VGC Day 28: Developments

Jun 19, 2017

video game challenge

BioWare, Broderbund, console games, game developer, Maxis, PC games, video game challenge, video games

Welcome back to our 30 day video game challenge! If you’d like to catch up with the other days, click here.

Today we’re taking on possibly the silliest question I could be asked:

Day 28: Who is your favorite game developer?

Um…

Image result for bioware

Alright, alright… let’s get a little more historical. Growing up, we had a Nintendo Entertainment System, so I had a lot of brand loyalty to them, and loved the time I spend immersed in those world. But we also had games on the computer, which also got a great deal of love from me.

Image result

I was a big fan of Maxis. I played SimCity (with the amazing $$ cheat code of “porntipsguzzardo” that my brother gave me), SimTower (that I didn’t need a cheat code to be amazing at), SimAnt (yup. It was awesome), SimEarth (which I was terrible at), and eventually, of course, The Sims, where I tried to micromanage the lives of Bob Newbie and his family, with entertaining results.

And I can’t stroll down memory lane without mentioning…

I mean, c’mon. It’s Broderbund. Myst, The Oregon Trail, every single Where in the ____ is Carmen Sandiego?, Reader Rabbit (yup), and even The Print Shop (which I actually really liked a lot, even though it wasn’t technically a game). I would say that those two developers really cemented my love of computer games, and were a bit of a stepping stone from the safe world of Nintendo to the everything-else world that my love of video games eventually began to reside in.

So there you have it. A few developers that give (gave? Two of them don’t exist anymore, eaten by the same corporation that is eating BioWare) me all the warm fuzzies when I play their games.

What about you? Who is your favorite developer? What games of theirs do you like/like best? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you soon!
~ Athena

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18 responses to “VGC Day 28: Developments”

Reckless Reporter

June 19, 2017 at 2:13 pm

A favorite? Difficult to put one above the other. 100% on Bioware and Maxis. A few more 100% on Eidos and IO Interactive

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1. Athena | AmbiGaming
  
  June 20, 2017 at 4:09 pm
  
  Woo BioWare and Maxis! haha
  
  Eidos is another great heavy-hitter in the development world. And IO Interactive developed the Hitman games, right? (Another series I’m woefully behind on).
  
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  1. Reckless Reporter
    
    June 20, 2017 at 4:44 pm
    
    Precisely 🙂 Hitman, Mini Ninjas and Kane & Lynch. Still don’t understand why so many didn’t like Kane & Lynch.. Loved it
    
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iplayedthegame

June 19, 2017 at 2:18 pm

I remember getting SimEarth for my mum! I had no idea what was going on in it though.
Maxis we’re pretty amazing back in the day, shame what happened to them.

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1. Athena | AmbiGaming
  
  June 20, 2017 at 4:07 pm
  
  Me, too. All I remember was that the game said “Oo la la” every time one of my creatures died. I heard it a lot, and it’s seared into my memory. It would even interrupt itself if the creatures died fast enough. “Oo… Oo.. Oo… Oo la la…” Ugh.
  
  I agree; I loved Maxis so much… And I’m going to be good and not start a rant (haha). It’s a real shame what happened..
  
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LightningEllen

June 19, 2017 at 11:27 pm

It’s so difficult to choose! Nintendo got me by the nostalgia with Zelda, Metroid, and Mario. Ye olde Rare Ltd. got little me hooked on gaming with Donkey Kong Country, Diddy Kong Racing, and Banjo Kazooie. Blizzard gave me World of Warcraft, a game I have likely spent months of real time playing over 8 years. Oh and I’m pretty sure I owe Square Enix my life so I should mention their awesomeness too, haha.

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1. Athena | AmbiGaming
  
  June 20, 2017 at 4:04 pm
  
  This is a hard question!! Those are solid games from solid developers. I should have added more devs to this list, like Konami for Metal Gear Solid 2, and Nintendo for so many childhood memories, but this post could have gotten very out of hand, then!
  
  And isn’t it interesting how some devs just grab us and refuse to let go?
  
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Fern11

June 20, 2017 at 12:00 am

There are so many developers out there that it’s hard to pick just the one. Especially when you consider that a good developer may have to deal with the meddling of a bad publisher, and it wouldn’t be fair of me to judge them for that.

Bioware is for sure one of my favourite developers. LucasArts and its spiritual successor Double Fine Productions, too.

On the older games front, I will always think fondly of Stormfront Studios for bringing me Eagle Eye Mysteries and Eagle Eye Mysteries in London. Funnily enough, they were also published by EA (back when they had an EA Kids division!).

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1. Athena | AmbiGaming
  
  June 20, 2017 at 4:01 pm
  
  Double Fine! I forgot about them. My friend loved Psychnauts haha.
  
  I’m not sure I ever played any Eagle Eye games, which is too bad because they sound like something I would have enjoyed. And I remember EA Kids! Wow. They were around for just a hot second, weren’t they?
  
  …and now I feel old haha
  
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  1. Fern11
    
    June 20, 2017 at 7:28 pm
    
    I still have to play any game in the Psychonauts series, but Broken Age, Massive Chalice and The Cave are really great games, IMO.
    
    Also, my first experience with video games was in a computer with a lovely monochrome display and a Hercules Graphic Card. I am pretty sure we can feel old together. 😛
    
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Imtiaz Ahmed

June 20, 2017 at 2:33 am

agree with the comments, there are so many great ones to choose. CD Projekt Red is a notable mention, given how they’ve brought the Witcher to life, and despite launching with a hell of a buggy game, fixed it ground up and i feel changed the experience, and gamers noticed. Not to mention their expansions of a mere $20 are literally hours and hours upon gaming, making them effectively their own stand alone games.

It’s also not hard to choose Nintendo. After doing what they did with Breath of the Wild, and the soon to come Super Mario Odyssey, I can’t help to feel a way about gaming I haven’t felt in a long time. My experience with Breath of the Wild truly hit nostalgia for me, not just because it’s Zelda, but because it sparked a curiousity I hadn’t felt in games for a while.

I love Bioware to… man so many to choose!

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1. Athena | AmbiGaming
  
  June 20, 2017 at 3:51 pm
  
  CD Projekt Red is another great one; not only a good developer, but a stand-up company, too. They seem to really operate with a level of integrity worth noticing.
  
  I keep hearing about this Breath of the Wild game 😉 What interests me so much is that it really is a big *adventure.* Link can literally go anywhere and do anything! So, kudos to Nintendo for capturing that childhood wonder 🙂
  
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2. Ashley Hagood
  
  June 20, 2017 at 10:40 pm
  
  I second CD Projekt Red! And BioWare. Those are my two favorites. 🙂
  
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Chris Scott

June 20, 2017 at 2:44 pm

The easy answer for me is whatever dev team Miyamoto is overseeing. But that doesn’t really answer the question I guess. If I had to choose a single dev house, I’d have to go with Insomniac. While they have put out games I’ve been disappointed in, I’m always interested in what their next project is.

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1. Athena | AmbiGaming
  
  June 20, 2017 at 4:11 pm
  
  Haha I think “any dev team with Miyamoto” can count as a developer! Insomniac is a solid choice, though. I agree that I don’t always love what they do, but their games are interesting and worth checking out.
  
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The Shameful Narcissist

June 24, 2017 at 4:52 pm

Ahhh Reader Rabbit! I remember that from my elementary school days. I can still remember the little song that played with it.

I have a love/hate relationship with Squeenix. They do make my favorite games of all time, but some of the things they do makes no sense *cough cough FFIX Fishing WTF *cough cough*

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1. Athena | AmbiGaming
  
  June 25, 2017 at 12:11 am
  
  Right? Such a cute little game. And no comment on Final Fishing haha. Although I have to admit the have been a few times I’ve seen a game released and my only thought was, “Why?” I mean, props for trying something different?
  
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  1. The Shameful Narcissist
    
    June 25, 2017 at 5:52 am
    
    It will probably be fun, but Link might get a little annoyed that Noctis is barging in on his turf :p
    
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