Formative Year - 1998

1998 was the best year in gaming ever.

EVER.

And that is, of course, absolute scientific fact. 1998 saw the release of four games that were formative to my gaming habits, each one unlike the other, each considered a giant in their field today. They were revolutionary in their time.

I thought I'd take a little time to look at what made these games so unique. So, without further ado (and in no particular order)...



Half-Life
Valve, 1998, First Person Shooter

"Run. Think. Shoot. Live"

Originally delayed for a year (delays are so common on Valve's projects, see Valve Time), the game was a critical success. What did it do differently? On paper it seems so obvious; a first-person shooter where you experience a story as you advance through the game. But at the time story really was an afterthought for a shooter. You were there to kill monsters and reach the end of the level, looking for bigger guns.

The game started with a train ride, showing the player the world of the Black Mesa Research Facility. There was nothing to shoot, but there was a lot to see. Venturing into the facility, you could interact with people, ruin their dinners and watch them go about their day-to-day work. It felt different, it felt new.

Of course, the game is a first-person shooter, so it isn't long until a gun is in your hands and aliens are in your way, but the story keeps up throughout. You frequently find other scientists and security guards struggling to survive the resonance cascade incident, asking for help and offering context to the situation. As you move through the facility trying to escape you inadvertently become a figure of legend amongst the survivors of the incident. First person shooters were never the same again.

Immediate Successors

Opposing Force (1999), Blue Shift (2001), Decay (2001)
These were expansions to the game developed by Gearbox Software. They aren't considered cannon to the Half-Life universe since Half-Life 2, but each offers a look at the events of the resonance cascade incident from a different perspective.

Opposing Force places you in the boots of Adrian Shepard, part of the military force that assaults the base during the events of the game.

Blue Shift has you controlling Barney Calhoun, technically the same Barney that shows up in Half-Life 2 (although all the security guards were named Barney in the Half-Life editor, Valve Hammer). Developed originally as a Dreamcast expansion to the game which never saw the light of day on Sega's fated console.

Decay was a co-op story, originally made for the PlayStation 2 release of Half-Life, later people ported the content (unofficially) to the PC.

As a side note, props to Gearbox and Valve for keeping to the scientific naming theme for the expansions.

Half-Life 2 (2004), The Lost Coast (2006, expansion / technical demo)
Upping the game again, Half-Life 2 saw players take on the role of Gordon Freeman again in a Nineteen Eighty-Four influenced world where things have gone from bad to worse.

The Lost Coast is a 'cut' section of the game, with a minimal section of story, used to showcase new graphical techniques like HDR. Valve's first use of audio commentary.

Half-Life 2: Episode One (2006), Half-Life 2: Episode Two (2007)
Story expansions that continue the plot directly. Episode Two ends in one hell of a cliffhanger, and we're still waiting.

Half-Life 3 (????)
We can dream, right?

Portal (2007), Portal 2 (2011)
Set within the same world but with very different gameplay mechanics.

Spiritual Successors

Almost any first person game that has a plot.


Thief: The Dark Project
Looking Glass Studios, 1998, First Person Sneaker

 "Sneak... Stalk... Steal... Survive!"

Not the best tagline for a series, but it does sum up the game succinctly. The player is Garrett, a reluctant hero who is less physically resilient than your average protagonist. In fact, players are encouraged to shy away from combat altogether and instead, through the use of shadows, patience and a handful of tools, sneak into locations and acquire as much loot as possible. Every level can be completed without ever being seen or heard, a challenge the ardent fans of the series set to themselves known as 'ghosting'.

With a focus on stealth the importance of sound was vital to the game, atmospheric ambient pieces set the scene whilst the ever-present click of your footsteps (and those of the guards around you) became vital gameplay components. You become trained to stop and listen for approaching guards, waiting motionless nervously in the shadows as they patrol just feet away from you. As their footsteps fade into the distance you can progress, treading cautiously across tiled rooms, then slinking rapidly along carpeted hallways. Conversations between guards, servants and nobles can often be overheard, sometimes giving clues to the player, other times simply acting as world-building pieces that give you an insight into their lives.

Thief introduced us to the science-fantasy world of The City, a massive middle-ages-style city-state which has elements of more advanced steam-work and electrical technology thanks to a religious order known as the Hammerites. This sets the backdrop to a story about a Pagan god known as The Trickster, who views the order and protection of The City as an affront to nature and chaos. He intends to undo the work of the Hammerites and their god, The Master Builder, by unleashing the Dark Project, reducing the world to a state of chaos and wilderness.

The various orders that exist within the game (Keepers, Hammerites, Pagans) all feel interesting and add a touch of politics to the world alongside the bickering nobles and put-upon servants and guards. Readable books are used to add depth to the factions and peoples whilst environmental storytelling is in place throughout the game, hinting at events occurring around the player.

A discussion of this game wouldn't be complete without mentioning the gorgeous animated cutscenes that help to sell the world to the player. This cutscene offers a spoiler from midway into the game (the sixth mission of thirteen), but it's well worth a watch.

A slow and thoughtful game, Thief required a patient player, but rewarded that player by treating them with respect, offering a deep and unique world.

Immediate Successors

Thief 2: The Metal Age (2000)
Exploring a story that counterbalances the first game, Thief 2 looks at a religious fundamentalist organisation that splinters off from the Hammerites, calling themselves the Mechanists. They believe that the world was meant to be ordered and logical, and set in motion a plan that threatens the entirety of the world.

Thief 3: Deadly Shadows (2004)
Whilst it felt stylistically quite different to the previous Thief games, Thief 3 tells a good story that honors the past games and forms a fitting end to the trilogy. This time, the story is rooted in the secrets of an urban legend and fairytale that hides sinister truths. The focus here is on the Keeper organisation, witnessing their undoing.

Thief (reboot) (2014) - Eidos Montreal
This one has evoked some mixed feelings from fans of the original (me included), but it could be an interesting take on the series when it arrives next year.

Spiritual Successor

Dishonored (2012) - Arkane Studios
A game that respects its lineage without reproducing it wholesale, Dishonored gives the player the tools to go through the game stealthily, or ignore that and go combat heavy. A modern-day compromise, it can none-the-less be played in the spirit of Thief, and touches on all the key elements that made the Thief series great. It also features a fantastically detailed science-fantasy setting based around a whaling-industry world, and is graced with a beautiful art style. Check it out. DO IT!


Baldur's Gate

Black Isle, 1998, Isometric RPG, Realtime-with-pause

"The Lord of Murder shall perish. But in his death he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny. Chaos will be sown from their passing."

Using the Dungeons and Dragons license, Baldur's Gate tells a tale within the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. I won't get into the specifics of the story, as that would spoil it for those who haven't played it (it is available on Steam and Gog and is well worth a play!), but I'll just say that it involves the plans that a dead God set in motion years ago, culminating in some epic set pieces.

One of the greatest aspects of the game was the feeling of freedom combined with a strong story. You wander the world map, looking for clues to your quest, helping people and stumbling across conflicts and ancient ruins. There is a feeling of discovery that drives you onward, creating the sensation of forging a legacy for yourself as you advance. The fact you can export your character to the sequel helps this too, the saga is your story. This was later used as a key selling point for Bioware's Mass Effect and Dragon Age series.

The mix of tactical play, branching conversations and multiple solutions to many of the quests was revolutionary at its time, and spawned a legacy of games that used the same engine (Infinity Engine) to iterate and elaborate on the style. The pre-rendered backdrops were a staple of the Infinity Engine game and gave them a unique style that still holds up today.

Immediate Successors

Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast (1999)
An expansion that added a slew of side-quests to the game, unrelated to the main plot, along with a lot of new spells and items.

Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn (2000), Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal (2001)
Baldur's Gate 2 and its expansion caps the Bhaalspawn saga nicely, exploring further into the plans of the dead God and what it means for you. The graphics are improved, the party interaction is legendary and the writing tightened up here. It took everything Baldur's Gate did, and kicked it up a notch.

Planescape: Torment (1999), Icewind Dale (2000), Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter (2001), Icewind Dale 2 (2002)
Planescape is going to get it's own post here later on, as it's a very unique game that focused less on the combat and more on the talking side of things. Meanwhile the Icewind Dale games were 'dungeon crawls', focused more on going into dungeons and killing a variety of enemies with less emphasis on the plot. All worth a look, if you enjoy RPG's.

Spiritual Successors

Dragon Age: Origins (2009) - Bioware
Bioware plugged Dragon Age: Origins as a spiritual successor to the Baldur's Gate games. It succeeded in many regards. Whilst Dragon Age 2 took a step in the wrong direction with a focus on cinematic action through uninspired locations, Origins was quite proud to show it's, well, origins. It kept the focus on 'traditional' (Baldur's Gate-style) deep dialogue trees with tense dilemmas and interesting party interaction.

Project Eternity (tentative 2014) - Obsidian
This is shaping up to be a true spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate. Keeping the isometric pre-rendered backdrops, a focus on party interaction and dialogue trees, real-time-with-pause gameplay and a world to explore. It was on Kickstarter at the end of 2012, raising almost $4 million, it is currently earmarked for 2014 release.

Grim Fandango
Lucas Arts, 1998, 3D Graphic Adventure

"Something's rotten in the land of the dead."

A film-noir-esque tale of corruption and conspiracy set in the Land of the Dead, inspired by the culture of the Mexican Day of the Dead and fused with a stunningly beautiful art deco style. The tale takes place over four years, which act as chapters to the story.

You are Manny Calavera, a sales agent working for the Department of Death (read: Grim Reaper), as punishment for your sins in life. The Land of the Dead is a purgatory where your past life dictates how quickly you pass through and go on to your final deserved afterlife.

However, you stumble across a grand plot to steal tickets for the number nine train, a train that leads directly to the afterlife in a mere four minutes. The tickets are being stolen from the good and being supplied to the wretched, meaning a lot of misaligned fates are at stake. As each year advances the plot twists and is continually surprising, humorous, touching and inventive.

The game was a pinnacle of tight plotting, clever writing and inventive setting that sadly fell by the wayside. This was the last game ever made by Lucas Arts (unless you count the seventy-odd games they churned out, or licensed, between 1999 and their closure in 2013. None of them were adventure games, or of any particular note, so I don't, obviously). Grim Fandango was a critical success, but a financial damp squib for the studio, cutting short the reign of the adventure game (which is seeing something of a revival in recent times, more of this in a future post).

Immediate Successors

None. Sad times.

Spiritual Successors

No direct spiritual successors, although Tim Schafer (Lead Designer of Grim Fandango) established his own studio in 2000, Double Fine Productions.

Psychonauts (2005) - Double Fine Productions
This game has much of Tim's trademark wit and humour, again building a twisted but charming world where the player uncovers a mad conspiracy. Literally.

Broken Age (2014) - Double Fine Productions
The latest offering from Double Fine Productions is still under development, but looks like it could see the light of day as early as January 2014. It has a fantastic 2D graphical style and looks is spearheading Tim Schafer's personal revival of the 2D point 'n' click genre.