Random Video Game Crap
- Thread starter Frank
- Start date
I like that they also used assets from a bunch of JRPGs, too. Character models from Tactics, backgrounds from Mario RPG/Illusion of Gaia/Tactics Ogre, the MC's hair looking kind of Crono-y and oh God I need a life help me.
http://www.nodontdie.com/al-lowe/
This interview with Al Lowe is heartbreaking. I had no idea that Sierra fell because of such nebulous reasons. To hear him talk about the impact it had on Roberta and Ken Williams makes me so sad. And the fact that Sierra (and LucasArts) were HUGE innovators of video games, taking full advantage of some of the latest technology in video cards, sound cards, and CD-Rom.
This interview with Al Lowe is heartbreaking. I had no idea that Sierra fell because of such nebulous reasons. To hear him talk about the impact it had on Roberta and Ken Williams makes me so sad. And the fact that Sierra (and LucasArts) were HUGE innovators of video games, taking full advantage of some of the latest technology in video cards, sound cards, and CD-Rom.
Vulture Capitalism at it's worst.
He's right, though. The suits have taken over AAA gaming. They rarely - if ever - take risks anymore because it's all about what's popular now and how can we capitalize on it. It's all about safe bets rather than trying something new. No wonder all these companies are going down or being bought out.
Which is why, as I think I've said before, I honestly think the indie developers of today are the future AAA developers/publishers. Sierra started small before bad business destroyed them. EA started small. Ubisoft started small. The giants of today had small beginnings, much like the developers we have today. Look at how Telltale has built itself up. Or Wadjet Eye Games. Even Double Fine. One company I'm really curious to see is Hello Games, who only have Joe Danger 1 & 2 under their belt and now doing a massively hyped game in No Man's Sky.
What I meant was the act of buying out Sierra for a vastly sum, wrenching it away from its owners under dubious circumstances, and torpedoing it. That's "vulture capitalism".
Ah. Yeah, it definitely was. Did you see what Al Lowe said about the hostile takeover? The guy openly admitted it was a hostile takeover. I don't fully understand the business side of it, but it sounds like that got the guy tossed in jail for fraud or something.
GasBandit
Staff member
It was, and it did. But by then the damage was done.
That's the one thing I'm trying to understand. Here's a multi-million dollar company that (according to Al Lowe, who I'd believe) had a 28% market share of PC entertainment, can fall so quickly. It sounds like it was the result of mergers and buyouts, then the massive fine came down from this guy's actions, and most of the Sierra staff were laid off. I THINK that's the gist of it?
Regardless, it's sad because Sierra were huge innovators and sure as hell didn't deserve it.
From the interview and Sierra's Wikipedia page, it looks like after CUC/Cendant took over Sierra, the parent company was horribly mismanaged. CUC/Cendant had a variety of business interests, including computer entertainment software, but managed to post a massive loss in 1997. The company's management fraudulently claimed that they'd actually made a profit, but they were caught lying, and got the hell sued out of them. Cendant had to sell off its computer entertainment subsidiaries, including Sierra, and the subsequent restructuring and layoffs basically gutted Sierra.
So if my understanding is correct, Sierra was in fairly good shape at the time (they published Diablo: Hellfire and Half-Life), but ended up on the chopping block due to no fault of its own.
GasBandit
Staff member
Heh, that should really bring it home for modern gamers... Blizzard and Valve both have roots in Sierra. That's how big they were.
Hadn't Blizzard been around before that, though? Didn't Warcraft come out first?
Yeah, but D1's xpac wasn't developed by Blizzard, it was done by one of Sierra's sub-studios. D2 was Blizzard, but was still published by Sierra for some reason.
It's also worth mentioning that everyone of note who actually worked on Diablo 1 and 2 actually quit the company and formed a new company to make Hellgate: London. When that company went out of business, they formed Runic Games and made Torchlight.
As I said before, they were a huge reason for PC gaming development. They were at the forefront of graphics improvements, voice improvements, etc. King's Quest V was one of the first games to have full voice work.
I mean...yeah, it meant we got "Graham, watch out! A poisonous snake!" but you know. Every road has its bumps.
That's a shame. Mr. Z loved Hellgate: London. He also loves the Diablos, so I wonder if he knows about that connection...
Has he played Torchlight?
Video Game History time! The studio that made the first Diablo game was actually called Condor, founded by Max and Eric Schaefer. They were already developing what would become Diablo when Blizzard acquired their studio, and renamed them Blizzard North. Diablo: Hellfire, which was the official unofficial expansion pack for Diablo that most people tend to forget about because it was shitty but had a great modding scene for it, was developed by a subdivision of Sierra. It didn't do too well because it was shitty, and also had no online multiplayer, you couldn't connect to this newfangled Battle.net that Blizzard had made for Diablo (and would later rerelease Warcraft 2 for).
A lot of people at Blizzard North ended up leaving, and many of them created Flagship Studios, which created Hellgate: London... which was kinda shitty. But then they dissolved and reformed into Runic Games, which made awesome games like Torchlight.
Blizzard North eventually got the axe too, when Blizzard wasn't happy with what was then going to be Diablo 3. That game got canned, the studio got shut down, and a new team got put on creating the Diablo 3 that we know today. It was also kinda shitty, but it got better.
A lot of people at Blizzard North ended up leaving, and many of them created Flagship Studios, which created Hellgate: London... which was kinda shitty. But then they dissolved and reformed into Runic Games, which made awesome games like Torchlight.
Blizzard North eventually got the axe too, when Blizzard wasn't happy with what was then going to be Diablo 3. That game got canned, the studio got shut down, and a new team got put on creating the Diablo 3 that we know today. It was also kinda shitty, but it got better.
I just asked him. He's heard of Runic, but he hasn't played Torchlight.
Tell him to go play Torchlight.
Also, you're in charge of Lil'Z for the next two weeks or so.
Also I'd forgotten that Diablo was actually Blizzard: North to start.
I could never play Hellfire, since it was such a hack to begin with to even get it installed. Also because it was only available for Windows.
I've played a little TL and TL2. The play is very, very familiar.
--Patrick
Torchlight 1 feels a little dated after playing TL2. 2 is much bigger and I think you get a lot more game for your dollar. Both are fun but I'll be honest after about half the dungeon in TL1 I got bored and never finished it.
I bought a copy for $5 a few months before they decided to give it away for free.
--Patrick
T1 was a great fun diversion somewhere in between a drought of similar games. T2 was a great hold-over while waiting for D3. Frankly, T2 was a lot more fun to play with than vanilla D3. D3's gotten al ot better and depper and whatever, but yeah. Torchlights are less agressive, less gloomy, and less..."realistic" I guess, than Diablo.
I quite liked both Torchlights, and preferred both to their predecessor....But I can't remember its name - you played as a kid, anyway.
I quite liked both Torchlights, and preferred both to their predecessor....But I can't remember its name - you played as a kid, anyway.
It's been in the Humble Bundle a few times too.
I've heard stories about Steam's shoddy customer service before, but hot damn this is low.
I really can't blame them too much about this. The account is being contested by multiple parties, so the only way to find the real owner is with an actual key from an actual box or the receipt of the first digital game. Personally, I'd accept any key tied to the account, but then that opens the possibility of the hacker getting old keys from say... Humble Bundle or something.
A key to a game the dude bought 10 years ago? That's really a bit much, and if they didn't allow the card tied to the account or an ID, which it seems didn't work, that's insanely shitty. I can't imagine a lot of people hold onto decade+ game boxes, especially if it came with his computer/gfx card as he mentioned (which means it might have just been a disc, not even a box). On top of that getting canned responses and no real help in solving the problem and yeah, it's shitty and I'd be pissed too.