Howard did not work on TES: Arena as the designer. He did some design work on the Daggerfall, but it wasn't until Morrowind that he was the lead. Ted Peterson was one of the designers of TES: Arena.
It's hard to pick but for me it would probably be (based on how amazed I was plus time spent): 1. Gothic 2 2. Half Life 2 3. Diablo 2 I also absolutely loved Baldur's Gate 2, Fallout 2, Gothic 1, Desperados, Commandos 2, and less known RTS Outlive
I can't even imagine a TES game without Jeremy Soule's music. It's such an essential aspect to my enjoyment. You listen to the OST and all that juicy nostalgia is right back. It really is such a wonderful symbiosis with a game, allowing you to tune in to the feel without actually playing it
Baldurs Gate 2 Shadows of Amn is my favorite game of all time. Jon Irenicus is such an incredible antagonist. Also, Dark Souls and Bloodborne are recent absolute masterpieces
Horizon: Zero Dawn is spectacular, Dragons Dogma as well. Kakarot is great if you like DBZ as an RPG. NIOH 2/Sekkiro, plus all the other cool, new samurai/ninja games
My first online game name was Irenicus... it has since changed but how did they make such a good game at that time? The level of detail and character development was amazing for what it was. Playing the enhanced version was such a joyous experience
Shadow of the Colossus. The wide, empty world, full of those incredible bosses and it came out in 2005! I remember trying to explain that game to my friends at school and just being lost for words. It was so unique, eerie, creative, interesting.
Planescape: Torment holds up today specifically because of the writing. You will spend more time reading text than doing anything else, so the graphics really don't matter that much. Also, its one of the rare games in that era where the caster class and charisma based choices are vastly superior to physical attributes....again this is due to the writing and dialogue system.
Man, this guy is totally me - I would definitely pick BG2 and P:T as well! Arcanum was also an incredible game. Younger gamers have no idea how dumbed down the current RPGs are compared to these classics.
I think the problem is with graphics and IP today. You only have so much money to make a game, so many games waste that money on IPs or else they spend it chasing cutting edge graphics. The really good games he mentioned like BG2 and P:T were built on ' older' graphic engines and used their own IP, so there was so much free money to spend on dialog and story.
Daggerfall was procedurally generated. The game would grow in size with however far you traveled. Even now Minecraft has a cap making Daggerfall still the largest game 25 years after release.
@@DrewAlexandros Hello Games claims of procedural generation really means algorithmically generated, as the universe has a size limit but it's done the same way as a real procedurally generated game. No Man's Sky really is spectacular with how they generate all the species, galaxies, planets, etc.
@@cognitivedisability9864 Yeah Larian is making it using the same engine as Divinity: Original Sin, so it's naturally gonna feel similar. But besides making a completely new engine, which would never happen since they have a perfectly viable engine already they can use for free, what can they really do? It'll never be the same since it has to be modernized. I think if you had to pick anyone to make 3 it literally had to be Larian, I wouldn't trust it in the hands of any other current company.
Morrowind was my intro to The Elder Scrolls too. What an amazing adventure start, running as a fugitive from Seyda Neen after getting caught stealing. Getting jump scared by that wizard dude who fell out the sky, then using his scroll and doing exactly what he just did and then having to re-load the game. From getting shanked on the way to Balmora at Peligrad. That game was an Experience.
honestly a top 3 is so impossible to do, with just about anything subjective like this. You could make compelling arguments for hundreds of different games. I do wish he chose something different other than three 90's isometric RPGs lol, a little narrow there, but hey he likes what he likes I guess
music is deff one of the most important parts of game. i first started playing the final fantasy series 20 years ago and listen to the music to this day. Uematsu did a phenomenal job at telling the story through his music.
I was JUST about to mention that, completely agree. Whats your fave FF? Mine is VIII -- my favorite soundtrack too out of all them and it even made the olympics
I recently played through many final fantasy games again and got the biggest nostalgia hit ever from the ff8 soundtrack. It was so powerful to me, that it would regularly bring tears to my eyes. Nobuo Uematsu is one of my favorite composers to this day, his work was simply amazing.
@@jas.digitalnative 9 was by far my favorite. 8 had great music but i didnt like the characters or story too much. im not a fan of plots that revolve around time manipulation.
Doom is the perfect example of how to layer a soundtrack to whats going on screen. Even if you're not a fan of the music, it's a masterful example of the best music layering and matching the "tone + tempo" of your actions in the game. You should seriously talk to ID software if that's one of your primary interests.
@@dornishred6033 All Bioshock games focuses on Objectivism, which is in itself pretty controversial of a philosophy - the idea that everyone should act in their own self-interests and controls their own destiny. There's a really great video by Wisecrack called "The philosophy of Bioshock" which explains it better than I could and I would recommend checking it out. The third game is just as amazing and although having visual contrasts to the first two - Underwater/In the clouds and Atheism/Theism - manages to portray the same message. Would definitely recommend checking it out!
@@Vgallo "Also not sure objectivism is that controversial" Agreed, I think many people will claim to be against it because they've been taught to be (in many places Ayn Rand is quite villainized, for some reason), but in reality their actions speak differently
Nier:Automata is the closest we’ve gotten so far to “procedurally generated” music in the sense that the music changes and adapts seamlessly depending on what’s going on.
The problem with ' big worlds' are that they are procedurally generated and so have no soul to them. It take 15 minutes in Unity to make a huge overworld game.. forests, desert, mountains, swamps.. all of that, but as you run through the land, there is nothing really interesting to find except random, repetitive spawns. You know that this is true because one of first things players demand in ' big worlds' is fast travel, so they can skip all the procedurally generated boringness.
Do you know what procedural generated is? Open World games are not procedural generated they are hand crafted. Random generated worlds are rogue likes. How don't you know that
@@Slowdough99 No. you are confusing random generated with procedural generation. Random generation is done at run-time..so like you go into a dungeon and it changes each time you enter. But big world games are procedurally generated while the game is originally being made.. if you look at this asset on the Unity store assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/terrain/gaia-pro-2021-terrain-scene-generator-193476 The assets creates the map for you, makes the terrain look nice, it puts trees, bushes and rocks on the terrain for you. You can make the map huge.. it can be done in 15 minutes and you have a huge world to run around in. But it cannot add ' interesting' terrain, it is just repetitive with the same trees, bushes and rocks...
Morrowind had a more open feel to it and way more adventure and you could use your imagination more with magic and the world. It is just a pity that the graphics were not just that little bit better.
honestly I don't think I can choose. I think that's why I'm a monumental fan of Elder Scrolls games. Some maybe better than others.. but damn. they are all great.
I played Oblivion and Skyrim, both great but I literally played Skyrim the day it came out on ps3 and platinumed it so Skyrim my favourite for sure, better than the fallout series.
Jeremy Soule is a GOD! Secunda and Skyrim Atmosphere are by far the songs that my mind enjoy the most whenever things are bad or when its bedtime and i can listen to something while sleeping. Dreams are made of Jeremy Soule music.
Arcanum was a beautiful, flawed game that doesn't get enough rep. The game balance was off, the combat was atrocious, the programming was suboptimal, but it still stands as one of the greatest RPGs ever. Shows how much else they got right.
Can you explain why Legacy of Kain is so good apparently? Every time I tried to get into it it just seemed more edgy than deep. The story seems to concern gods, vampires and all sorts of immortals, it just didn't feel human enough to me. In Planescape Torment you also play as an immortal, but you seem to deal with much more human and personal concerns, like how your present condition and your past clashes with the more regular folk around you and your loved ones. and the process of dealing with all these powerful entities is to regain your mortality back, plus the way in which it presents the world to you is very intimate and makes you feel vulnerable, not so much like a "badass"; and thus it feels much more relatable to me.
@@JD.......... Gameplay wise 3 is more streamlined and has a massive open world to roam around. If you want to get the full flair play 1 and 2 first for more background. I only played 3 and it is an incredible game. There are certain dialogs that make you go more "aha" if you know the story from the first 2.
Regarding generating music. In 1843, Ada King, Lady of Lovelace wrote to Charles Babbage that the Analytical Engine could be used for other things than just numbers. The example she used was automatically composing music that just went on and on. Babbage was very annoyed at street musicians always playing outside his window in London at the time. He hated that music. Anyway, automatically composing music is one of the oldest ideas in computer history. Btw, Ada was the first to realize that computers could be used for all kinds of things, not just numbers. Quote from Ada's letter: "Again, it might act upon other things besides number, were objects found whose mutual fundamental relations could be expressed by those of the abstract science of operations, and which should be also susceptible of adaptations to the action of the operating notation and mechanism of the engine. Supposing, for instance, that the fundamental relations of pitched sounds in the science of harmony and of musical composition were susceptible of such expression and adaptations, the engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent..."
Doom Eternal is rapidly climbing my list in the past year. Never have I played through a game, gotten 100% everything multiple times, and still have more drive to keep playing than when I started. I’m not even on PC (my machine just doesn’t wanna run it for some reason that I’m too lazy to figure out yet) where mods have multiplied the enemy types by like 10 and you can make custom arenas and fights. Id hasn’t even finished all of the base content for it that they plan to make either, something about that game is just soooo captivating. And the soundtrack is of course *perfect* .
My top 3: Pong, Legend of Zelda, and Tetris, all 3 groundbreaking and hugely popular, all 3 from different countries, coincidentally. Honorable mention to Oregon Trail.
I remember having a crt and a couple game systems and having the feeling of pure bliss as a kid. I distinctly remember I was playing animal crossing for the gamecube and thinking i could just play videogames for the rest of my life and be happy. Years go by and learned more about the world. Learned about the FED and inflation, philosophy, geo politics. Got a job, dated, moved out etc. Now i have a hard time really fully enjoying games anymore. Games that i could spend a whole weekend playing as a kid don't give me that same feeling anymore. Every second that im playing i feel like I could be doing something "more productive". Doesn't matter how well im doing or productive i been i will never be able to get rid of the feeling completely, which kind of sucks. I miss the carefree child-like innocence i had when i would play games as a kid. I want the work ethic, money and responsibility of being an Adult, but i wish i could keep the wonder about the world i had as a kid. There is real work to be done and video games are more distracting than ever.
I first learned that music was important to the game from the old Sonic the Hedgehog games. The gameplay was fun but the tunes put you in a transient mood that let you play for hours. I got the same moods from Lunar 2, Morrowind, Ultima 7, Secret of Mana, Ys 3, probably many others that I can't think of right now. I think this was a factor for the most popular GTA games; Vice City was my favorite.
Man, the only other time I've heard the name Arcanum was when Sseth reviewed it. Really weird to hear something he talked about brought up on Lex's podcast, and talked about so fondly even. Its not really my type of game but I absolutely respect the sheer freedom that it gives you to make just about any type of character you want.
@@Zelchsomatic No but watch the video game design masterclass video with Will Wilson the guy that invented the game when he is talking about "system dynamics", he says something kinda similar which made me realize it.
Me > Be the admin on a computational Minecraft Redstone server. Also, me > Got a job doing microarchitecture from just that game experience. Me now > Working to make a free microarchitecture course structure to put online for all the other Redstone nerds to learn IRL skills. This ( @11:39 ) hits way too close to home. XD
Thank you gentlemen, one of 7 uncles that I looked up to greatly they basically would take turns being my father figure, all were pretty different and allowed me to have various perspectives. Truly thankful for the time I had.
What game is Rogue? Did you mean Thief? If so I totally agree, the fact that if you had surround sound the game sound sync'd up with it and actually made sounds come from specific directions according to what was happening in the game was revolutionary for the time.
@D0ctorF0ster not a bad list, havent played horizon zero, the new one got a decent melee fighting system it seems. Just gotta sell off my family to buy ps5 first
Open worlds with 100+ ppl running around doing missions and killing each other so the ai can absorb all our strategies for when the robots take over. They can already dance better than we can.
@@henningstedtfeld7121 I think about an RPG that has a different story for every play through and the world is genuinely open ended because nothing is written until you start making decisions.
My top 3 is heavily biased due to nostalgia and genre preferences, but I could form an objective argument focusing on the influence they had, and continue to have on the industry. 1: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 2: Super Metroid 3: Dark Souls Honorable mentions would include Mario 3, Super Mario World, DKC 1&2, Ocarina of Time, Super Castlevania IV, Symphony of the Night, Turtles in Time, and Doom 1&2. I'm not a strategy or turn-based rpg guy, but credit to the Warcraft, Dragon Quest, and Final Fantasy franchises for their contributions.
Elder scrolls morrowind,GTA 3,and Final Fantasy X. Honorable mentions Dark Cloud 2,Pokémon Red,blue,and yellow,Romance of the three kingdoms 8,Fortnite(yea I said fortnite even tho I don't play it),and Friday the 13th(Nintendo version and then PS4 version). Besides the one I don't play there isn't a moment I'm not happy,in awe,or just happily in awe and lost in those games
The game “No Man’s Sky” incorporated the idea of rendered in music for each planet. Btw the amount of time it would take to spend 1 second of every planet in the game would take you over 100 billion years
For replay ability for me it has to be Metal Gear Solid on the Ps1. At the time there were so many things in that game that were just amazing. Having a game character who reads your mind unless you plug your controller into the other port or having the game give you a massage were things that just made it an amazing gaming experience. For recent games, playing Resident Evil in VR was an experience that will stay with me for a long time.
It's tough to beat Morrowind XD Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 are contenders, Skyrim as well. I enjoyed Oblivion but I still prefer Morrowind and Skyrim over it.
To any Baldur's Gate fans out there: If you want to travel back to your childhood on newer graphics (maybe not so new when compared to what's available today), there's a awesome project that remakes BG1 using Neverwinter Nights 2 engine (Baldur's Gate: Reloaded), and they might finish the BG2 version (Shadows of Amn: Reloaded) by the next year. I never played the mod yet but read great things about it. Waiting for the BG2 version to come out before starting my BG1+BG2 playthrough :)
For me lately it's been nothing but fallout new vegas. Growing up I played fallout 3 and never gave new vegas a chance for no specific reason. Now I'm entirely convinced it's the best fallout game.
Another World Prince of Persia Golden Axe R-Type Double Dragon Street fighter 2 Red Dead Redemption Diablo 1 Chucky egg Heroes of might and magic 3 I pick 3 of those randomly, no order, and done...
Daggerfall was infuriating. I remember writing notes while going through caves and dungeons to try and find my way out and many many times it didn't work... Charles has a solid list here!
It's cool to see Lex is such a huge RPG fan. 😁
Planescape: Torment is definitely one of the greatest games of all time. Totally Agreed.
It was sublime
Remember making out with the chick with the tail and how they described what the tail does? Still remember it 21 years later
@@morgezorge6387 Annah-of-the-Shadows, yeah, she's a feisty one.
disco elysium is fun, check it out
@@w1sers yeah I’ve heard that man, I’ll have to check it out.
Todd "Something" from Bethesda punching the air right now, hehehe
careful, he's watching
Todd Howard
@@ricardoalvarrez460 Godd Howard*
Hodd Towered
Howard did not work on TES: Arena as the designer. He did some design work on the Daggerfall, but it wasn't until Morrowind that he was the lead. Ted Peterson was one of the designers of TES: Arena.
Michael Hoenig was the composer for both Baldur's Gate games. Those soundtracks are matched by very, very few to this day.
Hoenig
@@suppressor_x5109 good catch - corrected.
I'm wanting to support Cardano a lot more after listening to this interview.....
My thought exactly! :)
It's hard to pick but for me it would probably be (based on how amazed I was plus time spent):
1. Gothic 2
2. Half Life 2
3. Diablo 2
I also absolutely loved Baldur's Gate 2, Fallout 2, Gothic 1, Desperados, Commandos 2, and less known RTS Outlive
Contra on the NES
I can't even imagine a TES game without Jeremy Soule's music. It's such an essential aspect to my enjoyment. You listen to the OST and all that juicy nostalgia is right back. It really is such a wonderful symbiosis with a game, allowing you to tune in to the feel without actually playing it
Baldurs Gate 2 Shadows of Amn is my favorite game of all time. Jon Irenicus is such an incredible antagonist.
Also, Dark Souls and Bloodborne are recent absolute masterpieces
Do you realize the power you might hold? When the world of flesh is beneath you, even creatures mysterious and magical will fall!
Horizon: Zero Dawn is spectacular, Dragons Dogma as well.
Kakarot is great if you like DBZ as an RPG.
NIOH 2/Sekkiro, plus all the other cool, new samurai/ninja games
My first online game name was Irenicus... it has since changed but how did they make such a good game at that time? The level of detail and character development was amazing for what it was. Playing the enhanced version was such a joyous experience
Where's the love for Icewind Dale?!
@@bpalpha icewind Dale was great but not on the same level as BG 2
Shadow of the Colossus. The wide, empty world, full of those incredible bosses and it came out in 2005! I remember trying to explain that game to my friends at school and just being lost for words. It was so unique, eerie, creative, interesting.
Planescape: Torment holds up today specifically because of the writing. You will spend more time reading text than doing anything else, so the graphics really don't matter that much.
Also, its one of the rare games in that era where the caster class and charisma based choices are vastly superior to physical attributes....again this is due to the writing and dialogue system.
ECCO the Dolphin has a great soundtrack. And the weirdest, silliest story.
Man, this guy is totally me - I would definitely pick BG2 and P:T as well! Arcanum was also an incredible game. Younger gamers have no idea how dumbed down the current RPGs are compared to these classics.
New vegas was the last RPG by westerners to be like that
try Disco Elysium, its like Planescape Torment. Its less fantasy but more realistic human style. Both are in my top 3 (with red dead redemption 2)
I think the problem is with graphics and IP today. You only have so much money to make a game, so many games waste that money on IPs or else they spend it chasing cutting edge graphics. The really good games he mentioned like BG2 and P:T were built on ' older' graphic engines and used their own IP, so there was so much free money to spend on dialog and story.
I would have the likes of Zelda, MGS 1, Half Life 1 an Diablo 2 up there as well.
The music in final fantasy is amazing
I really loved the series Mist, Riven and Exile!! I wish someone would do something like that again. So intriguing, peaceful and immersive.
Would be cool to reinterpret the world and mythos in a new way.
Hells yeah I remember getting shown Myst when I was like 10 years old blew my fuckin mind.
Theyre actually remaking it for vr, all polished up and stuff and then i believe they're planing to make another
@@rossmillington8700 That's killer! Cheers
@@rossmillington8700 Now THAT sounds awesome
Daggerfall was procedurally generated.
The game would grow in size with however far you traveled.
Even now Minecraft has a cap making Daggerfall still the largest game 25 years after release.
But what about No Man's Sky?
@@DrewAlexandros Hello Games claims of procedural generation really means algorithmically generated, as the universe has a size limit but it's done the same way as a real procedurally generated game.
No Man's Sky really is spectacular with how they generate all the species, galaxies, planets, etc.
BG 1 & 2 were some of my favorite games & stories. Can't wait for 3 to be done.
I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve put into bg.
BG2 is my most played game, and most impactful. I believe 3 is done!
Bg3 doesnt give me the bg feel. Its like they made the game for that other rpg i cant remember the name od
@@cognitivedisability9864 yup it should have been an isometric rpg. It has nothing to do with Bhaal or the BG story line. Piece of crap.
@@cognitivedisability9864 Yeah Larian is making it using the same engine as Divinity: Original Sin, so it's naturally gonna feel similar. But besides making a completely new engine, which would never happen since they have a perfectly viable engine already they can use for free, what can they really do? It'll never be the same since it has to be modernized. I think if you had to pick anyone to make 3 it literally had to be Larian, I wouldn't trust it in the hands of any other current company.
Morrowind was my intro to The Elder Scrolls too. What an amazing adventure start, running as a fugitive from Seyda Neen after getting caught stealing. Getting jump scared by that wizard dude who fell out the sky, then using his scroll and doing exactly what he just did and then having to re-load the game. From getting shanked on the way to Balmora at Peligrad. That game was an Experience.
Man I could still play it unmodded to this day idc what anyone says
Planescape Torment was incredible and Arcanum was so well done but overlooked..... So many good games, so little time.
honestly a top 3 is so impossible to do, with just about anything subjective like this. You could make compelling arguments for hundreds of different games. I do wish he chose something different other than three 90's isometric RPGs lol, a little narrow there, but hey he likes what he likes I guess
music is deff one of the most important parts of game. i first started playing the final fantasy series 20 years ago and listen to the music to this day. Uematsu did a phenomenal job at telling the story through his music.
I was JUST about to mention that, completely agree. Whats your fave FF? Mine is VIII -- my favorite soundtrack too out of all them and it even made the olympics
I recently played through many final fantasy games again and got the biggest nostalgia hit ever from the ff8 soundtrack. It was so powerful to me, that it would regularly bring tears to my eyes. Nobuo Uematsu is one of my favorite composers to this day, his work was simply amazing.
@@jas.digitalnative 9 was by far my favorite. 8 had great music but i didnt like the characters or story too much. im not a fan of plots that revolve around time manipulation.
@@jas.digitalnative ff8 lets go! Best vibe
Doom is the perfect example of how to layer a soundtrack to whats going on screen. Even if you're not a fan of the music, it's a masterful example of the best music layering and matching the "tone + tempo" of your actions in the game.
You should seriously talk to ID software if that's one of your primary interests.
Bioshock to me has always been one of the most philosophically divisive games
I was looking for a Bioshock comment ! thx bro :)
But i do think Planescape is better
Why do you say that? I played the first two games, but any controversy was lost on me.
@@dornishred6033 All Bioshock games focuses on Objectivism, which is in itself pretty controversial of a philosophy - the idea that everyone should act in their own self-interests and controls their own destiny. There's a really great video by Wisecrack called "The philosophy of Bioshock" which explains it better than I could and I would recommend checking it out. The third game is just as amazing and although having visual contrasts to the first two - Underwater/In the clouds and Atheism/Theism - manages to portray the same message. Would definitely recommend checking it out!
@@Vgallo "Also not sure objectivism is that controversial" Agreed, I think many people will claim to be against it because they've been taught to be (in many places Ayn Rand is quite villainized, for some reason), but in reality their actions speak differently
Nier:Automata is the closest we’ve gotten so far to “procedurally generated” music in the sense that the music changes and adapts seamlessly depending on what’s going on.
Portal 2
@@daniloalves1139 Ehh but Portal 2 music kinda sucks.
Storming Hyrule Castle in Breath Of The Wild was a good example of this
@@VagrantJavi777 yeah but BOTW was after Automata
The problem with ' big worlds' are that they are procedurally generated and so have no soul to them. It take 15 minutes in Unity to make a huge overworld game.. forests, desert, mountains, swamps.. all of that, but as you run through the land, there is nothing really interesting to find except random, repetitive spawns. You know that this is true because one of first things players demand in ' big worlds' is fast travel, so they can skip all the procedurally generated boringness.
Do you know what procedural generated is? Open World games are not procedural generated they are hand crafted. Random generated worlds are rogue likes. How don't you know that
@@Slowdough99 No. you are confusing random generated with procedural generation. Random generation is done at run-time..so like you go into a dungeon and it changes each time you enter. But big world games are procedurally generated while the game is originally being made.. if you look at this asset on the Unity store assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/terrain/gaia-pro-2021-terrain-scene-generator-193476 The assets creates the map for you, makes the terrain look nice, it puts trees, bushes and rocks on the terrain for you. You can make the map huge.. it can be done in 15 minutes and you have a huge world to run around in. But it cannot add ' interesting' terrain, it is just repetitive with the same trees, bushes and rocks...
probably my favorite conversation between two people I like to listen to regularly.
Oblivion the Elder Scrolls IV was the best video I've ever played. I have incredible good memories of this game. The soundtrack is incredible too.
Was it your first Elder Scrolls game? I enjoyed Morrowind way more than Oblivion personally.
Oblivion has aged like milk but I don't care, that game was my childhood
@@jstuckless Yes it was my first. Later, I tried to play Skyrim but did not enjoy it that much.
Morrowind had a more open feel to it and way more adventure and you could use your imagination more with magic and the world. It is just a pity that the graphics were not just that little bit better.
Me and my brother LOVED Baldurs Gate. That was one of the most fun games I ever played.
Star Wars: knights of the old republic 🏆
Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind was the best elder scrolls
honestly I don't think I can choose. I think that's why I'm a monumental fan of Elder Scrolls games. Some maybe better than others.. but damn. they are all great.
@@psychotech3927 don't lie! Morrowind was the best...lol
I played Oblivion and Skyrim, both great but I literally played Skyrim the day it came out on ps3 and platinumed it so Skyrim my favourite for sure, better than the fallout series.
@@psychotech3927 We're watching you.... scam.
PsychoTech Morrowind was the best. Oblivion was also phenomenal.
Jeremy Soule is a GOD! Secunda and Skyrim Atmosphere are by far the songs that my mind enjoy the most whenever things are bad or when its bedtime and i can listen to something while sleeping. Dreams are made of Jeremy Soule music.
He also did the music for Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, which has some of the most immersive and beautiful music/sound design.
The Talos Principle really moved me. That and BG2
It would be awesome if Lex could have a prominent video game developer on the show. Maybe someone like Will Wright, the creator of Sims.
Lex should invite Mick West, they can discuss then video games AND ufos.
Arcanum was a beautiful, flawed game that doesn't get enough rep. The game balance was off, the combat was atrocious, the programming was suboptimal, but it still stands as one of the greatest RPGs ever. Shows how much else they got right.
6:24 If you want to skip to where they discuss the three best games
This video really updated my journal.
You can always listen to Bolt-Thrower whilst playing .
Minecraft. Seriously one of the greatest video games of all time.
Well ... it is the top selling game of all time for reasons.
The Ultima series paved the wave for almost all these RPGs and Ultima Online paved the way for all the MMORPGs.
D&D and Ultima are really the forefathers..
Legacy of Kain story and voice acting is still up there for me
Can you explain why Legacy of Kain is so good apparently? Every time I tried to get into it it just seemed more edgy than deep. The story seems to concern gods, vampires and all sorts of immortals, it just didn't feel human enough to me. In Planescape Torment you also play as an immortal, but you seem to deal with much more human and personal concerns, like how your present condition and your past clashes with the more regular folk around you and your loved ones. and the process of dealing with all these powerful entities is to regain your mortality back, plus the way in which it presents the world to you is very intimate and makes you feel vulnerable, not so much like a "badass"; and thus it feels much more relatable to me.
The Witcher 3 is my favorite game of all time. I’ve done countless 100% completion playthroughs including the DLCs. That game for me is timeless.
I've never played the Witcher, but starting from game 1 is intimidating. Can I start at game 3? I've heard it's a masterpiece.
@@JD.......... start at 2 imo 2 goes into more of Geralts story
@@JD.......... Start at 1, they are all well worth playing.
@@JD.......... Gameplay wise 3 is more streamlined and has a massive open world to roam around. If you want to get the full flair play 1 and 2 first for more background. I only played 3 and it is an incredible game. There are certain dialogs that make you go more "aha" if you know the story from the first 2.
Lol Todd something from Bethesda
Regarding generating music. In 1843, Ada King, Lady of Lovelace wrote to Charles Babbage that the Analytical Engine could be used for other things than just numbers. The example she used was automatically composing music that just went on and on. Babbage was very annoyed at street musicians always playing outside his window in London at the time. He hated that music. Anyway, automatically composing music is one of the oldest ideas in computer history.
Btw, Ada was the first to realize that computers could be used for all kinds of things, not just numbers.
Quote from Ada's letter:
"Again, it might act upon other things besides number, were objects found whose mutual fundamental relations could be expressed by those of the abstract science of operations, and which should be also susceptible of adaptations to the action of the operating notation and mechanism of the engine.
Supposing, for instance, that the fundamental relations of pitched sounds in the science of harmony and of musical composition were susceptible of such expression and adaptations, the engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent..."
Doom Eternal is rapidly climbing my list in the past year. Never have I played through a game, gotten 100% everything multiple times, and still have more drive to keep playing than when I started. I’m not even on PC (my machine just doesn’t wanna run it for some reason that I’m too lazy to figure out yet) where mods have multiplied the enemy types by like 10 and you can make custom arenas and fights. Id hasn’t even finished all of the base content for it that they plan to make either, something about that game is just soooo captivating. And the soundtrack is of course *perfect* .
Lex looking at the camera and addressing Microsoft about Elder Scrolls was amazing.
My top 3: Pong, Legend of Zelda, and Tetris, all 3 groundbreaking and hugely popular, all 3 from different countries, coincidentally. Honorable mention to Oregon Trail.
I remember having a crt and a couple game systems and having the feeling of pure bliss as a kid. I distinctly remember I was playing animal crossing for the gamecube and thinking i could just play videogames for the rest of my life and be happy. Years go by and learned more about the world. Learned about the FED and inflation, philosophy, geo politics. Got a job, dated, moved out etc.
Now i have a hard time really fully enjoying games anymore. Games that i could spend a whole weekend playing as a kid don't give me that same feeling anymore. Every second that im playing i feel like I could be doing something "more productive". Doesn't matter how well im doing or productive i been i will never be able to get rid of the feeling completely, which kind of sucks. I miss the carefree child-like innocence i had when i would play games as a kid. I want the work ethic, money and responsibility of being an Adult, but i wish i could keep the wonder about the world i had as a kid. There is real work to be done and video games are more distracting than ever.
I first learned that music was important to the game from the old Sonic the Hedgehog games. The gameplay was fun but the tunes put you in a transient mood that let you play for hours. I got the same moods from Lunar 2, Morrowind, Ultima 7, Secret of Mana, Ys 3, probably many others that I can't think of right now.
I think this was a factor for the most popular GTA games; Vice City was my favorite.
Not sure I agree with the repetition of music being an issue in games...I love how the theme gets stuck in your head and becomes familiar.
Bioware being in my hometown is something that always makes me proud.
*made
Man, the only other time I've heard the name Arcanum was when Sseth reviewed it. Really weird to hear something he talked about brought up on Lex's podcast, and talked about so fondly even. Its not really my type of game but I absolutely respect the sheer freedom that it gives you to make just about any type of character you want.
I recently figured out that you could recreate Sim City my previous favorite game, within excel and some time functions.
dude do you have a link teaching one how to do it? :)
Wtf no way
@@Zelchsomatic No but watch the video game design masterclass video with Will Wilson the guy that invented the game when he is talking about "system dynamics", he says something kinda similar which made me realize it.
Let Lex know your top 3 by posting yours. Here's mine
1. Planescape Torment
2. Chrono Trigger
3. Resodent Evil 4
Gothic 1, Gothic 2….The Best
Me > Be the admin on a computational Minecraft Redstone server.
Also, me > Got a job doing microarchitecture from just that game experience.
Me now > Working to make a free microarchitecture course structure to put online for all the other Redstone nerds to learn IRL skills.
This ( @11:39 ) hits way too close to home. XD
My uncle invented computer generated music back in the early 80s , John Hanna, he worked at golden west till he passed two years ago
RIP John sounds like a bad ass uncle to grow up having
RIP
Thank you gentlemen, one of 7 uncles that I looked up to greatly they basically would take turns being my father figure, all were pretty different and allowed me to have various perspectives. Truly thankful for the time I had.
If Jack Hanna and Hannah Montana got married she'd be Hannah Hanna hey hey hey...Goodbye!
1. Goldeneye
2. Phantasy Star IV
3. Dark Souls
never played phantasy star IV but PSO for the gamecube was so good
1 GALAXIAN
2 SCRAMBLE
3 XEVIOUS
Arcanum is a gem. My favourite game of all time.
I loved that game as a kid but it's so unpolished. A legit remake would be awesome
never did i ever think id sit hear listening to lex talk about elder scrolls i love it
Michael Hoenig composed Baldurs Gate music, Jeremy Soule composed Elder Scrolls Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim music - both are amazing!
Some older classics:
Doom
Quake
Diablo 2 LOD
Master of Magic
Original XCOM
Magic Carpet
Warcraft
Starcraft
The first games where music really lingered for me were the Ultima ones.
"Forest" is so good..
KOTOR, Rogue definitely top 3.
What game is Rogue? Did you mean Thief? If so I totally agree, the fact that if you had surround sound the game sound sync'd up with it and actually made sounds come from specific directions according to what was happening in the game was revolutionary for the time.
Top 3 for me gotta be:
No perticular order
1. Prototype
2. Halo 2
3. Dying Light 1 n definetly dying light 2🤯
@D0ctorF0ster not a bad list, havent played horizon zero, the new one got a decent melee fighting system it seems.
Just gotta sell off my family to buy ps5 first
3. Mega Man
2. Minecraft
1. LoZ: Ocarina of Time
This is the first conversation where I feel like i know more than Lex!!!
Has Lex ever mentioned his top 3 or so video games?
Replayed and finally finished Planescape Torment in 2020 via the PS4 enhanced edition. Absolutely loved the game, highly recommend.
I genuinely believe the future of gaming will be games written and coded by algorithm's and eventually AI.
Imagine games created by AI in real time while playing, individualized to your personal preferences...
Open worlds with 100+ ppl running around doing missions and killing each other so the ai can absorb all our strategies for when the robots take over. They can already dance better than we can.
@@henningstedtfeld7121 I think about an RPG that has a different story for every play through and the world is genuinely open ended because nothing is written until you start making decisions.
@@Primusaur Spin the idea further and you understand why some people believe that we are NPCs living in a simulation :)
@@henningstedtfeld7121 I love to entertain that thought experiment as well.
My top 3 is heavily biased due to nostalgia and genre preferences, but I could form an objective argument focusing on the influence they had, and continue to have on the industry.
1: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
2: Super Metroid
3: Dark Souls
Honorable mentions would include Mario 3, Super Mario World, DKC 1&2, Ocarina of Time, Super Castlevania IV, Symphony of the Night, Turtles in Time, and Doom 1&2. I'm not a strategy or turn-based rpg guy, but credit to the Warcraft, Dragon Quest, and Final Fantasy franchises for their contributions.
I think I was just too young to appreciate Arcanum in its day. Might have to go back and check it out again one of these days.
Elder scrolls morrowind,GTA 3,and Final Fantasy X. Honorable mentions Dark Cloud 2,Pokémon Red,blue,and yellow,Romance of the three kingdoms 8,Fortnite(yea I said fortnite even tho I don't play it),and Friday the 13th(Nintendo version and then PS4 version). Besides the one I don't play there isn't a moment I'm not happy,in awe,or just happily in awe and lost in those games
1. Baldur's Gate II
2. Diablo II
3. Rome Total War
Portal 2, Zelda - Link to the past, GTA V Single Player my 3 favorite
The game “No Man’s Sky” incorporated the idea of rendered in music for each planet. Btw the amount of time it would take to spend 1 second of every planet in the game would take you over 100 billion years
True but each planet is sadly more or less the same experience, still a fun game that is still evolving though.
@@ratreptile I mostly enjoyed the storyline incorporated into the vast universe
Diablo II - greatest game of all time.
RuneScape
I love champions return to arms for ps2
For replay ability for me it has to be Metal Gear Solid on the Ps1. At the time there were so many things in that game that were just amazing. Having a game character who reads your mind unless you plug your controller into the other port or having the game give you a massage were things that just made it an amazing gaming experience.
For recent games, playing Resident Evil in VR was an experience that will stay with me for a long time.
I think Charles seems like the type of guy who would enjoy heroes of might and magic
Morrowind is the best single player open world RPG of all time.
It's tough to beat Morrowind XD Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 are contenders, Skyrim as well. I enjoyed Oblivion but I still prefer Morrowind and Skyrim over it.
To any Baldur's Gate fans out there: If you want to travel back to your childhood on newer graphics (maybe not so new when compared to what's available today), there's a awesome project that remakes BG1 using Neverwinter Nights 2 engine (Baldur's Gate: Reloaded), and they might finish the BG2 version (Shadows of Amn: Reloaded) by the next year.
I never played the mod yet but read great things about it. Waiting for the BG2 version to come out before starting my BG1+BG2 playthrough :)
For me lately it's been nothing but fallout new vegas.
Growing up I played fallout 3 and never gave new vegas a chance for no specific reason. Now I'm entirely convinced it's the best fallout game.
His name is Todd "16 times the detail" Hogwart
Mass Effect 3 also allows you to talk the villain (Illusory Man) into killing himself.
I liked Lex before, but sharing a nerd love for BG2 takes that to a new level
Everquest will always have a special place in my heart. The early days of World of Warcraft owes a lot to EQ.
You can play early EQ for free. Project 1999.
Had to scroll way too far down to find EverQuest. Truly ahead of its time.
Arcanum of steamworks and magick
Another World
Prince of Persia
Golden Axe
R-Type
Double Dragon
Street fighter 2
Red Dead Redemption
Diablo 1
Chucky egg
Heroes of might and magic 3
I pick 3 of those randomly, no order, and done...
When are they going to make E.T. Remastered?
Great choices, just bought them.
I also feel Mass Effect 2 deserves an honoury mention. Unparalleled dialogue and vision in this game.
Sad Runescape wasn't mentioned. lol.
Best MMO
Baldurs Gate II just cannot be matched. "Go for the eyes Boo!". Minsk was a legend, I have never played through each campaign without him
Lex, play more games, that cyberpunk and stanley parable playthroughs were awesome
Daggerfall was infuriating. I remember writing notes while going through caves and dungeons to try and find my way out and many many times it didn't work... Charles has a solid list here!
Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 best game ever made.
It was fun making a ride called "Arbeit Macht Frei" that has an entrance but no exit. It eventually floods and everyone dies.
Remember when Michael malice told lex to play the Stanley parabol?
Disco Elysium is masterpiece
Haha no
OG baldurs gate, Diablo 2, FF7, max Payne, gta3, resident evil 2
Everquest not in the top three is a tragedy, changed everything