5 Seminal PC Games That Inspired 2016’s Blockbuster Titles

The mega budget of AAA video game development has afforded developers a level polish and sheen that would probably have surprised even the industry’s most forward thinkers twenty years ago. Similarly to how other technologies such as the mobile phone have seen rapid progression, the advancement of video game cinematography, scale and aesthetic that we take for norm today has evolved at warp-like speed. So much so, in fact, that retrospectively playing some of yesteryear's greatest hits is much more of a chore than it should be, such is the shock of their low fidelity visuals and comparatively B grade production quality. The dazzle of modern games often makes them feel far removed from the now retro PC classics of the 1990s, but the inspiration behind many of today’s most popular titles is still quite evident. And while some of these have improved and built of the foundations of that insight, in other cases their premise is actually less ambitious in design, and certainly less innovative in execution. 2016, of course, had been billed as a big year in the video game industry, especially on the hugely successful current home console generation after the previous E3 stage presentations have painted a bright future for both systems. Strangely, though, the majority of the titles destined for release this year are either long awaited sequels or rebooted franchises, and even these hallmark franchise themselves are expansions on even older game design. Indeed, it’s strange to think that in an industry that has so hastily progressed in some aspects, it has remained quite stationary in others. In light of that notion, we thought it would be interesting to shed some light on the seminal PC games that have served as inspiration for 2016’s biggest hits.... Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - Ultima Underworld: The Stygia Abyss Ultima Underworld is the forefather of modern 3D RPG titles, and its design is a blueprint that would be copied by a host later games that would reach notoriety. In fact, Ultima Underworld could be cited as inspiration for virtually any first person video game that incorporates RPG elements into its game design, and so we could have cited several of 2016’s big beside it. Yet, games such as System Shock, and later the iconic original 2000 game, Deus Ex, were the first titles to emulate the FPS/RPG hybrid design that Ultima Underworld innovated, and have been more keenly remembered as the genre’s origins. Deus Ex, of course, is a masterpiece of design in its own right, and is by no means a carbon copy of Ultima Underworld. On the contrary, Deus Ex carved its own legacy of player choice in gameplay, multiple endings through branching narrative, and a level of interactivity with the game environment previously unseen in gaming. The part reboot/part sequel, Human Revolution, continued that legacy commendably back in 2011, despite being developed by an all new team, and the latest title in the franchise, Mankind Divided has reached similar critical acclaim. Nonetheless, the super slick cyberpunk title owes its FPS/RPG roots to a concept pioneered 25 years ago. Homefront: The Revolution - Half-Life Homefront: The Revolution is a title that promised so much and delivered so very little. Numerous bugs, a nonsensical plot, and repetitive gameplay ruined what was a fairly innovative narrative premise, especially in a genre that suffers from over saturation. We don’t see many FPS titles that emphasize a substantive single player campaign, and while it's easy to poke fun at Homefront: The Revolution’s rather inevitable demise, it truly was a shame that its tortured development failed to improve on the lacklustre original. To cite a seminal classic title such as Half-Life in the same breath almost feels seems like sacrilege given its poor reception. After all, Half-Life needs no introduction as the godfather of FPS titles, and one of the most critically acclaimed games ever made. Moreover, you’d be hard pressed not to find a FPS developer that didn’t cite Half-Life as a source of inspiration for their game. Yet, Homefront’s use of its game environment as a device for dystopian storytelling is one aspect in particular that borrows heavily from Half-Life. Indeed, Half-Life’s brilliance derived from its ability to tell a story despite a silent protagonist, and without the need for the scripted action that has become a norm for the genre today. And even if Homefront: The Revolution wasn’t quite able to implement that to same degree, the game was, at least, a commendable attempt to offer a point of difference from other titles in the genre. Bioshock: The Collection - System Shock 2 Even though the practice might be frustrating gamers, collections and remasters are here to stay, and we’re just going to have to accept that publishers will capitalize on any opportunity that garners revenue. Certainly, having developers focus their energy on rehashing old games is somewhat irritating, but if there is one franchise that deserves a second birth, it's Bioshock. Lauded as one of the best FPS/RPG games to ever grace consoles, Bioshock has been praised for innovation in its design and story. Yet, for PC gamers, Bioshock is so heavily based on System Shock 2 that its elevation to notoriety has become a rather sensitive issue for those that would cite both System Shock and its sequel as superior games. Particularly, Bioshock is criticized for its ease of difficulty and more accessible gameplay in comparison to System Shock 2’s much more stripped down, and arguably more hardcore survival horror gameplay. Of course, having worked as a lead designer on System Shock, and then later as director on Bioshock, Ken Levine’s creative style is apparent across both series. Yet, even though the IPs share a lineage that is profoundly evident, both games have their own flair and unique ambiance. Overwatch - Quake/Team Fortress Overwatch has been one of 2016’s smash hits, and its success has largely been built on its ability to deliver a point of difference from other contemporary shooters. Competitive multiplayer shooters are by far and away the console market’s biggest sellers, with titles such as Call Of Duty and Battlefield consistently ranking as commercial top dogs year after year. MOBA games, too, have recently attempted to breach the console market after dominating the PC gaming scene for years. Overwatch is the hero-shooter mashup title that has successfully combined both genres, and for that the team at Blizzard deserves significant praise. The origins, however, of Overwatch are quite clearly based on a twenty year old Quake mod, Team Fortress Classic, and in turn, the more recent and hugely popular Team Fortress 2. Indeed, similarly to how sci-fi and near future shooters saturate the current FPS scene, so too did deathmatch style sci-fi shooters such as Quake, DOOM, Unreal Tournament, and later squad based shooters such as Counter Strike, and Firearms dominate the competitive PC shooter space of the late 1990s. Ironically, the point of difference that Overwatch offers over its rivals echoes that of Team Fortress Classic's 20 years earlier. From the mechanics of its co-operative gameplay modes, to the different attributes of various classes/heroes, the core gameplay revolves around effective team cohesion to achieve objectives, and that’s a concept firmly inspired by the iconic Team Fortress Classic. Dishonored 2 - Thief: The Dark Age Another FPS/RPG hybrid, and another game from the creative directors that worked on Deus Ex and System Shock, Thief: The Dark ages was a sneak em’ up that was well ahead of its time. Hiding in the shadows, moving dead bodies out of sight, and ghosting levels without killing a single NPC, these are the stealth attributes that Thief innovated and have since become commonplace for all titles of the genre. Indeed, the 1998 original Thief was a masterpiece of sandbox gameplay, and steampunk aesthetic that would later serve as inspiration for a host of titles including Hitman, Tom Clancy’s: Splinter Cell, and a series that is due for a 2016 sequel, Dishonored. Despite the fact that Dishonored replaces thievery with assassination, much its gameplay revolves around the same principles pioneered by the original Thief. Where Thief relied on the ammo variety of Garret’s bow and arrow to grant stealth abilities and facilitate traversal, Dishonored introduces special powers that afford attributes to the player such as teleportation, time manipulation, and telepathic control. Dishonored certainly has its own unique aesthetic flavor, though, with a far more cohesive narrative than the original Thief, and some of the best level design ever seen in video gaming. The sequel, Dishonored 2, is due to launch November 11th, and moves the series forward with a new playable character, locale, and a more narrative heavy emphasis.

Bioshock: The Collection – System Shock 2