I was thinking about how I remember Maxis fondly, and I got to wondering what other people’s experiences were like!
Is your favorite still around? Are they still the same, or did they “change directions under new management?”
sierra ❤️
also bill pogue
Haha, that’s exactly the kind of game I want to make but with graphics and a little less dry. Didn’t even know about that one. Also I should probably actually figure out how to start that once I’m settled in here. It’s amazing how much planning and thought goes into getting one truck across the country. It’s like Oregon trail but you die of stupidity, yours or others, rather than dysentery.
Sierra entertainment! I was a big fan of the kings quest games, and Sierra online was my first experience with online gaming.
I was super into Sierra as a publisher. They seemed to back some of the highest quality games no one knew about. Ground Control, Gunman Chronicles, Homeworld, Aliens vs Predators 2, Empire Earth, Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza, and of course Half-Life. They published some quality games.
Don’t forget the SWAT series. Really loved the third game and always played the ‘Children of Terrone’ map on lan parties
I loved the Quest games! They were my first real introduction to the English language. Simple phrases like
Open Doorandfeed chickenswere a great way to build my basic vocabulary. I kept pestering my dad for translations until he got fed up and taught me how to use a dictionary :)I have so many great memories playing those games, on my own and together with my dad. It really was a bonding experience.
Origin “We create worlds”. They definitely did with the Wing Commander series. Played a lot of WC 3, 4 as well as Privateer.
I don’t think anyone mentioned Lionhead Studios. Black and White was fun. Sadly it’s in copyright limbo if I’m not mistaken.
Also played a lot of Civilization 1 from Microprose back in the day.
My favourite games from childhood were the Ultima series (3 onward).
Never finished most of the Ultima Games. Started U4 again a few years ago. Tried picking it back up, and I’ve misplaced that damn balloon again.
Never tried any of the Ultima series. :p
Lucas Arts
Are they still around? /j
Yep, some classic point and click games, like Full Throttle. It’s from games like that that I learned Mark Hamill is an amazing voice actor.
Westwood studios. Command and conquer tiberian sun was my very first computer game, which I loved dearly (and still have on my computer since it’s freeware now and has been fan patched for modern systems)
Well and then came EA.
@GregorGizeh @Telorand you can get it free now?? I had given it up for dead…
Yup, it’s Freeware since a few years now and has even spawned a brilliant standalone mod using its engine. Here is the link:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/tiberian-sun-client/
And if you want to check out the mod I mentioned, it’s called twisted insurrection. It delivers on many things that were lacking in the original, and has an extensive OST with some pieces by frank klepacki himself (made a lot of the music used in the original series). You can check out some trailers on YouTube. Mod Link:
Westwood I had fun with Red Alert 1 & 2 for a long time. Super casual player though.
Interplay’s Black Isle Studios, now Obsidian.
Blizzard. Without Activision.
Electronic Arts :(
(early 8-bit era)Yeah… Gotta wonder what the original founders would say if you could tell them what they’d become.
Valve.
Not new management, but they definitely changed direction. From Portal 2 to Half-Life Alyx was a dark age of live service titles and hardware. Fortunately, it seems like they’re finally getting back to their old selves?
Alyx was supposedly their re-entry into releasing games (hopeful that HLX is good), the Steam Deck caused them to go back and fix several of their titles (plus do the huge Half-Life update we just got), and while they’re not exactly making their games as open as they used to, they’re letting the community handle things like TF2 events and L4D2 patches.
So, I dunno, cautiously optimistic for their future. At least as long as Gabe is running the company.
Yep, buying a Steam Deck this Christmas. Not played one, myself, but I have been a Steam Controller user for years, and they seem to have nailed their latest offerings.
There was definitely a period in there when they felt very anticompetitive (apathy-competitive?), though.
I just bought the Steam Deck. Its amazing. More and more games keep becoming Deck Compatible and the community has uploaded so many controller configurations.
Linux is a gaming OS now and its wild
Infocom hands down. Pure escapism
Hard to pick but early to mid 90s era Maxis, Bullfrog, Bungie (Pathways/Marathon/Myth era), Blizzard, and SEGA all come to mind. All either gone or changed.
Neversoft. THPS2 had a banger soundtrack.
Valve is the only one of mine that’s still around as more than just a brand name used by EA.
Bioware, Maxis, Bullfrog, Westwood, and more… All gobbled up and turned into shit by Electronic Farts.
Others that just died on their own include Black Isle and Interplay, Sierra and LucasArts. Some of these might be around in some capacity, though afaik they’re just used for the names.
Infocom.
Zork, Hitchhiker’s Guide, Leather Goddesses of Phobos.
You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here. >Obvious exits are NORTH, SOUTH, and DENNIS. >
