My Top Video Games Of All Time! - Part 1
As my journey into Game Development continues, I often break down games, test and try to find weak points, understand the game mechanics and work out ultimately what makes it fun, rewarding or frustrating to play.
These are my top favourite games, ever in no particular order:
Firewatch - The colour pallete for this title is amazing, the artists did a wonderful job of turning the environment into a beautiful journey. The gameplay is simple and the storytelling between Henry and Delilah is just pure romance. I would love a second Firewatch game.
Bishi Bashi - Way back in the day this was my Smash Brothers. We played this game hard, for several years and I still love it. This was my first real insight into how games don't need to be high end graphics to be good but rather game play and fun are still a major pillar. Bishi Bashi VR, yes please!
Skyrim - Ye gods! I seriously lost myself in this game. The mods took over and I even started making my own. Nothing ready for the 'Nexus' but changing armour colour and kitbashing pieces together. The Story by itself was pretty decent but the attention to detail, the dialogues and companions for different quests was just the best I'd ever played. The environment was just breathtaking and I found myself sometimes just waiting on a high mountain for the sunrise or the aurora borealis at night. The random events and secret locations still have me wanting to play this game more.
Wipeout - Still one of the best racing games in my opinion. 'Redout' comes very close but it doesn't win points for originality. The visual art style by the 'Designers Republic' was a strong influence on my own early art design, and it was completely due to this game. I still remember 'missing' a class at Art College so I could get the first copy of Wipeout 2097 in my town. Totally worth it and I still own it to this day.
The Witcher 3 - Just as immersive and world building as you'd expect from CD Projekt. I actually found the main quest a little underwhelming as the hundreds of amazing side quests felt slightly more important. The depth of the world is incredible and the graphics are just beautiful but it was the serious detailing and storytelling that will always draw me back to this franchise. I wonder what Netflix will do with the show?
Horizon Zero Dawn - The developers at guerrilla games made a lot of good design choices and immerse the player in a gorgeous world filled with incredible locations, great ncps and some very big robot dinosaurs. There is a whole series on youtube by 'Noclip' which documents how they made it. It well worth spending the hours watching them all if you enjoyed the game. Having no multiplayer was a great decision. Staying focused on the core mechanics and get the Art and game play right first. I'm sure HZD2 on the PS5 will definitely include this, and this is why many people also bought the kickstarter game board game (and all the cool minis) so they could play with friends. The world building was already done perfectly, now it's time to get your hunters together and work as a team.
Mario World - Although we never owned a Nintendo growing up, some of my friends did and this was my first real mario game. Game play, level design and character development really made this shine as a well presented and perfect mario game. Gotta love that Yoshi.
Street Fighter Alpha 3 - The artwork, volume of characters and smooth animation style made this a classic. The sheer number of special abilities, combos and counters was insane. It really had it all. I don't feel like anything after this has come close from the streetfighter franchise.
Disney Infinity - A level designers dream. Actually the main games are pretty fun and the characters and animations are very well produced. I really loved the 'sandbox' community and collecting the great figures. The 'toys to life' genre is still just alive with the new Starlink game but it still hasn't found the right market. Having the ability to make your own levels in the Disney franchise with al the licensed music and share them with friends was just brilliant. With thousands of youtube videos to help get the programming node correct, you were only limited by your imagination.
Doom (2016) - Back in Hell and loving it. Wow, what a refreshing relaunch of an old title. Doom has pushed the first person shooter franchise since it's original creation. The new Doom empowers players to keep moving forward, rewards players for using glory kills and keep you just bearly alive with a dynamic health bar system. You are the demon in the game, everything else is just dead. They just don't know it yet. Playing on strong environmental storytelling, a fantastic background score and a huge range of upgradable weapons made this game a complete joy. But wait, there's more! The game also included a sweet multiplayer system that rewarded players to completely upgrade and customize their own doomguy. The downfall was, the main game was just too good. And then, there was 'Snapmap'. Use easy pre-assembled assets and rooms to create your own levels and share them on the community servers. Just like Disney infinity this produced some incredible levels and I really enjoyed this aspect. I really hope Doom2 will continue with this feature.
Portal 2 - Who ever thought a physics logic game could be this much fun. The storyline is simple yet rich and with a side helping of cake. Great level design with some serious mind bending puzzles. Great for replays and perfect for VR. The character design is also something that stood out for me. It uses a negative parental guidance system, often putting the player down and making fun of you when you complete a task. This can actually help you by doing the opposite, creates a story animosity and pushes the player forward. As you escape rooms only to find out it was just part of a secret test, you start to discovering more backstory for GLaDos, Atlas, P-body. Making your way around the Aperture Science Facility and listening to J.K. Simmons voice act for Cave Johnson was a really nice touch. I think it's time to play this game again.
Half Life 2 - Still considered one of the best games ever, it certainly lives up to it's name. Half Life 2 isn't just a game, it's an experience. Streaming level design with minimum loading times really kept the player immersed in the game. The core first person shooter is solid whilst breaking up the action with animated cut scenes. It was also one of the first few games to really use real physics puzzles effectively.
Golden Eye - Great fun back in 1997, one of the first multiplayer shooters that we played religiously. It has some great level design, a pretty decent main game following the events of the film, plenty of weapons and tons of playable characters. With hollywood stars like Pierce Brosnan, Famke Janssen, Sean Bean, Alan Cumming and Robbie Coltrane it was hard to pick one. O all right, everybody knows that Oddjob was technically cheating but did you know that Boris is invincible! (Actually, turns out he's not) but Mishkin is pretty tough. Equipped with body armour, he could survive a headshot from the golden gun!
These are my top favourite games, ever in no particular order:
Firewatch - The colour pallete for this title is amazing, the artists did a wonderful job of turning the environment into a beautiful journey. The gameplay is simple and the storytelling between Henry and Delilah is just pure romance. I would love a second Firewatch game.
Bishi Bashi - Way back in the day this was my Smash Brothers. We played this game hard, for several years and I still love it. This was my first real insight into how games don't need to be high end graphics to be good but rather game play and fun are still a major pillar. Bishi Bashi VR, yes please!
Skyrim - Ye gods! I seriously lost myself in this game. The mods took over and I even started making my own. Nothing ready for the 'Nexus' but changing armour colour and kitbashing pieces together. The Story by itself was pretty decent but the attention to detail, the dialogues and companions for different quests was just the best I'd ever played. The environment was just breathtaking and I found myself sometimes just waiting on a high mountain for the sunrise or the aurora borealis at night. The random events and secret locations still have me wanting to play this game more.
Wipeout - Still one of the best racing games in my opinion. 'Redout' comes very close but it doesn't win points for originality. The visual art style by the 'Designers Republic' was a strong influence on my own early art design, and it was completely due to this game. I still remember 'missing' a class at Art College so I could get the first copy of Wipeout 2097 in my town. Totally worth it and I still own it to this day.
The Witcher 3 - Just as immersive and world building as you'd expect from CD Projekt. I actually found the main quest a little underwhelming as the hundreds of amazing side quests felt slightly more important. The depth of the world is incredible and the graphics are just beautiful but it was the serious detailing and storytelling that will always draw me back to this franchise. I wonder what Netflix will do with the show?
Horizon Zero Dawn - The developers at guerrilla games made a lot of good design choices and immerse the player in a gorgeous world filled with incredible locations, great ncps and some very big robot dinosaurs. There is a whole series on youtube by 'Noclip' which documents how they made it. It well worth spending the hours watching them all if you enjoyed the game. Having no multiplayer was a great decision. Staying focused on the core mechanics and get the Art and game play right first. I'm sure HZD2 on the PS5 will definitely include this, and this is why many people also bought the kickstarter game board game (and all the cool minis) so they could play with friends. The world building was already done perfectly, now it's time to get your hunters together and work as a team.
Mario World - Although we never owned a Nintendo growing up, some of my friends did and this was my first real mario game. Game play, level design and character development really made this shine as a well presented and perfect mario game. Gotta love that Yoshi.
Street Fighter Alpha 3 - The artwork, volume of characters and smooth animation style made this a classic. The sheer number of special abilities, combos and counters was insane. It really had it all. I don't feel like anything after this has come close from the streetfighter franchise.
Disney Infinity - A level designers dream. Actually the main games are pretty fun and the characters and animations are very well produced. I really loved the 'sandbox' community and collecting the great figures. The 'toys to life' genre is still just alive with the new Starlink game but it still hasn't found the right market. Having the ability to make your own levels in the Disney franchise with al the licensed music and share them with friends was just brilliant. With thousands of youtube videos to help get the programming node correct, you were only limited by your imagination.
Doom (2016) - Back in Hell and loving it. Wow, what a refreshing relaunch of an old title. Doom has pushed the first person shooter franchise since it's original creation. The new Doom empowers players to keep moving forward, rewards players for using glory kills and keep you just bearly alive with a dynamic health bar system. You are the demon in the game, everything else is just dead. They just don't know it yet. Playing on strong environmental storytelling, a fantastic background score and a huge range of upgradable weapons made this game a complete joy. But wait, there's more! The game also included a sweet multiplayer system that rewarded players to completely upgrade and customize their own doomguy. The downfall was, the main game was just too good. And then, there was 'Snapmap'. Use easy pre-assembled assets and rooms to create your own levels and share them on the community servers. Just like Disney infinity this produced some incredible levels and I really enjoyed this aspect. I really hope Doom2 will continue with this feature.
Portal 2 - Who ever thought a physics logic game could be this much fun. The storyline is simple yet rich and with a side helping of cake. Great level design with some serious mind bending puzzles. Great for replays and perfect for VR. The character design is also something that stood out for me. It uses a negative parental guidance system, often putting the player down and making fun of you when you complete a task. This can actually help you by doing the opposite, creates a story animosity and pushes the player forward. As you escape rooms only to find out it was just part of a secret test, you start to discovering more backstory for GLaDos, Atlas, P-body. Making your way around the Aperture Science Facility and listening to J.K. Simmons voice act for Cave Johnson was a really nice touch. I think it's time to play this game again.
Half Life 2 - Still considered one of the best games ever, it certainly lives up to it's name. Half Life 2 isn't just a game, it's an experience. Streaming level design with minimum loading times really kept the player immersed in the game. The core first person shooter is solid whilst breaking up the action with animated cut scenes. It was also one of the first few games to really use real physics puzzles effectively.
Golden Eye - Great fun back in 1997, one of the first multiplayer shooters that we played religiously. It has some great level design, a pretty decent main game following the events of the film, plenty of weapons and tons of playable characters. With hollywood stars like Pierce Brosnan, Famke Janssen, Sean Bean, Alan Cumming and Robbie Coltrane it was hard to pick one. O all right, everybody knows that Oddjob was technically cheating but did you know that Boris is invincible! (Actually, turns out he's not) but Mishkin is pretty tough. Equipped with body armour, he could survive a headshot from the golden gun!
That's it for part 1, I need more time to keep developing my portfolio and prototyping.
See you soon for part 2!
See you soon for part 2!
