What DID you play during the Great cRPG Drought?

[RhodokMasterRaceOfficial]

I never felt the decline.

many JRPG I could get

Pick one

 

[Azarkon]

There was never a drought of CRPGs. There was a drought of turn-based CRPGs but they were still being made. Even that was nothing resembling the RTS drought, but on par with the short-lived adventure games drought. On the other hand, there still are very few turn-based AAA CRPGs. In terms of AAA titles, though, the biggest death for me was actually shoot'em ups, as they just don't make AAA shoot'em ups these days. CRPGs never suffered that fate due to Bioware, Bethesda, and Obsidian.

It's not like those types of games benefit much from AAA budgets. I don't know how you can even run out of those games anyway, shmup oughta be the most populated genre of videogames.

I think they'd benefit a lot from AAA budgets, given the emphasis on explosions and eye candy in those games. And the entire genre does survive in Japan, where a lot of them still get made. It's inspired a recent indie revival in the West, too, which I'm glad to see. But back in my day, "AAA" shoot'em ups were everywhere. Nowadays you only see them in the indie sections of Steam.

 

[majestik12]

Morrowind (played the hell out of it), Civ III & IV, Bloodlines (much, much later than it was released), replayed Fallouts and Arcanum, M&B, a bunch of early 90s titles when I discovered DosBox, Ascension to the Throne: Valkyrie, NWN 2, The Twitcher and New Vegas. Also, GTA III and Saints Row 2. Absolutely hated Gods: Lands of Infinity and Gothic 3.
Looking at that list, I'd say for me the worst of the decline was between 2004 and 2007.

 

[CryptRat]

JRPGs mostly because "at least it's turn-based". And old stuff of course.

 

[bloodlover]

There wasn't really a drought for me to be honest. My parents did not buy me a PC when I was very young because they thought it would interfere with my school so by the time I got one I had a lot of catching up to do. I had a lot of time back then to play whatever but alas, I was very young and times were different. These days I's rather stay home with some coffee and play something but then I was in internet cafes all the time, usually playing Counter Strike or Red Alert on LAN. And when I wasn't there, I was at home studying or playing on my PS1. It feel strange thinking how much time I had back then and could have used it on some more time demanding games yet I played CS or Tomb Raider while these days I can barely play Underrail from time to time. I mean luckily the winter holidays came or I have no idea when I would have finished Fallout 2.

I don't stress it though. I used to make lists of games I want to play, books I want to read and movies I want to see but the damn things always got bigger and bigger. So now I am just play/read/see whatever I feel like it, when I can.

 

[octavius]

There was never a drought of CRPGs.

Yes, there was. There was a drastic reduction in CRPGs released in 1994-1996 compared to the years before and after. And the best CRPGs during those years were even indies: Nahlakh and The Aethra Chronicles.

 

[Excidium II]

There was never a drought of CRPGs.

Yes, there was. There was a drastic reduction in CRPGs released in 1994-1996 compared to the years before and after. And the best CRPGs during those years were even indies: Nahlakh and The Aethra Chronicles.

Jesus how many CRPGs you finished every year back then to even notice that?

 

[octavius]

There was never a drought of CRPGs.

Yes, there was. There was a drastic reduction in CRPGs released in 1994-1996 compared to the years before and after. And the best CRPGs during those years were even indies: Nahlakh and The Aethra Chronicles.

Jesus how many CRPGs you finished every year back then to even notice that?

Not that many.
But I've played lots the past five years or so.
When you make a chronological play list, it's very easy to see the trends: 1990-1991, for example, saw a vast number of CRPGs being released, but very few of them very good. 1992-1993 were the glory years, with lots of quality titles. 1988-1989 was also a good period, with a high quality to quantity ratio.

 

[Azarkon]

There was never a drought of CRPGs.

Yes, there was. There was a drastic reduction in CRPGs released in 1994-1996 compared to the years before and after. And the best CRPGs during those years were even indies: Nahlakh and The Aethra Chronicles.

Okay, I'll give you that.

I was playing Doom at the time.

 

[Higher Game]

Roguelikes.

 

[pippin]

My parents did not buy me a PC when I was very young because they thought it would interfere with my school so by the time I got one I had a lot of catching up to do.

You had a PC and a PS1 at the same time or the PC came later? Weird parenting logic at work if they allow you to have a PS1 but not a PC. Parents gonna parent I guess.

There was a drastic reduction in CRPGs released in 1994-1996

When FO and BG were released, people often noted how the crpg genre seemed to be slowly dying, with less and less releases every year. It wasn't as bad as squad based tactics and turn based games though.

 

[Excidium II]

You had a PC and a PS1 at the same time or the PC came later? Weird parenting logic at work if they allow you to have a PS1 but not a PC. Parents gonna parent I guess.

Can't browse porn on PS1

 

[Tigranes]

Old RPGs.

 

[octavius]

When FO and BG were released, people often noted how the crpg genre seemed to be slowly dying, with less and less releases every year. It wasn't as bad as squad based tactics and turn based games though.

I'm pretty sure the number of CRPGs released in 1997 and years following were quite a bit higher than in 1994-1996. It was not only FO and BG, but also the resurrection of the Might&Magic games, as well as the whole action-RPG genre (or Diablo clones).
I haven't made a list of the CRPGs from 1997+ yet, but my recollection is that there was an influx of quality CRPGs released those years.

I recall Real Time Strategy games were really dominant for a period, with HoMM 3 and Age of Wonders being among the very few strategy games to go against the trend.

 

[pippin]

RTS games were everywhere in the mid 90s. So much, that people got quickly burned and the genre "died" very fast... When Age of Mythology was released, Computer Gaming World said it was probably the last big RTS people would see for a long time.

 

[sser]

I've always been more into strategy stuff since I think those games have SUPERIOR GAMEPLAY, but they took a massive hit heading into the 2000s so I started looking for other things. It was about then that I discovered Morrowind and Fallout 2. The notion of "immersion" only had a loose framework with me. It was mostly Half-Life's intro and me just watching Homeworld resource harvesters gently float around a serene spaceplane like a bunch of metal manatees while cool Middle-Eastern drums piddle-paddled in the background. (Still works on me, btw.)

FO2/Morrowind brought more of the feeling that I was partaking in another world. Definitely some of my better times with gaming, that's for sure. It was new and I was impressionable. To be frank, these games took advantage of me and I'm moving a case to the civil courts for a lucrative settlement.

 

[Polanski]

Civilization (especially the Fall from Heaven mod for 4).
Football manager
Magic the gathering
alcohol and drugs

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

I am shocked there are people on the Codex who say there was no decline

 

[Eyestabber]

I am shocked there are people on the Codex who say there was no decline

Yeah, this is bugging me as well. You can say you never felt the Great Draught because you had enough stockpiled to last you two decades. But saying there was never any draught is just nonsense! The fact is that there were no NEW titles to play.

If you were always a well-informed guy that knew about every piece of released before the draught, I FUCKING ENVY YOU. It hurts me to this day that I only knew about Jagged Alliance 2 after joining the Codex in early 2015. FFS, that game is a to my taste and would've lasted me AT LEAST two years.

 

[Kutulu]

Doom
Hexen
Quakeworld

I also got really invested in Command & Conquer again and played lots of RA2 and Generals online (theres servers & mods etc).
Saying this i kinda wanna play Yuri again, spinning away.

 

[Talby]

A lot of semi-recent games that I never played when they were new, like the Troika games which I never heard of until about 2008 or so.

 

[POOPERSCOOPER]

I posted on the RPGcodex.

 

[Siveon]

Around 2005-ish I was still figuring out what kind of games I liked to play, but I mostly stuck to JRPGs on handhelds since that's all I really knew. Circa 2010 I started playing cRPGs, so I was still trying out stuff from GOG. Still am to this day.

I think you'd have to be extremely, extremely picky if you actually run out of games to play (or you only play games around the time they're released). Even during that time.

 

[Invictus]

I never felt the decline.

many JRPG I could get

Pick one

Buddy if you think that is some monocled wiseassery think again; Final Fantasy Tactics, Grandia 2, Shin Tensei Megami Nocturne, Persona 4, Lunar, Vagrant Story and Chrono Trigger stand shoulder to shoulder with Darklands, Wizardry 7 and World of Xeen as some of my favorites and I dont really need to play it cool about it either trying to make a pose in a nerd forum which is mighty proud about it

 

[RhodokMasterRaceOfficial]

Final Fantasy Tactics, Grandia 2, Shin Tensei Megami Nocturne, Persona 4, Lunar, Vagrant Story and Chrono Trigger

All shit games by virtue of being made in Japan, which has never produced anything good outside of the culinary industry. Try again.