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General discussion (archive)What was your favorite game generation personally?(72 posts)(72 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted October 09, 2012
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PetrusOctavianus: Around 2000 was the Golden Age of PC Gaming.
There was a wide variety in quality games of kinds of genres. Most of the classic turn based Strategy, RTS'es, FPS'es and some of the best CRPGs were releases in this period.
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Magnitus: For TBS, early to late 90s were crazy with releases like Civilization, Master of Orion (and it's sequel) and Master of Magic.

This was the golden era for turn based strategy games fans.
Well, I never played MoM and Master of Orion (they are on my play list, though), since I didn't have a PC at the time. But mid to late 90s had the Heroes of Might&Magic and Age of Wonders series. And for me turn based strategy was perfected with Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic in 2003.

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Magnitus: For CRPGs, there were a lot of good ones around that era as well (the poster child being the Ultima series, but let's not forget Fallout and a bunch of others), though I'd understand why you'd be enthusiastic about some post-2000 ones (notably, the infinity engine games and Morrowind).
As I see it the early 90s were the Golden Age of CRPGs, with the Ultimas, Ultima Underworlds, Darklands, Gold Box Games, Might&Magic and the Krondors.
But for PC games in general I think around 2000 was the Golden Age.
Post edited October 09, 2012 by PetrusOctavianus
Posted October 09, 2012
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PetrusOctavianus: Well, I never played MoM and Master of Orion (they are on my play list, though), since I didn't have a PC at the time. But mid to late 90s had the Heroes of Might&Magic and Age of Wonders series. And for me turn based strategy was perfected with Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic in 2003.
The Age of Wonders saga is addictive, but Master of Orion (especially the second one) and Master of Magic are crack.

Also, for the Age of Wonders saga, I don't think the first one was ever definitely bested by it's sequels, though they are definitely all good games in their own right.

Shadow magic is good (more like an expan than a true follow-up to the second game) and definitely better than the second Age of wonder game, though I'm afraid the demon/insectoid hive hybrid concept doesn't draw me in.

It is very Starship Trooperish.

And yes, the Heroes of Might and Magic games are very good overall (I found the fifth installment to be a bit bland and uninspired, the fourth game might have been controversial, but at least it innovated in some areas), though not crack.
Post edited October 09, 2012 by Magnitus
Posted October 09, 2012
1993 - 1997. Shareware, DOS, and DOOM clones. I was very young at the time (4-8) and so played very few of these games upon release. But I love to go back and replay games from this time period, they have that special something that started to go missing once the 3D craze hit and budgets got bigger and bigger.
Posted October 09, 2012
I don't really have a favorite generation, there are games from all generations that I like and don't like. However, if you twist my arm I'd say the snes/genesis era. Mostly because I have so many fond memories of playing games like Vectorman, comix zone, super mario world, etc as a kid. When I get out my snes or borrow my brother's sega genesis I still enjoy those games, and I love the cartoony graphics. No social networking nonsense and no internet connection are my favorite features ;)

I think all generations have their good points and bad points, and it all depends on how you like your cup of tea.
Post edited October 09, 2012 by Thunderstone
Posted October 09, 2012
Hm. I would say the 90's. That decade just had a ton of things that I really enjoyed.

Blast Corps
Thief and Thief 2
System Shock and System Shock 2
DOOM, DOOM II, and DOOM 64
Super Mario (series)
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Super Metroid
Lufia II
Master of Orion 2
Donkey Kong Country 1, 2, and 3
Legend of Zelda (series)
Deus Ex
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy VI

Mind you, as I age some games start to look pretty bad to me in many respects simply because I know that they can be done better. Just about the only category of game that really holds up is the platformers and visual novels.
Posted October 09, 2012
Mid 90s to early 2000s, I'd have to say. That's when many of my all-time favorites were released, such as Deus Ex, Freespace 2, the Thief games, the IE Rpgs, Unreal, Half-Life, Tie-Fighter, Jedi Knight, the latter Wing Commander games. Good times, good times.

I didn't own a current-gen console back then, so that was the time when I did all gaming on a PC.
Posted October 10, 2012
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mondo84: Early to mid 90s.
This.

One of my favorite type of games -point 'n click adventures- were at their prime during that era, with Sierra and LucasArts endlessly producing classic after classic. Same thing for other nearly extinct genres like space sims and flight sims in general. New genres that now have become a standard were born, e.g. First-Person Shooters and Real Time Strategy, and DOS reached its golden years, those were the days. And when it comes to consoles, 2D gaming evolved from primitive 8-bit to amazing 16-bit. Personally, I hated the transition from 2D to 3D and disk/cartridges to optic media. The first steps into those technologies were very clunky and going from glorious 2D pixel art like what we had in Final Fantasy VI or Castlevania SOTN to horrid polygons and textures felt like a complete downgrade to me. Early 3D mechanics were very clunky for the most part, very few games got it right. Also, the whole multimedia hype produced a lot of travesties (e.g. those early FMV games with terrible acting). So, during the mid 90s my interested in gaming waned and didn't pick up until 3D got improved, around the launch of PS2.
Posted October 10, 2012
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mondo84: Early to mid 90s.
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PokerCrow: This.

One of my favorite type of games -point 'n click adventures- were at their prime during that era, with Sierra and LucasArts endlessly producing classic after classic. Same thing for other nearly extinct genres like space sims and flight sims in general. New genres that now have become a standard were born, e.g. First-Person Shooters and Real Time Strategy, and DOS reached its golden years, those were the days. And when it comes to consoles, 2D gaming evolved from primitive 8-bit to amazing 16-bit. Personally, I hated the transition from 2D to 3D and disk/cartridges to optic media. The first steps into those technologies were very clunky and going from glorious 2D pixel art like what we had in Final Fantasy VI or Castlevania SOTN to horrid polygons and textures felt like a complete downgrade to me. Early 3D mechanics were very clunky for the most part, very few games got it right. Also, the whole multimedia hype produced a lot of travesties (e.g. those early FMV games with terrible acting). So, during the mid 90s my interested in gaming waned and didn't pick up until 3D got improved, around the launch of PS2.
You read my mind.

Golden age of DOS games. Old genres glowing and new genres burgeoning, like flowers in bloom.
Posted October 10, 2012
has anybody said late 70's to early 80's? pong anyone?
Posted October 10, 2012
On PC, the early 90s through the early 2000s. You could roughly bookend it between Wizardry 6 and Max Payne 2, I guess. There have been some terrific games made in the past ten years, but most of my favorites come from the ten before that (including some that I never even played until recently).

Though I'll tell you what I don't miss from that period: configuring sound cards and memory settings, and later, the 3D acceleration rat race that, being a kid, I was never able to keep up with.

On console... honestly, when I think of consoles, I think of SNES. My NES was great and all, but it's mostly just a memory for me nowadays. After the SNES, I was never very devoted to another console again. The PS2 was the last one I owned.
Post edited October 10, 2012 by Mentalepsy
Posted October 10, 2012
The late 90s and early 2000s (up to perhaps 2004), definitely. Just the right mix of the charm of rough edges and retro design with some touches of modern polish where it counts.
Posted October 10, 2012
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Tallima: My utterly not-provable but probably true belief: Is your favorite time period either now or when you were 13-17 years old? Or perhaps 18-21? If it is now: You like empirical evidence. You're logical and you evaluate all of the variables. You see that gaming from before is still available now, and you also see that gaming has moved in many positive new places. So there is no time like the present to play some games. But you're also excited about the future. If it is 13-17: When you think about a game's theme song, you want to play it. Or you just remember the great times that you had while playing it. That's because during these formative years, your brain wires up what music you like. And it usually has more to do with what you're listening to than what you think you like. And if you're a gamer, you probably heard more background game music than Neil Diamond. If it's 18-21: You were probably limited in your ability to play when you were a child. And you're probably somewhat of a social person (even if you are introverted, you still like to be social with gaming). When you finally got away from your parents, you played with your friends and made strong bonds to both the games and the people you played them with. So when you think about this era, you rejoice and embellish in some nostalgia. So, am I accurate?
I spent much of my adolescent years (early 2004) with freebie QBasic games and 90s shareware. Around age 16 (2006 or so), I started into "newer" games (like Halflife and System Shock 2), and got around to the 2005-2008 era when I went to college (which is when I really started diving into games of all eras). Now, I'm 22. So I dunno if that fits your mold or not. I don't really like indulging in nostalgia. To me, nostalgia is missing the emotions and feelings that went along with a thing, and those can never be recaptured. All you get are memories. Playing a game I have nostalgic memories of (what few there are) is usually a sad rather than enjoyable experience. I prefer to look at things in the here and now.

Not sure if I agree with the idea of "the modern era is the best because we have access to all games." I think the point here is to look at games based on when they came out, not when they are available. Otherwise, hell yes the modern era is my favorite. Then I get access to ALL THE GAMES.
Post edited October 10, 2012 by jefequeso
Posted October 11, 2012
I really like the vibe of early-mid 90s. Amongst other things this was the time when beautiful pixel art really flourished. Not to say that there wasn't great pixel art earlier (or since); but, at this point, VGA graphics/SNES/Mega Drive/etc... were in full swing, meaning colour choices and resolution were not a large hindrance to artists.
Posted October 11, 2012
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mondo84: Early to mid 90s.
The same for me. 2D art was at its highest and (adventure) games used hand-drawn art, which I'm partial to. Adventure games were at the top of their game. RPGs hadn't yet fell into that dark pit hole before Baldur's Gate. Some games started to explore more mature themes, before Playstation came and ruined it for all. The CD format was used for voice-overs, but the time of FMV and multimedia hadn't yet started.

Although this is a good time to be a gamer too. Many favorite genres of mine have returned via indie.
Posted October 11, 2012
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mondo84: Early to mid 90s.
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RaggieRags: The same for me. 2D art was at its highest and (adventure) games used hand-drawn art, which I'm partial to. Adventure games were at the top of their game. RPGs hadn't yet fell into that dark pit hole before Baldur's Gate. Some games started to explore more mature themes, before Playstation came and ruined it for all. The CD format was used for voice-overs, but the time of FMV and multimedia hadn't yet started. Although this is a good time to be a gamer too. Many favorite genres of mine have returned via indie.
Actually, I disagree with the assessment that the Playstation ruined mature gaming. There were plenty of mature games released for the platform. Off the top of my head...

Alundra
Final Fantasy Tactics
Persona II (both parts)
Policenauts
Valkyrie Profile
Front Mission 3
Blood Omen - Legacy of Kain

There are many more. The truth of it is that all forms of entertainment are compromised of approximately 90% detritus, with the remainder being the great things that would be remembered. While I am exaggerating, the concept of it is true.

Hindsight is 20/20 after all, so use that to find the things that would appeal to you. :)
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General discussion (archive)What was your favorite game generation personally?(72 posts)(72 posts)
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