Holy shit! I don't know what to say!

Project: Penguin Master Race initiated!

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Really considering picking one up if it's cheap enough.

Quoting: bigmalloyPropriety form factor pc, no thanks....

What is stopping you from installing a different Linux OS?

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Quoting: Segata SanshiroWorth noting as well that online play is now cross-platform, meaning you can play with OSX and "PC" (troll) players as well. That was the major thing lacking from the last one they ported which a lot of people complained about.

^This is what held me back from buying the other one. Really glad to see that they took note and gave us this one with cross-platform multiplayer.

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75% off at Linux launch? A no brainer, must buy.

Now time to relive Worms as the worst player ever. XD

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Just made my day. Trine is a fantastic series.

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I know it's just speculation, but I almost fell out of my chair. There's a lot of implications if this does go through as another AAA published title (a good one at that) from Warner Bros. Of course, and, I like Lord of the Rings and MAYBE wishing for something Batman.

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Quoting: MayeulCThis game looks really nice, but I think I'll wait for them to add Linux support to their website. I really like to have a drm-free version of these games to carry out with me, and a steam one to play on my computer.

Their website now has a Tux icon. ;)

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Quoting: BeamboomA big thanks to you too, Keizgon, for taking your time. Great reply.

Likewise, I enjoy a civil conversation no matter the point of view. Though time is limited, so I will tread off as my last response to this subject. :)

Quoting: BeamboomJust as a footnote: The same is the case for the home computers of the 80s, or the PC. The consoles are the only devices designed for gaming.

Exactly in what way are consoles only meant for gaming? They were designed for social (shared) experiences and accessibility (cost). This has been shifting to an entirely unstable marketing area as modern devices start to embrace additional non-gaming designs to them. It's starting to draw the line for consumers to realize they're just PCs, but in an uncomfortable closed environment of paid services layered of more paid services.

This is where it's interesting to see where Steam machines go and are perceived at by wide audiences. Despite what happens (good or bad) as a result, it will be leaving a mark in console history to shake the faith of couch audiences.

Quoting: BeamboomBut that doesn't mean that a retro game can't ever work on a smartphone, and I am surprised if no dev has cracked that "input-code" yet for their retro games.

It has nothing to do with "cracking it". It has to do with the market saturated with an unregulated input design. The wild west of cash grabs and amateur game philosophy. It is very easy to get alienated in this market space for games, so giving up before you find it is not uncommon.

Quoting: BeamboomI essentially agree when we talk about the traditional genres. Like my example with Trine in my earlier reply. My point is this: When there are no core differences, why not pick the alternative that looks light-years better? Why bother sitting there with sprites and beeps from the 80s when you can get the same core experience wrapped up in the beauty and fluidity of, for example, Trine. There's plenty other examples of current games that offer essentially the same, only executed so much better!

Then there's genres that's enjoys huge gameplay/mechanical advancements, prime examples being the simulators and the strategy games. The old ones really can not compare in any way shape or form with them, when it comes to complexity, AI and features. As an additional bonus they also look much better. But that's a bonus.

Not going to debate game-play and art decisions together. A sprite can be drawn and still perform the same tasks the physics engine requests from it. Whether it is practical in certain situations, is a different subject matter and is ultimately up to the artist.

While I'm not a music composer of any kind, I can only assume this holds true in a similar sense as an art form discussion. Again, mixing things together as the presentation doesn't give you the justified slice of the pie for objective interpretation of art.

Whether you like this argument or not, art (visual, audio, writing, etc.) is subjective. It always has been, so what looks better to you doesn't mean what looks better to me. From an artist's perspective, I can objectively say that a piece (representation) was drawn with no thought of shading/light source/colour theory/etc. making it result in an abhorrent mess representing a 5-year old drawing. Believe it or not, those traditional art design choices still exist in digital mediums and what you know as "pixel art". Believe me, I will scrutinize a game for this (with some rational restraint) because being an artist inherently makes you a critic as a byproduct of a never ending cycle of improving.

What separates you and me, are our ideas of what the outcome should be. My only interest is the artist's consistency of the presentation. Yours is the interpretation, assuming you just want to consume a product. You can only say it is subjectively inferior to your interpretation.

Quoting: BeamboomI'm a HUGE fan of VR and the potential that comes with it. Super-excited. And I can clearly see myself in around a decade from now arguing the same way for VR-games:
Why the heck bother with games that only support a 2D display, when you can get that SAME kind of content only embedded in a virtual, 360 degree 3D experience?!

My personal opinion is VR's strong point isn't going to be necessarily games (at least not starting out) that drive the actual interest, but experiences that it provides as a platform. I can easily see well structured Visual Novels (no, I don't mean exclusively Anime/cartoons) being that potential foundation. I want to compare the concept to a structured "dream" world someone designed, where books were the guided sandbox for an imagination in the entertainment medium.

But I'm talking about something that isn't commercially polished or matured yet, so who knows?

Quoting: BeamboomNope I haven't. :( I've noticed the high metascore of that game though.

I have tried a few popular retro games, like that super meatball game, and others that's spoken greatly of. And after a few minutes I always - ALWAYS - end up thinking, "why do I bother with this? I'd much rather spend my time to play <insert comparable modern game here> again!".

Well if there was a "retro" game to accurately represent what makes those games a great experience, it would be Shovel Knight, not Super Meat Boy. Its enjoyability isn't designed around speed running for game-play like that is.

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Quoting: BeamboomIt never ceases to amaze me how these kind of games are still released. They could have ran on an old Oric-1? If you are a fan of these kind of games, why not just run an emulator on your PC and download the entire catalogue of games from the 80s?

I mean, not to troll or anything, I just don't get it. You sit there with a rig with fifty times the capacity of the NASA server clusters of the 80s... To run games that could have been ran on a entry grade calculator?

Please take what I'm about to say as a grain of salt, as it's not necessarily targeted at you, but the shared mindset you're expressing. Which is, IMO, the downfall and collapsing idealogy the gaming industry believes religiously and flamboyantly throws around as a crusade. AKA, AAA bollocks mentality.

I believe BTRE and tuubi summed up (better than I could have) correctly in stating "software" entertainment is not comparable to the relation of hardware advancements. Benchmarking computers/consoles with video games, has become one the most grown fallacies over the decades. Despite the fact it is entirely a byproduct of what a computer is primarily used for, to calculate. Hardware and software will be designed regardless whether or not the entertainment industry has its fingers in the pot.

To paraphrase, Michio Kaku, "[Fuck] Google and Silicon Valley."

View video on youtube.com

You could praise [x] game, [x] console, [x] movie for making that technology popular, but in reality something else would have came along and would have convinced someone.

Phones are probably the best modern example of this. They were never gaming devices, even when there were games made/marketed for them pre-smartphone. Today, they aren't simply used for a single thing, but on the level of a computer where multipurpose software is dominant. Yes, smartphones came with a wide market of games that are simple, but that's because they were designed with the input limitations a touch screen has, and forever will. I have played many of the "retro" games you speak of, but I'm sorry to inform you that touch input doesn't work for traditional controller games. Go play a classic Mario game on it, and tell me with a straight face it even feels "tight".

Look at Nintendo's Wii, M$'s Kinect, and now Intel's new "RealSense" camera gesture technology. These are the real hardware benchmarks of technological advancement (despite limited success stories and vast vocal failures). So why is Intel jumping on board with something that didn't receive so well on consoles? They know around the corner, actual technological revolutions are going to come from catalyst's like VR technology such as the Occulus Rift, and they want to be ready to supply an alternative to more suitable input control. Today's modern controller is only going to hold back that technology.

You may ask, what does this have to do with your point. Simple, as you view these retro games as "primitive", I view them on the same playing field as every other modern game to this date. Yes, I have played those and enjoyed them, but I have yet to be convinced they're revolutionary in any way shape or form because "hey, look at the shiny next gen graphics". Both are forms of interactive entertainment painted on a 2D "glass window". Nothing has changed in the way I play a game.

VR technology is coming (the question is, when does it become public acceptance), and it will likely change your mind to what you perceive as "entertainment". Of course, like a book, playing games through a looking glass is not inferior, even when VR is the new kid in town. If you're not convinced about VR in its current state, then wait for properly fleshed out input controls that suits it.

As for the "download an emulator with some roms" argument, I don't condone piracy, and it's quite likely I have played those already. Of course I would pay to relive a "proper" nostalgic experience and have no problem rewarding said developer with my wallet. Dare I ask, have you played Shovel Knight? Visual nostalgia alone isn't what made that game popular.

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I can't speak for the other games (don't own), but...

iO - I assume this is cheap because it got swept under the radar. Great and unique physics puzzle platformer where you are a wheel. High replay if you like speed running. I also found the graphics/music quite beautiful. To me, this alone is enough to have no excuse buying the bundle.

Terrian Saga KR-17 - I have some annoyance with the mediocre shaded graphics in some places, but I got past that with the game-play. It's not amazing, but it's definitely something I would suggest checking out.

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