Classic RPG Heritage Poll

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AuthorTopic: Classic RPG Heritage Poll
Raven v. Writing Desk
Member # 261
Profile Homepage #0
After a recent conversation with Tyranicus, I've been wondering how familiar Spidwebbers are with the so-called "classic RPG" heritage, the games from 10 and 20 years ago that had a big influence on Exile and other SW games. So, here's a simple poll.

For the purposes of this poll, "finishing" a game means that you played a big chunk of it. Halfway through is probably enough. The main idea is that trying a game once for fifteen minutes doesn't count.

(Exception: you do not need to have finished Rogue or Roguelikes. Few people finish those.)

Poll Information
This poll contains 1 question(s). 63 user(s) have voted.
You may not view the results of this poll without voting.

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Slarty vs. DeskDesk vs. SlartyTimeline of ErmarianG4 Strategy Central
Posts: 3560 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Councilor
Member # 6600
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Ouch. Only three games. And two of them were from Spiderweb Software.

Dikiyoba used to spend a lot of time outside. Alas, those days are now gone.
Posts: 4346 | Registered: Friday, December 23 2005 08:00
? Man, ? Amazing
Member # 5755
Profile #2
I used to spend a lot of time inside, thus my ability to check the first 10 boxes, plus Rogue. That was it for me, I've not even heard of some of those games lower down on the list.

Now I do spend a lot of time outside, except when it is raining, and then I tease Slarty.

Edit - Holy cwap! You omitted Leisure Suit Larry??? Heathen!!

[ Thursday, March 30, 2006 17:00: Message edited by: Jumpin' Salmon ]

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quote:
Originally written by Kelandon:

Well, I'm at least pretty sure that Salmon is losing.


Posts: 4114 | Registered: Monday, April 25 2005 07:00
Raven v. Writing Desk
Member # 261
Profile Homepage #3
I probably should have included King's Quest, at least, but I figured that Zork was adequate representation for the so-called adventure genre.

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Slarty vs. DeskDesk vs. SlartyTimeline of ErmarianG4 Strategy Central
Posts: 3560 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Too Sexy for my Title
Member # 5654
Profile #4
Wow, I've only got "at least one GF game" out of the entire list.
Posts: 1035 | Registered: Friday, April 1 2005 08:00
BANNED
Member # 4
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...well, it doesn't take a goddamned genius to know that I like FE.

(Play MA)

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Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
Warrior
Member # 126
Profile Homepage #6
Rogue and Roguelikes - Yum yum yum!
Same goes for MUDs, but thank goodness the university refuses access to telnet, or else I'd waste even more time online!

Avernum's results bar is towering above all the rest.

Edit; Hum. I suppose CRPG's such as Planescape:Torment or Baldur's Gate are too new and don't really have a place in the poll, or did I miss them?

[ Thursday, March 30, 2006 17:30: Message edited by: Captain Uglyhead ]

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Fly beyond the ocean, over the mountains, past the moon and across the face of the sun, never to come home again.
Posts: 161 | Registered: Monday, October 8 2001 07:00
Law Bringer
Member # 6489
Profile Homepage #7
Only 2 people (I'm one of them, and I presume Slarty is the other) have played any of the Dragon Warrior/Quest games? This is quite disturbing. You people need to learn more of your geeky heritage! :P

Edit: Btw, I have played old NWN (not to be confused with the recent Bioware game which is also quite good), but I'm curious if Ultima Online is considered too recent to be put in that category, or if it belongs with the other Ultima games.

[ Thursday, March 30, 2006 19:01: Message edited by: Tyranicus ]

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"You're drinking liquor because you're thirsty? How nasty is your freaking water?" —Lazarus
Spiderweb Chat Room
Avernum RPSummariesOoCRoster
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Posts: 1556 | Registered: Sunday, November 20 2005 08:00
Law Bringer
Member # 335
Profile Homepage #8
Ultima Online is not an Ultima. Neither, I would have to say, is Ultima 5: Lazarus, although I'm tempted to get Dungeon Siege just to see what a U5 remake can be like.

—Alorael, who has played an ecclectic mix of the named games and not played an equally ecclectic mix. He has played them in more or less random order. He has actually completed a game of Angband, and he doubts he will ever do it again.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Law Bringer
Member # 4153
Profile Homepage #9
Ow... I am truly unlearned... just Avernum and Eye of the Beholder (and that was the GBA).

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Gamble with Gaea, and she eats your dice.

I hate undead. I really, really, really, really hate undead. With a passion.
Posts: 4130 | Registered: Friday, March 26 2004 08:00
Law Bringer
Member # 6785
Profile #10
As one of the oldest gamers here, I go back to playing Adventure on a mainframe computer. I haven't had time because of Avernum 4 to try the PC versions.

You left off the Star Trek games, both mainframe and PC, but I guess you don't want sci-fi.

I've played Wizardry and Ultima II on a roommate's Apple II+, Ultima I on a IBM PC where my roommate had to find a copy of DOS 1.0 to run it, and Might and Magic 1 and 2 when they first came out.

I played the MUD game Avatar on the Plato network and its PC version called Mordor. I haven't tried the online MUD version Demise.

There is Castle of the Winds 1 and 2, and the older DOS games like Hack.

I never got into Bard's Tale because on a PC AT the game moved too quickly to map without pausing every few seconds. That's the problem with real time games.

There was also the Hobbit back in the mid 80's, but I didn't get past the Misty Mountains.
Posts: 4643 | Registered: Friday, February 10 2006 08:00
? Man, ? Amazing
Member # 5755
Profile #11
Meh.

I still own a copy of Pools of Radiance, although my Pentium 1 box may be too hi-tech to ever play it. Still, it'd be worth a try one of these days.

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quote:
Originally written by Kelandon:

Well, I'm at least pretty sure that Salmon is losing.


Posts: 4114 | Registered: Monday, April 25 2005 07:00
Infiltrator
Member # 3220
Profile #12
Six. Reasonable standing, I think.

I once played a roguelike with actual graphics instead of letters and numbers. I was killed many times by the cute little green dragons.
Posts: 437 | Registered: Sunday, July 13 2003 07:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 6666
Profile #13
I feel so... unexperienced. Only five, three of which were spidweb games.

Question to the ones who ticked rogue or rogue-like: Have you really "finished (i.e., played most of)" the game? I only have experience with Adom, but that one at least is nearly impossible to finish without resorting to cheating.
Posts: 353 | Registered: Monday, January 9 2006 08:00
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #14
More the theory part. I know/have heard of most of those games, but the only one I've actually played is ADOM. Still do. Played it since early in 2001, last played it in February this year.

Never won.

I did get the Medal of Chaos though. And the Crown of Chaos. And almost, ALMOST, the Scepter of Chaos. Alas, all in different games.

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Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
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quote:
Originally written by Redstart:

I feel so... unexperienced. Only five, three of which were spidweb games.

Question to the ones who ticked rogue or rogue-like: Have you really "finished (i.e., played most of)" the game? I only have experience with Adom, but that one at least is nearly impossible to finish without resorting to cheating.

I finished one roguelike (the graphic one) several times without cheating. I never finished Moria, though, without staying firmly in wizard mode. I finished it while thus cheating several times. I also used to re-roll multiple times until the character description was as close to what I actually look like as possible.
Posts: 437 | Registered: Sunday, July 13 2003 07:00
Post Navel Trauma ^_^
Member # 67
Profile Homepage #16
On the roguelike front, I've won Nethack and ADOM three times each, and Crawl and ToME once each (all without cheating). I clearly have too much time on my hands.

And there is finally a Mac version of ADOM, so I can play it again now....

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Barcoorah: I even did it to a big dorset ram.

desperance.net - Don't follow this link
Posts: 1798 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00
Agent
Member # 6581
Profile Homepage #17
I finished GF3, Dungeon Master 2 and the beautyful Realmz.

BTW, what is ADOM?

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Posts: 1310 | Registered: Tuesday, December 20 2005 08:00
Raven v. Writing Desk
Member # 261
Profile Homepage #18
Survey composition:
There are lots of games that can be considered "major" classic RPGs. I tried to keep the list manageable, while hitting all of the most influential games. I did focus on the branches of the family closest to Exile (hence the presence of Bard's Tale and Might & Magic, which did not begat entire branches like Ultima and Wizardry did).

Hack is covered under Roguelikes, unless you are thinking of a different Hack. I don't think the 80's Hobbit was really big enough to cover. I haven't played any pre-90's Trek games, and the ones I did were all pretty crappy. Any games in particular you were thinking of?

Baldur's Gate, Diablo, and games like those, while good, are definitely not "classic" RPGs. And given the action elements some of them use, I'd really need to include Legend of Zelda and Wolfenstein 3-D before putting them on, anyway.

Ultima Online probably shouldn't go in the Ultima category. Too late -- I suspect it already got a few votes off UO.

Results:
Very few here have played Ultima and Wizardry, the games Jeff has most often cited as influences. As far as comparable games go, a decent number have played Realmz, but few have played the Gold Box series, which is a crime.

Pool of Radiance is a wonderful game. I actually have three copies of it in various parts of the country (PC, Mac, and NES). I lost my translation wheel a long time ago, but somehow remember enough keywords that it hasn't been a problem.

I am also astonished that so few people have played Dragon Quest, particularly considering the numbers for Fire Emblem. Fire Emblem was never officially released in English until 2004, and then only one game, I think, whereas most of the Dragon Quests have been out in English. Don't get me wrong, Fire Emblem is a great series, but Dragon Quest is just so freaking influential.

I've actually completed Angband as well. It was rewarding, but not rewarding enough to account for all the frustration (and tedium) that accompanied it.

I am completely shocked that twice as many people have played Roguelikes as have played Rogue. I honestly didn't think they had such a big audience these days. It's also surprising to see that they are the most popular answer outside of SW games, more popular even than Final Fantasy. That says something potentially interesting about the SW fanbase, or at least the forum fanbase, considering how distinct Roguelikes are from SW-style games.

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Slarty vs. DeskDesk vs. SlartyTimeline of ErmarianG4 Strategy Central
Posts: 3560 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Shake Before Using
Member # 75
Profile #19
My first Roguelike was Moria. Really, there's no real reason to seriously play the original over the better alternatives.

Personally, I only had to leave blank Adventure, Zork, Realmz (no Mac, and the PC version bites ass), Dungeon Master (never heard of it), Dragon Warrior (The old ones blow), Rogue, and MMORPG Precursor ( no internet for a long time :( ). Amusingly enough, the only Bard's Tale I've finished (since I never got my hands on the original three) counts for my "Any miscellaneous scenario creation engine", since it was the scenario included with Bard's Tale Construction Set.

quote:
Pool of Radiance is a wonderful game. I actually have three copies of it in various parts of the country (PC, Mac, and NES). I lost my translation wheel a long time ago, but somehow remember enough keywords that it hasn't been a problem.
Pools of Darkness, on the other hand... :(

[ Friday, March 31, 2006 04:45: Message edited by: Imban ]
Posts: 3234 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00
Raven v. Writing Desk
Member # 261
Profile Homepage #20
Personally, I think it's the new DQs that blow. Dragon Warrior II is one of my favorite games of all time; it was so well balanced.

The gold box engine did seem to get worse at higher levels. I never played PoD, but Poolrad > Curse > Blades, so it figures. OTOH, Dark Queen of Krynn was great.

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Slarty vs. DeskDesk vs. SlartyTimeline of ErmarianG4 Strategy Central
Posts: 3560 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Master
Member # 4614
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I seem to have spent too much time playing sport games.

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-ben4808
Posts: 3360 | Registered: Friday, June 25 2004 07:00
BANNED
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"Fire Emblem was never officially released in English until 2004, and then only one game, I think, whereas most of the Dragon Quests have been out in English."

Am I the only person here who, when finished with Rekka no Ken, beat Seima no Kouseki before it was translated?
Remember, most people here are massively shameless pirates.

As for me- No for most of the oldies. I've tried most of 'em, but it's just too friggin' difficult to stand 'em. I tried Ultima IV once for, say, four to six hours. I had to quit: It's missing way too many of the "technological" advances that simply allow for better storytelling, period. I cannot stand films before '26 (ie, films without sound synchronization), for instance. I simply cannot bring myself to enjoy such things.

(And if someone wants to get into a discussion of "hot" or "cold" media, this would be the time.)

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Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
Raven v. Writing Desk
Member # 261
Profile Homepage #23
You may be the only person here, TM. Many people here are massively shameless pirates. Exceedingly few read Japanese.

This may be one place where age is a factor. When I was in third grade, half the boys in the class had played Dragon Warrior. (And everybody watched the Super Mario Bros. Super Show after school. Oh, how I miss the late 80's.) I got used to the lack of "technological" advances before they were around, so they seem superfluous to me; younger gamers no doubt take them for granted. Ultima IV is a gem, but you're still right. I don't think I could play it today either, if I didn't already know how it all tied together.

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Slarty vs. DeskDesk vs. SlartyTimeline of ErmarianG4 Strategy Central
Posts: 3560 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Shake Before Using
Member # 75
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Pools of Darkness was fun, in a way, but it's to date the only D&D game that's ever honestly just tossed eleven dragons at me as a more or less random encounter.
Posts: 3234 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00

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