[Locrian]

Need to make up 10 questions and present them to gamers as mock audience research for a class I'm taking. Would like to hear the responses of some RPGDX forum goers.

1) What was the first game you remember that you really enjoyed? Describe what made it so memorable.

2) What is your favorite genre and why? (FPS, RTS, RPG, MMO, etc.)

3) What are some flaws or short comings of games typical of your favorite genre? How could the genre be improved?

4) What genre do you not particularly enjoy? How could it be more attractive to you?

5) What is one of your favorite games of all time and what made it so great?

6) Now, anything you didn't like about your favorite game? Any room for improvement?

7) Is there a game that you were really looking forward to that ended up as a total disappointment? Explain.

8) How have games improved over the years? Have they regressed in any way?

9) Do you prefer playing on PC or consoles?

10) You have unlimited funds and man power to create the game of your dreams. Quickly state three of its features/qualities/design goals.

[Hajo]

1) I think that was a platformer game called "Montezuma's Revenge" for the old Atari video game consoles.

Wow, it's even on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gjw_JyhaWo

I'm not quite sure why I enjoyed it so much. I guess it was a combination of elements:

- Timing and eye/hand coordination skills.
- Simple but interesting puzzles ("need blue key for blue door" type)
- AFAIR it did not involve combat (not sure if that counted when I really played it, but in hindsight it fits to what I like among games)

2) This is a hard question. Particularly since I don't know the name of the genre that I want to pick. I like MMOs to some extend, also RPGs, even some FPS. But what really catches me are "construction games" like the settlers series. I don't know the English name for those, RTS is not quite that, since the genre that I mean also includes Tycoon games like Railroad Tycoon or Rollercoaster Tycoon.

3) They are typically single player or competitive multiplayer. I miss a social factor there and would like to see a cooperative multiplayer mode (work together in construction, don't compete).

4) Puzzle games (including puzzle-heavy adventures). While some catch my interest, it usually wears off within a few hours.

Ideas to make them more attractive, depends on what exactly among them bores me. Illogical puzzles are an immediate "no more" (=more logical puzzles). Also overly complex puzzles are a "no" (=needs puzzles that can be solved in a fairly short timeframe).

5) I feel undecided between Dungeon Master and Homeworld. I'll pick Dungeon Master as answer here because it was the first one that really got me.

It was great because it was very advanced and unique in display (first person view was rare for RPGs that time, particularly with the monsters displayed as they move through the dungeon). It was also great because it was well balanced, and had everything that a RPG seems to need, but almost nothing that seemed superfluous. It was very immersive. It was very easy to pick up and play. It had some puzzles, but most were easy enough, and just right to be interesting. It felt quite realistic, although it had a good level of abstraction - just right to make it real enough in my head.

6) Actually I think any try to change it will break it. Things really fit together there, and I would not recommend any change to improve a particular feature, since I'd be afraid to break the balance. But it's also very long back, and memories tend to glorify things. So maybe while I actually played I could have given you a list of quirks.

One thing: Several times my saved games have developed errors (for reason unknown). If something, it needs a more reliable game saving/restoring routine.

7) I seldom look forward to new games. This is because I am a "late adopter". So unless everyone and their mother tell me something is great and a must have, I don't try it. And at that time, it's fairly certain not to become a big disappointment, since it was tried and confirmed often enough.

8) This is hard to answer. Since the release of Diablo II none of the newer games really could keep me. I always went back to playing D2 some more. May I then say, that in the past 7 years I saw no progress that I was really interested in, but I cannot really notice any regression either. For me, D2 is like a lonely peak within large plains, that combines a lot of features that I like and which I (similarly to Dungeon Master) cannot imagine how to improve. (And no, real 3D graphics are not an improvement in my eyes).

9) PC definitely. I see no sense in having a specialized gaming tool like a console. I never had a console, and unless someone beats me to it (and at the same time gives me the money for it) I'll not buy a console of any sorts. And with smartphones/mobile phones becoming game-enabled I also see no need for specialized portable game-thingies anymore. So, PC for me.

10) Trying:

- Cooperative multiplayer mode (like D2)
- Option for private games (like D2)
- An evolving world that reacts to players actions.

[valderman]

[Rainer Deyke]

[Locrian]

Thanks for the replies guys.

[Nodtveidt]

[valderman]

[Jinroh]

1) It was probably Pole Position for the Atari 2600 my dad and I would play that for a while at a time. Man that was a fun game it paved the way for modern racers like Outrun and Chase HQ. It was just fun and 3D-ish and was a blast to play lol.

2) Action/Adventure or Survival Horror or Action RPG. Well, action/adventure or action RPG like No More Heroes or Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines you get to go around and be somebody and do all kinds of cool actiony stuff but have depth in there too like a good story which is paramount to a good game. But my real Genre would be anything by Grasshopper Manufacture/Goichi Suda (yeah I'm a big Suda 51 fanboy). I like Survival Horror because I like horror and the element of danger is always there it's suffocating sometimes. I love it. ^_^

3) What are some flaws or short comings of games typical of your favorite genre? How could the genre be improved?

4) I don't particularly enjoy newer FPS games. Classics like Doom and Duke3D I love, but new ones are focused being slow and clunky and being over hyped. If there was a revival of the quick shooters like Doom I'd be more convinced.

5) Killer 7 - Great Presentation, Amazing Story, Great Gameplay, Thought Provoking Political Satire, Anime Cutscenes, Otaku References, Sentai Rangers. What more do I need to say?

6) >.> Not really that I could think of.

7) Hmm...Dementium: The Ward for the DS. The game looks amazing, but plays like garbage. I was so looking foreward to a good Survival Horror game (OTHER THAN RE:DS AMAZING) for the DS.

8) FPS's have declined and I thnk games overall are the game. There's still a ton of garbage just look at the NES days, but there are some gems that shine through.

9) Consoles, because we're in the age of "ZOMG GOTTA UPGRADE FOR SURE TO GET THIS NEW GAME ON THE PC!"

10) Jury is out on this one.
_________________
Mao Mao Games
The wolf and his mate howl, taking solace in the silver moon. Pressing ever foreward to see what the future holds.

[Hajo]

[Jinroh]

[Captain Vimes]

1) Kirby's Dream Land. It was the first video game I ever played - when I was three, I think. My cousin had it on her GameBoy, which was still brand-new, and she let me play it. I still have a soft spot for Kirby.
What made it so memorable, I think, was just the fact that it was a fun game. I can't really tell you what makes a game "fun". I like Kirby.
My cousin also had Tetris, which I hated. I still do.

2) For single player, my favorite genre is definitely RTS/TBS (turn-based strategy). I just like strategy games. Advance Wars, WarCraft III, etc. There's nothing more attractive than a click-fest.
For multiplayer, though, it has to be the shooter, whether first- or third-person. Halo 3 and Gears of War are a blast to play in a group. It's not about "Hey, I get to shoot Dan! Cool!" It's about "Hey, I just got a Bulltrue Headshot with a sniper rifle no-scope on Infection! I AM A GOD TO YOU!" and everybody goes "w00t".
Platformers (like Castlevania, which is my all-time favorite game series) and arcade games come in a close second to these two genres.

3) I can't really think of any shortcomings in real-time strategy, since the gameplay is pretty different between different games. A fantasy RTS like WarCraft III is really different from something like Rise of Nations, and gameplay flaws are different between games.
For shooters, though, it has to be the controls. The default controls on Halo 3 make it impossible to jump, aim, and melee attack all at the same time. Gears of War makes it difficult to throw grenades accurately. For GoW, it's a camera issue, though, so there's no real way to fix that. Halo, though, can be fixed by a simple button configuration switch (Bumper Jumper FTW).

4) LIFE SIMS. If I wanted to buy a house and pay a mortgage, I'd turn off the friggin' console. I play video games because I want to do something OTHER THAN have meaningful relationships and deal with taxes.

5) Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. I had never played any Castlevania games before, and this one just caught my eye for some reason. I immediately fell in love with the series and bought all the other games (if they weren't on sale any more, I downloaded an emulator and ROM for it, like Simon's Quest).
I like the idea of stealing the powers of the enemies you defeat (an idea that probably got stuck in my head from playing too much Kirby), and that's what this game is all about. Collecting souls is ridiculously fun. When you run out of souls to capture, you can always go after the secret weapons (such as Excalibur - a giant boulder with a sword stuck in it - and the Terror Bear, a teddy bear on a stick that deals RIDICULOUS damage).

6) Not really. The replay value is kind of low, but that's offset by the option to play in Julius mode (play through the game as the vampire hunter Julius Belmont, his assistant Yoko and the son of Dracula, Alucard) instead of playing through as Soma again.

7) Not really. I don't "look forward to" game launches. I just stroll into GameStop and see what's available cheap.

8) The addition of 3D graphics has been awesome. It made possible games such as Gauntlet: Dark Legacy and Halo. But when 3D graphics were added, games like Castlevania kind of got left behind since they tried to say true to their side-scrolling origins. 2D games are still fun, people! PLAY THEM!

9) Console. My PC is crap.

10)
- A see it, smash it environment. Everything is destructible, throwable, ignitable, etc. I love games like that.
- A modern fantasy setting, kind of something along the lines of Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. I'm just attached to that game. This setting means you get guns as well as old weapons like swords.
- Great soundtrack and controls. Many a good game has lost some of its luster simply because the soundtrack didn't hold up. A good soundtrack can make a good game into a great game, or simply improve a great game that extra bit and make it an excellent game (Castlevania and Halo spring to mind). And a smooth, intuitive control scheme is essential. Nothing like the default setting on Halo 3. When I think back to my days with that button configuration... *shudders*
_________________
"Sometimes it is better to light a flamethrower than to curse the darkness."
- Terry Pratchett

[dbest]

1) What was the first game you remember that you really enjoyed? Describe what made it so memorable.
Age of empires.. Was really amazing taking control of some villagers... and soldiers... was a fun game

2) What is your favorite genre and why? (FPS, RTS, RPG, MMO, etc.)
RTS - Havent played many of the others.

3) What are some flaws or short comings of games typical of your favorite genre? How could the genre be improved?
Too much micromanagement...
Some clunky interfaces

4) What genre do you not particularly enjoy? How could it be more attractive to you?
FPS -

5) What is one of your favorite games of all time and what made it so great?
Age of empires again..

6) Now, anything you didn't like about your favorite game? Any room for improvement?
Nothing in particular

7) Is there a game that you were really looking forward to that ended up as a total disappointment? Explain.
Need for Speed.... Couldnt drive the cars.. so not the game's fault

8) How have games improved over the years? Have they regressed in any way?


9) Do you prefer playing on PC or consoles?
PC mostly as I do not have any console now.

10) You have unlimited funds and man power to create the game of your dreams. Quickly state three of its features/qualities/design goals.

- Replayability, non-linear story, visuals changing and not the same.
- High quality Graphics
- Good AI