WereKitten said:
As much as I love cinema, I don't think that's a reasonable comparison. The "form" in cinema is not only cameras and special effects. It's direction and editing and composition and lighting... and those two movies were great in this regard. Aside from clearer picture, would Orson Welles have shot Citizen Kane differently if he had the technical means of 30 years later? I don't think so. Same with Fellini. On the other hand if the same authors of Goldeneye were to create it today, would it be the same? No, it wouldn't. Movies in the 40s and 50s can be formally great even by today's standards and taste. Games from 1996 simply aren't, however great they were back then. PS: before shouts of "gameplay before graphics!", that's not what I mean with form. Form as in the means by which you convey your message. It might mean graphics, audio fidelity, ability to handle physics and AI, amount of content you can deliver, ability to stream data so to not interrupt the game flow etc. Authors can have great ideas and clear goals for the gameplay, but it can be maimed by the technical means by which it is conveyed. HL and HL2 have better storytelling than Goldeneye, and HL2 also has much superior technical means to convey its content. A poorly lit or focused camera shot of agreat subject, with good composition, still loses something. You appreciate the idea, but it can get better. |
@bolded: Who knows? George Lucas feels content making good films, waiting 20-30 years, and then ruining them before he puts them out on DVD. So sometimes you can't trust an artist with their own ideas if you give them too much technology and too much freedom. Many modern games are made with too much tech and not enough fun or not enough art in them.
I don't see games as a linear progression from bad to good, constantly getting better. Some aspects of some genres are constantly getting better, but many aspects of many games and genres are constantly getting worse. I see it as more of a random mishmash of bullshit with a few random gems hidden every year.
@2nd bolded: Games from 1996 are fucking amazing! Still. To this day. Some of the world's greatest games were made in 1996. Here are some examples:
Super Mario 64
Diablo
Civilization II
(and Quake,Command & Conquer: Red Alert,Descent II,Pilotwings 64)
But anyway, you just slipped up and accidentally mentioned one of the best years in gaming. GoldenEye 007 was actually released in 1997, the year of Final Fantasy VII, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Star Fox 64, and Mario Kart 64, or in the opinions of many on these forums, the best Final Fantasy, the best Castlevania, the best Star Fox, and the best Mario Kart. I don't think the bad tech of 1997 is making these games unplayable with today's standards and tastes.
