, people would play 1 MMORPG because 1) it took a huge time investment as it was, 2) there weren't that many options to begin with, and 3) there weren't a lot of new options in the pipeline. For a good stretch of years, I remember the question being "Are you playing WoW, EQ, or FFXI?" and that was basically it. People play more games now because they are more casual, require 1/10th the time they used to, and for every game that comes out there are like 3 imitators. As such, people aren't as invested in the games (look at the surge in popularity among games that take an hour or less to play; MOBAs and card games).
I disagree with this being the golden era of gaming. I would argue that we are in, in my opinion, the worst era of gaming in ages, where quality titles are few and far between, and "tolerable" titles and in nearly endless abundance. The amount of "GREAT" games I've experienced can be counted on a hand, given the time, budget, and technology we have nowadays. That being said, I still dust off Chrono Trigger and Fallout 2 occasionally. Name me some games that you played in the last 3 years that you see yourself revisiting a few years from now.
Waiting for something fresh to arrive on the MMO scene...
I feel its the opposite for me. I find myself buying less and less PC games(including mmos) and more console/handheld(vita) games. I turn my PC everyday to browse the internet, play music, and talk to my steam friends while playing on my PS4/PS3/vita(mostly older stuff i never got to play, but some newer)
A couple of days ago i went back to play Unreal Tournament 3 Black on PC with a friend because there was nothing newer we wanted to play together.The current steam sale was poor (excluding the games i already had). And lately Humble bundle and Greenman Gaming haven't offered anything of interest to me either.
I didn't play any MMO last year because I didn't find any to be appealing.
And yet, "This is THE GREATEST ERA in gaming."
"Era" doesn't mean "Year". Even in a great "Era", there can be a less good "Year".
Games like GW2 and BDO broke the "WoW clone" mold. WoW is still a good game, hell, I play it, but most if not all clones are piles of steaming crap. We don't need 1 WoW and a dozen "sub par" WoW. We need 1 WoW and dozens of different games.
Maybe we will finally get rid of the "all MMOs need to be like EQ/WoW" nonsense and start to have diversity again, with AAA games more based on UO/AC1 than on EQ. Like GW2. Like BDO.
I've been gaming since before 1980, and yeah, this is a great ERA in gaming. I have loads of great games to play installed on my PC, WoW, Elite Dangerous, Landmark, Tomb Raider, The Crew, Black Desert, Star Wars Battlefront, Overwatch, The Witcher 3, Shadows of Mordor, GW2, Minecraft, Shroud of the Avatar, and another dozen waiting on my steam account once I'm done with those.
But they did not play ANY MMOs last year, even though this is "greatest era of gaming."
Of course an era is NOT 1 friggin' year. Give me a break.
Comments
However, as graphics improve, the gameplay gets worse. Take Far Cry again as an example. The actual story in that game is about 4-5 hours worth of gameplay, but it's surrounded by repetitive busy work. It's still fun, but after capturing the 20th outpost I sometimes wonder why I'm still playing.
Baldur's Gate, on the other hand, was absolutely loaded from beginning to end with story, and not much busy work at all. Why can't I seem to get a game with the depth of Baldur's Gate and the graphics of Witcher 3?
I remember one of my favorite WoW fights involved melee and tanks needing to pick up cleaving adds that spawned 270 degrees around them and one shotted any non tank all while trying to avoid cone lighting attacks from the main boss while simultaneously ranged had to kite a mob that would one shot them in a circle around the melee (but not too close or it would fear them into the cleaves) while other ranged split up into 4 groups to kill other constantly spawning adds that would buff the boss some of which could be looted to grab a rock that immobilized you (making you vulnerable to the kiting mob and spawning cleave mobs) that you would have to throw around to your teammates to get it close enough to a pedestal that a teammate could put it on top. You had to do that four times, and keep DPS on everything high enough that there was never too many adds. That was just one phase of three. That boss was not even the hardest or most complicated from that expansion, let alone all of WoW. Archimonde from WoD seems far more complicated (though I haven't subbed to do it myself). Fun side note, it came out much later that the world first kill of lady vashj abused a glitch, and the world second kill was achieved by soulstoning every single member of the raid with a second raid of warlocks waiting outside.
The MMOs I listed certainly do lack any kind of exploration as bosses are usually gated behind one another. They do also offer 'leveling group content' as you said, but I dont think more content is a detriment, and leveling dungeons will always be tuned to allow players to learn their classes and bring suboptimal gear. If you were specifically looking for smaller challenging group content, I recommend Skyforge again as you can adjust the difficulty level. Mare Sacro Monastery used to break groups just on trash pulls, not even reaching the bosses. The healing mechanic in the game also makes it more important for every player to play well - your group can't spare that healing orb on a dps eating unnecessary damage.
If you can list some MMOs that fit your idea of what a dungeon crawl should be, please do. To me a dungeon crawl has always been about the bosses, and maybe some interesting trash/dungeon mechanics. What you described to me sounded like you wanted a randomly generated instance (otherwise how could you explore it after the first time?) loaded with dangerous and complex trash (because you don't seem to find bosses enjoyable?). If that is accurate, than you might enjoy one of the many ARPGs I listed at the end of my earlier post.
I do have some fond memories of past MMO's I have played like EQ and UO but its nice having so many different options now. The graphics, stories and immersion have reached levels I would never have imagined decades ago.
I have yet to muster the means to play in VR, but I am definitely looking forward to it.
Strictly in terms of MMORPG's I still hold to the romantic notion that the late 90's is the greatest generation as it represents the birth of my favorite gaming genre. After that, each year moving forward seems to bring with it something new which keeps me more entertained.
I will always have faith that the best generations are still ahead of us
Del Cabon
A US Army ('Just Cause') Vet and MMORPG Native formerly of Trinsic, Norath and Dereth. Currently playing LOTRO.
2) Your personal level enjoyment has no bearing on the current state of the PC gaming market.
3) If you want to make sweeping statements about PC gaming, back it up by facts.
Now, the PC gaming market is in a really good place right now. In terms of absolute size, the pc market is the biggest its ever been. In terms of relative size (to consoles), its also doing extremely well. In terms of growth, again, PC is doing is extremely well with consistent year-on-year growth.
That said, "Golden Age" implies a peaking in the quality of games released, that the games being released now and for the last few years are of significantly higher quality and popularity than at any time in the markets past. That I can't agree with, in fact, I'd vehemently disagree with. First, we've largely lost the middle ground - we either get AAA or indie with very few in between. This is a negative compared to the past. Second, the ever increasing cost of development has resulted in many companies playing it safe, so the AAA market is extremely bland at the moment. Third, we're lacking gameplay innovations, actual minute-to-minute gameplay today is pretty much the same as it was 10 years ago.
Finally, you have personal opinion. The four games you listed I dislike, so you holding them up as examples of why this is a golden era holds no merit because its just your opinion.
For me, there are two periods in time that would beat now for golden age of PC gaming:
1) 1997 - 2000
Personal computers had had a few years to mature and get into many people's houses and this is the time period that gave us modern shooters and modern RTS's. Unreal Tournament, Quake 3 Arena, Theme Hospital, Roller Coaster Tycoon and Age of Empires. The market for PC gaming exploded and saw rapid growth, whilst still being new enough to have tons of innovation and creativity.
2) 2003 - 2006
This is the time period where the internet really changed the PC gaming landscape. Again, it'd had enough years to mature and get into peoples homes, but this is when broadband became mainstream and online gaming became natural. MMOs entered mass market, online shooters really took off, as well as the natural growth in other genres.
So not quite sure how I got it wrong, you were speaking more metaphorically, meaning there "are" a lot of game out there now, but you don't actually play them?
I would call anyone rotating through 4 games regularly with some PC games stuck in between pretty much a game hopper. Are there those "worse" than you, sure, but in my book more than 1 or 2 titles a year, and more than 1 at a time pretty much shows a lack of satisfaction.
BTW, I've only been playing EVE steady for about two years now, I took breaks since 2007 to try out many of the major (and not so major) MMORPGS (I don't play single player games, I'm not a gamer) and came to the conclusion that none did nor were any likely to ever offer a similar experience to EVE (well, COE might be an exception) so I have stuck with it for the long haul.
For me, it's the right style of game play, so I might as well support what I like, rather than endlessly try games looking for something else that "might" entertain me.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
For me, not at all near "the greatest era." I'm not an action combat player and nearly 100% of MMOs and even single player RPGs are focusing on action combat. People forget that there is more to gaming than killing things.
For me, the quantity is up, the variety is down, and quality is about the same. Overall: Not so great.
EDIT:
For me, the best era was early 1990's, before game design became formulaic. Anything and everything was possible. Create your game and see what sticks. Now? Follow the formula.
VG
This thread is meant to counter the endless threads complaining about how there's nothing good to play that show up on this forum constantly. I'm open for debate and I want there to be discussion on the subject, but coming in here and calling me a game hopper isn't productive.
I have plenty of online games to keep me occupied, although if new ones come out, I really don't see what's necessarily bad about me trying them...
Why is it suddenly a badge of honor to play one game for years and not try other games?
And besides, I've been playing 2 of the 4 games for over a year. How is it "hopping" if I'm sticking with them? I haven't been playing BDO and Overwatch for over a year because they just came out...
So basically your main point is that I'm playing more than one video game and that bugs you for some reason. It's no doubt jealousy since all you have to play is Eve.
That attitude you disdain has fallen by the wayside because today's games are made to be "beaten/won" quickly. How else can a developer/publisher make money unless you buy 5-10 games from them every year?
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To each their own, as they say.
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Also, for an "era" to start / finish, there needs to be some quantifiable change in the market, something significant that changes the landscape. As far as I can tell, we're in the 4th or 5th era of PC gaming:
1) Early adoption - very small proportion of people had home computers so was extremely niche. This is your Windows 3.1 kinda time period where people played Doom, Duke Nukem and Lemmings.
2) Home computing - Windows 95 changed the landscape, many more people started getting home computers, they were easy to use, accessible etc. RTS's, proper shooters etc, this was their era.
3) Broadband - Hard to put a definite date on this, but adoption of broadband internet (late 90s / early 2000s) changed the gaming landscape dramatically for PC gamers. MMOs, online shooters etc, broadband opened up a lot of options.
4) Digital Distribution - aka Steam. Love it or hate it, Steam changed the PC gaming landscape. Crazy deals, ease of acquisition.....digital distribution made it easier and cheaper for us to buy games and get quick access. Games could now be sold for more than just a couple of months, you can sell them online indefinitely. Killed off a lot of the second hand market too.
5) Crowd Funding - aka the indie scene. This seems to have been the latest big thing in PC gaming and kickstarter, greenlight, early access etc has all changed the gaming landscape. Some love it, some hate it, but the indie scene has exploded in comparison to a few years ago. I'd still say we're in the early phase of this and I'm not sure how much of an impact it's had, certainly less than the previous 4 eras which is why I don't think this is actually a new, distinct era of pc gaming.
So, with BDO, I can't see how that indicates the start of an era. Sure, MMOs are moving towards spammy action combat, but not all of them and not the whole of PC gaming.
there is a massive number of AAA games which are just epic. Some of the recent games I have played were incredible.
Howeever, for me most of these games have been single player games and none of them are PC exclusives unless you are talking about gaming in general.
some of my favourite games from recent time:
Tomb raider games
fallout 4
witcher 3
the last of us
uncharted 4
overwatch
there are tons of games I am looking forward to in the future - mass effect, Deus ex, no mans sky, horizon, scalebound, gears of war 4, injustice 2.
Mission in life: Vanquish all MMORPG.com trolls - especially TESO, WOW and GW2 trolls.
Back in the day, people would play 1 MMORPG because 1) it took a huge time investment as it was, 2) there weren't that many options to begin with, and 3) there weren't a lot of new options in the pipeline. For a good stretch of years, I remember the question being "Are you playing WoW, EQ, or FFXI?" and that was basically it. People play more games now because they are more casual, require 1/10th the time they used to, and for every game that comes out there are like 3 imitators. As such, people aren't as invested in the games (look at the surge in popularity among games that take an hour or less to play; MOBAs and card games).
I disagree with this being the golden era of gaming. I would argue that we are in, in my opinion, the worst era of gaming in ages, where quality titles are few and far between, and "tolerable" titles and in nearly endless abundance. The amount of "GREAT" games I've experienced can be counted on a hand, given the time, budget, and technology we have nowadays. That being said, I still dust off Chrono Trigger and Fallout 2 occasionally. Name me some games that you played in the last 3 years that you see yourself revisiting a few years from now.
Waiting for something fresh to arrive on the MMO scene...
A couple of days ago i went back to play Unreal Tournament 3 Black on PC with a friend because there was nothing newer we wanted to play together.The current steam sale was poor (excluding the games i already had). And lately Humble bundle and Greenman Gaming haven't offered anything of interest to me either.
Of course an era is NOT 1 friggin' year. Give me a break.
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