Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
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From: crosby@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (Matthew Crosby)
Subject: Re: Sierra and Interactive Fiction
Message-ID: <1993May4.211330.9665@ucsu.Colorado.EDU>
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Date: Tue, 4 May 1993 21:13:30 GMT
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In article <10751@blue.cis.pitt.edu> wbdst+@pitt.edu (William B Dwinnell) writes:
>
>Well, I don't know about Sierra games (I think they spend too much
>time hand-painting the graphics, and getting a musical score, rather
>than designing the game) but I think the first graphical games to
>come close to the old Infocom games would be Ultima Underworld and friends.
>Finally, a virtual world with a GUI, instead of an arcade game!  The
>late-model Infocom games with graphics (like Circuit's Edge) weren't
>bad, and Dungeon Master was a good start too.

Hmm.  I don't know.  Ultima Underworld (both of them) are cool games, but
I still like infocoms better.  The technology is still too limited, for one.
They are only able to convey dungeon type situations.   They are great at what
they aim at, but they really are unable to get the scope that comes with a
good infocom game.  Ultima VII also comes close to a good virtual world, in
many ways closer then underworld, but as someone who feels that the best Ultima
was Ultima VI, it's all very nice with this nice point and click interface, 
but again, I still feel there is something missing.

Part of it is that unfortunately Lord British evidently decided to follow the
Sierra lead of dumbing down games.  Serpent Isle doesn't even let you die, for
crying out loud.  And the speech interface for U4-6 was so much better then
that for Underworld and U7...I don't _want_ the bloody game to tell me what I
am saying.

I guess for me it's the same as a TV program/movie will never come close to a
good book.  I just would much rather my imagaination then someone elses.
-- 
-Matt							crosby@cs.colorado.edu
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the net!
