tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post8885748162826233069..comments2024-03-28T09:10:48.790-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Two Books on CRPG HistoriesCRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-9371230041683605582022-09-28T15:16:01.594-04:002022-09-28T15:16:01.594-04:00I did! About six months after this, I had a contra...I did! About six months after this, I had a contract that took me to Buneos Aires and Montevideo, and after that to Santiago and Bogota. I was hustled around by local hosts, though, so I didn't get much chance to do any exploring. I enjoyed my time in South America and I'd visit more often if it didn't take so damned long to get there. <br /><br />If I ever get a chance to visit again, I am absolutely taking some personal time to go to Tierra del Fuego. I'm still kicking myself for not doing it when I was already in the hemisphere.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-70066409249003782352022-09-27T15:05:55.659-04:002022-09-27T15:05:55.659-04:00Being from Argentina, I wonder: did You ever visit...Being from Argentina, I wonder: did You ever visited Buenos Aires? Leo Vellésnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-11034151068191168402021-06-19T11:42:22.882-04:002021-06-19T11:42:22.882-04:00It's interesting to read this from the future ...It's interesting to read this from the future where there are a plethora of Rogue-like games that are very commercial, and have also mixed the CRPG elements pretty firmly with that Rogue style.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09234000344155392850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-49905793135557312842021-03-14T03:10:31.420-04:002021-03-14T03:10:31.420-04:00Things have indeed gotten a great deal better, alt...Things have indeed gotten a great deal better, although in my current circumstances it's only a concern in the abstract. There's nobody around me who has a problem with my gaming, and I no longer give myself a hard time about it.merlin4012https://www.blogger.com/profile/16300594533601663641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-23737187083115185282021-03-14T00:36:35.951-05:002021-03-14T00:36:35.951-05:00I don't think I really feel the same way that ...I don't think I really feel the same way that I did when I wrote this 11 years ago--partly because video games have gone more mainstream and partly because I'm old enough to have passed into the phase of life where you don't really care what people think about you. I happily admit to my students and colleagues that I play lots of video games, although I still keep the blog secret.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-48446909345468125122021-03-13T01:34:45.931-05:002021-03-13T01:34:45.931-05:00My kids were born in the 90s. My son is a gamer, a...My kids were born in the 90s. My son is a gamer, and my daughter is very supportive of my pastime. Neither seems to feel the video game shame.merlin4012https://www.blogger.com/profile/16300594533601663641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-72761137780796741852021-03-13T01:29:10.031-05:002021-03-13T01:29:10.031-05:00Here I am again, pointlessly commenting on old pos...Here I am again, pointlessly commenting on old posts. I guess I'm talking to anyone like me who finds the blog for the first time and decides to read it from the beginning. "If, in contrast, I announced to my boss that I planned to spend all weekend watching sports, or kayaking, or attending a rock concert, I would not get the same comment because these activities are "normal."" Yeah, any activity, no matter how pointless, is not a problem as long as a big enough slice of the herd does it. If it's an activity a minority of people enjoy, then it must be shameful, pathetic, and harmful. Video games have distinguished themselves even from that pack by becoming the very definition of a destructive waste of time, one of the culture's favorite whipping boys. I used to feel this shame, but finally liberated myself from it. This has made my life a lot more fun and fulfilling so it's great for me. If for others video games are interfering with their ability to do other things that they feel are more valuable, then I can see that would be a problem. For sure when I was raising my kids I had to push the games to the margins (although I had tremendous fun playing Baldur's Gate and Warcraft 2 with my enthralled son sitting on my knee). Now that the kids are grown, I have substantial free time which I gleefully devote to games, and I'm fortunate enough not to have to listen to derision from anybody. By the way, I used to teach at a community college and from time to time would talk with my students about my love of games, and never suffered any negative repercussions. Not saying that other teachers would be so lucky, and I can understand the instinct to keep mum about it.merlin4012https://www.blogger.com/profile/16300594533601663641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-43140399430037948272020-10-27T23:34:51.305-04:002020-10-27T23:34:51.305-04:00I also always hated that new name. This deserves m...I also always hated that new name. This deserves more threadmancy :)Ron Jeremyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04515767056865267083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-65404453324749843412019-03-23T07:07:29.170-04:002019-03-23T07:07:29.170-04:00Thanks for the THREADMANCY on the site!
Hell, lea...Thanks for the THREADMANCY on the site!<br /><br />Hell, learnt so much from games - and still do.<br />Definitely down to which games you play tho.<br /><br />I think the main thing I've learnt is hoarding tho. <br />My house is a bag of holding the likes that Guybrush Threepwoods pants would be proud of!marshalseahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01794477143399694031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-24116819949259417852019-03-23T07:06:08.728-04:002019-03-23T07:06:08.728-04:00Nah, we're the first wavers hitting 40+ now (6...Nah, we're the first wavers hitting 40+ now (6 years after this post) and still gaming!<br /><br />Hell, I don't get a lot of time, but still dive in, and yes, I still prefer the story driven ones. Currently on Vane.<br /><br />Need to have a trawl of this site haven't read it in ages.marshalseahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01794477143399694031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-38688028020186723822019-03-23T07:04:36.411-04:002019-03-23T07:04:36.411-04:00Ha! Glad it touched someone!
Jeez, I made that com...Ha! Glad it touched someone!<br />Jeez, I made that comment 8 years ago!<br /><br />THREADMANCY!!!marshalseahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01794477143399694031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-61698453067803931102019-02-28T01:52:28.263-05:002019-02-28T01:52:28.263-05:00I agree here, you don’t learn anything from playin...I agree here, you don’t learn anything from playing games. But I wouldn’t consider it a waste of time because I’m having so much fun (hedonism is a very good thing)Ragnaroekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01661298801062120518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-70067583372549918772017-08-19T13:11:22.300-04:002017-08-19T13:11:22.300-04:00This are interesting observations, and I will give...This are interesting observations, and I will give also my Impression to this 7 years old thread, but I stumbled onto this great blog also recently. <br /><br />As a kid, I was very interested in history ready, especially about the romans. When I grew older, as a teenager, not unlike many others, I lost all my interest in any things but gaming and partying sometimes. <br />This is about the "learning" aspect of games. In 1996 I stumbled not onto a CRPG (which I also played a lot), but over Panzer General. This and his successors are my favorite games since 21 years now. By playing the various Scenarios back then, I began to wonder: why was one set in Norway, and were there really battles in the middle east in WW II and so on. The game influenced me on buying and reading new history books. First only WW II, but then I started to renew my interest in archaeology and so on. And now I am actually working as a historian. So, I think you could learn something from gaming... <br /><br />On the other hand, I am totally with the CRPG addict on the acceptance topic. <br />It was not a totally straight way and there are much more aspects to it, but I do think without Panzer General I would never got the job I love to have. <br />This is not something I could ever tell my co-workers - becoming motivated for a job by pushing units over the screen in a wargame. Time is not ripe for such a story, though I think of the younger guys in my Profession are 75 % nerds. <br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-76781433973632487722017-04-20T13:38:56.685-04:002017-04-20T13:38:56.685-04:00I'll answer this 7 yo thread just to say that ... I'll answer this 7 yo thread just to say that CRPG (and games ingeneral) have been instrumental in giving me a good command of English at an early age.<br /><br />Growing up in Italy, translated games were more the exception than the norm, and playing text heavy games like Ultima VI/VII in my early teens helped me way more in learning the language than English classes at school (for which I had always good grades with zero effort).<br /><br />By my later teens I was able to basically understand fully games like BG2 and Torment, and that knowledge allowed me later in life to have a internship in the US,finding a professional job in the UK, and today I use it daily when dealing with international customers.<br /><br />Also, being able to appreciate great blogs like this is a nice perk!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-86819453802420082552015-06-15T16:59:21.203-04:002015-06-15T16:59:21.203-04:00I totally forgot this comment thread, but I finall...I totally forgot this comment thread, but I finally have something to contribute. I started at college last fall and one of the classes I had was an Intro to Psych course. Our professor in that class is a total unadulterated gamer nerd and makes no bones about it - though he's primarily a console player. A good ten minutes of most classes would be spent discussing his latest forays into digital worlds.<br /><br />He'd probably tend to agree with Barton about the *potential* of cRPGS as teaching tools, but they're not often utilized that way by designers whose primary motivations are to make a living doing what they love. On the other side of the spectrum, the makers of edutainment games are often severely hamstrung by what they are and aren't allowed to showcase in the name of knowledge.<br /><br />I think there's definitely a conversation to be had about bringing the one group's ability and creative resources together with the other's motivation and throwing money at them to see what they come up with. The Extra Credits youtube channel has done a video or two on the topic.waretaringonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-77051113147139412462015-06-15T13:50:10.090-04:002015-06-15T13:50:10.090-04:00Either he was a bit of a jerk or you have a very w...Either he was a bit of a jerk or you have a very weird way of playing games.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-46329741441846668962015-06-15T13:16:33.159-04:002015-06-15T13:16:33.159-04:00First, I'd like to apologize for threadomancy....First, I'd like to apologize for threadomancy.<br />Second, I'd like to apologize for possibly inappropriate post.<br /><br />You said "things that we all do, but still look down on others for also doing it". It inevitably reminds me that anytime my father saw me playing computer games (of course mostly crpg), he never forgot to sneer and say "masturbating again, huh?".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-35266306606666363242013-10-01T04:35:11.636-04:002013-10-01T04:35:11.636-04:00On the topic of learning languages from CRPGs, the...On the topic of learning languages from CRPGs, there's at least one CRPG <em>specifically designed</em> to teach Japanese... and which does so, at least in my experience, with considerable success (in the language-teaching part; that aside it's admittedly not the most enthralling CRPG ever produced). Since it's at least marginally a commercial product, in that the creator does charge a little money for registration of the full game, in accordance with the blog rules I won't link to it, but you can find it easily by googling "Slime Forest Adventure".Jalen Wandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00973042209003357278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-33142191091771067532013-10-01T04:30:59.306-04:002013-10-01T04:30:59.306-04:00A new crap name, seemingly devised to attempt to r...<i>A new crap name, seemingly devised to attempt to raise its cultural value</i><br /><br />YES!!!!<br /><br />Sorry; I know this has very little to do with the actual post, but it was so refreshing to find someone else who shared my feelings about that horrible, sterile, pretentious term "interactive fiction" that I just felt I had to acknowledge it... even if the person in question posted his comment over two years ago and is unlikely ever to see my reply.Jalen Wandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00973042209003357278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-84532892984803252092012-09-05T08:34:25.805-04:002012-09-05T08:34:25.805-04:00I'm sure many teachers have wanted to shoot th...I'm sure many teachers have wanted to shoot their students.marshalseahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01794477143399694031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-88910328863266585542012-09-04T09:56:47.675-04:002012-09-04T09:56:47.675-04:00Wow, I was thinking about this exact idea. That so...Wow, I was thinking about this exact idea. That somehow the "addictive" nature of gaining experience might be applied to teaching. There's a video game that teaches programming with a FRP front end that does it. I was thinking more LARP'ing for the fresh air benefit.Jaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00843032606787154923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-14266772848826795092012-03-26T21:16:36.640-04:002012-03-26T21:16:36.640-04:00I am not a native speaker of the English language....I am not a native speaker of the English language. But I do believe I'm relatively proficient enough to even teach it as a subject, at least to 3rd graders and below.<br /><br />And this ability stems from my hours of playing CRPGs. And of course, most of what Niceman pointed out.<br /><br />Finally, "From Geek to Chic"... To a certain extent, I do agree. Anyone remember Final Fantasy VII (FF7), the console RPG which went cross-platform to the PC? Supposedly, it was during this time that RPGs became cool. Chicks were digging the romance and music of that game. So much so that a music video for the theme song of FF8 was released with much fanfare a whole year before the actual RPG was available on Playstation 2.Kenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-50344095812383802922012-03-05T10:29:13.163-05:002012-03-05T10:29:13.163-05:00Justin, I somehow overlooked your comment when you...Justin, I somehow overlooked your comment when you first posted it. I went back and looked at the book, and you're right: he mentions the books but doesn't say they were the first. I edited the text above.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-35533425593468580122012-02-23T09:15:49.546-05:002012-02-23T09:15:49.546-05:00Regarding the things to be learned from these game...Regarding the things to be learned from these games, while I don't for a second believe they're the "best learning tool ever", I do believe that they:<br /><br />A.) Taught me an appreciation for tactics, leveraging the right tool(s)/skills for the job at hand.<br /><br />B.) Taught me the importance of strategy and how to manage resources for a series of probable events.<br /><br />C.) Taught me, through interesting quests and dialog with NPCs (more-so in later games as story techniques improved), the art of paradigm busting and a study on objectivity vs. the player's personal beliefs.<br /><br />D.) In some cases, taught me good narrative and story arc.<br /><br />E.) Taught me to never trust an Elvish Assassin ever again.<br /><br />I'm sure there are more but seen as I'm at work, I should probably browse to Technet now or look busy or something.Nicemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15443826623119065645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-75989954194383967712012-02-23T09:05:04.710-05:002012-02-23T09:05:04.710-05:00Hmm, well, I'm 30 so I guess I'm on the fe...Hmm, well, I'm 30 so I guess I'm on the fence a little. In fact, I sometimes think I'm the so called 'lost generation' stuck between X and Y. As a result though, I think I can empathise with both.<br /><br />When I grew up, the first games I remember were The Hobbit and Transylvania on my father's Apple Macintosh. Oh, that and also I remember him playing Dark Castle. It was way too hard for me. :)<br /><br />My first real RPG was Ultima VIII: Pagan when we acquired a PC in 1994, my introduction to both CRPGs and Ultima.<br /><br />I then discovered Fallout, Ultima Online and later sank God knows how long into Morrowind etc...<br /><br />And I think it's really by the time Oblivion came out that a shift in the atmosphere occurred. The LoTR films were hugely successful with the average peon, WoW was in full swing and the younger generation were legion enough now for it to just about register in the public "extelligence" (thanks to Terry for that one). <br /><br />Mass Effect gave it a nudge, I then like to think that by the time games like Deus Ex 3 and Skyrim arrived last year (the latter's particular impact registering almost on a Call of Duty scale), CRPGs have finally started to become accepted as entertainment.<br /><br />Unless you're 40, then you're fucked.<br /><br />I did very much feel afraid to admit my interests as a teen. The stigma was far too much, I would never have dreamed of reading a magazine such as PCZone on the bus (my favourite PC publication growing up) or playing a handheld. <br /><br />Now a lot of that was probably teenage paranoia but these days I can do both with impunity and have a girlfriend who's addicted to Mario games, Bejeweled and Plants Vs. Zombies and who is extremely successful socially.<br /><br />In fact, I have met a great deal of people in last couple of years who I would *never* have guessed played and enjoyed CRPGs.<br /><br />There's hope for us yet. :)<br /><br />Side Note: Ironically; a recurring theme in CRPGs (to me anyway) seems to be around the concept of social acceptability.Nicemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15443826623119065645noreply@blogger.com