In a way, I see it more as a square/rectangle situation. A game that helps to shape you is probably a favourite one, not necessarily the other way around. It’s a good thread either way.
Early games are easy to say like Ocarina and such but I think the games I really started to compare to:
Ratchet and clank- sure I played mario64 but I didnt really grasp the breadth of platforming until ps2. The Jak/Ratchet games really secured my expectations in future platformers for what I expect from movement and targeting in games. Especially by Deadlocked, being able to strafe and fire/keeping your gun/ camera on target and snappy switching between them is something I notice even new games not get right. A great example of this is Darktide - for all its fun sometimes the button inputs for weapon swap dont trigger due to input overload. For me this is the “Why doesn’t this third person game just have Ratchet controls”
Exploration was easily shaped by Ocarina of Time. Where checking behind the waterfall isn’t an easter egg, it’s an expectation. The temples certainly stretched the imagination for puzzles, and modern game puzzles genuinely don’t feel like they rise to it. Being older and sharper has helped but perception wise it felt like the first game to challenge me like an older game did was Portal 2 for difficulty, and Genshin Impact for small fun puzzles. (Not that they are particularly hard but it takes some thought and intentional placement) for me some games just hit the “exploration and puzzles should challenge the player”
This one isn’t new or controversial: but gaming in the 360/ps3 era and older, seeing cash shops lock up cosmetics you used to just…unlock. like whole ass costumes and easter egg outfits. Colors and reskinned weapons all sold back to players now. I get the whole f2p “gotta make a sale to stay free” but holy shit $20 for a fortnite skin is disgusting considering how many people buy that specific skin. It pays for itself and THEN some, and they drip these every week or so - and every single one sells a thousand copies to different users. “Game companies got greedy, and cut content to sell back to you after swearing they wouldn’t”
Black ops 2: I didn’t play earlier games and mostly grew up with cartoon violence, so this was my first real foray into an online environment and experience that I compare shooter level design to. I still compare the new(ish) call of duties to it. Moreso like “how the fuck are spawns still this fucking dogshit, have they learned nothing in 20 years” and “How the fuck is nuketown still a map its too small to make any really plays, it’s just spawncamping for 10 minutes” (the answer is kids like it for some reason). And why I haven’t bought a cod since cold war (the homies all wanted to play so we made a game night out of it).Anyway BO2 is what I compare shooters to. If you can’t match a 2012 game in terms of how easy it is to traverse a pvp level, and the player feedback of a kill (like how impactful it feels to secure the kill is almost on par with Doom2016) “Kills should feel punchy, dynamic, like you actually hit that fuckin dude through a wall, not just tickled him and he ragdolled”
Pokemon gold/silver and Emerald. "Games don’t have to have super deep or complex stories, or fantastic budget breaking graphics to be fun
Here is my Quality Slop list (I only like them because they are good):
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Metal Gear Solid
NieR Gestalt
Test Drive Unlimited 2
Halo Combat Evolved
Dark Souls
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Half-Life: Opposing Force
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
Silent Hill 2 (the original, not the remake)
Super Metroid
Need for Speed Underground 2
Shenmue 1, 2, and 3 (Shenmue 3 is probably the worst game on this list, but its still pretty good regardless)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2
Age of Empires II
Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour
Policenauts
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Each of these have contributed to my high bar of expected quality for games. Most of these games were made on a very tight budget and schedule, with pretty harsh hardware limitations, usually with a small team of less than 100 people, and are the greatest games of all time. Modern game studios have no excuses for the awful quality they launch games in today with more time, money, more people on the dev team, and lack of hardware limitations.
I liked it more. Red Alert 2 was good but I just prefer Generals Zero Hour.
RA2 isnt bad, I just wanted to really limit the list to not repeat a bunch of games from the same series if they werent equally as good IMO (which is why Danganronpa 2 is the only one in its series, for example). I just had more fun with Generals Zero Hour.
Can’t really argue with that, RA2 was just such an icon and a mainstay whereas I feel like the C&C brand was largely on the way out by the time of generals, personally
I really thought there’d be more OSRS representation here! Been playing forever and still love it. It’s kind of ruined games for me - nothing else really scratches the same itch.
Man, I spent so long playing elite! Docking with those space stations took a whole lot of practise. And the graphics seemed amazing at the time, amazing how far and fast things have changed.
Super Mario Bros 1, 2 & 3
Super Mario World
Mortal Kombat 1 & 2
Wolfenstein 3D
DOOM
Commander Keen
Starcraft
Diablo 1 / 2
Unreal Tournament 2003/4
Counter-Strike
Half Life
Everquest
World of Warcraft
The Secret of Monkey Island
Indiana Jones Fate of Atlantis / Last Crusade
LOOM
Resident Evil 1 & 2
Legend of Zelda 1
Ocarina of Time
Mario Kart (SNES & 64)
Ogre Battle 64
WCW/NWO Revenge
Portal 1 & 2
Grand Theft Auto 2, 3 and 5
Yeah I’m old. Some modern ones:
Breath of the Wild
Valheim
Outer Wilds
Your not old, your me!. Most of these plus some others definitely, plus a bunch of modern ones as well. Shocked you only liked Half-Life 1 and not 2. I thought 2 was mind blowing at the time and still feel like it’s the first game to bring us into the modern era of games to this day.
This was a pinnacle showcase of how interactive a game could be. The sandbox design not only encouraged your creativity but met it beat for beat.
This was also the game that made me understand how much world design and atmosphere matter. Making a world feel believable with environmental story telling is incredibly difficult but so satisfying. To this day, not been dethroned.
Team Fortress 2
Balance, class design, character design, game mode design, and a touch of jank; all in the name of what is the most fun. I see this as the grandfather of Deadlock and The Finals; both games I come back to more often than TF2 but who’s DNA matches closest.
UNBEATABLE
Trusting your audience with regards to story telling and leaving things unsaid.
Also importance of a banger soundtrack.
Sekiro
Importance of tactility and flow. Quick, slow; quick, quick; slow. Technically a rythm game too.
Z.A.T.O.
A showcase of how little you need to make a game and still have it feel impactful. Also importance of picking a target audience and nostalgia. Also visual novels rule.
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Nothing has shaped how I view games more than Dark Souls.
Based on how many times I have started the game, but never finished
Based on number of hours played
ITT: A bunch of people misunderstanding the question
As expected. Many people just see it as an opportunity to talk about their favorite games. That’s okay.
Honestly I love reading about peoples favourite games! I thought it was funny in this thread
But I mean aren’t our favorite games naturally the ones that have most influenced us and our views on gaming?
In a way, I see it more as a square/rectangle situation. A game that helps to shape you is probably a favourite one, not necessarily the other way around. It’s a good thread either way.
Early games are easy to say like Ocarina and such but I think the games I really started to compare to:
Ratchet and clank- sure I played mario64 but I didnt really grasp the breadth of platforming until ps2. The Jak/Ratchet games really secured my expectations in future platformers for what I expect from movement and targeting in games. Especially by Deadlocked, being able to strafe and fire/keeping your gun/ camera on target and snappy switching between them is something I notice even new games not get right. A great example of this is Darktide - for all its fun sometimes the button inputs for weapon swap dont trigger due to input overload. For me this is the “Why doesn’t this third person game just have Ratchet controls”
Exploration was easily shaped by Ocarina of Time. Where checking behind the waterfall isn’t an easter egg, it’s an expectation. The temples certainly stretched the imagination for puzzles, and modern game puzzles genuinely don’t feel like they rise to it. Being older and sharper has helped but perception wise it felt like the first game to challenge me like an older game did was Portal 2 for difficulty, and Genshin Impact for small fun puzzles. (Not that they are particularly hard but it takes some thought and intentional placement) for me some games just hit the “exploration and puzzles should challenge the player”
This one isn’t new or controversial: but gaming in the 360/ps3 era and older, seeing cash shops lock up cosmetics you used to just…unlock. like whole ass costumes and easter egg outfits. Colors and reskinned weapons all sold back to players now. I get the whole f2p “gotta make a sale to stay free” but holy shit $20 for a fortnite skin is disgusting considering how many people buy that specific skin. It pays for itself and THEN some, and they drip these every week or so - and every single one sells a thousand copies to different users. “Game companies got greedy, and cut content to sell back to you after swearing they wouldn’t”
Black ops 2: I didn’t play earlier games and mostly grew up with cartoon violence, so this was my first real foray into an online environment and experience that I compare shooter level design to. I still compare the new(ish) call of duties to it. Moreso like “how the fuck are spawns still this fucking dogshit, have they learned nothing in 20 years” and “How the fuck is nuketown still a map its too small to make any really plays, it’s just spawncamping for 10 minutes” (the answer is kids like it for some reason). And why I haven’t bought a cod since cold war (the homies all wanted to play so we made a game night out of it).Anyway BO2 is what I compare shooters to. If you can’t match a 2012 game in terms of how easy it is to traverse a pvp level, and the player feedback of a kill (like how impactful it feels to secure the kill is almost on par with Doom2016) “Kills should feel punchy, dynamic, like you actually hit that fuckin dude through a wall, not just tickled him and he ragdolled”
Pokemon gold/silver and Emerald. "Games don’t have to have super deep or complex stories, or fantastic budget breaking graphics to be fun
Sonic - halo - wow - Skyrim - crusader kings
tes3, persona 3, gothic 3, angband
3and diablo. Also f.e.a.r. and arx fatalis.A discord community I’m in has been sharing 3x3 cover image grids of the games that “define you”. I’ll just paste my response from there:
Here is my Quality Slop list (I only like them because they are good):
Each of these have contributed to my high bar of expected quality for games. Most of these games were made on a very tight budget and schedule, with pretty harsh hardware limitations, usually with a small team of less than 100 people, and are the greatest games of all time. Modern game studios have no excuses for the awful quality they launch games in today with more time, money, more people on the dev team, and lack of hardware limitations.
I’m really intrigued by your one and only C&C entry being generals? Not red alert 2?
I liked it more. Red Alert 2 was good but I just prefer Generals Zero Hour.
RA2 isnt bad, I just wanted to really limit the list to not repeat a bunch of games from the same series if they werent equally as good IMO (which is why Danganronpa 2 is the only one in its series, for example). I just had more fun with Generals Zero Hour.
Can’t really argue with that, RA2 was just such an icon and a mainstay whereas I feel like the C&C brand was largely on the way out by the time of generals, personally
Its hard to argue with Russian Tim Curry. He was such a fun pick for that role.
An absolute joy to watch, as always
I really thought there’d be more OSRS representation here! Been playing forever and still love it. It’s kind of ruined games for me - nothing else really scratches the same itch.
Some that I don’t think I saw mentioned, roughly in the chronological order I played them in:
Silent Hill 2 (PS2)
Metal Gear Solid 2
Xenoblade 2
Monster Hunter Rise
Super Mario World
Super Metroid
Link’s Awakening (GB)
Elite
Unreal Tournament
Halo
Skyrim
Destiny 2
Baldur’s Gate 3
Elite - a huge 3D vector universe to explore.
Tetris - adictiveness distilled.
Driller - oh wow, filled 3D graphics on a 3.5MHz 8 bit micro?
Wolfenstein 3D - shooting nazis is fun.
Doom - incredible, improved graphics and more fun.
Quake - full 3D now, but not as fun as Doom.
Half-Life - oh yeah, now we’re talking. Great storytelling and gripping fun.
Portal - fun, engaging and funny.
Bioshock Infinite - I guess I enjoy riding the skylines.
Torchlight - There’s something cozy about those dungeons, I dunno.
Skyrim - how did I lose 900 hours of my life?
Man, I spent so long playing elite! Docking with those space stations took a whole lot of practise. And the graphics seemed amazing at the time, amazing how far and fast things have changed.
You never forget your first successful docking procedure.
Super Mario Bros 1, 2 & 3
Super Mario World
Mortal Kombat 1 & 2
Wolfenstein 3D
DOOM
Commander Keen
Starcraft
Diablo 1 / 2
Unreal Tournament 2003/4
Counter-Strike
Half Life
Everquest
World of Warcraft
The Secret of Monkey Island
Indiana Jones Fate of Atlantis / Last Crusade
LOOM
Resident Evil 1 & 2
Legend of Zelda 1
Ocarina of Time
Mario Kart (SNES & 64)
Ogre Battle 64
WCW/NWO Revenge
Portal 1 & 2
Grand Theft Auto 2, 3 and 5
Yeah I’m old. Some modern ones:
Breath of the Wild
Valheim
Outer Wilds
@hesh
Loom - loved that one.
Missing Quake tho^^
@Gonzako
Your not old, your me!. Most of these plus some others definitely, plus a bunch of modern ones as well. Shocked you only liked Half-Life 1 and not 2. I thought 2 was mind blowing at the time and still feel like it’s the first game to bring us into the modern era of games to this day.
Dishonored
This was a pinnacle showcase of how interactive a game could be. The sandbox design not only encouraged your creativity but met it beat for beat. This was also the game that made me understand how much world design and atmosphere matter. Making a world feel believable with environmental story telling is incredibly difficult but so satisfying. To this day, not been dethroned.
Team Fortress 2
Balance, class design, character design, game mode design, and a touch of jank; all in the name of what is the most fun. I see this as the grandfather of Deadlock and The Finals; both games I come back to more often than TF2 but who’s DNA matches closest.
UNBEATABLE
Trusting your audience with regards to story telling and leaving things unsaid. Also importance of a banger soundtrack.
Sekiro
Importance of tactility and flow. Quick, slow; quick, quick; slow. Technically a rythm game too.
Z.A.T.O.
A showcase of how little you need to make a game and still have it feel impactful. Also importance of picking a target audience and nostalgia. Also visual novels rule.
NieR Automata
Do NOT **** android women