Not enough low technology games

[Raziaar]

This post is gonna be a bit rambling, so forgive me.

Most of the games coming out nowadays seem to be focused heavily on more modern genres.

I just wonder why we don't see any development of games that focus on more prehistoric or tribal elements.

As I'm playing Just Cause 2, with this huge beautiful island world, working for the Ulars... I can only imagine playing a game where it's back in time to where jungle tribes ruled them.

I'm talking low technology. Vine and stone maces, chipped rock hatchets, blowguns, bows and arrows. With an engaging combat system, fighting with such antiquated weapons technology would be awesome fun.

Working with the chieftan and tribal elders, taking quests(maybe even becoming chief or an elder yourself)... waging wars on neighboring tribes. Expanding the influence of the tribe across the island as you wage wars with other villages and kill and enslave their members. Recruiting warriors to go out with you into the wilderness to hunt things like wild boars, anacondas, jungle cats. Setting traps to catch these animals or snooping enemy scouts. Working with your tribe to gather the resources for building and maintaining canoes that you take out up or downstream on the rivers, or out on the coast to other islands to gather food or attack opposing tribes. Making nets and fishing for food for your village so you can keep them well nourished and ready for combat as well as increasing population. Climbing the tallest trees Assassin's Creed type style and surveying the landscape to find your way back home or landmarks near where you're trying to go.


I just really pine for this type of game. Aztec, Mayan or Hewa(Papua New Guinea) type life and tribal warfare. A really involved game where you live the life of these ancient peoples. To me it sounds fun if it is made really well, with lots of intricate complexity and variety.

 

[Vegeta897]

Games have always been mostly focused on modern and future stuff. It doesn't feel to me like there are more or less of them.

 

[Emporius]

Probably like WW2-syndrome. People are starting to tire of it.

 

[Viperidae]

Here I was coming into this thread thinking it would be about a lack of games that focused on fun, intuitive, smooth, unlaggy, highly optimised games rather than high concept, bleeding edge and ultimately laggy and inefficient technology. Sadface.

 

[Raziaar]

Here I was coming into this thread thinking it would be about a lack of games that focused on fun, intuitive, smooth, unlaggy, highly optimised games rather than high concept, bleeding edge and ultimately laggy and inefficient technology. Sadface.

Well that's always a given... gameplay over graphics

 

[63]

Zeno Clash?

 

[Gargantou]

Here I was coming into this thread thinking it would be about a lack of games that focused on fun, intuitive, smooth, unlaggy, highly optimised games rather than high concept, bleeding edge and ultimately laggy and inefficient technology. Sadface.

Same. Also, this thread makes me think of the awesome-looking game that was BC, real shame it got canceled.

I can't help but wish that Lionhead would do BC for the 360, instead of Fable 3.

 

[Warbie]

There used to be far more focus on low tech and fantasy settings in gaming - back when it was beardy and and people were migrating from D&D. Pitfall, Barbarian, even Tomb Raider - more vines than you shake a stick at. Gaming's too cool these days - things need to be streamlined, sleek and shiny. The only shine I want is the sun shining off my Bastard sword +1

 

[Shift]

*post*

I fully endorse that idea. Would be pretty awesome and would definitely make a change from all this modernized focus of the past few years :/

 

[ríomhaire]

Square concrete buildings are easier to render than lush vegetation. It's also easier to legitimately restrict the player in an urban environment where there is a wider variety of obstacles available to place. Basically all I'm saying is there's technical limitations that make it easier to develop a high-tech environment than a low-tech one, which is kind of ironic, so it's a practical thing, not just game developers preferring high-tech and modern (which is probably also true).

 

[Sloth]

Cowman, I love the idea - its one I've had for a long thing. Survival from the elements, not just the tribe next door.

In this day and age, it wouldn't be too impossible to generate a forest randomly and let the game play through that...

 

[Barnz]

I can't stand any modern warfare style games. You should try out Populous series, or maybe Gunman Chronicles.

 

[Raziaar]

Square concrete buildings are easier to render than lush vegetation. It's also easier to legitimately restrict the player in an urban environment where there is a wider variety of obstacles available to place. Basically all I'm saying is there's technical limitations that make it easier to develop a high-tech environment than a low-tech one, which is kind of ironic, so it's a practical thing, not just game developers preferring high-tech and modern (which is probably also true).

You've wandered through the forests and jungles in Just Cause 2, in the demo or what not? They look quite good. Some of the best lush vegetation I've seen. And it could be even more dense and varied if you didn't have all the tons of polygons from the vehicles and buildings near all these jungles like it is in Just Cause 2.

It's that game, running through the forests, going from island to island that made me think of a game where I was on that Island... only far back in time, before the modern age... back in a time when witch doctors reigned and head hunters went out to ply their trade.

 

[15357]

Well, have you tried out Unreal World? It's a good game. Of course it's very... analog compared to most modern games of today, but whatever.

 

[StarBob]

I think people just like to explore the imagination rather than recreate history. Both are cool to me (the latter especially if it is realisitic) but I figure the case.

I thought this thread was about high end graphic games too, and I was going to say that a lot of indy companies make awesome low end graphics games... but I guess everyone knows that.

 

[<RJMC>]

just wait for a movie like that gets famous as blockbuster

one million years bc remake didnt worked probably cuz hav low adverstiment,cuz thats what define success now

 

[Gargantou]

Best survival-based computer-game I can think off is the shareware tile-based roguelike "UnReal World", a very good survival-'sim' set in iron-age Finland.

 

[BirdKiller]

I guess one reason would be that most of us are not interested or would be alienated of playing a game set in a different culture. A game with its gameplay based on the culture of some foreign civilization or group isn't going to generate much interest other than the people who are fans of ancient history or civilization. There has got to be some sort of enjoyment beyond experiencing these foreign aspects.

 

[Raziaar]

Well, have you tried out Unreal World? It's a good game. Of course it's very... analog compared to most modern games of today, but whatever.

Best survival-based computer-game I can think off is the shareware tile-based roguelike "UnReal World", a very good survival-'sim' set in iron-age Finland.

Hmm, maybe I'll try that game out. But I admit i was thinking of one that was graphically stunning as well as loaded up with great gameplay. Heh.

 

[flamingdts]

I just want a game where I can perform a drive by shooting with a pistol that fires arrows.

 

[StarBob]

I just want a game where I can perform a drive by shooting with a pistol that fires arrows.

...A Crossbow?

... or just a pistol shooting tiny little arrows...

 

[VictimOfScience]

I completely agree (even though the thread title totally threw me for a loop as well). Far too many games with guns and not enough with swords. Red Dead Redemption has guns, but it also has lots of other more antiquated stuff too like lassos and knives and things like that which is a step in the right direction (i.e. backwards). If only Rockstar would do an open-world fantasy/medieval game!!!

 

[Tagaziel]

Avatar The Game was pretty decent in that regard.

 

[Barnz]

Avatar The Game was pretty decent in that regard.

 

[Tagaziel]

I actually mean it. With all its fun, fiddling around with bows and melee weapons was immense fun.

Wish it had a banshee dogfight stage, though.

 

[the cow says moo]

I guess one reason would be that most of us are not interested or would be alienated of playing a game set in a different culture. A game with its gameplay based on the culture of some foreign civilization or group isn't going to generate much interest other than the people who are fans of ancient history or civilization. There has got to be some sort of enjoyment beyond experiencing these foreign aspects.

Ancient history is awesome and I'd love to be immersed into a game with a completely different culture than our own.

 

[<RJMC>]

I allways had a idea of a game where you lead a tribe to travel around finding a good place to setle and them leaving when the food ws scarce,in a nomad lifestyle
and you have to fight animals like sabertooth cats and the like cuz it will be based around the ice age
or other enemy tribes or maybe neardentals,and will have to fight for the food just like how happened to neardentals

gameplay will be like civilization but not in a rts overview way but where you control a character who is the leader of the tribe and you comand tribesmen and such

and whit a big open space to explore,maybe a multiplayer whit others players being other tribes
and will have a "time" limit like civ where time will progress and you earn score by how suscefull your tribe was until it becomes a setled comunity

 

[the cow says moo]

gameplay will be like civilization but not in a rts overview way but where you control a character who is the leader of the tribe and you comand tribesmen and such

and whit a big open space to explore,maybe a multiplayer whit others players being other tribes

I thought of Pikmin when I read this even though Ancient Tribe on the iphone is much more similar to what you were describing.