☆Pang Man Part 5 - "Why I Love RPGs"☆ @ian_livingstone #RetroGaming #GamersUnite

 

Pang Man Enters The Freezer Again To Talk About All The Brilliant Influences That A Lot Of Us grew Up With Which Means That We All Love The Role Playing Game Genre

Hopefully When We Mention Fighting Fantasy You Will Know Where The Pang Man Is Going With This One......

Let's Hear What The Main Man Has Got To Say On All this........

"I am a huge fan of RPGs. 

From the early days of Phantasy Star on the Sega Master System to the Final Fantasy series on the PS1, PS2 PS3 and XBOX 360, there have been many great games in the genre. 

When I think of RPGs –I think of epic quests, immersive storytelling, awesome battles (magic and weapon based) as well as open worlds to interact with and explore. 

The best RPGs have also produced some of the most memorable characters in gaming history. Characters who grew with the story and who we grew to love.

   

So with that in mind, I thought I would have a look back to reminisce about not only the games themselves but what influenced my love for of the genre.

So let’s start with what influenced my love for of the genre. What first piqued my interest as a kid was a cartoon made in the 80’s called Dungeons and Dragons:

Dungeons and Dragons

It was about 6 school friends (Eric the cowardly Cavalier, Presto the Magician, Hank the Ranger, Shelia the Thief, Diana the Acrobat and Bobby the Barbarian) who were transported via a magical fairground ride into a fantasy world of dragons and magic. 

The show followed their attempts to return home (not sure if they ever made it back in the end?) and avoid losing the magical weapons (Shield, Magicians hat, Bow, Invisible cloak, Staff and Club) that were given to them by the cryptic Dungeon Master.

The show incorporated many of the elements we see in games today such as magical weapons, a memorable villain (Venger), dragons (Tiamet) and teamwork in battle to overcome adversity

Another huge influence was the Fighting Fantasy books written by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone (@ian_livingstone)

Fighting Fantasy

These were interactive novels such as Deathtrap dungeon and The Warlock of Firetop Mountain in which you were the hero or heroine of the story and could make choices which would influence the outcome of the adventure. 

For example you might come across a sleeping dragon sitting upon a mountain of treasure and be asked to decide to:

Attempt to steal its treasure?                                         Turn to 263

Attempt to slay the dragon whilst it is asleep?            Turn to 28

Wake the dragon up?                                                      Turn to 401

Sneak quietly towards the exit on the other side?      Turn to 112

Depending on your choice, you would then go to the appropriate page reference and see what fate had in store for you. 

I found these books fascinating as this multi choice format meant the story could go down multiple branching paths, some of which had alternative endings (including death).

As a teenager I bought virtually every instalment in the series and eagerly looked forward to each new release.

RPG games today incorporate many of the same ideas today, for example epic quests, branching storylines, alternative paths to achieve goals, puzzles as well as turn based combat.

Another TV show with RPG/fantasy elements was called Knightmare

Knightmare

This was a children’s programme shown on ITV in the late 80’s. Knightmare involved a team of friends trying to successfully navigate traps and enemies and puzzles in a virtual reality blue screen dungeon. 

One of the 4 team members would don a helmet (which impeded their vision) whilst the 3 others would have to then guide that player through vocal instructions. 

Spells could be cast by spelling (for example “Spellcasting Fire, F-I-R-E!”) and directions could be given by instruction (“turn left, walk forward, stop” etc).

The show was hilarious as poor instructions, directions and decisions would often lead to death.

Today, dungeons, treasure hunting and puzzle elements are often seen in games such as The Legend of Zelda and The Elder Scrolls games.

 

Japanese Anime also contributed to my interest in fantasy and RPGs.

Anime

In the early 90’s it was extremely difficult to get anime in the UK. 

Fortunately a company called Manga Entertainment began to release videos (usually dubbed in English) of some of the titles around at the time.  

One example was an anime called RG Veda. 

Although not critically acclaimed, I loved the storyline and incorporation of magic, prophecy and cool character designs.

Later other companies would follow suit in bring anime to the western world and soon we were able to get hold of great sword and sorcery titles such as Claymore and Record of Lodoss War.

Today there is a huge overlap between anime and the gaming world. 

The Dragons Quest games are illustrated by Akira Toriyama who is the creator of Dragonball Z, whilst many games are based on an anime/manga themselves.(E.g. Naruto, Death Note etc)

    

So those were the key influences which steered me towards an interest in fantasy and in turn a love for RPGs.  

In a future instalment I hope to cover the RPG games that I loved the most growing up. Thanks for listening!

Pang Man "

To Be Continued......

What Are Your RPG Influences That Led You To Love The Role Playing Game (RPG) Genre?

 

★Pro Evolution Soccer "FUN vs REALISM"★ #RetroGaming #GamersUnite

In it's hey day Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) was the most fun you could have with friends!

 

Many cooperative seasons were had with friends building a Master League Team to challenge the in game likes of Longobardi

 

So many custom leagues and cups were set up to decide who in the room was the finest PES player.

 

The game had the football (soccer) world at its feet.

 
So what went wrong?
 
In particular, what went wrong with football (soccer) video games in general?
 
With PES being the case in point let's look at what made it great at the time….
 
Passing - The passing at the time was slicker than anything we'd ever experienced on any other football game of the time. It was a joy to build up an amazingly intricate passing move to score a goal with a sublime finish that the move deserved

Tricks - The game play did not rely on you having to perform tricks to beat players, but some tricks were available should you want to use them. The game play rewarded team play over individuality and we liked that.

Unpredictability - In the heat of a match you never knew what madness would unfold. It never felt like you were just playing through the motions. Each game felt new and you just didn't know what was going to happen. In the earlier versions of PES there was no instant replay facility which was a shocking omission as you were left crying out for an instant replay of the ball hitting the bar, hitting the keepers head, then hitting the post only for it to come out to your striker from 3 yards out for him to hit the ball 30 ft over the bar!
When the replay & save facility was introduced there were many a replay saved that didn’t result in a goal. I even recall a goal celebration whereby a player appeared to punch someone in the nuts as they punched the air! 

Pick Up & Play - The game was just so easy to pick up and play. It was the classic game that separates the good games from the classic games. "Easy To Play BUT Hard To Master"

Master League - This mode was where we spent most of our time building a team of stars from a team of unknowns. Unknowns to most, but not all! Who could forget Huygens, Njord, Castillo, Espinas, Ivanov, Miranda and the rest of the Master League Default Team!!??
Legends in their own time, every last one of them as you meticulously went about replacing them over time as you could afford to. It was a marvellous game mechanic that's been replicated but never bettered.

FUN - The bottom line with PES was that it was FUN. It was never frustrating. You never felt like you were cheated out of a match (although the Hand Ball mechanic was pretty poor in some of the versions late on). The best team generally won.

Where Did It All Go Wrong?
 
We feel that PES lost it's way at PES 6.
 
All of a sudden it became infuriatingly hard. It felt like the game was pitted against you rather than trying to assist you in having a good time, you would spend hours trying to eeek out 1-0 wins as the keepers became insanely difficult to beat.

The bottom line was ….. It wasn't fun any more…..
 
Maybe by PES 6 we were getting bored?
 
We think it was about the time when football games were focussing on becoming more realistic and in becoming more realistic they had become less fun. We're all for an accurate representation of the sport in Video Games but where should it stop.

Of course this was only the start of PES' decline and by 2008 PES was clinicaly dead to the Video Games world as FIFA took over. 

Again FIFA seemed to take the FUN crown from PES in it's early iterations but again we've seen too much emphasis over the years of trying to become the ultimate Football Simulator rather than a great football game.
The football simulator takes away from the FUN in that the refs will yellow card you for breathing on players incorrectly or not wearing the right sock tape!!

I think there were times when we craved realism, but there comes a point where realism isn't fun……it's no longer escapism….

If I want to play real football, I will put my kit on for Norsemen Football Club on a Saturday and go and Walk Tall For The Blue Giants, I wont sit in front of my TV for 4 hours solid trying to eeeeek out a boring 1-0!

R.I.P FOOTBALL GAMES 

 

LONG LIVE PES 4 (Our Favourite Version Of PES)

 

What's your take on realism in Sports games?

Is there a fine balance between Realism & Fun?

Or would you disagree with us and say that the more realistic the better?

Let Us Know!