Unpolished/low graphics but great gamplay. Examples?

[baegsi]

Hi,

I'm looking for games that have low graphics quality (or no graphics at all) but still great gameplay or story. Unpolished gems, that focus entirely on game design.

Examples might be: Uplink, Slay. I also played a text-based roleplay game a while ago, but can't remember the name :(

The idea behind this is: create an indie game with as little "cost" as possible. Normally, graphics, animation, polish, art in general is the most expensive part of a game. However, a game that offers great gameplay can still be fun.

Naturally, this applies more to strategy, adventures and games like this, because an action game without graphics, well, is hard to imagine :)

Do you know any games that would fit?

[mahlzeit]

Snood. :) There was also a game with trains or something that someone once announced on the Dexterity forums, but I can't remember the name.

[svero]

I think you've got to look at sale of games today though.. not throughout history. Would snood be popular if it was released today in the current competitive climate? My guess is probably not.

So a better question might be which games fit under the category you describe but have been real successes in the last year or so.

I can't think of a single one.

[Anthony Flack]

I thought your plan was going to be - take these games, redo them with decent presentation, and make a fortune.

Steve, he didn't ask for successful games, he asked for fun, ugly ones. Now you know you've found some of them in the past. Not among the best-seller lists though!

[svero]

Card games might fit your description. There are plenty of card games still making good money that don't have whiz bang presentation. However I really see it as another world of gaming that. Still.. even card games with fancy presentation have done ok in the last couple of years. There's one right now. ALoha SOlitaire.

[baegsi]

Steve, he didn't ask for successful games, he asked for fun, ugly ones.Right. However, they don't have to be ugly in particular :) Sometimes, games just don't need fancy graphics.

Commercial success is a different subject.

[svero]

Steve, he didn't ask for successful games, he asked for fun, ugly ones. Now you know you've found some of them in the past. Not among the best-seller lists though!

I figured really fun games were also for the most part pretty successful. In that case I'd say anything by infocom. No graphics at all. Great fun.

[princec]

I thought your plan was going to be - take these games, redo them with decent presentation, and make a fortune.

Steve, he didn't ask for successful games, he asked for fun, ugly ones. Now you know you've found some of them in the past. Not among the best-seller lists though!

Puppytron 2084. And guess what happened to that?.... Ultratron.

Fortune still "in the post".

Cas :)

[mahlzeit]

The further back you go in history, the more fun games with crappy graphics you'll find. Balance of Power, for example.

I also don't think art is the most expensive part of making a game -- the time you put into it is, unless your time is free -- and that polish is just as much a part of gameplay as of graphics and sound.

[Vectrex]

elastomania... UUUGLY but most addictive

[Anthony Flack]

Fortune still "in the post".

it's somewhat of a tradition around here to hijack threads to tell Cas he has a problem with his controls. But look - I'm hardcore enough to deal with two simultaneous eight-way movements on a keyboard, even though most people these days can't manage one. But the problem is, my keyboard can't handle it. Ultratron requires numerous combinations of three and four simultaneous keys to register. Quite a few of them don't.

You should try making a game that isn't based on Robotron. It's an interface nightmare.

[baegsi]

The further back you go in history, the more fun games with crappy graphics you'll find. Balance of Power, for example.

I also don't think art is the most expensive part of making a game -- the time you put into it is, unless your time is free -- and that polish is just as much a part of gameplay as of graphics and sound.
Well, games of the past are an example, however, they don't really count, because they are only ugly because at that time this was the best one could do.

Regarding most expensive part of making a game: I just posted (http://forums.indiegamer.com/showthread.php?p=52961) a question related that.

Edit: @anthony: sometimes it's good to break a tradition :) Otherwise, Cas really needs to add a FAQ to his signature, including the question regarding his strange game controls (which I also find a nightmare, btw)

[mahlzeit]

In that case, Slay doesn't count because it's 10 years old. ;)

IIRC, one of the posters to this board is selling 3D strategy games that have very simple graphics, just like in the old movie WARGAMES. Again, I forget the name.

[Gnatinator]

Sillysoft's Lux?

The graphics arnt exactly bad. But they are simple.

[James C. Smith]

The title of this topic asks for “Unpolished/low graphics” and says “Normally, graphics, animation, polish, art in general is the most expensive part of a game.” It seems to me like you are talking about unpolished ART but not an unpolished game. Most people who talk about the polish being what makes a game sell at not focused on the art. Polish applies to every aspect of the game.

I don’t mean to start a debate about the definition of polish. I just think you should clarify what types of games you are looking for in this topic.

I think Snood had very simplistic graphics (to put it kindly) but was very polished. I would not call it an unpolished gem. It has a lot of attention to detail and all kinds of very nice features that are not absolutely necessary. It was a very well made and very polished game. But it looks like something I won't mention.

[baegsi]

It seems to me like you are talking about unpolished ART but not an unpolished game.Agreed! But most people on this board understand what I mean. I also didn't want to start a discussion about polishing vs. game-play etc.

I'm looking for games where it's obvious that graphics, effects etc weren't the focus of the game.

Slay = could be done with much better graphics. However, I don't miss anything.
Uplink = Because it's a console hacker game, better graphics (or graphics at all) isn't required.

[mahlzeit]

This one may qualify also: http://joeindie.com/blog/?p=121

Note: I got inspired and actually am coding a remake of that old you're-blind-and-in-a-maze game that I mentioned in the comments right now as a simple webgame. (Unfortunately, Java 1.1 doesn't have sound panning and volume controls. Grrr.) The screen is rather, uh, blank. ;)

[lakibuk]

Maybe Bridge Builder? The graphics are very basic.
Sequels with better graphics have been released by the developers Chronic Logic themselves.
www.bridgebuilder-game.com

[Hiro_Antagonist]

I know this may seem self-depricating, but I think Land of Legends is one of those games.

I haven't heard any complaints about the core gameplay yet, and I think most people think we did a great job w/ the mechanics, usability, and 'gameplay polish'.

But our graphics were made on a tiny budget, and I feel our graphics are distinctly below the rest of the game.

That said, the graphics are still worlds above Slay and similar games. =)

-Hiro_Antagonist

[Diodor Bitan]

Stick Soldiers

[Mickey Crocker]

Spiderweb Software comes to mind...

http://www.spidweb.com

[Ska Software]

Spiderweb Software comes to mind...

http://www.spidweb.com

Yes.

I was all about Exile back in the day.

[ManuelMarino]

While reading this thread I thought about Alter Ego... do you remember it? Does it exist a recent game similar to that gem?