The strange effect that NWN has had on my gaming attitudes

[TimG]

This past weekend I decided it was time to play some old school console games.  I have a few different systems going all the way back to Atari 2600.  Somehow I settled on a game I think was called Dragon Sword or some such for the Wii (which isn't old at all by my standards).  Anyway, this game appears to be a re-make of Dragon Warrior which I played on the NES a long time ago and enjoyed.  The new game had the same music and many of the same enemies and roughly the same plot/mechanics.  Once I got the hang of it I was having a good time but kept comparing it to the freedom that one has as a player in NWN.  I have grown accustomed to the NWN form and kept looking in this other game for ways to do things that can be do and the options just weren't there.  I really am surprised just how much NWN has gotten in to my subconscious for gaming.  As games go I have played NWN for far less time that the old consoles and wouldn't have thought I'd spend my very limited console game time thinking about firing up NWN.
I just thought it was odd.

[PJ156]

I've found that I play little else now. I see titles come and go but don't feel drawn to them. Partly because I mod I think which consumes enormous amounts of time.

NWN1 and 2 offer a huge play experience particulalry with the custom content out there. I guess it's easy not to move on unlike other title which may offer the freedom but lack the variety.

PJ

[Henesua]

When it comes to a roleplaying game I agree with you. I don't see any need (outside of the graphics) to go beyond NWN for an RPG.

But I really like physics based games. Have any of you seen the old Blurst site? Very different style of play. I don't see those kinds of games as competing with NWN, but I see them as a whole different class of experience.

[Tybae]

As far as being open and expansive, Skyrim is awesome.  Kind of reminds me of an MMO without being an MMO.  Since I hate MMO's, Skyrim really appeals to me. 

[Quillmaster]

As far as being open and expansive, Skyrim is awesome.  Kind of reminds me of an MMO without being an MMO.  Since I hate MMO's, Skyrim really appeals to me. 

I agree.  It's the main reason I've been kept away from NWN for the last couple of months. *Blush*.

[TimG]

I have come to the conclusion that NWN really is "ground breaking" in a way that many games aren't.  When the original Dragon Warrior came out for the 8bit NES the sales weren't that great but it set the gaming world on a path that influenced  game development ever since.  The formatting of Dragon Warrior is the foundation on which modern RPG's are laid.  NWN is such a developed descendant that it (for me at least) seems to transcend the nostalgia value of the older classics and still pull attention away from newer titles.  I understand that NWN isn't new at all and that what makes it special.  It is the "Mario" of its kind.  A standard bearer for the genre that will have appeal long after technology passes it by.

I have a pair of Atari 2600's that will work with a bit of fiddling.  I also have some Atari Anthology games for the PS2 which are the same games on a newer system.  I prefer the tactile feel of the original controller so much that if I am playing an antique game the 2600 is the preferred method.  Already we see posts on the Bioware forum by people worried about upgrading a PC because of the effect it will have on NWN.  Players buy videocards with NWN first and foremost in mind.  Down the road, the NWN compatible PC will be like 2600 and NES; an essential collector's item for a classic game.