I'm 24.
Funnily enough, I didn't get into Angband (then Z, then Pern, then ToME) until I grew up and got a job a few years ago.
Age
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Entering the workforce makes many seek an escape from reality. 
I started playing playing Moria during college back in the late '80s (I'm now 34), and while idly hunting the internet a few years back was thrilled to see it still alive, well, and evolved into Vanilla. Discovered ToME around the beginning of this year.
I have to disagree with the assesment that the commercially produced games are all bad these days. To be fair, the mix has shifted a lot over the last few years. Real time strategy games (Warcraft, Age of Empires, etc.) and on-line RPGs seem to make up the bulk of what comes out these days and if you aren't particularly interested in them, then that's unfortunate.
However, a few of the best games I've ever played have come out in the last few years. Planescape: Torment ranks up there with, though slightly behind, the Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (Wizardry 1) in terms of being the most fun I've ever had playing a game. It was like playing a great game and reading a great book at the same time.
In an entirely different direction, a friend introduced me to PlanetSide not long ago. Its a futuristic first-person shooter with everyone grouped into three armies. The integration and level of detail is astounding. For the detail, if you set the resolution high enough, you can not only see the grass and flowers on the ground, you can also watch them move when a rainstorm comes through (the different continents of the world have different weather).
For the integration, at one point I was helping defend a base, and at the height of the battle, I looked around and realized that I was one of about 50 people working together with a wide variety of weapons to defend the base against an attacking force of 100-150. The attackers had air superiority and lots of armor, and were calling in artillery strikes to soften us up, all of which was coordinated. It was an amazing experience. Every single 'person' on both sides, from the infantry with rifles to the gunners firing the artillery, to the bombardiers dropping bombs from the jets flying overhead, and to the field general coordinating the various components of the attack was a real person, somewhere. It may or may not be an individual's cup of tea (and of late, I've been playing ToME rather than PlanetSide), but it was absolutely breathtaking.
I started playing playing Moria during college back in the late '80s (I'm now 34), and while idly hunting the internet a few years back was thrilled to see it still alive, well, and evolved into Vanilla. Discovered ToME around the beginning of this year.
I have to disagree with the assesment that the commercially produced games are all bad these days. To be fair, the mix has shifted a lot over the last few years. Real time strategy games (Warcraft, Age of Empires, etc.) and on-line RPGs seem to make up the bulk of what comes out these days and if you aren't particularly interested in them, then that's unfortunate.
However, a few of the best games I've ever played have come out in the last few years. Planescape: Torment ranks up there with, though slightly behind, the Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (Wizardry 1) in terms of being the most fun I've ever had playing a game. It was like playing a great game and reading a great book at the same time.
In an entirely different direction, a friend introduced me to PlanetSide not long ago. Its a futuristic first-person shooter with everyone grouped into three armies. The integration and level of detail is astounding. For the detail, if you set the resolution high enough, you can not only see the grass and flowers on the ground, you can also watch them move when a rainstorm comes through (the different continents of the world have different weather).
For the integration, at one point I was helping defend a base, and at the height of the battle, I looked around and realized that I was one of about 50 people working together with a wide variety of weapons to defend the base against an attacking force of 100-150. The attackers had air superiority and lots of armor, and were calling in artillery strikes to soften us up, all of which was coordinated. It was an amazing experience. Every single 'person' on both sides, from the infantry with rifles to the gunners firing the artillery, to the bombardiers dropping bombs from the jets flying overhead, and to the field general coordinating the various components of the attack was a real person, somewhere. It may or may not be an individual's cup of tea (and of late, I've been playing ToME rather than PlanetSide), but it was absolutely breathtaking.
I'm 13.
TOME is my most favorite game. I tried to get all of my friends who are into video games to play TOME but they said the game was not good at all and did not play it when I showed them the graphics. Most kids these days just care about games that have good graphics in 3D. Fortunately, I am not one of those people.
TOME is my most favorite game. I tried to get all of my friends who are into video games to play TOME but they said the game was not good at all and did not play it when I showed them the graphics. Most kids these days just care about games that have good graphics in 3D. Fortunately, I am not one of those people.
<offtopic> Just wait for ToME 3. SDL will change all that. </offtopic>Ralden wrote:they said the game was not good at all and did not play it when I showed them the graphics. Most kids these days just care about games that have good graphics in 3D.
What do we want? Brrrraaaiinsss...
When do we want it? Uhh... noooow?
When do we want it? Uhh... noooow?
Actually, the point is that when most peolpe say ascii graphics they mean rougelike graphics. Being 7 bit is not the point. It's similar to the use in the US of "kleenex"(tm) to refer to any facial tissue. When someone asks for a kleenex I do not say "is a generic store brand facial tissue okay?" nor do they say "hey, this isn't kleenex, it's a generic store brand facial tissue" when I hand them a box. (unless it's a kleenex commercial, of course)
People are using the term ASCII much the same way as americans use the term "kleenex".
People are using the term ASCII much the same way as americans use the term "kleenex".
Digitochracy
n. 1. technocracy. 2. government by the numbers. 3. rule by people with the longest fingers.
n. 1. technocracy. 2. government by the numbers. 3. rule by people with the longest fingers.
ASCII is a subset of most other character sets so if you have them you also have ASCII.
By the way, I have played with that expanded character set in Zangband. I don't think those solid block walls look nearly as good as #s. They are very abrupt and square in a way #s aren't. I can buy #s forming the wall of an irregular or round room but with solid blocks that just looks too unnatural.
You might not guess it based on my graphics mode preference, but I'm really a very visual person. Having a kitten be brighter than the lighting merits and not shadowed right, which is just one example from the screencaptures behind the link in the first post, can be incredibly distracting to me.
By the way, I have played with that expanded character set in Zangband. I don't think those solid block walls look nearly as good as #s. They are very abrupt and square in a way #s aren't. I can buy #s forming the wall of an irregular or round room but with solid blocks that just looks too unnatural.
You might not guess it based on my graphics mode preference, but I'm really a very visual person. Having a kitten be brighter than the lighting merits and not shadowed right, which is just one example from the screencaptures behind the link in the first post, can be incredibly distracting to me.
Zothiqband -- still an Angband variant.
I agree. I'm also a very visual person, which is exactly why I like the ASCII set. I believe I'd get quite distracted (and thereby quite dead) by pretty graphics. And I can do quite well with my own imagination, TYVM.
OTOH, I'm willing to try the fancier graphics; who knows, I might even change my tune. However, I want them to be an OPTION, not a necessity.
And shouldn't this SDL discussion be in a different thread?
OTOH, I'm willing to try the fancier graphics; who knows, I might even change my tune. However, I want them to be an OPTION, not a necessity.
And shouldn't this SDL discussion be in a different thread?