Much more DOS and old PC gaming coverage please!!

[ChipTune]

Why does a feature on PC gaming always have to resort to some boring-as-FCUK game like Civilisation or Age of Empires or some such..

Why can't it get a fair shout along side the other platforms? many of the games on Playstation and Saturn were on PC, (Tomb Raider, Descent, Discworld, Road Rash etc) many much better than the consoles. Also DOS had some awesome and fun games that were popular on Amiga, Super Frog, Alien Breed etc.. as well as it's own cool titles like Abuse, Raptor, Rise of the Triad, Alien Carnage etc etc

It really feels like the PC gets a raw deal coverage wise.

[AmigaJay]

I'd rather the feature on the PC gaming covered games that were written on the PC and weren't converted to other platforms, you read about Amiga, Playstation games in their own articles, no need to waste space covering them again.

[jdanddiet]

sounds to me rob as if the pc is getting plenty of coverage, just not the games you want to see or like

[hydr0x]

I'd rather the feature on the PC gaming covered games that were written on the PC and weren't converted to other platforms, you read about Amiga, Playstation games in their own articles, no need to waste space covering them again.

The point is, an awful lot of Saturn/PS era games are actually PC games PORTED to PS/SAT, not the other way around. Yet they always get featured as console games. Heck, 90% of the western developed games on the Saturn are PC ports.

As for your Lemmings remark, don't be ridiculous, the game logic, AI and amount of objects in memory does not even come close to Civilization's requirements.

[pforson]

I'd rather the feature on the PC gaming covered games that were written on the PC and weren't converted to other platforms, you read about Amiga, Playstation games in their own articles, no need to waste space covering them again.

The point is, an awful lot of Saturn/PS era games are actually PC games PORTED to PS/SAT, not the other way around. Yet they always get featured as console games. Heck, 90% of the western developed games on the Saturn are PC ports.

Indeedy doody. A great example being the original Grand Theft Auto. Written for PC and PORTED to Playstation. Yet loads of people consider it a PS1 game.

[pforson]

Coming up
History of Civilization
Making Of Planescape Torment
The definitive PC games

Now leave me alone

You rock my world baby. I love a bit of Planescape Torment!

[Darran@Retro Gamer]

I'd rather the feature on the PC gaming covered games that were written on the PC and weren't converted to other platforms, you read about Amiga, Playstation games in their own articles, no need to waste space covering them again.

That's unlikely to happen. If a game is defining its influence is felt elsewhere or it receives lots of ports, so they'll be some overlap. We're putting a few rules in place and one of the things is that they can't have originated on another system, no matter how superior the PC version is.

Then it's just a case of speaking to developers about the featured games in question and we've got a potential cover worthy article.

[pforson]

I'd rather the feature on the PC gaming covered games that were written on the PC and weren't converted to other platforms, you read about Amiga, Playstation games in their own articles, no need to waste space covering them again.

That's unlikely to happen. If a game is defining its influence is felt elsewhere or it receives lots of ports, so they'll be some overlap. We're putting a few rules in place and one of the things is that they can't have originated on another system, no matter how superior the PC version is.

Then it's just a case of speaking to developers about the featured games in question and we've got a potential cover worthy article.

I agree completely, however I hope the 'rule' is compensated for by a little common sense.

Take for instance, Microsoft Flight Simulator Series. The original game originated elsewhere (The Apple 2 - as has been pointed out to me today), however, it cannot be denied that the Series is synonymous with, and defining of, the PC platform.

[NorthWay]

Take for instance, Microsoft Flight Simulator Series. The original game originated elsewhere (The Apple 2 - as has been pointed out to me today), however, it cannot be denied that the Series is synonymous with, and defining of, the PC platform.

And for me it is a C= 64 game. Funny how that works, eh? (So I deny.)

[SJ_Sathanas]

Why does a feature on PC gaming always have to resort to some boring-as-FCUK game like Civilisation or Age of Empires or some such..

Why can't it get a fair shout along side the other platforms? many of the games on Playstation and Saturn were on PC, (Tomb Raider, Descent, Discworld, Road Rash etc) many much better than the consoles. Also DOS had some awesome and fun games that were popular on Amiga, Super Frog, Alien Breed etc.. as well as it's own cool titles like Abuse, Raptor, Rise of the Triad, Alien Carnage etc etc

It really feels like the PC gets a raw deal coverage wise.

Games like that usually require a complex interface that worksd best with mouse and keyboard. Also Civ and AoE are not boring.

[Matt_B]

Also Civ and AoE are not boring.

I agree heartily, but you've got to remember that many gamers have attention spans that goldfish could put to shame.

[SJ_Sathanas]

Also Civ and AoE are not boring.

I agree heartily, but you've got to remember that many gamers have attention spans that goldfish could put to shame.

Well I wouldn't go that far....

[snowkatt]

Also Civ and AoE are not boring.

I agree heartily, but you've got to remember that many gamers have attention spans that goldfish could put to shame.

Well I wouldn't go that far....

me neither
goldfish do have an attention span

[CraigGrannell]

I agree completely, however I hope the 'rule' is compensated for by a little common sense. Take for instance, Microsoft Flight Simulator Series. The original game originated elsewhere (The Apple 2 - as has been pointed out to me today), however, it cannot be denied that the Series is synonymous with, and defining of, the PC platform.

I suspect, unless the in-house team have gone bonkers, that the aim is to double-down on relevance. In a making-of, for example, it's all about the story—how a game came to be, with details from the person who made it. But an 'origins' needs context, and that context can vary, depending on the title in question. To take some examples… Monty Mole is primarily a Speccy game, but when talking to those involved, it was clear Crowther's C64 effort was made in parallel, and so that absolutely had to be included. WIth the C64 and C16 On The Runs, there were also enough differences to justify investigating those versions. However, for a game that was created on Platform X and had pretty straight ports to Platform Y, there'd be little point in investigating both, and it certainly wouldn't make any sense to start with Platform Y, even if that was by far the more popular machine. On my most recent article, Lode Runner is utterly synonymous with the Apple II, but if everything else was 'banned', we'd not have gotten how the game originated (on the PET), how it was developed (on the VAX), and how it spread around the world (via the arcade release).

[ivarf]

hence why people always mark xmas 1992 as a point in history when the PC became a 'proper' gaming platform and not just for rich kids...

I found many great PC games when I bought my first PC in 1990. It was bought for studies but forund other uses too. It was a low specked cheap 286 16 MHz with a 256 kB VGA graphics card. It played all the games I could find for it at the time.

You mentions rich kids, something I have seen been thrown around when Amstrad CPCs are talked about too. I think this is a UK only thing, at least the focus on rich and poor.