Your favorite game developer

[Tylorious]

What is your personal favorite game developer?
When answering this, consider what your favorite game is, which developer makes the most games you like, everything.

That being said, my favorite is absolutely ATLUS. They make Ogre Battle, Etrian Odyssey, Radiant Historia, and so many other games that I love intensly. I would say a close second would be RARE just because of all the games from my childhood they made.

Lets here some of yours.

EDIT: I just realized ATLUS also did the Persona series and the Shin Megami Tensei series.

[AstralFire]

I'm going to leave out companies who develop only a single product I like, because otherwise this thread may quickly turn into favorite franchise. Sorry, Game Freak, Bungie and Tales Studio (among others).

So I have to give it to BioWare, with an honorable mention to Intelligent Systems.

BioWare for:
- Mass Effect
- Star Wars: the Old Republic
- Jade Empire
- Dragon Age

Intelligent Systems for:
- The first two Paper Marios (sorry, you're starting to kill the franchise. Someone tell Miyamoto to back off here.)
- Advance Wars
- Fire Emblem (particularly Path of Radiance, Awakening, and Sacred Stones).

[Morithias]

Probably Kalypso. They're one of the few companies that still makes management simulations. Patrician, Tropico, Rise of Venice, etc.

However I have to give a shot out to paradox. Their games might not always be GOOD, but at least they're INTERESTING.

[Tylorious]

I'm going to leave out companies who develop only a single product I like, because otherwise this thread may quickly turn into favorite franchise. Sorry, Game Freak, Bungie and Tales Studio (among others).

So I have to give it to BioWare, with an honorable mention to Intelligent Systems.

BioWare for:
- Mass Effect
- Star Wars: the Old Republic
- Jade Empire
- Dragon Age

Intelligent Systems for:
- The first two Paper Marios (sorry, you're starting to kill the franchise. Someone tell Miyamoto to back off here.)
- Advance Wars
- Fire Emblem (particularly Path of Radiance, Awakening, and Sacred Stones).

Great choices my friend. BioWare is an amazing developer. I have enjoyed all their games.

[Eldan]

Hmmmm. This is difficult, it really is. A lot of companies have made some games I like and others I don't like.

Like Bioware. Mass Effect is genius, Jade Empire is quite good, but I thought Dragon Age was amongst the most boring games I've ever tried.

Those Valve games I've tried, namely Portal 1+2, Left for Dead, Team Fortress and Half-life 2 I all liked, but Portal is the only one I genuinely love.

Hmm. Daedalic, perhaps? I've been on a bit of a Daedalic binge lately. The Breakout, Harvey's New Eyes, Deponia 1-3 are all very lovely games and amazingly retro in the very best ways while also having amazing animation and voice work.

[geonova]

Nippon Ichi FTW

[Tebryn]

Pixelscopic, easily hands down, followed by Mike Maulbeck. Two great indie devs who interact with the community and generally just cool people all around.

[Tylorious]

Nippon Ichi FTW


Pixelscopic, easily hands down, followed by Mike Maulbeck. Two great indie devs who interact with the community and generally just cool people all around.

Can you guys give games and example of why you love your respective developers?

[Tebryn]

Can you guys give games and example of why you love your respective developers?

Oh, sorry of course. Pixelscopic makes a Zelda/Roguelike called Delver's Drop and Mike Maulbeck makes Paranautical Activity which is a Quake Style Shooter with Roguelike tendencies.

[Tylorious]

Oh, sorry of course. Pixelscopic makes a Zelda/Roguelike called Delver's Drop and Mike Maulbeck makes Paranautical Activity which is a Quake Style Shooter with Roguelike tendencies.

Very interesting, I will have to check these two games out. Just so you know, this thread is kind of like a way for me to branch out into new games.

[Morithias]

Very interesting, I will have to check these two games out. Just so you know, this thread is kind of like a way for me to branch out into new games.

You'll probably want to avoid Kalypso unless you're into the simulation/strategy area then. They're not for people looking for something like an FPS.

[Tylorious]

You'll probably want to avoid Kalypso unless you're into the simulation/strategy area then. They're not for people looking for something like an FPS.

Im not sure where you got the idea that I'm only into FPS. I actually truly enjoy Tropico, and most other RTS games...even turn based strategy is something I dip into from time to time. Though I do freakin love Battlefield 4.

[AstralFire]

Great choices my friend. BioWare is an amazing developer. I have enjoyed all their games.

I have actually sharply disliked many of BioWare's most acclaimed games. They really had to earn their position of respect for me considering my negative reaction to Neverwinter Nights and neutral reaction to Knights of the Old Republic.

[Tylorious]

I have actually sharply disliked many of BioWare's most acclaimed games. They really had to earn their position of respect for me considering my negative reaction to Neverwinter Nights and neutral reaction to Knights of the Old Republic.

Judging from this post, you and I have a completely different taste in video games, because NWN is one of my all time favorites and KOTOR was up there too.

[erikun]

That being said, my favorite is absolutely ATLUS. They make Ogre Battle
Um, Ogre Battle was made by Quest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quest_Corporation), who eventually merged into Squaresoft (which later merged into Square Enix). Atlus's contribution seems to have been translating and releasing some of the games, but had no hand indeveloping any of them.


My current favorite company is probably WayForward Technologies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WayForward_Technologies). I ran into them during the Shantae Kickstarter, and gave a few of their games a try. I was very much impressed by the original Shantae, despite it being only a Game Boy Color game, and which prompted me to back it. I also played the Adventure Time game (DS) and A Boy and His Blob (Wii), and while neither was very challenging, they were both really well put together and fun to play anyways. I'm definitely looking forward to the new Shantae, and looking around at some of the other games they've made.

As for other companies, Game Arts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Arts) was one I liked thanks to both Grandia and Lunar, although I haven't really followed much else from them. I was also a big fan of Tecmo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecmo) back during the PS1/PS2 days, when they were making Monster Rancher, Deception, and Fatal Frame.

[Tebryn]

Very interesting, I will have to check these two games out. Just so you know, this thread is kind of like a way for me to branch out into new games.

I highly suggest both, Delver's Drop is in an Open Alpha at the moment so be warned that it's not even close to being done. You can pre-order it and get the file through what ever service they're running and when it's going to be on Steam, potentially Early Access when it hits Beta. Paranautical Activity is in a "Open Beta" stage and you can get it on Steam.

[AstralFire]

Judging from this post, you and I have a completely different taste in video games, because NWN is one of my all time favorites and KOTOR was up there too.

C'est vrai. I also dislike Etrian Odyssey and think some things about SMT/Persona are interesting but not enough to play them. Diff'rent strokes!


Um, Ogre Battle was made by Quest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quest_Corporation), who eventually merged into Squaresoft (which later merged into Square Enix). Atlus's contribution seems to have been translating and releasing some of the games, but had no hand indeveloping any of them.


My current favorite company is probably WayForward Technologies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WayForward_Technologies). I ran into them during the Shantae Kickstarter, and gave a few of their games a try. I was very much impressed by the original Shantae, despite it being only a Game Boy Color game, and which prompted me to back it. I also played the Adventure Time game (DS) and A Boy and His Blob (Wii), and while neither was very challenging, they were both really well put together and fun to play anyways. I'm definitely looking forward to the new Shantae, and looking around at some of the other games they've made.

As for other companies, Game Arts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Arts) was one I liked thanks to both Grandia and Lunar, although I haven't really followed much else from them. I was also a big fan of Tecmo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecmo) back during the PS1/PS2 days, when they were making Monster Rancher, Deception, and Fatal Frame.

WayForward is definitely a company I have a lot of respect for, though their preferred genres aren't my favorite ones.

[thorgrim29]

Let's see.... Bioware, though their follow-up to ME3 needs to be really good in order to keep that title, Firaxis (Civ4 and X-Com Enemy unknown are two of my favourite games evar), Eidos for their Deus Ex and Tomb Raider reboots (and their next theif game looks fantastic)

Honourable mentions:
- Creative Assembly because while in theory the Total War series should be the best franchise of all time for someone like me the Shogun 2 expensions and the horrible Rome 2 release soured me a bit
- Gearbox, because while I lovec Borderlands 2 it's a bit early to say if it's a fluke or if they'll continue at that level of quality
- Cloud Imperium Gaming, they don't have a game out yet but if they manage to pull Star Citizen off they'll be way up there with Bioware and Firaxis

[Morithias]

Im not sure where you got the idea that I'm only into FPS. I actually truly enjoy Tropico, and most other RTS games...even turn based strategy is something I dip into from time to time. Though I do freakin love Battlefield 4.

What I more mean is that a game like Patrician IV, is for a very specific market. If you don't like simulation games, Tropico is probably the only really great game they have.

Most others are average. It's sad really, simulation games are so rare. Basically any simulation game that's a management sim is an auto-buy because no one makes them.

[AstralFire]

What I more mean is that a game like Patrician IV, is for a very specific market. If you don't like simulation games, Tropico is probably the only really great game they have.

Most others are average. It's sad really, simulation games are so rare. Basically any simulation game that's a management sim is an auto-buy because no one makes them.

Wait... Are you the type of person that buys those Street Sweeper Sim games? o_o

[Morithias]

Wait... Are you the type of person that buys those Street Sweeper Sim games? o_o

Let's check my steam library.

Airline Tycoon 2, Bang Bing Racing, Cities XL, East india company gold, Game Dev Tycoon, The Guild 2, Imperium Romanum, M.U.D TV, Omerta City of Gangsters, Patrician 3, Patrician 4, Pole Position 2012, Port Royale 3, Recettear, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, Tropico, Tropico 2, Tropico 3, Tropico 4, Unholy Heights....

It appears I am.

Also you know, the big banner in my signature.

[AstralFire]

Let's check my steam library.

Airline Tycoon 2, Bang Bing Racing, Cities XL, East india company gold, Game Dev Tycoon, The Guild 2, Imperium Romanum, M.U.D TV, Omerta City of Gangsters, Patrician 3, Patrician 4, Pole Position 2012, Port Royale 3, Recettear, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, Tropico, Tropico 2, Tropico 3, Tropico 4, Unholy Heights....

It appears I am.

Also you know, the big banner in my signature.

None of those really look quite like Street Sweeper games. (Neither did what you mentioned before, but there was a glimmer of a chance there.) I'm a little bit disappointed, I thought maybe I had actually run into the person who they are made for.

[Thorcrest]

I'd say Creative Assembly for my love of Total War, but the team that made EB is much better...

Paradox is also a good company (though some of their games aren't of interest to me). I also love most of Stardocks games as well.

I don't usually care who the developper is, it's the individual titles that attract me.


@Morithias: At least it wasn't Farming Simulator 2013 :smalltongue: (But the Patrician Series is amazing for those of us who like that genre! I haven't played IV, but II was a staple of my childhood and I still play III on a pseudo-regular basis)

[Morithias]

None of those really look quite like Street Sweeper games. (Neither did what you mentioned before, but there was a glimmer of a chance there.) I'm a little bit disappointed, I thought maybe I had actually run into the person who they are made for.

Like I said. MANAGEMENT sims.

Not train sims or anything like that.

Sims where I use resources to make money, to spend that money on things that make me more money.




@Morithias: At least it wasn't Farming Simulator 2013 :smalltongue: (But the Patrician Series is amazing for those of us who like that genre! I haven't played IV, but II was a staple of my childhood and I still play III on a pseudo-regular basis)

I took one look at farming simulator 2013 and said.

"Why should I play this over harvest moon?"

[Grif]

Paradox, for being one of the few remaining niche "indie" publisher/developer that does grand strategy games. Although not directly related to their dev studio, Paradox the Publisher also supports quite a lot of quirky and interesting indie games such as Magicka.

I'll also throw out here and say Valve. Why? Because their games have consistently entertained me since Half-Life. Their work on Steam (and Team Fortress 2) just solidifies their rep.

Honorary mention goes to Firaxis (simulation games in general), Arcen Games (AI War), Stardock (Gal Civ 2), and Kerberos (Sword of the Stars).

Used to be loved: Bioware, Maxis, Infinity Ward.

[AstralFire]

Not train sims or anything like that.

I could have sworn when I first read your post that it said any sim was an autobuy, no qualification... but I must be imagining it, it's not even that way in my quote!


Paradox, for being one of the few remaining niche "indie" publisher/developer that does grand strategy games. Although not directly related to their dev studio, Paradox the Publisher also supports quite a lot of quirky and interesting indie games such as Magicka.


Magicka is the best indie game I have ever played. It's also, coincidentally, the only indie game I've ever liked, but c'est la vie.

[Morithias]

I could have sworn when I first read your post that it said any sim was an autobuy, no qualification... but I must be imagining it, it's not even that way in my quote!

"Basically any simulation game that's a management sim is an auto-buy because no one makes them."

MANAGEMENT sim. You know, business, government, numbers and money!

Of course I'll also go for a good world domination simulator. Evil Genius anyone?

[AstralFire]

"Basically any simulation game that's a management sim is an auto-buy because no one makes them."

MANAGEMENT sim. You know, business, government, numbers and money!

Of course I'll also go for a good world domination simulator. Evil Genius anyone?

I just said, I must have been imagining the lack of qualification... o_o

[Surrealistik]

Top 3 in no particular order:

From Software (Dark Souls baby), Firaxis (X-Com and Alpha Centauri; though I think it's lost as way as of late per X-Com buggery and lack of moddability), Valve

[Tylorious]

Do you guys remember that old game...the one where you are three vikings, each of which have their own special ability. It's kind of lemmings-esque. I can't remember what it is called, but i freaking love it.


Wait, is it called "Vikings"?

[Gamerlord]

Do you guys remember that old game...the one where you are three vikings, each of which have their own special ability. It's kind of lemmings-esque. I can't remember what it is called, but i freaking love it.


Wait, is it called "Vikings"?
Lost Vikings, Blizzard Entertainment.

[Thufir]

Initially I instantly thought Valve.
Then I realised that was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction because of Steam and TF2, so maybe someone else.
But then I realised that games I really love are pretty much divided to one per developer in general. Except Valve also made Portal and Half Life.
So, Valve.

[Airk]

Be very careful calling Atlus your favorite "Game Developer" because a LOT of stuff with their name on it is actually developed by others and PUBLISHED by them.

My favorite game developer? Hmmm. Going to give that crown to Origin Systems, Inc. Too bad they've been out of business for decades.

I don't think anyone else has a consistent enough track record of making games that I like. Maybe I'm just old and picky now.

[thirsting]

Has to be Black Isle for me. Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale....

It was a sad moment when they went belly up some years ago, so it really made my day to see this in their wikipedia page :smallsmile:


On August 22, 2012, Interplay, after releasing MDK2 HD on Steam would revive the studio with the motto "Our goal has always been to make the world's best RPGs" and the slogan "Black Isle is Back"

[AstralFire]

Has to be Black Isle for me. Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale....

It was a sad moment when they went belly up some years ago, so it really made my day to see this in their wikipedia page :smallsmile:

I thought most of the major figures at Black Isle went to Obsidian, BioWare and Bethesda in that order of priority?

[Ailurus]

I thought most of the major figures at Black Isle went to Obsidian, BioWare and Bethesda in that order of priority?

Yeah, only two guys from the original Black Isle are still there.

But, that does serve as a nice segway to my favorite dev, which is Obsidian. Yes, I know their games have enough bugs at release that they should keep an exterminator on retainer, but I still love them. They support the games after release, they know how to make good characters and stories, they're willing to take stuff in a new direction, and frankly you can tell they care about the games and the worlds. I'd consider the day Obsidian finally gets a working quality control crew one of the best days in the video game industry.

[Artanis]

*points at name*

I'll give you three guesses who my favorite is :smalltongue:

[Airk]

Has to be Black Isle for me. Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale....

It was a sad moment when they went belly up some years ago, so it really made my day to see this in their wikipedia page :smallsmile:

Er, yeah. Hate to be a wet blanket, but this is basically some people trying to cash in on the name; This new "Black Isle" studio has nothing in common with the old one except the name.

[warty goblin]

Magicka is the best indie game I have ever played. It's also, coincidentally, the only indie game I've ever liked, but c'est la vie.
I have a policy for indie games:


No eight bit retro platformers. It's the twenty-first century, games no longer have to look like ass.

No vague 'art' games. I don't care about your tooty-fruity stuff about like death, man. Come back when you have something definite to say.

Corollary: Absolutely nothing in the intersection of the above two. If your idea is best expressed by big headed pixel dudes jumping on things, your idea can go die in the rain.

Nothing that uses more than two memes in the description. Or the word 'hilarious.' Pop culture is a place from which humor can start, it is not itself humor. Also, humor is much like heterosexuality, the more loudly you squawk about it, the more likely you are to get arrested in airport bathrooms.

Nothing with blocks, or that could be described as 'like Minecraft, but ____' When I want to make something, I've got a box full of basswood, a frightening number of knives, a diamond waterstone and a strop. You can keep your glorified spreadsheet - very far away. Remember, frightening number of knives.

These simple rules immediately eliminate about 90% of the field. After I run it through the additional filter that throws out most things everybody else seems to love, the surviving candidates... well there aren't a lot of them.

On actual topic, most developers disappoint me frequently enough I don't really have favorites. Though I can't think of any 1C Ino-Co games that I haven't gotten a good amount of pleasure from.

[Maryring]

First post in the thread holds up Etrian Odyssey as an excellent game and a point in favour of Atlus? I... I was starting to think I was the only one.

Atlus is one of the studios I actively look for when I look fo games. Etrian Odyssey is perhaps one of my most favourite game series of all times, and their obscurity tortures my soul. I'm also a real fan of the Trauma series, and the fact that I may never get to play Trauma Team... hurts.:smallfrown:

I also like Sting. Dept Heaven and Baroque have favour in my book.

I'm also a big fan of the old Black Isle. Baldur's Gate, NVN and Ps:T ... but those should be obvious I figure on a site like this. :smalltongue:

[Maxios]

I'm going to have to go with Rockstar. I've played almost every game they've released (aside from the Manhunt series, and the tabletop tennis game), and I've never been disappointed. The closest thing they've made that comes close to being a bad game is GTA IV, which is still pretty good. The level of detail in their games is always astounding. I'm still finding new, minor things in GTA V (which I've been playing on an almost daily basis since its release.)

[Jahkaivah]

I have a policy for indie games:


Nothing with blocks, or that could be described as 'like Minecraft, but ____' When I want to make something, I've got a box full of basswood, a frightening number of knives, a diamond waterstone and a strop. You can keep your glorified spreadsheet - very far away. Remember, frightening number of knives.


What if it was 'like Minecraft, but gives an actual goal instead of aimlessly building crap'?

[banthesun]

Be very careful calling Atlus your favorite "Game Developer" because a LOT of stuff with their name on it is actually developed by others and PUBLISHED by them.

I'm gonna second this. There's tons of their stuff I love, but there's even more stuff that seems to just have their name slapped on it.

I do love Paradox (though I guess they're mainly publishers too), and all the popular western RPG studios, but when it comes to down to it, I'm all for the indies.

Love Conquers All games (http://loveconquersallgam.es/) for her wonderfully written VNs.

Edmund McMillen of Team Meat (http://supermeatboy.com/) for his incredibly disturbing designs.

Supergiant Games (http://supergiantgames.com/) for, well, just Bastion, really. But I love Bastion to death, so I'll buy whatever they make next no questions asked (thankfully, Transistor looks pretty cool so far :smallwink: )

And Chucklefish (http://playstarbound.com/), which honestly I can't really defend. They haven't released anything so far, and Starbound just keeps getting delayed more and more. I guess I just desperately want Starbound to be good...

[Maryring]

That's why I called Atlus the studio. Their stamp on a game, even if they don't make it, is a stamp of gameplay that appeals to me.

[Tebryn]

Magicka is the best indie game I have ever played. It's also, coincidentally, the only indie game I've ever liked, but c'est la vie.

Have you not played a lot of Indie Games? Not saying Magika isn't a good game but there's an entire Indie Market out there.

[mistformsquirrl]

My favorite will probably surprise a few folks, because I'm often a pretty vocal critic of theirs - but the truth is it's because they have imo, awesome ideas that very often just need some more thought and polish.

Cryptic Studios. And yes, the lockboxes and stupid microtransaction prices are incredibly obnoxious - but that's sadly par for the course for most F2P games, I don't feel that's really something you can explicitly fault them for without faulting the entire F2P MMO spectrum. (I do in fact fault said spectrum; but I can't really change it either. It is what it is and barring legislation or an executive with a soul... well yeah, it ain't going to change on it's own that's for sure.)

They created City of Heroes* for one - imo one of the most fun games in the history of MMOdom; the fact that NCSoft shut it down last year is almost criminal. I won't say much about COH because it's hard to explain why it was so compelling to someone who never played. I dunno, needless to say one of my most played games of all time; and if it weren't dead I'd still be playing today.

Likewise, Champions Online had HUGE potential when it launched - being buggier than a beehive and short of content was a serious problem that has kept the game from realizing that potential; but that potential was legitimately there. The ability to custom build a hero practically from the ground up with any powerset in the game and a truly ludicrous degree of costume flexibility made for a lot of wonderful playtime over the years. I only stopped playing after I realized (due to a lot of reasons), that game simply will never see enough dev time to be what it *could* be. That's a terrible shame; but the game itself I've gotten far, far more time out of than you'd think with so little available content. (I do realize the art style bothers some people - it's not my favorite either personally; but there's a lot more to a game than it's art style imo - and it does have a funky charm at times.)

Star Trek Online - I have such a love-hate relationship with this game I practically need a relationship counselor to deal with it lol; I've been playing it since Closed Beta - I watched, horrified, as the game launched in a pretty craptacular state; I watched an entire year go by without much in the way of updates - feeling like my lifetime subscription was a horrible waste... I've also spent hours and hours and hours playing, leveling characters from every faction and enjoying the ever-loving crap out of flying my own starship around.

Likewise, while not as freeform as CO or COH, the character creator is quite good and I've managed to create some very, very unique crews over the years. It's those crews and the ships they fly that really keep me coming back in spite of the flaws; they give me stories to tell.

Also - the writing; the game's original content was pretty 'eh'; but a lot of the later stuff has improved dramatically. The latest episode, Sphere of Influence, being a particularly good example of that. If they could just add some Bioware-like decisions and branching storylines... *sigh*

Neverwinter - I haven't played this game as much as their previous titles; but I will say this from what I have played - the combat is (for me), an immense amount of fun. It feels almost like a third person Diablo game set in 4th Edition Forgotten Realms - and while that setting actually annoys me in a lot of ways, the way they were so damned faithful to it is actually quite impressive. The Foundry is also just jawdropping at times - yes there's a lot of crap to sift through, but when you find one of the gems... it's worth it. Very worth it. I think I'll play this game more when I get on a Fantasy kick again, because it really is a good one imo; I've just been in a major sci-fi groove of late.

------

So basically in summation - I feel like Cryptic is awesome because most of their games give me the tools to create the characters I want to play. In STO I have 6 level 50s. 6. There's only 3 classes in the entire game; but that doesn't matter because each of my characters feels entirely unique despite their classes being identical to each other. Ditto Champions Online and (RIP) CoH.

Cryptic is to me kind of like a crazy but delightful uncle - lots of questionable decisions and clutter... but fun to be around because when they get it right it's absolute gold; and unlike a lot of studios they haven't found a formula and just hit Cruise Control making the same game over and over and over again.

----

Big honorable mention to Bioware - While they take a very opposite tack in terms of who you can be in their games compared to Cryptic, I think it's pretty much impossible to deny they usually have superior writing, aesthetics and polish to most anything else. It's more like playing through an awesome choose-your-own adventure story than anything else... and that doesn't really bother me in the least. (It does however limit the replayability some, which is why they aren't my favorite - I finish a Bioware game and that's pretty much it; I'm happy and satisfied with it; but it's doubtful I'll run it through again.)

Obviously YMMV, that's just me.

*Paragon Studios did do some absolutely *phenomenal* work on it after Cryptic sold the game to NCSoft - you'll never hear a bad word about Paragon from me, ever. Still, there'd have been no Paragon without Cryptic in the first place.

[warty goblin]

What if it was 'like Minecraft, but gives an actual goal instead of aimlessly building crap'?

Nope. I find the activity referred to as 'crafting' in videogames only slightly less enjoyable than sorting the laundry, except without the actual productivity or sense of accomplishment. Like I said, when I want to make something, I'll make something. Like right now for instance, since my thumbs seem to have recovered enough I can finish off my latest project.

[Anajamois]

Black Isle. Though most of them moved on to form Obsidian.

[Zevox]

What is your personal favorite game developer?
When answering this, consider what your favorite game is, which developer makes the most games you like, everything.

That being said, my favorite is absolutely ATLUS. They make Ogre Battle, Etrian Odyssey, Radiant Historia, and so many other games that I love intensly. I would say a close second would be RARE just because of all the games from my childhood they made.

Lets here some of yours.

EDIT: I just realized ATLUS also did the Persona series and the Shin Megami Tensei series.
SMT and Persona are Atlus' biggest properties, actually. You should probably note though that they aren't the developers of the Ogre Battle games, only the publisher.

Anyway, after some thought, I have to give mine to Atlus as well. They made my two favorite games of all time, Persona 3 and 4, as well as several others that I like - the Devil Survivor games and Radiant Historia being particular favorites, and what I've played of the main SMT series (Nocturne, Strange Journey, 4) is decent as well, though nowhere near the level of the others. Although sadly I wasn't able to stomach Persona 1 and 2 for very long, in large part due to the mechanics aging very poorly (especially demon negotiation). I've never tried Etrian Odyssey, but other than that series, when they announce that they're working on a new game, I definitely pay close attention.

I'll give a second-place mention to Bioware. Despite my criticisms of their game design modus operandi, they still manage to consistently put out games that I greatly enjoy. Probably the weakest game of theirs that I've played was Neverwinter Nights, and even that's okay.

[tonberrian]

My current favorites are Atlus for SMT and Etrian Odyssey and a few niche titles and Paradox Development Studio for grand strategy (Crusader Kings 2, Europa Universalis IV). I'd also like to mention Nintendo EAD in general, as well as Firaxis (XCOM and Civ 5).

[Tylorious]

Well now that i have seen a few atlus philanthropists here, I will tell you all that SEGA bought them, so start looking for the SEGA stamp on RPGs very soon.

[warty goblin]

Well now that i have seen a few atlus philanthropists here, I will tell you all that SEGA bought them, so start looking for the SEGA stamp on RPGs very soon.

The DLC should be mindblowing. Pay $1.99 for the Warrior pack to unlock all warrior skills at level 1!

[Zevox]

Well now that i have seen a few atlus philanthropists here, I will tell you all that SEGA bought them, so start looking for the SEGA stamp on RPGs very soon.
I'd imagine most Atlus fans already know that. We tended to be watching pretty closely for news of what would happen to them after Index went under.


The DLC should be mindblowing. Pay $1.99 for the Warrior pack to unlock all warrior skills at level 1!
:smallconfused: Uh, maybe I missed something, but since when does Sega have any reputation at all where DLC is concerned?

(Also, that's not how Atlus RPGs work. No class systems involved. And Atlus is about the last developer I'd expect to agree to anything that seems like a bad deal for their customers - this is the company that regularly includes soundtracks and artbooks with their games for no additional charge.)

[warty goblin]

:smallconfused: Uh, maybe I missed something, but since when does Sega have any reputation at all where DLC is concerned?


The thing you missed would be Company of Heroes II. Also the last however many Total War games.

[Eldan]

Ech, yes. In Rome II, you basically have to buy DLC to play as most nations other than Rome.

[Driderman]

Once, I'd have said Bioware, but after they got bought up by EA the quality of their work has been lowered and their games seem a bit more "pedestrian", for lack of a better term. Like brave, ambitious RPGs but without so much actual bravery and ambition that the mainstream consumer can also play them. Not bad as such, just too mediocre for me to call them my favourite developer.
Which I suppose makes Obsidian my favourite by default, as they provide much the same kind of games and manage to keep that "je ne sais quoi" that I like about RPGs.
I suppose I'm keeping a spot open for InXile, depending on how Wasteland 2 turns out. Anyway that'll crowdfund an RPG today deserves an honorable mention at the very least.

[Ailurus]

Which I suppose makes Obsidian my favourite by default, as they provide much the same kind of games and manage to keep that "je ne sais quoi" that I like about RPGs.
I suppose I'm keeping a spot open for InXile, depending on how Wasteland 2 turns out. Anyway that'll crowdfund an RPG today deserves an honorable mention at the very least.

For what its worth, some of the Obsidian crew (Avellone in particular) are helping out with Wasteland 2 - that was actually one of the Wasteland 2 kickstarter stretch goals, in fact. And a couple Obsidian names show up on the Torment: Tides of Numenera dev list too.

[Zevox]

The thing you missed would be Company of Heroes II. Also the last however many Total War games.

Ech, yes. In Rome II, you basically have to buy DLC to play as most nations other than Rome.
I see. And you have reason to believe this is Sega's doing, rather than the developers'?

[Eldan]

I have no idea who did it and I don't really care.
But it made me decide not to buy Rome II. At least not until there's some kind of complete edition and that complete edition is out at a discount. Seeing how bugged it is, waiting a year or so for patches is not a stupid idea either.

[warty goblin]

I see. And you have reason to believe this is Sega's doing, rather than the developers'?
Given that both the Creative Assembly and (now) Relic are entirely owned by Sega, it seems unlikely that they're cranking out product without at least approval from higher up the food chain.


I have no idea who did it and I don't really care.
But it made me decide not to buy Rome II. At least not until there's some kind of complete edition and that complete edition is out at a discount. Seeing how bugged it is, waiting a year or so for patches is not a stupid idea either.
Given what I've heard about Rome II, you may have dodged a pilum with that decision. The braying of the masses seems louder and angrier than the usual vocalizations from the torch-and-pitchfork brigade that greets each new Total War game.

And at least with CoH II, all the day one DLC was all stuff that could be unlocked through regular play, and is also mostly irrelevant. +4% penetration for my anti-tank guns just isn't a gamechanger. The stuff they've been coming out with since then is actual content, which I don't mind paying for, and some of which I've gotten for free because of my pre-order.

[Zevox]

Given that both the Creative Assembly and (now) Relic are entirely owned by Sega, it seems unlikely that they're cranking out product without at least approval from higher up the food chain.
There's a big difference between Sega giving them the okay to do it and Sega making them do it though. If it's just the former, then Atlus fans have nothing to worry about. If it's the latter, we may.

[Grinner]

Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software.

Long live shareware.

[Martok]

Boy, this one's a toughie.




If I'm ranking developers based on the sheer number of hours I've spent playing (and enjoying) their games, then Creative Assembly wins that one, hands-down.

As with many Total War fans, I have a...mixed relationship with the franchise: I hated Rome and Empire with a fiery passion, was very "meh" toward Medieval 2, and am currently feeling only lukewarm toward Rome 2 (although I remain cautiously hopeful they'll eventually get that one right). However, I also played the crap out of the original Shogun and Medieval -- I've easily spent over 1000 hours on each title -- and have enjoyed Shogun 2 a fair bit as well (I really need to play more of that one). So based on that, CA would easily be considered my "favorite" developer.



That being said, however, my *actual* favorite developer the last several years has been Stardock. I realize they're probably a controversial choice, but I really liked Galactic Civilizations 2, and I now spend an absolutely stupid amount of time playing Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes. (Say what one will about the original Elemental game -- and I realize one could say a lot -- but they finally got it right.)

In addition to making games I enjoy, I also like the way Brad & co. interacts with their customers. They're generally very forthright in discussing their games, and not full of the usual corporate-sounding bulls***-speak (unlike, say, Creative Assembly). I know Brad can also be a jerk sometimes, but at least he doesn't post a bunch of meaningless double-talk.



An honorable mention has to go to Paradox. I like their design approach to historical grand-strategy games (Crusader Kings 2 is particularly fun), and I like them even more now that they seem to have finally gotten their act together with not releasing horribly buggy/flawed games (in addition to being widely praised, both CK2 and EU4 were released in a relatively polished state).

Another honorable mention goes to Bioware. I'm a big fan of NWN, and I enjoy KOTOR as well.

[Eldan]

Given what I've heard about Rome II, you may have dodged a pilum with that decision. The braying of the masses seems louder and angrier than the usual vocalizations from the torch-and-pitchfork brigade that greets each new Total War game. .

Quite likely. At least it produced a lot of videos of entertaining bugs, like galleys cruising down city streets, entire legions bungee-jumping off siege towers or underwater chariots.

[Hiro Protagonest]

From Software. Dark Souls is awesome. The King's Field games are on my "when I get a PS3" list.

Paradox for all their grand strategy games.

Relic for their RTS games.

[mistformsquirrl]

Given what I've heard about Rome II, you may have dodged a pilum with that decision. The braying of the masses seems louder and angrier than the usual vocalizations from the torch-and-pitchfork brigade that greets each new Total War game.

Rome II is (now, after some patching) actually pretty good. I've been finally starting to play it seriously and really enjoying it - the one problem I'm encountering frequently is that in larger battles (and this is Total War, large battles are kind of a thing) I do get some graphical slowdown. Which is weird because my machine is less than a year old and quite nice; to the point where I suspect poor optimization.

But beyond that, a lot of problems people have reported are ones I'm just not encountering.

Not saying "GO BUY ROME 2" or anything; merely that I'm having fun with it now that it's getting some repair work done. (It is shameful however that such a big title needed so much patching.)

@Martok - It's funny how many people just don't care for Empire, and then for me it's actually my second most played out of the entire series. I don't know if I just have weird taste in games, or what, but I found that game seriously appealing. (To be fair I did get it over a year after it was released, so I'm sure most of the initial bugs had been patched out by the time I got it.)

[Kane]

New World Computing :smallfrown:

Black Isle

Paradox

[Crow]

Paradox for making several interesting games that I enjoy. Bioware because I know that the product will have pretty good production value.

Mode 7 for giving us permission to use the Frozen Synapse engine to create Close-Quarters-Battle training aids and simulations.

[Martok]

Rome II is (now, after some patching) actually pretty good. I've been finally starting to play it seriously and really enjoying it - the one problem I'm encountering frequently is that in larger battles (and this is Total War, large battles are kind of a thing) I do get some graphical slowdown. Which is weird because my machine is less than a year old and quite nice; to the point where I suspect poor optimization.

But beyond that, a lot of problems people have reported are ones I'm just not encountering.

Not saying "GO BUY ROME 2" or anything; merely that I'm having fun with it now that it's getting some repair work done. (It is shameful however that such a big title needed so much patching.)
I would say that's a pretty fair assessment overall, mistformsquirrl.

I'm not loving Rome 2 (at least not yet), but I confess I don't really understand all the hate it's receiving either -- at the very least, it's far better than the original RTW. The game has decent production values, and most of the folks I know (including myself) haven't had major issues running it. I think my major complaint at this point would be the AI (especially where combat and diplomacy is concerned), but even that's not horrible.

I agree it's unfortunate that such a major AAA title apparently requires so much patching simply to make it playable for some -- and as I said earlier, I'm still not enthralled with the game -- but I honestly don't think Rome 2 is anywhere near as bad as a lot of the folks on TWC and the official forums make it out to be.





@Martok - It's funny how many people just don't care for Empire, and then for me it's actually my second most played out of the entire series. I don't know if I just have weird taste in games, or what, but I found that game seriously appealing. (To be fair I did get it over a year after it was released, so I'm sure most of the initial bugs had been patched out by the time I got it.)
I don't doubt that last bit makes a big difference, but it's still not the whole reason for my dislike.

I also couldn't stand the "Black Knight AI" phenomenon, particularly where diplomacy was concerned. One can be stabbed in the back by (usually smaller, weaker) nations -- to whom I'd been a faithful and loyal ally for 50+ years -- only so much before one gets tired of it. :smallannoyed: Given that my interest in the period stems more from the geopolitical aspects, than from the warfare aspect (although naval battles were kind of fun), the poor AI was an immersion/fun-killer for me.

[mistformsquirrl]

See, I think that's where the difference is <,< For me, I'm quite interested in warfare in pretty much every period; and I very, very rarely make alliances with the AI in any game.

When I play Total War particularly I'm out to conquer the world and I tend not to make any bones about it - I just start conquering whoever's nearest, pick a direction and keep conquering until I reach the sea. (And then I try to conquer whatever's across that...)

But that's me; I don't blame anyone for having different opinions or anything.

[Airk]

That's why I called Atlus the studio. Their stamp on a game, even if they don't make it, is a stamp of gameplay that appeals to me.

Didn't play Eternal Poison or Baroque, did you? Don't use "Hey, Atlus published this, it must be good." as anything more than a general rule of thumb. Treat their releases like everyone else's and do your homework. The Atlus logo is not some seal of quality.

Also, SEGA purchased Atlus' PARENT company, Index Holdings, who no one had ever really heard of. If SEGA has a brain in their head (not saying they do), they won't even _glance_ as far down the org chart as Atlus proper.


I have a policy for indie games:
<snip>


Oddly, your silly policy eliminates exactly 0% of the indie games I own and recommend to people. Perhaps you would like to consider:

Don't Starve
Guacamelee
Sword of the Stars: The Pit
Dive Kick
Mercenary Kings (if you consider this an '8 bit retro platformer' or that it 'looks like ass' you need your eyes checked.)
Dyad
Reus
FTL
Recettear
Race The Sun
Space Pirates and Zombies
Aquaria

And, of course, the aforementioned Magicka.

Honestly, while your policy probably does weed out a lot of crap, it doesn't exactly mean there "aren't a lot" of other items.

[GolemsVoice]

Blizzard, hands down. They never produced something I didn't enjoy, and I've likely spend most of my gaming time playing their games (for which WoW is very much responsible).

[warty goblin]

Oddly, your silly policy eliminates exactly 0% of the indie games I own and recommend to people. Perhaps you would like to consider:

That's the list of criteria it has to survive in order to make it to the point where I actually consider playing it. There's plenty of chances to burn and die in that stage. To wit:


Don't Starve Crafting: out.

Guacamelee Platformer/brawler: out, I have no interest in either.

Sword of the Stars: The Pit Considered, but seems crafting heavy.

Dive Kick Never heard of it.

Mercenary Kings (if you consider this an '8 bit retro platformer' or that it 'looks like ass' you need your eyes checked.) Also never heard of it.

DyadActually could be interesting.

Reus Considered, but accounts suggest it's long on the unlocks, which are almost as much a no-no as crafting.

FTL Should be of great interest to me, but mysteriously isn't.

Recettear Looks like ass. Also have zero interest in the concept.

Race The Sun Freaking awesome.

Space Pirates and Zombies Thought about trying a couple times, but something about the art style doesn't sit right. Whatsitcalled, Starfarer looks far more interesting, should it ever clear beta.

Aquaria Tried the demo a few times. Never actually liked the game as much as I wanted to like the game. Because it's clearly a likable game, that I don't like.


And, of course, the aforementioned Magicka. I actually liked Magica, but could never come up with an arrow-key centric keybind that wasn't some combination of excruciatingly painful and awkward to actually play.


Honestly, while your policy probably does weed out a lot of crap, it doesn't exactly mean there "aren't a lot" of other items.
A valid point. What I should have said is that on average it it auto-deletes 90% of RockPaperShotgun articles before they can reach the important parts of my brain and cause damage.

[Airk]

Platformer/brawler: out, I have no interest in either.

What kind of games DO you play? o.o


Looks like ass. Also have zero interest in the concept.


Eyes checked. :P


I actually liked Magica, but could never come up with an arrow-key centric keybind that wasn't some combination of excruciatingly painful and awkward to actually play.

Why's it so important to use the arrow keys? o.o



A valid point. What I should have said is that on average it it auto-deletes 90% of RockPaperShotgun articles before they can reach the important parts of my brain and cause damage.

Or you could just...not read RockPaperShotgun. There I go with the logic again.

[warty goblin]

What kind of games DO you play? o.o

Mostly action and strategy, and where those cross over into RPG and light sim territory. Frequently, although not uniformly, the games I like the most are of Russian or eastern European extraction.


Eyes checked. :PLow res anime sprites. No.


Why's it so important to use the arrow keys? o.o
Due to a bug caused by a thunderstorm in the middle of a Windows update, and apparently completely unique to my computer, programs that use DirectX don't resolve the alpha-numeric keys correctly. Instead of 'A', the game will read the numbers 0 - 9, increasing one integer with each press. The arrow keys and most of the function keys read correctly however, so I play everything that requires a keyboard with them.

I will note however that while my bug is unique, many left handed people play games using the arrow keys. I know this because I've spent a lot of time in the last four years trawling through forums for which .ini files I need to edit; and it's a fairly common request.


Or you could just...not read RockPaperShotgun. There I go with the logic again.
About 10% of their stuff is actually interesting, and my advanced pre-filters render the rest of it invisible, so it's still somewhat worth my time.

[Burley]

And, then, I say something unpopular!

Sucker Punch Studios.

Okay, so, they let Sly Cooper go somewhere else, and they ruined it, but the originals were great! There was an evolution in the original trilogy, with a constant process of improving what works, removing what doesn't and adding in something new. I remember when I found out I could survive more than one hit, I pooped. When I found out I could play as different characters, I pooped. When I found out I could pick pockets, I... Well, it was a messy day.

And, Infamous? Are you kidding? Realistic platforming with superpowers? It's so hard to make a character awesome-strong and still have a sense of risk, but Cole, despite his weird voice actor, pulled it off. I was kind of upset when I realized that the first game was a giant tutorial for the second game, but thd entire plot was interesting and the gameplay was fun. With every windowsill I pulled myself up to, I could feel Sucker Punch's dedication to the world. Infamous thunder dropped right when Prototype did, and drained its power with only a few taps of the square button.

Sucker Punch Studios, I'm sure, is the reason Seattle exists and it is my dream to someday touch, smell and become one with it. I give the 10 Burleys out of 10.

[Zevox]

Okay, so, they let Sly Cooper go somewhere else, and they ruined it, but the originals were great!
:smallconfused: Wait, what? Ruined it? Can't agree with that in the slightest. Sly 4 is basically tied with 2 for best of the series in my opinion (I can't quite make up my mind between them). If anything, Sucker Punch seemed to be losing their grasp on things going from 2 to 3, which I felt was a disappointing dip in quality, so it may well be for the best that they gave it up to someone else.

[Hiro Protagonest]

:smallconfused: Wait, what? Ruined it? Can't agree with that in the slightest. Sly 4 is basically tied with 2 for best of the series in my opinion (I can't quite make up my mind between them). If anything, Sucker Punch seemed to be losing their grasp on things going from 2 to 3, which I felt was a disappointing dip in quality, so it may well be for the best that they gave it up to someone else.

Sucker Punch didn't make 4. They did make 3, though.

And I'm not exactly sure what he means by "originals". 2 was vastly different from the first, and there wasn't as big a change since.

[Zevox]

Sucker Punch didn't make 4. They did make 3, though.
I know.


And I'm not exactly sure what he means by "originals".
He seems to have meant the original 3, as contrasted to 4, which he implied was ruined by Sanzaru developing it instead of Sucker Punch.

[GungHo]

I have no favorite developers... or unfavorites for that matter, unless you want to talk about late 80s movie-tie in games from Acclaim. I have developers I trust more than others, but I've long gotten past the "I will buy anything these guys make" or "I will not buy anything these guys make" stage in life. Everyone's capable of making gems and turds nowadays, whether they're AAA companies or indies that amount to one guy in his mom's basement.


Low res anime sprites. No.
I have to say I agree with warty here to a certain extent. If it's an actual old Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior game... okay, that was the actual limitation at that time and those games live on their own merits. If it's low-res anime sprites just because it's some guy who has an animu/JRPG fetish and grasps little else of what made those games so great, then it can die in a fire.

[Airk]

If it's low-res anime sprites just because it's some guy who has an animu/JRPG fetish and grasps little else of what made those games so great, then it can die in a fire.

What if it's made by someone in Japan who is doing a loving homage to the genre and probably understands it at least as well as you do? I'm not talking about freakin' RPG Maker stuff here.

"Low (http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/recettear/recettear-12.jpg) Rez" (http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/recettear/recettear-6.jpg) eh? We're not exactly talking about 16 bit sprites done in an 32x32 grid here. Yeah, fine, it's not in glorious 4k for the PC Gaming Master Race either, but c'mon, seriously. Not everyone has the budget to build their game in Unreal Engine 4.

[Zevox]

I have to say I agree with warty here to a certain extent. If it's an actual old Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior game... okay, that was the actual limitation at that time and those games live on their own merits. If it's low-res anime sprites just because it's some guy who has an animu/JRPG fetish and grasps little else of what made those games so great, then it can die in a fire.
Well, you're of course welcome to your opinion on whether such styles look good or not, but I have to say, insisting that games should never use old graphical styles just because technological limitations no longer make it a requirement sounds like utter nonsense to me. If some people like the style and want to make a game using it, that's all the reason that they need to do so, and they no more deserve to be looked down on for that than companies making high-def ultra-realistic looking games deserve to be looked down on for making those.

[GungHo]

I included "grasps little else of what makes those games so great" for a reason.

[Talderas]

It's easy to overlook Square's other contributions due to the behemoth in the room that is Final Fantasy but they put out a lot of quality RPGs.

Chrono Trigger, Xenosaga, Secret of Mana, Kingdom Hearts, the Super Mario RPG. There was also the Front Mission series of games.

[Airk]

It's easy to overlook Square's other contributions due to the behemoth in the room that is Final Fantasy but they put out a lot of quality RPGs.

Chrono Trigger, Xenosaga, Secret of Mana, Kingdom Hearts, the Super Mario RPG. There was also the Front Mission series of games.

Yes and no. Yes, it's easy to overlook those, but I think you have the reason wrong. It's because everything Square has done in the past few years has been so awful. :P

[Talderas]

Yes and no. Yes, it's easy to overlook those, but I think you have the reason wrong. It's because everything Square has done in the past few years has been so awful. :P

Depends on what glasses you look through. Square Enix is not just a developer but they also function as a publisher for a couple of different companies. Supreme Commander 2, an example of crap, is published by SE but was developed by GPG. The only legimate piece of crap that I recall SE developing in the last 10 years is Final Fantasy X-2 and Final Fantasy XIV. The former was at least still innovative in its combat system instead of following the same old formula like a lot of developers will do with a series. FF14 did wonderful PR on by making it free to play until they pushed out 2.0, A Realm Reborn, which is rather good.

[Psyren]

Bioware *ducks*


Also, From Software, who really really need to get their asses in gear and make another Otogi game :smallfrown: But mostly because they're one of the few Japanese developers that gives a rat's posterior about us Xbox players.

[Morithias]

The only legimate piece of crap that I recall SE developing in the last 10 years is Final Fantasy X-2 and Final Fantasy XIV.

*ahem breathes in*

HALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLWAAAAAAAAAAAAAY.

[warty goblin]

What if it's made by someone in Japan who is doing a loving homage to the genre and probably understands it at least as well as you do? I'm not talking about freakin' RPG Maker stuff here.

"Low (http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/recettear/recettear-12.jpg) Rez" (http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/recettear/recettear-6.jpg) eh? We're not exactly talking about 16 bit sprites done in an 32x32 grid here. Yeah, fine, it's not in glorious 4k for the PC Gaming Master Race either, but c'mon, seriously. Not everyone has the budget to build their game in Unreal Engine 4.

OK, the sprites are higher res than I remembered from the last time I encountered a screenshot. The artstyle and theme do nothing for me, so still not interested. I'll happily play stuff of that graphical quality though, it's quite a ways above my 'too damn ugly' cutoff point.

[Airk]

OK, the sprites are higher res than I remembered from the last time I encountered a screenshot. The artstyle and theme do nothing for me, so still not interested. I'll happily play stuff of that graphical quality though, it's quite a ways above my 'too damn ugly' cutoff point.

Fair enough. I know what it is to look at a game and go "No, sorry, can't deal with your art style." Usually it involves games that don't have an art style though.

Oh, and Skullgirls.

[Zevox]

I included "grasps little else of what makes those games so great" for a reason.
And you base the assumption that someone making a game with that visual style doesn't grasp what makes the old games good on what exactly?

[warty goblin]

Fair enough. I know what it is to look at a game and go "No, sorry, can't deal with your art style." Usually it involves games that don't have an art style though.

Oh, and Skullgirls.

How can a game not have an art style?

[Tylorious]

How can a game not have an art style?

I second this, what isn't art?

[warty goblin]

I second this, what isn't art?

OK, I guess there's Dark Room Sex Game, which, lacking visuals, can't really be said to have a visual style. Outside of that though, I got nothing.

[Morithias]

How can a game not have an art style?

Uh...text based games?

You know...like...hmmm...

come to think of it the only text based game I've played recently is a game that's probably not safe to mention on this forum.

[warty goblin]

Uh...text based games?

Then it has a prose style, surely. Probably long on the simple declarative sentence, but a style nonetheless.


You know...like...hmmm...

come to think of it the only text based game I've played recently is a game that's probably not safe to mention on this forum.
Now I'm all curious.

[Morithias]

Now I'm all curious.

I'll give you one hint.

Call of Cthulhu.

[warty goblin]

I'll give you one hint.

Call of Cthulhu.

I am simultaneously much more and much less curious.

[Morithias]

I am simultaneously much more and much less curious.

Not in that way. Look at the name. You'll get your answer there.

[Airk]

How can a game not have an art style?

Easily. Just strive slavishly for realism. You will rapidly bleed any 'style' out of your game's art.

[endoperez]

How can a game not have an art style?

When it has several clashing art styles, or just lots of clashing art that doesn't fit together well enough to call it a style.

Indie game made by a few amateur artists with no experience working in a project, under a tight time limit while producing consistent art together with other artists...

[TechnoWarforged]

I used to Love Maxis...

And then Sim City 5 came out.

I used to be a big fan of The Creative Assembly...

And then Total War: Rome II came out.

Hopefully Blizzard won't fail me.

[Hiro Protagonest]

I used to Love Maxis...

And then Sim City 5 came out.
Bah, that was EA, demandin' "streamlinin'" and "microtransactions".

I used to be a big fan of The Creative Assembly...

And then Total War: Rome II came out.
That's probably legit. Granted, I'm not sure if Metacritic is a laughing stock like IGN yet.

Hopefully Blizzard won't fail me.

If D3 didn't do it, then no. I doubt it.

[warty goblin]

Not in that way. Look at the name. You'll get your answer there.
...Yeah, I got nothing.


Easily. Just strive slavishly for realism. You will rapidly bleed any 'style' out of your game's art.

Oh please.

Realism is a style of art; it's a conscious choice made by the artists in order to convey something particular about the atmosphere and emotion of a scene. The extremely realistic graphics of Crysis or Crysis 2 are as much a style as the cartoonified characters in Team Fortress 2. Or look at the shift in Lara Croft's design between Tomb Raider: Underworld and the reboot. In the first she's got a number of decidedly non-realistic bits of design that go well with the game's fluffy tone. In the second she's both modeled and animated in a much more realistic fashion; which fits well with the much grimmer feeling of the game.

Beyond that, this is supposing that things in reality don't appeal to aesthetic principles, whether by nature or design. Which is a load of BS. Most things designed by people - even extremely utilitarian things - tend to be designed to be attractive. Many things in nature are intrinsically quite beautiful; say snow on a red oak that's in its fall color. Both manufactured and natural items can be portrayed realistically, to great effect.

Realism isn't an art style my ass.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Oh please.

Realism is a style of art; it's a conscious choice made by the artists in order to convey something particular about the atmosphere and emotion of a scene. The extremely realistic graphics of Crysis or Crysis 2 are as much a style as the cartoonified characters in Team Fortress 2. Or look at the shift in Lara Croft's design between Tomb Raider: Underworld and the reboot. In the first she's got a number of decidedly non-realistic bits of design that go well with the game's fluffy tone. In the second she's both modeled and animated in a much more realistic fashion; which fits well with the much grimmer feeling of the game.

Beyond that, this is supposing that things in reality don't appeal to aesthetic principles, whether by nature or design. Which is a load of BS. Most things designed by people - even extremely utilitarian things - tend to be designed to be attractive. Many things in nature are intrinsically quite beautiful; say snow on a red oak that's in its fall color. Both manufactured and natural items can be portrayed realistically, to great effect.

Realism isn't an art style my ass.

Maybe he's talking about "realism", which is what most Call of Duty games are. The greys and the browns. Which is also an art style, just a lazy one because greys and browns are the easiest colors to make.

[warty goblin]

Maybe he's talking about "realism", which is what most Call of Duty games are. The greys and the browns. Which is also an art style, just a lazy one because greys and browns are the easiest colors to make.

Oh please.

Call of Duty games are hardly monochrome. I know that, and I haven't even played one since World at War. There's a certain amount of grey and brown involved, because concrete is grey, and dirt is (often) brown, after you explode all the grass off of it. Middle Eastern combat zones - hell combat zones in general - aren't exactly known for painting with the entire rainbow.

Secondly, making a readable scene is, simply by elementary set theory, at best no easier when using a restricted palate. Which, again CoD doesn't do all the time.

Thirdly, if they were so lazy, they wouldn't take enormous teams of extremely talented people two years and millions of dollars to make. They may cater to a demographic that's highly unpopular in the nerd universe, but that makes them no lazier than things nerds love and bros can't stand.

Call of Duty is lazy my ass. They're iterations on a particular formula yes - so are Bioware games, Obsidian games, Final Fantasy games, Crytek games, Valve games, or whatever other major release games you like*. The Call of Duty formula isn't one I like all that well, but that doesn't make it any lazier than the formula renditions found in games I do like.


*And probably most of the other games you like as well.

[Trixie]

I'll also throw out here and say Valve. Why? Because their games have consistently entertained me since Half-Life. Their work on Steam (and Team Fortress 2) just solidifies their rep.

Valve is a game developer? Since when? :smallconfused:

Surely not since 2010. Zing!

[Talderas]

*ahem breathes in*

HALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLWAAAAAAAAAAAAAY.

If that's your only complaint about about FF13 then I'm just going to discard your opinion because the last time Square did a FF game that wasn't a hallway was FF6 and that was only because after Kefka broke the world you had a choice in who you would reacquire and the order in which you reacquired them. FF7, FF8, FF9, FF10, FF12, and FF13 all were hallways. You just didn't see it as easily in any of the other because the hallway was much wider. Though really, FF10 wasn't much better.

[Craft (Cheese)]

Game design is like performing a magic trick: 99% of the work is in making sure the audience (the player) thinks what's going on is vastly different than what actually is. The hallway being so obvious really does ruin your ability to enjoy exploring the environments, the same way seeing the wires and trap doors makes the magic trick much less interesting.

My honest opinion is that the level designs in FF13 are actually fine, for the type of game it's trying to be: 100% of the Hallway Problem is caused by the overly-zoomed-out minimap.

On topic: My favorite developer? Edmund McMillen. Not because his games are particularly fun to play (though some of them are) but because his games are consistently personal: To play them is to feel his fears, his joys, his doubts, his struggles. This makes them deeply moving experiences for me.

[Psyren]

If that's your only complaint about about FF13

It's a pretty (http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=293) big (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmnAL60mfSg) complaint though.

[Divayth Fyr]

Some time ago I'd probably mention Bioware and Blizzard. However after Diablo III, Dragon Age II and Mass Effect III happened, I really can't say that. So I guess that at the moment I don't have a favorite developer (NWC and the old Black Isle being dead)...

[Morithias]

If that's your only complaint about about FF13 then I'm just going to discard your opinion because the last time Square did a FF game that wasn't a hallway was FF6 and that was only because after Kefka broke the world you had a choice in who you would reacquire and the order in which you reacquired them. FF7, FF8, FF9, FF10, FF12, and FF13 all were hallways. You just didn't see it as easily in any of the other because the hallway was much wider. Though really, FF10 wasn't much better.

Actually I don't play Final Fantasy period really.

I'm just saying, making the claim that everything before 14, was good is probably going to get a lot of replies.

I think the last final fantasy game I played was "My life as a king".

Really the reason why JRPGS don't really have much appeal to me, is the hallway. If the game has little-to-no interaction, I might as well watch a let's play.

At least the Rance JRPGs have sex scenes to keep them interesting.

I don't mind, linear plots, what I mind is linear plots that have few gameplay options.

For example, in Evil Genius. That game is as linear as you can get.

But despite the First-order-optimal strategy of Social workers. I can choose not to use them.

Do I want to build a ton of sentry guns and kill anyone who dares wander onto my island? Sure I can do that.

Do I want to take 72 hours and 100% the game, doing every optional mission? Did it.

Do I want to rush the game, and finish with as low as notoriety as possible, and mock the world that didn't see me coming? I can do that too.

But no

In Final Fantasy 13, EVERY play-through is going to be EXACTLY the same. The same fights, the same story, the same hallway.

And if you're going to give me a linear game like that, it better have a hell of a story...which from what I've seen it doesn't have.

I mean hell, Rance 7 came out in 2006, and it had 5 paths, (True, Kenshin, Ran, Yamato, Kill the monkey), PLUS a free for all mode where I could play as any house.

Seriously, I shouldn't be able to honestly say, "Yeah, this porn game released in 2006, is a better JRPG".

I'm just saying, when you're being outdone by Alicesoft, reconsider your game designs.

It's not the linear story. It's the LACK OF OPTIONS IN THE GAMEPLAY.

Oh and just to keep on topic.

Alicesoft is probably one of my favorite developers. But don't bother looking them up. They're an EROGE developer.

[Airk]

Realism is a style of art; it's a conscious choice made by the artists in order to convey something particular about the atmosphere and emotion of a scene. The extremely realistic graphics of Crysis or Crysis 2 are as much a style as the cartoonified characters in Team Fortress 2. Or look at the shift in Lara Croft's design between Tomb Raider: Underworld and the reboot. In the first she's got a number of decidedly non-realistic bits of design that go well with the game's fluffy tone. In the second she's both modeled and animated in a much more realistic fashion; which fits well with the much grimmer feeling of the game.

I disagree; When the ultimate goal is -simply- "make something look as much like real life as possible" there are no stylistic decisions. Yes, there are games that can go for a "Realistic style", but those aren't the games I am talking about.

But if you wonder why people think so many FPS games 'look the same' - I think you'll have a hard time persuading most folks that they all seperately decided that that 'art style' was what they wanted. They're just striving to look 'realistic'.

[warty goblin]

I disagree; When the ultimate goal is -simply- "make something look as much like real life as possible" there are no stylistic decisions. Yes, there are games that can go for a "Realistic style", but those aren't the games I am talking about.

Being as realistic as possible is an entirely stylistic decision. It seems nonsensical to conclude that a stylistic decision somehow results in something not a style.

And what games are you talking about, pray? Games that look realistic that don't go for a realistic style? Is realism something you wander into on accident in the middle of the night, like a mouse trap on the kitchen floor?


But if you wonder why people think so many FPS games 'look the same' - I think you'll have a hard time persuading most folks that they all seperately decided that that 'art style' was what they wanted. They're just striving to look 'realistic'.
So again, how does a game end up looking realistic if the people doing the art for the game aren't making a conscious decision to look realistic? Do they unconsciously strive for it? You're splitting hairs here, and I don't think the hairs exist in the first place.

Art style might be a decision forced by the genre a game occupies, or the market it's targeting, but so what? JRPGs don't cease having an art style just because I find them uniformly hideous and can't tell one from another for love nor money. I don't even think that the developers somehow strove for that particular look, without in fact deciding that's how they wanted their game to look. It's the way that sort of game looks, so if you want to make a game in that genre, you make it look like that. For about the same reasons that modern warfare shooters look the way modern warfare shooters look.

If your point is that games with the same art style tend to look the same, then yes. Also I'm pretty sure the sun didn't rise in the West this morning. Beyond that, I really cannot find a sensible argument in what you've posted.

[Talderas]

It's a pretty (http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=293) big (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmnAL60mfSg) complaint though.

It's not big at all. It's petty. Most of them are petty because they're nothing more than X isn't Y so it sucks. I've seen very few people actually review FF13 without comparing it to other FF games. Using comparison against other FF games as the sole foundation of a review is narrow-minded at best and idiotic on the more common end of the spectrum. In fact, I don't think I've seen a single review where they didn't fall into that exact fallacy. They couldn't critique the game as itself. They critique it only in the sense that it didn't do this like this game or it didn't do something like this other game and if they managed to avoid comparing it to another Final Fantasy game it usually devolved into "I didn't like it" without any really compelling evidence besides personal opinion. That's a worthless review. Final Fantasy is a victim of its own success and too much of the fan base has their favorite Final Fantasy which they really want to see all future ones play like. In essence, finding an impartial review of a Final Fantasy game tends to be impossible anymore and a sent like the below is a clear sign of anything but impartiality.


I do wish we saw more AAA RPG's in the older Final Fantasy vein.

[Psyren]

It's so often compared to the old ones because Square seems to have no idea what made those games so good. Combat has long been the weakest part of many JRPGs and FF in particular, and the older games knew it, so the combat got out of the way fast or there was mid-fight banter to keep things interesting. Or, back then, we simply didn't care because JRPGs were the only way to get the kind of narrative-heavy, skinner-box gameplay we craved.

Look at FF7 for instance; Knights of the Round takes a spunk-gargling 80+ seconds to go off, not counting the additional time it takes your chosen character's brain to start working between when you pressed the button and when their turn to actually act rolls around, just for 1 spell. That is not engaging gameplay, especially the 3rd+ time you see it. And rather than realize "hey guys, maybe menu-based combat with interminable cutscenes isn't be the best way to go in current-gen gaming" they've instead doubled down on the whole thing, with FF13 cutting you out of the process even more. It's terrible design and indefensible. The rigid linearity of it all is simply the icing on the turd cake.

Brighter minds than I have commented on the decline of the JRPG (http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/western-japanese-rpgs-part-3) and all the points I covered above are in there, with more besides.

[Morithias]

Just saying, if you want to have a crappy combat system, you better have one hell of a story....

....which final fantasy 13 did not deliver on judging from what I've seen.

In comparison. Sengoku Rance's combat.

Holy crap! It's not menu based combat. It's some kind of turn based strategy game. Crossed with RPG elements and a class system.

In comparison what does FF13 give us?

"There are six job classes called roles available in Final Fantasy XIII through a system called Paradigm Shift. Each of the six party members start out with a limited access to different roles but gradually gain access to all of them. "

Okay, so basically there are six classes, and over time, no one is unique, so they might as well have just stuck you with 3 characters alone.

Of course the obvious reason for why you have more than 3 characters is so you can't just grind those characters to the point where they could one shot anything.

[Craft (Cheese)]

On art style: A better way to phrase the problem is that of visual interestingness. How long can I look at a scene before I start to get bored and want to see something else? Do the visuals evoke the emotions the developer intends?

All too often with games that go for a "realistic" look the answer to these questions is:

- Instantaneously because they never grabbed my attention to begin with.

- No, because the developer has no particular emotions they want to evoke.

The real problem is that bro-shooters (and call of duty in particular) have disdain for the idea that gameplay can be made more meaningful through emotional context, whether concrete in the form of narrative and characters or abstract in the form of mood and atmosphere.


Of course the obvious reason for why you have more than 3 characters is so you can't just grind those characters to the point where they could one shot anything.

Actually, FF13 caps character advancement depending on your position in the story. Any XP you earn after your characters are capped out can't be spent until you defeat the next boss and unlock the next part of the crystarium.

[Talderas]

"There are six job classes called roles available in Final Fantasy XIII through a system called Paradigm Shift. Each of the six party members start out with a limited access to different roles but gradually gain access to all of them. "

Okay, so basically there are six classes, and over time, no one is unique, so they might as well have just stuck you with 3 characters alone.

Of course the obvious reason for why you have more than 3 characters is so you can't just grind those characters to the point where they could one shot anything.

That is actually a poor description of the combat system of FF13. FF13 actuallys has the most unique character constructions since FF9 and you would need to reach FF4 or maybe FF5 to find another game that would have characters that were equally as unique. In fact as far as uniqueness of characters and their abilities go FF13 is towards the upper bounds.

FF13... while the characters all had the same roles the abilities they gained in that role would vary based on the character. While snow would get <element>strike abilities as a ravager, Hope would gain Fire et al as a Ravager. These differences let to very distinct outcomes in each role for each character. Additionally, three of the jobs were "strong" for a character while three were weak. FF13 is just continuing their seeming intent on killing off ATB wait systems and moving to fluid and constant combat.

FF12... the only difference between the characters was their quickenings. They were carbon copies, thanks to the license grid, except for how you decided to allocate the summons.
FF10... due to the nature of the Sphere grid the only difference between the characters would end up being their limit breaks. They were only effectively different until all the locks started coming down.
FF9... characters were rather unique and there wasn't much in the way of duplication of abilities.
FF8... thanks to junction the only real difference between characters their limit breaks.
FF7... thanks to materia and the fact that mastering a materia grants you a new copy the only real difference between characters was limit breaks.
FF6... magic was learnable by all characters making only their unique mechanic a difference between them. Much more drastic in FF6 than some of the other games since some of the characters unique abilities were rather thorough (like Gau) while other character's unique abilities was quite lackluster and didn't set them too far apart (Celes).

The answer is that given an infinite amount of XP, AP, or whatever P you want that grows an item, how disimilar will characters look at the end and it's rather obvious that FF13 manages to edge out near the top.

[warty goblin]

On art style: A better way to phrase the problem is that of visual interestingness. How long can I look at a scene before I start to get bored and want to see something else? Do the visuals evoke the emotions the developer intends?

Which is a fine measure that is extremely subjective. I find rather a lot of interest in your standard shooter. Where can the enemy attack from? Where can I take cover? Would this be a good environment for gun A or gun B? All valid, interesting questions that can be raised by a realistic landscape. Whereas I'm almost always very much bored by the landscape presentation in, say, a platformer.


All too often with games that go for a "realistic" look the answer to these questions is:

- Instantaneously because they never grabbed my attention to begin with.

- No, because the developer has no particular emotions they want to evoke.

The real problem is that bro-shooters (and call of duty in particular) have disdain for the idea that gameplay can be made more meaningful through emotional context, whether concrete in the form of narrative and characters or abstract in the form of mood and atmosphere.
The first is again entirely subjective. Which is fine, I'm not using that as a criticism of not being interested in something. The reasons for that are ultimately going to be subjective, however many reasons one straps on to the explanation.

I've played enough CoD to know the second is utter malarkey though. They may not work emotionally for you (fine), you may not be interested in the way it evokes emotion or the sorts of emotions they evoke (fine), or find the sorts of emotion they evoke to be harmful (reaching), but they're certainly going for something.

[Maxios]

Just saying, if you want to have a crappy combat system, you better have one hell of a story....

....which final fantasy 13 did not deliver on judging from what I've seen.

In comparison. Sengoku Rance's combat.

Holy crap! It's not menu based combat. It's some kind of turn based strategy game. Crossed with RPG elements and a class system.

In comparison what does FF13 give us?

"There are six job classes called roles available in Final Fantasy XIII through a system called Paradigm Shift. Each of the six party members start out with a limited access to different roles but gradually gain access to all of them. "

Okay, so basically there are six classes, and over time, no one is unique, so they might as well have just stuck you with 3 characters alone.

Of course the obvious reason for why you have more than 3 characters is so you can't just grind those characters to the point where they could one shot anything.

...is it bad that I'm now interested in playing this Rance game?

[Zevox]

you better have one hell of a story....

....which final fantasy 13 did not deliver on judging from what I've seen.
To say the least. FF13's story is basically my whole criticism of it - it's awful. The characters are largely unlikeable (Sazh and Fang are okay, but the rest not so much, and Hope and Snow in particular are so annoying I'd be happy if the game gave me the chance to kill them), the pacing is atrocious (basically nothing important happens between the start and ending), the ending makes no sense even as you're watching it, the intentions and motivations of most of the characters are extremely unclear at best, it's hard to follow what's going on because the writers didn't bother to explain the setting through the story and instead want you to read a bunch of codex entries so that you have any context for anything, and there's just a whole lot of stupid moments and things that don't make sense permeating it.

I like FF13's combat system - more than the rest of the series' outside of 1 and 10, anyway. I have no problems with the linearity. But the writing drags it down so badly that I won't even try 13-2 or Lightning Returns. I have no desire to see those characters or that world ever again, and no trust that the writers of that game can turn out anything decent.

[Mx.Silver]

New World Computing wait, no they don't exist any more.
Sacnoth/Nautilus nope, they don't exist any more either.
Black Isle Also don't really exist, even if the name is still kicking around.

Bioware aren't bad, but lately I'm kind of drifting away a bit. Not just from their newer stuff either; I'm having increasing trouble feeling by KOTOR as well.
Obsidian are probably the strongest choice of the larger studios at the moment, although I tend to find myself appreciating their games more than actually liking them, as it were.

On the indie side of things, Supergiant games haven't really made enough for me to form much of an opinion.
So that really leaves Wadjet Eye. Point and click adventure games with fairly good writing and puzzles that actually follow comprehensible human logic? Hard to believe, and yet it is so, dear reader.

[Craft (Cheese)]

But the writing drags it down so badly that I won't even try 13-2 or Lightning Returns. I have no desire to see those characters or that world ever again, and no trust that the writers of that game can turn out anything decent.

Somehow the plot of 13-2 makes even less sense than 13 did.

[Grinner]

On topic: My favorite developer? Edmund McMillen. Not because his games are particularly fun to play (though some of them are) but because his games are consistently personal: To play them is to feel his fears, his joys, his doubts, his struggles. This makes them deeply moving experiences for me.

As much as I anticipate Mewgenics, I have to wonder what, if anything, that says about him (edit: to you).

[Craft (Cheese)]

As much as I anticipate Mewgenics, I have to wonder what, if anything, that says about him (edit: to you).

I'd have to play it to say. Being something of a real-life cat lady myself (currently have 5 and love them to death; most I've ever had at once is 14), I'm certain it'll hit close to home one way or another.

[Zevox]

Somehow the plot of 13-2 makes even less sense than 13 did.
I believe it. It involves time travel, after all, and if there's one story element that can make a story exponentially more confusing, especially in the hands of a bad writer, it's time travel.

[Morithias]

...is it bad that I'm now interested in playing this Rance game?

Be warned. It's an eroge.

Also it's Rance GAMES. It's a series, and unlike final fantasy, it has a plot that goes from game to game, they're all linked.

Just again, a warning. This series is an EROGE series.

And I'm not talking like Katawa Shojou where you can turn the sex scenes off. The sex is actually tied into the game mechanics.

Go play it if you want, or google a forum let's play, but be warned.

Also if you plan to play them in order, you'll need to wait. Sengoku Rance is Rance 7, and the translation project just finished with Rance 4.

Also in terms of plots, the Rance series has very simple plots that make sense.

Like Rance 6. "Mage ruled country is enslaving those who cannot use magic, lead a rebellion against them."

Bam, simple plot, with probably some kind of twist later on, there's no stupid "What is our focus" mystery going on, and most of all.

YOU DON'T NEED TO READ A BLOODY CODEX.

[GungHo]

And you base the assumption that someone making a game with that visual style doesn't grasp what makes the old games good on what exactly?

I don't know... playing them? Reading a review? Reading their customer feedback? Reading the authors' own descriptions of the game to see what high spots they say they're hitting and putting my head in my hands when they mention no actual features?