In the comments section of my last post my ideas were criticized by Calibrator and it made me think a lot. I'd like to make a few things clear.
First off you guys need to realize what kind of person is writing this blog. Even though I've always loved the Ultimas I was never able to finish them. Why is that? Obviously because I wasn't able to handle them. I was raised with them up to the age of 7 but then my attention turned to the NES and I became a hardcore console players from that point onward. In 1997 we bought our first PC and that's when I had my first contact with Ultima 6,7, UW etc. I tried my hand at those games but I just couldn't play them. Even as a kid I didn't understand the concept of having to take notes in video games, I thought that was just stupid, that you shouldn't have to 'work' while playing a game. In a way I'm still like that, I think games are about sitting down and unwinding. I'm also quite the lazy person, both mentally and physically, so that obviously factors into the equation. I usually do things because I have to, not because I want to. For example I train at the gym because I need to, to be healthy and not die from an heart attack at age 29. I go to college because I need to, I want to have a job I like and not be stuck doing boring work for my entire life. I'd honestly rather not do anything but play videogames all day but I can't so I don't. With videogames though you often have a choice, if a videogame asks too much of you then just don't play it and that's what I've always done with the Ultimas even though I've always desperately wanted to finish them.
In a way that makes my blog even more interesting because it's about someone who's not an Ultima style player trying his hand at finishing all of them. Will I prefer the autonomous party members of Ultima VII? Most likely. Will I like the Nintendoish Ultima 8? I know I already do because of all the 'modern' Ultimas it's the one I played the most. By now you probably don't have to ask yourself why. Now the question is, will I like Ultima 8 MORE than the 'real' Ultimas or less? I might like it less you never know. But I might also like it more I won't rule that out :)
And Ultima 9? Action adventure games are not my cup of tea and that's why I never played it. The reason why I'm not a big fan of action adventure games is the mix, I don't like the mix of genres. To me, action and adventure games should be separate not together. I dislike being in a big action packed battle and then when you're done everything slows down and you have to figure out how to get to the next door or whatever. The mix of style doesn't suit me, give me either an adventure game or an action game, not both in the same package. I like the Zelda games but I don't love them for exactly that reason.
Aside from that I disagree that today's games are shallower than they were before. If you compare them to Ultima then yes obviously they are more shallow but then what isn't? There's nothing quite like Ultima out there and from what I know there was nothing quite like Ultima even when Ultima was the big thing! Oblivion isn't more shallow than something like the Bard's tale or Wizardy. Bioware is putting out some great rpgs still and they must be respected. The first person shooters of the 21st century are better than those of the 90's, adventure games might not be better than they were in the 90's but I'd argue that they are deeper storyline wise, Japanese RPGs are in a rut right now I'll admit but that's more due to the somewhat collapsing japanese gaming industry rather than due to mainstream taste.
I mean honestly, aside from the incredible depth of the Ultima series there was nothing before that was really deeper than what we have out now. The market is dominated by first person shooters and sports game but if you want a deep game you can find it, you just can't get an Ultima style game. Does the lack of Ultima automatically make the market shallower than it used to be? Well I think THAT'S a shallow thought. If you're not able to enjoy yourself except by playing the deepest of games then I guess that's your problem, not mine :)
I'll admit that I'm not the deepest person on the planet but I think there's place for everybody. You also have to keep in mind that I am NOT a native english speaker which explains my inability to write correctly sometimes. Just keep in mind that I'm a lazy SOB when reading my writings and you'll be fine! Oh and keep the comments coming, I like even the negative ones! I sincerily hope that Calibrator will keep reading my blog and will keep commenting, and I'm not freaking joking. Of course Natreg too and that anonymous guy (or maybe guys, that would be weird since I always see anonymous as being the same person over and over), whoever he is.
On another note I've started Ultima V and O M G is it a step up from Ultima IV, and I mean in difficulty! I told my friends on MSN that I was finally starting the Ultimas I've always feared. There's five freaking levels to LB's castle! Holy moly.
I'll tell you more about it tomorrow!
P.S: I usually answer comments directly in the comments section, so if you left a comment at one time chances are I answered it there!
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7 comments:
You have only one anonymous so far. ;)
And btw, the dungeons in some of the Ultimas (like IV) *are* boring to all hell. Moreso when you have to move 8 freaking characters through the rooms.
lol, I must admit moving the 8 chars in the dungeons is slow as hell :D
At least in Ultima V you can select the char you want to move. That made dungeons faster.
First of all: Thanks for responding so "intensely" at my comment in the last entry.
Let me get some personal things out of the way: I never suggested that you were lazy or that your language isn't perfect (I'm no native English speaker, too!) and you certainly make less typos than the "other" Ultima blogger... ;-)
Secondly, I think you are right: You are indeed lazy! ;-)
Yes, I believe you that you are really anxious to play the Ultimas because you weren't able at the time and because these games were all the rage and really innovative.
This brings a potentially entertaining blog to life!
But up to this point you also seem to be so terribly disappointed by the series (all first four games in fact) and I think this is because you a) don't really recognize its virtues (and most certainly don't express this) and b) you are a "modern gamer".
I don't mean this as an insult but I think you don't fully use your capabilities.
You are also - partly - flogging a dead horse when it's completely obvious!
Yes, the graphics are "ancient" compared to the games of today (up to 25 years later - thats eons!).
Yes, sound and music are lacking in all aspects.
Yes, there is no voice output until U8 (optional) and U9 (standard). Note: Nintendo tried to avoid voice output whenever possible - even today.
I don't want to generally question your blog but I think you should overcome some of your "laziness".
Let's delve somewhat deeper:
You write that you don't want to tell us all the steps needed to complete the games like finding all items, cleansing all shrines etc.
That's OK! The games are old, completely documented and we surely don't need another set of step-by-step walkthroughs.
But why don't you take more time explaining some details like finding those items like the episode with the mandrake root.
*That* was great retro games blogging.
Tell us, _why_ the games are in some aspects badly designed! Where are plot holes? Where are blatant mistakes? What could've been done better, funnier or more dramatic?
And because you seem to be well versed with modern and Japanese CRPGs and other games:
Show us examples why the Ultimas are "worse" than for example the dungeons in Baldur's Gate.
Ah and yes, the dungeons you do so enjoy!
Yes, they look simple, blocky and in the first Ultimas they are. No discussions about that.
But did you notice that a certain dungeon gives you the choice to fight or otherwise cope with a party of children attacking you?
How many games of the time brought the gamer to face such dilemmas?
The combat phase where you do have to control all members independently can be annoying to modern gamers - no questions about it. But did you compare it to other games of the time like "The Eternal Dagger"? No? Well, a look at that game should give you some insights...
And yes, Richard Garriott experimented quite a bit with his games and more often than not was limited by the hardware they ran on. So semi-automatic party members were a no-no on the Apple II based games (U1-U5).
The overworld map is of course primitive compared to modern games, too!
But did you know that the map for the main continent of Ultima 1 was simply rotated by 90 degrees and only modified slightly?
What a lazy SOB this Lord British was! ;-)
Today's mega-million Dollar expensive productions running on dual core CPUs with billions of instructions per second and gigabytes of memory may have it a bit easier than a 64K Apple II.
Now games are filled to the brim with spoons, knifes and tea cups which can be thrown around at will and licensed physics libraries to make cadavers gliding down some mountain slopes...
You name Oblivion: Yes, it's eye-poppingly pretty! But it has some pretty generic and boring dungeons. It's better than Morrowind (which seemed more of an example what one can do with the construction set).
What you have to do in their dungeons are mostly hunt&kill or search missions and 90% of them are purely optional.
The games in the Elder Scroll series are more world simulators rather than story driven adventures (note: Oblivion made some real progress here!) but for many people they are the gold standard today - like the Ultimas were at their time. So this makes them comparable to some extent, after all.
And lastly:
Hell yeah, I'll continue reading your blog and comment if I see fit.
Maybe just for the one reason that I enjoyed these games with some thousand fellows at the time when they broke ground - compared to the millions of gamers that enjoy the more or less groundbreaking games of today.
take care
Calibrator
Well I think I am as retro as they come, but I won't touch those first three ultimas today. Their particular gameplay style does not really hold up well as the blogger found out. Personally, I found it interesting seeing his attitude change about the early ultimas, especially part 3. I think he was riding on nostalgia which isn't always enough. He is just being honest about his current expierence with the games which is precisely and entirely what his blog is about. I don't want to read a sugar coated blog. That is just boring.
Finally, I did not get the impression that he disliked Ultima IV, except for the dungeons. I think he said something like 'much better then the early ultimas, but not quite there yet'. Considering how much better interaction is in IV, but how simplistic it actually is to later ultimas, his comment seems pretty much dead on to me.
I also thought it was kind of funny watching the poor guy make his through an Ultima he obviously did not like (part 2) just for the sake of his ultima blog. :) He is more of an ultima fan then I'll ever be that's for sure.
To say the truth, trying this games nowdays is really hard.
Sometimes I wonder if I would have played all the ultima games if I started them at this time :(
Anyway, the blog is interesting even though GrahfZilla does not seem to like some of the old aspects of the games, at least he gives some perspective.
I like this blog because it's a different perspective from the other Ultima blog
If you like the depth of U4-6 but lament the modern touches they lack, definitely check out Jeff Vogel's "Avernum" games, which are essentially a series of tributes to the gameplay of the classic Ultimas. Fantastically detailed storylines revealed through conversation, gigantic worlds, and a toolkit for creating your own adventures. They've kept my love of Ultima from becoming just a matter of nostalgia.
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