Favourite RPG Developer?

Favourite RPG Developer?

  • Interplay / Black Isle

    Votes: 44 28.4%
  • Bethsoft

    Votes: 6 3.9%
  • BioWare

    Votes: 23 14.8%
  • Blizzard

    Votes: 3 1.9%
  • Piranha Bytes

    Votes: 25 16.1%
  • Troika

    Votes: 27 17.4%
  • Sir-tech

    Votes: 9 5.8%
  • Origin

    Votes: 12 7.7%
  • NWC

    Votes: 4 2.6%
  • Spiderweb

    Votes: 2 1.3%

  • Total voters
    155
Personally, I would have made a distinction between Interplay and Black Isle.

I would vote for Black Isle, but not for Interplay, no matter how weird this might seem.

I also would like to have a second poll with all those developers not mentioned in this poll.

And then, in kind of an tournament, those with the highest values of *both* polls could be set against one another.

I think that'd be fun. ;)
 
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
21,908
Location
Old Europe
I just noticed that Troika is killing Interplay now. I didn't think that was going to happen with games like Fallout, Baldur's Gate and the vast arsenal of games they made over the years vs just the 3 that Troika made.

It really is too bad that Troika couldn't get the funding to do their post apocolyptic game. The demo for the game engine looked really good.
 
Joined
Feb 3, 2007
Messages
5,347
Location
Taiwan
It is hard to choose just one ... for me the results don't matter as much as the memories ... oh, and the games!
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
14,932
Was tempted to vote for Troika because they were the best developers from F1&2 but ultimately had to vote for Black Isle because of PST and they officially worked on F1&2 as well as IWD1&2.
 
Joined
Mar 20, 2009
Messages
33
Troika, especially for Bloodlines. Second choice would be CDProjekt RED and third: Black Isle.
 
Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
730
LOL, how can any rpg fan choose between all those great names ?
 
Joined
Dec 23, 2007
Messages
8
Interplay/Black Isle with a nod at Troika for me.
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2006
Messages
2,080
Location
UK
I really had to re-read those poll results when I saw Troika leading by a good bit. Sure, I liked two of their 3 RPG titles - or at least their apparent vision for those titles. Although I love Arcanum in particular, it never felt balanced or complete even after many community made fixes. Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines was a solid and pretty fun game; I can't imagine it actually being anyone's favorite though unless they just had a real thing for vampires.

Compared to Planescape Torment and Fallout 1+2, I find it strange that Troika would win out. While all those games were somewhat buggy and unfinished themselves to a degree, they were still highly satisfying and enjoyable before patching. In terms of story and characters, I can't see Arcanum's relatively archetypal and predictable story comparing to the novel and brilliantly written PS:T. I suppose if that if this poll represents the plurality of the board's tastes, maybe that explains why I find myself disagreeing with so many of the statements on here.
 
Joined
Nov 20, 2006
Messages
1,710
The poll got hacked, me thinks. Troika picked up a hundred-some votes over a 2 day span, but a couple weeks after the poll started. Prior to that, I think they were running close to PB for 3rd place.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
13,535
Location
Illinois, USA
Yep, somebody's messed with the results, or else a lot of Troika lovers have stopped by. It was Interplay in first with Troika, PB and Bioware slugging it out for #2 for weeks.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,834
Are guests allowed to vote? I think that is the hack right there. I know it is a bummer, but to make a poll worth anything I think you should make it only registered users are allowed to vote. If not, you are always going to have people voting over and over again.
 
Joined
Feb 3, 2007
Messages
5,347
Location
Taiwan
Aye, I agree. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Troika jumped 200+ votes in only a few days, which seems slightly suspicious considering how far it was behind at the time.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,583
Location
Bergen
I went with Piranha Bytes, because they are the only software house left in the list that MAY bring out a PC centred deep RPG. I don't trust Bethesda or Bioware to do that after Oblivion and Mass Effect, and of course, because we have lost those PC centred deep RPG's, PC gaming has declined, so most of the developers listed are gone. As a 20 year+ PC gamer (mostly RPG's), I say all the above with a sadness in my heart for a hobby that is dying in front of me.

Imust have seen it coming back in the day though,as I have been an avid keeper of my games, so still have all the classics, which I find myself playing more and more as modern RPG's go more action and less roleplaying on an almost daily basis!
 
Last edited:
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
84
Interplay / Black Isle because thread first post full of hate! :biggrin:
 
Joined
Oct 14, 2007
Messages
3,258
PC gaming has declined, so most of the developers listed are gone. As a 20 year+ PC gamer (mostly RPG's), I say all the above with a sadness in my heart for a hobby that is dying in front of me.

Imust have seen it coming back in the day though,as I have been an avid keeper of my games, so still have all the classics, which I find myself playing more and more as modern RPG's go more action and less roleplaying on an almost daily basis!

I hear this a lot, but I don't buy it. RPG's have always been, even since day 1, harder to find than action or in the beginning just strange games, remember Burger Time? Who would of thought a guy being chased by pickles and eggs and trying to make a hamburger would be fun :) I bring that up because you had more of those types, experimental games I guess is the word for it, than RPGs. You had games like Phantasia, Bard's Tale, and Questron. But still the majority of the games being released were action/arcade games.

Skip ahead a few years and then there was a flood of D&D games with the Gold Boxes, but not many developers ran with RPG even with this popularity. Skip ahead to the 90's and you once again had a flood with Baldur's Gate and the rest, but again it was only from one publisher and not many other developers/publishers chose to clone or make their own RPG.

It has always been like this and always will be like this because quality RPGs are extremely hard to make. But as for the death of PC or quality RPGs in PC games, never going to happen as long as there is a market for it. You'll always have one or two decent publishers/developers catering to this niche market. Biggest example I can think of right now is CD Projekt Red and I wouldn't count Bioware out just yet. Dragon Age doesn't sound half bad.
 
Joined
Feb 3, 2007
Messages
5,347
Location
Taiwan
skavenhorde, but you surely must also know that CD Project Red is going to have a harder time because it's not Bethesda or Valve. Look from an outsiders point of view of how the Witcher was received by the gaming press versus how Oblivion was. Oblivion was more buggy and yet The Witcher was talked of being buggy and Oblivion never was. That is the unfair media coverage we now get. Then, you have to look at Bioware who have gone from Baldur's Gate and Planescape Torment type games, obviously deep rpg's to the likes of Jade Empire and Mass Effect that are closer to action-adventure's than thy are deep RPG's!

All AAA PC games from larger publishers are becoming formulaic. They have become 'corporate'. Hence we have Fallout 3 so obviously 'Oblivionish' it could have been a total conversion mod! Then we have GTA IV, the first GTA game to garner negative comments about repetitive gameplay and boring missions,and a gain, a game that is way more 'corporate' than GTA San Andreas!

There are plenty of signs out there. you only have to look. Don't just say Dragon Age will be good before it's out and then dismiss the trend at Bioware from Baldur's Gate to Mass Effect. You have to look at the whole picture.
 
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
84
I share skavenhorde feeling that modern CRPG production is far to be that bad. But I also think that there have been a short time where ton of good CRPG was released and like UK_John I think that the AAA panorama is quite different.

But I feel that what forget UK_John is that now computer games are a real mass market they wasn't from far when CRPG was on top in AAA games. Sure you'll get a different point of view for consoles during this time but here it's about PC games.

Now this market is too much a mass market, so look at AAA products isn't a good way to look at the production. Few chance AAA games get interesting for more hardcore gamers, you need look at this from a different point of view.

If you just look at the release of one year you'll most often won't get a so terrific list of games even less of CRPG. But that's true at any time with few very rare exception during the golden age of CRPG. Myself I see the current production of the last five years quite interesting, and if there is an evolution during the last decade it's positive again like it was at the end of the 90's and beginning of the 00's.

EDIT: One thing to never forget when trying to get an history point of view is to never forget that the older it is, the more the time shrinks in your mind, ie you give the same weigh to the last two years than the last ten years ten years ago, at least until when you get as old than Corwin obviously. :biggrin:
 
Joined
Oct 14, 2007
Messages
3,258
15 years ago these were some of the hit PC games of 1994. name a year since 2003 that you think had the same number of classic games and sold the same number of copies, as most of these, on PC only sold in the 3-5 million copy range?!

Doom
TIE Fighter
System Shock
1942: The Pacific Air War
Star Trail: Realms of Arkania
X-COM: UFO Defense
Panzer General
NASCAR Racing
Lords of the Realm
Goblins Quest 3
The Way Things Work
X-Wing Collector's CD-ROM
Under a Killing Moon
Creature Shock
Sam & Max Hit the Road
Beneath a Steel Sky
FIFA International Soccer
Aces Of The Deep
Colonization
Descent
Alone In The Dark 2
Desert Strike - Return to The Gulf
Jagged Alliance
Jazz Jackrabbit
Legend of Kyrandia, The - Malcolms Revenge
 
Last edited:
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
84
skavenhorde, but you surely must also know that CD Project Red is going to have a harder time because it's not Bethesda or Valve. Look from an outsiders point of view of how the Witcher was received by the gaming press versus how Oblivion was. Oblivion was more buggy and yet The Witcher was talked of being buggy and Oblivion never was. That is the unfair media coverage we now get. Then, you have to look at Bioware who have gone from Baldur's Gate and Planescape Torment type games, obviously deep rpg's to the likes of Jade Empire and Mass Effect that are closer to action-adventure's than thy are deep RPG's!

Can't disagree with you there. I don't pay them any mind though. I just come here for real reviews ;)

All AAA PC games from larger publishers are becoming formulaic. They have become 'corporate'. Hence we have Fallout 3 so obviously 'Oblivionish' it could have been a total conversion mod! Then we have GTA IV, the first GTA game to garner negative comments about repetitive gameplay and boring missions,and a gain, a game that is way more 'corporate' than GTA San Andreas!

Once again true, but then once again we always have one or devs that steps up to cater to the hardcore market.

I love me some GTA San Andreas and hate GTA 3/ Miami. You have to consider that San Andreas was the third installment. They had time to perfect, imo, their gaming engine and make a truly great game with the third installment. I'm hoping that it will be similar with their later releases. The third installment looked and played nothing like the other two, with the exception of stealing cars.

There are plenty of signs out there. you only have to look. Don't just say Dragon Age will be good before it's out and then dismiss the trend at Bioware from Baldur's Gate to Mass Effect. You have to look at the whole picture.

You just put words in my mouth my friend. I didn't say "It wilz be the bestest game EVAR!!";) No, I said "I wouldn't count Bioware out just yet. Dragon Age doesn't sound half bad. " Keyword there is "sound". I am hopeful from what I've read on other threads that EA and Bioware make a better team than EA and Origin/Bullfrog/Any other dev EA got their grubby mits on.

In any case it will just be business as usual. A few great RPGs amongst a lot that are not great or barely rpgs. This is the way of this genre, always has been always will be :)
 
Joined
Feb 3, 2007
Messages
5,347
Location
Taiwan
15 years ago these were some of the hit PC games of 1994. name a year since 2003 that you think had the same number of classic games and sold the same number of copies, as most of these, on PC only sold in the 3-5 million copy range?!

Doom
TIE Fighter
System Shock
1942: The Pacific Air War
Star Trail: Realms of Arkania
X-COM: UFO Defense
Panzer General
NASCAR Racing
Lords of the Realm
Goblins Quest 3
The Way Things Work
X-Wing Collector's CD-ROM
Under a Killing Moon
Creature Shock
Sam & Max Hit the Road
Beneath a Steel Sky
FIFA International Soccer
Aces Of The Deep
Colonization
Descent
Alone In The Dark 2
Desert Strike - Return to The Gulf
Jagged Alliance
Jazz Jackrabbit
Legend of Kyrandia, The - Malcolms Revenge

Question: WUT?

I'm talking about RPGs. System Shock and Star Trail are the only RPGs on that list and maybe Jagged Alliance for it's RPG/Strategy mix. I don't know as much about other genres so I can't really compare.

But that sorta proves what I was saying in the beginning. There are only a few really good RPGs released in any given year and sometimes only one. Unless one dev really hits a homerun. Examples: Gold boxes and Baldur's Gate.
 
Joined
Feb 3, 2007
Messages
5,347
Location
Taiwan
Back
Top Bottom