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What games popularized certain mechanics? (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 months ago by ApollosArrow@lemmy.world to c/games@lemmy.world

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I was trying to think of which games created certain mechanics that became popular and copied by future games in the industry.

The most famous one that comes to my mind is Assassin’s Creed, with the tower climbing for map information.

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[-] TheMinions@lemmy.world 15 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Assassin’s Creed and the Open World Gameplay design. It definitely existed before then, but after AC came out, it felt like every RPG switched to the open world map.

[-] Summzashi@lemmy.one 26 points 3 months ago

I feel like GTA planted that seed waaayy before that. I remember open world games being followed by "like GTA". Assassin's Creed was no exception.

[-] TheMinions@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago

Valid point. I forgot about GTA since that was one of the few banned games in my household.

[-] Stovetop@lemmy.world 17 points 3 months ago

I feel like Elder Scrolls was the model being followed for open world RPGs. Assassin's Creed didn't even have RPG mechanics until the later games.

[-] r00ty@kbin.life 14 points 3 months ago

There have been "open world" games since the 1980s. Just of course, memory limited how big that world could be, and how much you could do in it. The genre as a whole is ancient.

[-] TheMinions@lemmy.world -2 points 3 months ago

For sure. AC just popularized it.

[-] Ageroth@reddthat.com 7 points 3 months ago

The first ones I can think of is legend of Zelda and final fantasy, but I think there was also Adventure for the Atari before those even. The first Assassin's Creed was 2007, Adventure was 1980

[-] smeg@feddit.uk 2 points 3 months ago

Which Zelda games were open world (before BotW)? I've always found them annoyingly linear.

[-] subignition@fedia.io 9 points 3 months ago

The original Legend of Zelda. You had a large open overworld to explore, and IIRC could do many of the dungeons in any order.

[-] smeg@feddit.uk 2 points 3 months ago

That's cool, I haven't played any of the 2D ones (as you've probably guessed!), are they worth playing now for someone with no nostalgia goggles?

[-] MindlessZ@lemm.ee 6 points 3 months ago

I would say the original Zelda isn't, but link to the past definitely holds up. Honestly most of the 2d Zelda's from link to the past onwards are good

[-] subignition@fedia.io 4 points 3 months ago

It hasn't aged too badly, but it's from an era where you were not necessarily expected to figure everything out on your own -- talking about it with IRL friends or reading tips and tricks in a magazine (or on the early Internet/Usenet) were pretty normal. I would say give it a try but don't be hesitant to look for a guide if you get stuck or lost.