"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
I would say KOTOR for over all gameplay. Then SWTOR for its' indepth crafting and companion system. Literally no coincidence they're both star wars ip. I've played a lot of games.
EDIT: Well I didn't want to include it because it's yet another star wars ip and I'm not trying to appear biased...but the story and abilities in Force Unleashed franchise were a big wow factor for me.
I suspect some people might struggle with some of the responses.
If you wee introduced to computers back in "The Dark Ages" however then your experience included significant advances in computer hardware.
From memory the first "computer game" I played - a simulation essentially - was attempting to land a Lunar Module on the surface back in 1976. Black and white and it ran on a mainframe.
So "wow" moments will encompass first arcade game (Pong, Asteroids, Space Invader, Pac-Man).
First "home arcade machine - the electronic toys on which you could play arcade games at home.
First text adventures (e.g. Leisure Suit Larry) and the introduction of graphics in e.g. The Hobbit - well silhouette images in "red and black" or "yellow and game" and was it "blue and black"? You get the idea.
Affordable consoles - Atari and Spectrum mentioned above, Commodore and others and games that loaded from tape. Yes consoles pre-dated the PC! And of course incarnations of the Sony and Nintendo consoles live on to this day.
And then on through the rise of PC gaming and ever improving graphics. More colours. Higher resolution. Ripples on water. And so on. So many "wow" moments.
And sound!
I can remember getting MS Dinosaurs on CD and MS sending me, in the post, a sound driver on a 3.5 inch floppy so that it would work properly. Ta-da was a wow moment in its own way. (After which I bought a full size - full length - Soundblaster card. And learned to deal with sound driver issues!
In recent years those .... we take so much for granted.
In its own way the fact that we have so much computing power on our tablet / phone / watch / TV ... and coming speakers, lighting, fridge etc. is staggering.
The next "wow" though - I suspect - will probably come from some incarnation of "3D" - for some glasses may provide that for others maybe a "whole room" immersive experience.
I guess EQ. Running around Qeynos. I couldn't believe I could just run across a large 3d world. I think I ran from Qeynos to Highpass at lvl 5. It was wild.
Jade Cocoon for the Playstation 1. It was like Pokemon but infinitely better, with an actual story, a monster fusion mechanic, a great soundtrack, and and gorgeous art by Studio Ghibli's Katsuya Kondō.
It is a crime against humanity that this series died with a single terrible sequel on the PS2 while Pokemon continues to sell 2+ versions of the same game every couple years.
A huge game with a good story, ship to ship combat, planet exploration and crew training.
"Sean (Murray) saying MP will be in the game is not remotely close to evidence that at the point of purchase people thought there was MP in the game." - SEANMCAD
Witcher 3. I've played many online games for many hours but this is the first single player game that doesn't bore me to oblivion after 10 hours I was like "OMG I ACTUALLY CARE OF WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN"
Isn't anyone's first gaming experience going to "blow their mind" for the first time? It should be a side effect of any "first time" experience.
That makes sense but looking back, m first game experience was "amazing" (pong) but I didn't have that viscreal "omg is this real?" feeling until I tried Myst/Doom.
I would go so far as to say, had I not tried those games I would probably not be playing any video games.
After "being a kid" and playing on my early atari, which I enjoyed (as well as some arcade games), I really didn't continue. Oh sure, in college, if I saw an arcade game I liked, I'd play it and enjoy it but at no time did I ever have a desire to buy a gaming system or even get video games for my computer.
It was these early games (myst/doom) that really started my desire to explore video games.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
A couple come to mind: WoW, Goldeneye, ROTT, NBA Jam, FFVII, Diablo (though PoE if I were never introduced to arpg in the 1st place), and Resident Evil 4 (Wii).
Isn't anyone's first gaming experience going to "blow their mind" for the first time? It should be a side effect of any "first time" experience.
I disagree.
I think for something to blow my mind, not only does it have to be a strong positive experience, but it also has to do something I didn't think was possible.
So, I was born in '85 which means I grew up with computer games already in existence. Arcades were common place and we had PCs in the house from about 1990 onwards. Low quality games were an accepted part of my life, so whilst I had fun experiences as a child playing lemmings or even Doom 2, they never blew my mind, that style of gaming already existed in my consciousness.
But, the sega saturn / playstation / n64 generation and the PCs of the mid-to-late 90s introduced proper 3D graphics, which combined with CD technology and to a certain extent analog thumbsticks really provided an experience I could never have imagined before. That generation of gaming really was a massive leap forwards compared to what came before and definitely blew my mind.
Isn't anyone's first gaming experience going to "blow their mind" for the first time? It should be a side effect of any "first time" experience.
not at all.
my first gaming experience is when my neighbor got Atari in the 70s .. Pong some Tank game and what not , i was bored in 5 minutes and went fishing ..
Got a C64 in 83 , and altho it was very cool and a lot of fun , my mind wasnt blown till 97 , when i logged into UO and was promptly killed by a deer , then a snake , then a spider .. Then some random guy ...................
Mind was blown .. been playing since ... (off and on ) these days 20 years now
The first game that blew my mind and introduced me to a genre I would love: Phantasy Star (Sega 8-bit) It was the first time I experienced a system with a lot of gear upgrades, and where each teammate you recruited was the result of a nice questchain (Odin needed to be unfrozen, Noah was a hermit in a very deep labyrinth dungeon). Also, the vehicles were awesome. Once you got the landrover, hovercraft and ship, it opened up new areas. I got to experience "grinding", in a softcore way. It was the first time I was glued to the screen to the anger of my parents
First game to blow my mind would be Bally's Palm Beach gambling pinball machine, going to a local diner with my pop when I was really little where he'd grab a cup of coffee with some friends and would let me play a game or 2
First video game is a bit harder, as my memory bites, but I remember loving Atari's Star Wars down at the local arcade
There have been countless games that blew my mind, the last one being Monster Hunter World. But the first? Probably Eye of the Beholder, I spend DAYS creating a perfect party, I just couldn't believe it, how it looked, how it played.
/Cheers, Lahnmir
'the only way he could nail it any better is if he used a cross.'
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
Comments
Pong. A paddle on a tv that can be CONTROLLED ... wow!
Why? It was the 1970s.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Beach Head 2!
That dock level... lol
"Voice acting" was top-notch
EDIT: Well I didn't want to include it because it's yet another star wars ip and I'm not trying to appear biased...but the story and abilities in Force Unleashed franchise were a big wow factor for me.
If you wee introduced to computers back in "The Dark Ages" however then your experience included significant advances in computer hardware.
From memory the first "computer game" I played - a simulation essentially - was attempting to land a Lunar Module on the surface back in 1976. Black and white and it ran on a mainframe.
So "wow" moments will encompass first arcade game (Pong, Asteroids, Space Invader, Pac-Man).
First "home arcade machine - the electronic toys on which you could play arcade games at home.
First text adventures (e.g. Leisure Suit Larry) and the introduction of graphics in e.g. The Hobbit - well silhouette images in "red and black" or "yellow and game" and was it "blue and black"? You get the idea.
Affordable consoles - Atari and Spectrum mentioned above, Commodore and others and games that loaded from tape. Yes consoles pre-dated the PC! And of course incarnations of the Sony and Nintendo consoles live on to this day.
And then on through the rise of PC gaming and ever improving graphics. More colours. Higher resolution. Ripples on water. And so on. So many "wow" moments.
And sound!
I can remember getting MS Dinosaurs on CD and MS sending me, in the post, a sound driver on a 3.5 inch floppy so that it would work properly. Ta-da was a wow moment in its own way. (After which I bought a full size - full length - Soundblaster card. And learned to deal with sound driver issues!
In recent years those .... we take so much for granted.
In its own way the fact that we have so much computing power on our tablet / phone / watch / TV ... and coming speakers, lighting, fridge etc. is staggering.
The next "wow" though - I suspect - will probably come from some incarnation of "3D" - for some glasses may provide that for others maybe a "whole room" immersive experience.
Seriously, just look at that opening. That would hold up as a pretty impressive trailer today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufsXZXJc_Xs
It is a crime against humanity that this series died with a single terrible sequel on the PS2 while Pokemon continues to sell 2+ versions of the same game every couple years.
A huge game with a good story, ship to ship combat, planet exploration and crew training.
I've played many online games for many hours but this is the first single player game that doesn't bore me to oblivion after 10 hours
I was like "OMG I ACTUALLY CARE OF WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN"
I would go so far as to say, had I not tried those games I would probably not be playing any video games.
After "being a kid" and playing on my early atari, which I enjoyed (as well as some arcade games), I really didn't continue. Oh sure, in college, if I saw an arcade game I liked, I'd play it and enjoy it but at no time did I ever have a desire to buy a gaming system or even get video games for my computer.
It was these early games (myst/doom) that really started my desire to explore video games.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I think for something to blow my mind, not only does it have to be a strong positive experience, but it also has to do something I didn't think was possible.
So, I was born in '85 which means I grew up with computer games already in existence. Arcades were common place and we had PCs in the house from about 1990 onwards. Low quality games were an accepted part of my life, so whilst I had fun experiences as a child playing lemmings or even Doom 2, they never blew my mind, that style of gaming already existed in my consciousness.
But, the sega saturn / playstation / n64 generation and the PCs of the mid-to-late 90s introduced proper 3D graphics, which combined with CD technology and to a certain extent analog thumbsticks really provided an experience I could never have imagined before. That generation of gaming really was a massive leap forwards compared to what came before and definitely blew my mind.
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
Got a C64 in 83 , and altho it was very cool and a lot of fun , my mind wasnt blown till 97 , when i logged into UO and was promptly killed by a deer , then a snake , then a spider .. Then some random guy ...................
Mind was blown .. been playing since ... (off and on ) these days 20 years now
Phantasy Star (Sega 8-bit)
It was the first time I experienced a system with a lot of gear upgrades, and where each teammate you recruited was the result of a nice questchain (Odin needed to be unfrozen, Noah was a hermit in a very deep labyrinth dungeon). Also, the vehicles were awesome. Once you got the landrover, hovercraft and ship, it opened up new areas. I got to experience "grinding", in a softcore way.
It was the first time I was glued to the screen to the anger of my parents
First video game is a bit harder, as my memory bites, but I remember loving Atari's Star Wars down at the local arcade
For a MMO it was Meridian 59, co-operating with strangers really wasn't done in that way earlier.
/Cheers,
Lahnmir
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer