On the surface, it would appear that Nintendo didn't have too bad of a year in 2023. Many great games were released over the months, including and, yet there was one glaring omission in Nintendo's lineup of games. One that could have been easily corrected and broke a decades-long streak that the company might not have even given enough attention to for them to know what they had done.
2023 isn’t a blueprint for the future of RPGs — but it might be an omen
20.12.2023 - 14:40 / polygon.com
2023 delivered us the ultimate gamer’s dilemma: smooch or spaceship?
At its core, this might be the fundamental difference between Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield, the two much-anticipated role-playing games that were released this year. The former, made by a studio paying off a more than 20-year-old franchise, and the latter, building on Bethesda’s reputation for ever-expansive worlds that’s been accruing for the same amount of time, each offered a different way of thinking about what an RPG is in the modern era.
For those of us who have been tinkering in the genre across those 20 years, 2023 felt like a bit of deja vu. Black Isle’s Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn has spent the years since its 2000 release lingering in the top rungs of many “greatest role-playing games of all time” lists, often alongside its fellow traveler Planescape: Torment. BG2 gave you a tightly controlled narrative as the Bhaalspawn, a child of the god of murder, and asked you to navigate a complex narrative in a semi-open world to discover, and determine, your fate. Bethesda’s games, which have spiraled into world-dominating popularity since the titanic release of The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind in 2002, did something similar while widening the scope of possible action: A 3D world coupled with radical character customization through skills and spells allowed it to truly engulf players in a freeform fantasy.
The Bethesda brand somehow managed to keep getting both bigger and more personal, culminating in the fantasy shout-’em-up The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim and the similarly compelling legacy act Fallout 4. Bethesda’s games kept a tight core narrative but wrapped boundless play around it, producing a situation where you might start one of the games and just never get back around to learning about your status as a Chosen One. Build whoever you want to be, live in a world, and turn it into your playground.
Baldur’s Gate, however, mostly languished until Larian’s recent sequel (outside of the compelling Siege of Dragonspear, which was developed by Beamdog). The late 1980s through the early 2000s saw a wide array of RPGs in both the PC and space. Franchises like Ultima, Might and Magic, and Wizardrywere profitable and constant pillars throughout the decade alongside many, many other titles. As Matt Barton extensively charts in Dungeons & Desktops, there was variety and widespread popularity in the computer RPG (CRPG) genre throughout that period. Barton refers to the late 1990s and the early 2000s as the Platinum Age of CRPGs, counting these games, the Diablofranchise, and the early Falloutgames as high-water marks in the development of the genre. After that point, the video game market expanded and fragmented, and the rise of the
The website gametalkz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Top Authors
Popular Topics
gamesradar.com
03.01.2024 / 18:27
M3GAN vs. Malignant? Two of the biggest horror production companies merging has fans excited for the future
Jason Blum's Blumhouse and James Wan's Atomic Monster, two of the biggest horror production companies in Hollywood, have officially merged.
gamesradar.com
02.01.2024 / 18:55
It took barely 12 hours for the first Mickey Mouse games to appear after the Disney mascot entered the public domain
Less than a day after Steamboat Willie officially entered the public domain, several virtual adventures starring the world's most famous mouse have begun popping up online.
gamesradar.com
30.12.2023 / 19:54
Modders working on an offline mode for The Day Before, 2023’s most controversial kind-of-MMO
Modders are working to restore this year’s most controversial game, the apocalyptic (in more ways than one) zombie shooter The Day Before.
tech.hindustantimes.com
30.12.2023 / 05:14
Comeback Year For The Wealthy: Elon Musk Leads World’s Richest to $1.5 Tn Wealth Gain in 2023
It was a comeback year for the world's wealthiest. The combined net worth of the 500 richest people surged by $1.5 trillion in 2023, fully rebounding from the $1.4 trillion lost the year prior, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Once again, their fortunes were closely correlated to the performance of tech stocks, which rose to fresh records this year despite recession fears, lingering inflation, lofty interest rates, and geopolitical turmoil. Tech billionaires saw their wealth grow by 48% or $658 billion, propelled by intense hype around artificial intelligence. No one did better than Elon Musk, who recaptured the title of world's richest person from French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault. The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer netted an additional $95.4 billion through Thursday's close, bolstered by the success of Tesla and SpaceX, after losing $138 billion in 2022. His net worth is now more than $50 billion above Arnault's after a global slowdown in demand for luxury goods dented shares of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.
tech.hindustantimes.com
28.12.2023 / 13:18
Asteroid 2023 XE12 to pass Earth for the first time soon, reveals NASA; Check details
Recently, NASA repurposed the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to study asteroid Apophis which will come dangerously close to Earth in 2029. It is just one of the ventures undertaken by the space agency to discover, track, and study asteroids in a bid to eliminate uncertainties around their close approaches. Using its advanced technology, NASA has revealed that an asteroid is set to pass Earth in the coming days, and it is as big as an aircraft! Know all about this close encounter.
tech.hindustantimes.com
26.12.2023 / 12:29
10 top achievements of NASA in 2023: Bennu, Psyche to Dinkinesh, check them all out
2023 has been a ground-breaking year for NASA. From receiving asteroid sample to launching Psyche spacecraft, the US space agency achieved various milestones. As the year ends, we have compiled a list of 10 achievements of NASA.
tech.hindustantimes.com
22.12.2023 / 15:04
Artificial Intelligence 2023:Top 5 events that moved the AI segment into the spotlight
In a year marked by groundbreaking advancements, 2023 has proven to be a pivotal moment for Artificial Intelligence (AI), reshaping industries and capturing public attention. While ChatGPT laid its foundations in late 2022, it was in 2023 that generative AI truly seized the spotlight with all the tech majors looking to muscle in and dominate the segment with their new tools. Amidst the highs and lows, the AI landscape witnessed transformative events, from competitive launches to unexpected scandals. As we bid farewell to this remarkable year, let's revisit the five defining moments that shaped the AI narrative in 2023.
gamesradar.com
22.12.2023 / 11:38
The Marvels post-credits scenes explained – how many are there and what do they mean for the future of the MCU?
The Marvels is out now on the big screen – and the Captain Marvel sequel has a lot to unpack. For starters, it's not just Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) who takes center stage this time around. She's joined by Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan, AKA Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) after they discover that they switch places every time they use their light-based powers.
gamesradar.com
21.12.2023 / 19:26
The Winter Steam Sale 2023 is live and Baldur's Gate 3 is on sale for the first time
The 2023 Steam Winter Sale is live. You've got until 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BT on January 4, 2024 to add yet more games to your backlog – or, if you're actually a healthy PC gamer, grab something to play immediately – on the cheap.
gamesradar.com
21.12.2023 / 13:55
Bethesda's Starfield roadmap for early 2024 has the space RPG's community feeling optimistic for the future
News that Starfield will be getting updates "roughly every six weeks" starting in February has already gone down well with fans.
tech.hindustantimes.com
18.12.2023 / 01:43
Blockchain currencies in 2023: If You Held On for Dear Life, It's a Merry Cryptomas!
It's Merry Cryptomas, everybody! Bitcoin is up 167% year-to-date. Ethereum is up 91%. If a massive crypto rally was one of your predictions for 2023 a year ago, I take my hat off to you. Compare those returns with other asset classes. The NASDAQ is up 36%. The S&P 500 is up 19%. Gold is up 10.7%. If you were long oil or a broad basket of commodities, you are down 10%-12%.