i'm always surprised at how overlooked Inherit the Earth is by the adventure gaming crowd.
i can understand why: it doesn't fit cleanly into the sierra-lucasarts design dichotomy, all of the characters are animals/"morphs", and the game switches between isometric and theatrical perspectives constantly.
all of those reasons alone are enough to make me enjoy an adventure game. but what stands out to me today is just how unique it all feels. the gameplay freely moves between mystery, exploration, treasure hunt and social squabbles without falling too deeply into the genre traps that have plagued adventure games for decades
even after three decades i'm surprised every time at how fascinating this little world is. i wish the dreamer's guild and talin/david joiner had be given more time and money to make games like this.
my gods, ultima viii: pagan has become even more visually enchanting with time. the colours are so vibrant and rich compared to any other game in the series
it's the little things that bring the world alive in this scene. the gargoyle on the corner of the house drips water out of its mouth into a puddle below it.
the wall sconces flicker yellow light on the sides of the buildings.
the stonework used throughout the game is heavy, moody and sullen.
the colour palette is composed of highly saturated colours that contrast strongly with one another.
despite the many isometric rpg's that came out, there is not a single game like it.
My first ZakStunts pro podium!
And a win on the amateur leaderboard.
A crazy track this month, full of illusions and invisible features due to clever tile placement. Fully exploiting all the quirks that make this game what it is today. #dos#dosgaming#retrogaming#stunts#zakstunts
💾 NEW PODCAST! 💾 We had a look at Empire, originally developed by Walter Bright in the 1970s for the PDP-10, and later released for various systems, including MS-DOS with 1987's Empire: Wargame of the Century, and 1993's Empire: Deluxe.
This is a very early example of a turn-based strategy wargame, and one that would have a big influence on the genre. Sid Meier among others has mentioned Empire is a big inspiration for Civilization.
Continuing to pack stuff I hadn’t put in storage yet for when we move house on June 10. Looking forward to making content on this stuff, especially the odd stuff like this. #retrogaming#simracing#dosgaming
💾 NEW PODCAST!💾 We checked out Dungeon Keeper, the game in which you are the baddie, developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by EA at the very tail end of the DOS gaming era in 1997.
This was another huge hit for Bullfrog, but does it hold up nowadays? Let's find out!
💬Excerpt from an interview with Jane Jensen refuting the so-called experts of the time who claimed that the main drawback of adventure games is the inability to replay them once finished.