That would be D&D / Wizardry / dungeon crawler influence, not Mario. The id team were all huge D&D nerds and Carmack had made a few RPGs himself.
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Most Influential game of all time
- Thread starter Chrome Hyena
- Start date
That would be D&D / Wizardry / dungeon crawler influence, not Mario. The id team were all huge D&D nerds and Carmack had made a few RPGs himself.
Video game crash of 1983 - Wikipedia
The nice thing about this wikipedia entry is that it goes into the numbers of how the crash in the US affected the industry worldwide. They even threw in a nice graph.
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I actually e-mailed Romero and asked. He told me nope, they just wanted to make a kick-ass game based on Evil Dead and Aliens. Which of course, he's said many times in interviews. I was pretty disappointed in that answer; that's not a design, that's just a concept.
Yeah, it invented the over the shoulder camera and to this day it is the go to for action games.
That directly contradicts what Romero said in this interview, where he literally said Doom was inspired by a D&D session:
The game is definitely more beloved in Japan than it is in the West, it seems. I think we got it later than they did too because the graphics were altered to tie it into the cartoon?
That's a cool story, but where's the contradiction? Again, this says nothing about game design, only concept. All he says is that the idea of using demons instead of aliens comes from that moment. He even mentions the movie Aliens, as he always does. He often mentions Evil Dead, too, as he did to me, for example in these interviews (which also mention D&D):
https://blankmaninc.com/john-romero-interview/
https://www.pcgamesn.com/doom/john-romero-interview-part-2
Out of the list I voted "Doom" because it functionally created an entire genre of games and cemented the migration to 3D. That said, both "Pong" and "Space Invaders" seem way more influential.
Pong for getting video games into the home. Space Invaders for mass cultural awareness of video games.
This may not be a popular opinion but I hazard that if Super Mario Brothers handn't been bundled with systems it would be seen as just a run of the mill arcade platformer.
Pong for getting video games into the home. Space Invaders for mass cultural awareness of video games.
This may not be a popular opinion but I hazard that if Super Mario Brothers handn't been bundled with systems it would be seen as just a run of the mill arcade platformer.
And Zelda was in turn influenced by Ultima and The Black Onyx.
Actually, where is Ultima on the poll? Just about every RPG, as well as every open-world game, is descended from it.
No it is not even more influential than DQIII. Stop this. This is why people say it is overrated as hell.
If these release dates are correct, Midway's version was almost 5 months after Japan but still made it out in 1984.
I think, at least initially in 1985-1987, Ghosts 'n Goblins did more to popularize scrolling platformers in NA than SMB. The NES wasn't really mainstream until Christmas 1987 at the earliest while arcade GnG was a very common sight in public in 1986, at least in my experience. That's probably why they included it in the NES Classic. That port isn't considered a top NES game but the GnG name has value for older gamers.
It's a fight between SMB1, SM64, and Doom, depending on what we're talking about.
OoT as well for the Z-Targeting mechanic.
OoT as well for the Z-Targeting mechanic.
It's funny you mention GnG cuz the original Makaimura is also one of those games that's mentioned in the same breaths as other influential games in Japan. For what it's worth, every kid I know had the NES version growing up lol
This board skews a little younger and is very console-centric as evidenced in threads like these. Outside of Pac-Man, you don't see arcade games on these lists.
OP ran out of poll options, right? That's why Heiankyo Alien isn't on there? Or Space Invaders? Or, as another user mentioned, fucking TETRIS and PONG?
by the way, happy 35th to tetris
by the way, happy 35th to tetris
It's Doom.
Platformers are a niche product now, while basically every genre is now also an FPS, the biggest blockbusters are FPS, and we'll all still be playing FPS until we're dead.
Minecraft is an FPS.
Platformers are a niche product now, while basically every genre is now also an FPS, the biggest blockbusters are FPS, and we'll all still be playing FPS until we're dead.
Minecraft is an FPS.
I was just gonna say that.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time should be on the list.
Super Mario Bros. is the only correct answer here, but I also endorse this message:
It's certainly the most important user-content platform of all time and the common ancestor for a whole stack of design movements and ecosystems that are disproportionately underrepresented on Era (PC, mobile, e-sports, entire global markets like the one in China)ābut even the people who give it full credit for that tend to undersell WC3's foundational hand in World of Warcraft, a branch of WC3's legacy that speaks for itself.
It's certainly the most important user-content platform of all time and the common ancestor for a whole stack of design movements and ecosystems that are disproportionately underrepresented on Era (PC, mobile, e-sports, entire global markets like the one in China)ābut even the people who give it full credit for that tend to undersell WC3's foundational hand in World of Warcraft, a branch of WC3's legacy that speaks for itself.
Halo is far more influential than Goldeneye. The industry never chased making Goldeneye killers and most FPS games today still have traces of Halo design.
Also is MGS really influential? Regardless of quality, did it really disrupt or jump start anything other than its own franchise?
OP, these options feel tailored to your personal tastes, which is fine, but doesn't feel actually representative to what's deserving imo.
Also is MGS really influential? Regardless of quality, did it really disrupt or jump start anything other than its own franchise?
OP, these options feel tailored to your personal tastes, which is fine, but doesn't feel actually representative to what's deserving imo.
Nearly every 3d game owes something to Mario 64. That's why imo it's the most influential game of all time.
Mario bros is similar with 2d, but imo more 2d mechanics were already in place by that time from games like pitfall and donkey kong.
Mario bros is similar with 2d, but imo more 2d mechanics were already in place by that time from games like pitfall and donkey kong.
What in the fuck is that Goldeneye pick over so many First Person Shooters? That game is influential if you use a qualifier, for console FPS. The rest of the genre was wildly outclassing Goldeneye at the time and their impact has been felt to this day.
Goldeneye could have actually never existed and the FPS genre loses nothing of value.
Goldeneye could have actually never existed and the FPS genre loses nothing of value.
I think some of y'all are sleeping a bit on MGS.
Like MGS was one of the very first and most successful games to bring in elements of film and sets the stage for story-telling in games going forward. It's not a coincidence that Kojima is a film-buff. From the cutscenes, to the cinematography, to the voice acting, to the complex story-telling, it's all very obviously super film-inspired. So much of the film-inspiration we see in AAA game production (The Last of Us says hey) owes a lot to Metal Gear Solid, imo.
It at least deserves to be part of the conversation.
Like MGS was one of the very first and most successful games to bring in elements of film and sets the stage for story-telling in games going forward. It's not a coincidence that Kojima is a film-buff. From the cutscenes, to the cinematography, to the voice acting, to the complex story-telling, it's all very obviously super film-inspired. So much of the film-inspiration we see in AAA game production (The Last of Us says hey) owes a lot to Metal Gear Solid, imo.
It at least deserves to be part of the conversation.
Adventure games have been doing story heavy gameplay a decade earlier. Wing Commander had actual actors filmed like a movie for cutscenes. Wing Commander, the highly popular series that sold many millions of copies.
MGS actually had very little if any influence. Is its own thing for the most part. You cant really say we play games in a certain way today because of MGS. It didnt create stealth, that was Thief. It didnt create cinematic storytelling, because pc games were doing it since the previous decade.
Doom is the most influential, while Super Mario Bros is the most important (for making Nintendo a thing in the console business). That's a very key distinction.
Super Mario 64 is the only one on the list I feel is arguably as influential as Doom.
Goldeneye on the list instead of Halo CE is bizarre. It's pretty clear which one of those games had more impact on the console FPS.
Super Mario 64 is the only one on the list I feel is arguably as influential as Doom.
Goldeneye on the list instead of Halo CE is bizarre. It's pretty clear which one of those games had more impact on the console FPS.
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What about Pitfall? If Mario gets a shoutout, shouldn't Harry too? And probably Half-Life (2) should be in the poll.
We had games with FMV years before MGS, I'd say the film inspiration was already heavily there. Or adventure games like we got from Lucas Arts, The Dig was even originally intended for TV by Steven Spielberg (too costly to film, so they made it a game). Full Throttle was also very cinematic, action setpieces included. Playing games like those and Broken Sword etc. made it feel like I was playing an animated movie.
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Spacewar! is certainly important, but I just can't say it's the most important just because it came first. Video games were an inevitability as computers became more complex, and they were even predicted in some capacities before SpaceWar! such as with Chess games played by radio waves. I give more credit to what defined games as they became in this case, which of the poll options would probably by Super Mario Bros.
From this list I'd say Super Mario.
But the fact that people are scoffing at Metal Gear Solid being this list makes me wonder if people are just too young to remember the impact it had on gaming when it came out or if they've just forgotten. It wasn't influential for creating stealth gameplay, it was influential for bridging the gap between movies and games. Elements such as stepping out onto the dock and walking around whilst the opening credits were displayed on the screen, the realtime cutscenes and a cast of characters with well defined backgrounds, it was the first time I felt like I was playing a hollywood movie and it was the moment that showed me the true potential of video games as a medium. All the little intricacies of the game such as soldiers seeing your cold breath around corner and the psycho mantis boss fight. I'm not sure why people are trying to discredit the game for what it did for the gaming beyond that.
But the fact that people are scoffing at Metal Gear Solid being this list makes me wonder if people are just too young to remember the impact it had on gaming when it came out or if they've just forgotten. It wasn't influential for creating stealth gameplay, it was influential for bridging the gap between movies and games. Elements such as stepping out onto the dock and walking around whilst the opening credits were displayed on the screen, the realtime cutscenes and a cast of characters with well defined backgrounds, it was the first time I felt like I was playing a hollywood movie and it was the moment that showed me the true potential of video games as a medium. All the little intricacies of the game such as soldiers seeing your cold breath around corner and the psycho mantis boss fight. I'm not sure why people are trying to discredit the game for what it did for the gaming beyond that.
