SLASH'S PROFILE

I disagree with the pure superiority of 3D. While 3D has some possibilities 2D doesn't have, 2D has the capability to evoke certain styles and graphical tricks that don't work in 3D.

While I can see the advantage of 3D in a lot of situations, it's not the end-all be-all of game art. Classical art improved over the centuries as skills and techniques grew and tools were improved; after a certain point, however - and also due to the advent of photography - artists began to branch out into stylistic approaches to art such as cubism.

I believe the same will happen to video games. Even after the advent of truly realistic 3D recreation of the real world, stylistic re-interpretation will always exist and will always be able to compete with complete realism. 2D art will have its place in this, as well as 3D and probably other art approaches we've never even imagined.

author=emmych
I actually agree with this, and I think more games should be doing it! I think giving a hero an antagonist that isn't really an EVIL MASTERMIND~ but has an opposing goal makes the hero more interesting. I don't like it when the heroes are right and the bad guys are wrong - a morally ambiguous protagonist is much more attractive to me, and makes for a far more interesting conflict, I think.

Also, it fuels inner-party conflict, which is simply delightful. I LOVE inner party conflict. <3

I remember, in the first RPG Maker game I actually spent a long time on, the hero and the villain were just competing businessmen :P the villain had owned a rival company that the hero drove out of business (legitimately) and he was driven by jealous and hate.

It was actually quite cool, you had the hero, who was a rich dude, and he lived in a rich city that had walled itself off from monsters, but it was small and the ones who couldn't afford to live there bunched together in the slums outside the city wall... there was even a big elevator that lowered you to the ghetto. The big baddie was your rival businessman, who was trying to get the poor to gather together and rebel against you.

Gah, I wish I had had better scope back then, maybe I would have had a chance to finish it.

author=Max McGee
What is an atari ghost?

I think he's referring to people who intentionally create games meant to invoke nostalgia, like Super Meat Boy and a lot of indie games do nowadays - pixelated graphics, chiptunes, that whole lot.

And wow, I didn't even notice that someone had already referenced Cthulu Saves the World...

Fact is, for indies it's usually easier to make pixelated graphics than it is to make realistic ones, and trying to go realistic with pixel graphics is a lot harder than making it stylistic and, yes, obviously nostalgic. Graphics aside, Cthulu took the old-school battle system and flipped it sideways with two simple tweaks: Recovery of all HP after battle, and the damage scaling.

It's a typical Dragon Quest-ish battle system, you have a party of four, you have attacks, you have spells/techs. You can also spend two character's turns for a combo ability, but that's hardly a huge leap into innovation. The punch comes when you see the damage scaling meter. Every turn you spend in battle, enemies do 10% more damage, meaning that 10 turns in, each enemy is doing twice as much damage. This alone makes you nervous and makes it clear that you can't afford to dick around in battle, or get into one of those Final Fantasy loops of attack, heal, attack, heal until boss is dead. In addition to this, your HP is recovered to full after battle, and the battles are balanced accordingly - meaning each battle is dangerous (some more than others based on monster groups, of course). Battles require just enough thought to be engaging without being horribly tedious and overlong, which sucks when you are exploring a dungeon.

JUST A THOUGHT

Excessive reading is akin to today's pre-rendered cutscenes. It worked in that medium, why not try it in games? But people aren't playing games because they secretly want to watch movies, they're playing to play. Same goes for books, if I want to read novelletes I'll go find a book.

I mean, it's not like you have to make a textless game but woe be to those who thinks a game is nothing without word vomit :P

That being said I've played some textless RPGs and they are fantastic.

author=Solitayre
Use VX.

I really don't care for VX. It may be easier to assemble the taco, but being limited to only five ingredients at a time is really hampering the creative taco-building process. Sure, in 2k3 getting the lettuce, tomato bits, cheese, meat and shell in the right order might seem a little old-fashioned, but it's worked for years and I'm used to it. I make all my best tacos in 2k3.