/v/ - Video Games

Oblivion

>>16051724

Don't play Disciples 3 OP.

>>16051724

The Ishar trilogy still looks really good. Realms of Arkania as well.

>>16051751

>Ishar

Holy fuck, somebody else has heard of this series other than me?

>>16051734

I agree that Oblivion is a surrealist masterpiece with it's aesthetic but it's not exactly what I'm looking for.

>>16051742

I'm not going to.

>>16051773

Anon you don't know what ulgy is until you meet Kalthar.

>>16051758

It was pretty popular in the 90s, probably moreso with the Amiga crowd. Silmarils also made a survival sim series and it's really cool how not dumbed down those games were. The manual for Robinson's Requiem reads like a medical textbook!

>>16051724

Non-existent. (((Western))) games celebrate ugliness.

>>16051773

If you're looking for "ugly" ugly and not stupid ugly, then try every other TES game. There's also Stronghold Legends that have a very that "proper ugly" you want. Age of Mythology has good visuals. Shit, there are a lot of games to choose from.

Bump

do you mean western fantasy game as in it has knights dragons instead of samurai and oni, or do you mean as if it were created in europe or north america?

>>16053935

I mean created in Europe or North America, the theme itself doesn't matter.

Yeah, heroes 2 portraits were fucking ugly but they grew on me somehow.

Ultimas V, VI, and VII were GOAT.

>>16051724

>Disciples

That's technically a slav game.

>examples of western fantasy games, especially older ones that don't look like absolute ass

King of Dragon Pass, Warlords, Kohan, Conqueror A.D. 1086, Gloriana, Castles 1 and 2, Defender of the Crown, Celtic Tales, King's Bounty, Drakensang, Birthright: The Gorgon's Alliance, Mega-lo-mania, Age of Wonders, Dominus, Fantasy Empires, Realms, Stronghold (SSI one), Lords of the Realm. I went for mostly strategies that came to mind.

>>16054011

I actually haven't played any of them all the way through except 7 - 8. 7 and serpent isles is basically the pinnacle of the series anyway and I played all the way through and enjoyed it thoroughly without having played the earlier entries. I'd just recommend going into it blind as the breadcrumbs you're left to follow makes it generally pretty obvious where to go. The main parts where you'll be scratching your head is in some dickish dungeons where there are hidden switches and such. If you find yourself getting frustrated then consult the walkthrough although the game itself is still enjoyable even if you were to use all the way through.

>>16051724

>especially the faces which often look like fucking tranvestite-level attrocities

Maybe because they hit too close to home, OP?

>>16054011

>Is it worth playing the games before V?

Ultima IV, if only to see how the standard was set for nonlinearity in RPGs. Ultima III was a very influential game as well but it dated poorly. Also, don't skip Ultima Underworld (both of them) or Martian Dreams, they're some of the best games in the series.

>>16051724

Disciples 2 character portraits are legitimate paintings.

>>16056535

Early Ultima games are literally JRPGs, or more accurately the reverse, they're no more or less playable than NES games.

I'm sure Anons will disagree, but this is one of the reasons I love the Original Baldur's Gate. The art style and over-all aesthetic perfectly captured the feeling of "playing" a somewhat-above-average-fantasy-novel. It was also very consistent, and this is probably the most important factor. It didn't look like three artists with competing visions designed the game, like so many other western games. Note that all this goes out the window with BGtutu, the (((enhanced))) edition, and the sequels. Personally I find it to be one of, if not the most over-all visually appealing WRPGs ever.

Fable 1 is also aesthetically pleasing, and very well designed from an artistic perspective. I don't even consider it an RPG though, more of a narrative action game with choice and character growth.

>>16056649

I'll give you that BG got the feeling right. When I first played it, it was exactly what I thought a combat heavy P&P session would play like as a vidya.

Icewind Dale outdid BG in art design, though, especially the portraits. That game had a really solid aesthetic with good use of color..

>>16056684

Although 3 was more technically advanced, 2 had a much higher visual appeal.

>>16056684

I like both of the artstyles

>>16056630

>Early Ultima games are literally JRPGs

Dragon Quest came from Horii combining the best elements of both Ultima and Wizardry at the time while abandoning their battle system for the one Dragon Quest introduces. it would be very abnormal for the early Ultima games to not resemble a JRPG to people playing the series decades after their release date.

>>16056684

Warcraft 2 was one of my first loves.

I need to replay it sometime.

>>16056715

Hand-drawn games tend to have that

>>16056708

Icewind Dale was nice too, I still prefer BG1's general look, including the portraits (but not the awful, pastel looking BG2 portraits that I believe show up in modded BG1), but that's basically a subjective preference. I do find that Icewind Dale looks a bit more "plastic" in both the pre-rendered backgrounds and enemy sprites.

>>16056842

Yeah, perhaps. For me it's the thematic focus in ID. Wood / stone / snow in different variations. With the right brightness settings it looks great. The portraits were indeed getting worse with each game, except this one.