First post, by Zup
Rank
Oldbie
- Rank
- Oldbie
As fashion trends, computers and games have trends that appear and disappear... some to come back (as pixel graphics) and others to die forever (like translucent covers, I hope). So let's talk about our hated trends that we expect to die forever, never come back and be forgotten.
Some of my hated trends are:
- As I said, translucent coloured plastic covers. Appeared on devices like the original iMac, and quickly extended to many devices like printers, mouse, keyboards and even house appliances like iron, vacuum cleaners and even gym machines. That covers tends to get browny because of sunlight, tobacco and fingertips. Fortunately, it lasted only two or three years... enough time to try to sell changeable covers (my HP Deskjet 815c came with a white top cover, but you could order coloured covers to match your computer). I still wonder how many tangerine covers were sold, and if anyone changed covers like clothes.
- Pre-rendered sprites (i.e: Astrofire). I mean those shown on last years of DOS, when 3D was awesome and computers had not enough power to render in 3D. There was a bunch of arcade games that used that style... awesome at first, quickly boring and usually playability was not as good as the graphics.
- Clay style models. Although the worst offenders were clay pre-rendered sprites, they deserve their own category. Even today, that you can render real-time clay environments or do motion capture of real clay models, I deeply hate that graphic style.
- Pre-rendered animations/cutscenes. I refer to early cutscenes (about 1995) or animations where the rendered models are different than models used in game engine, because they age badly (when cutscenes are similar to ingame graphics, they don't age as bad). It's a shame because if you cut any cutscene from Terminal Velocity, the game doesn't look as aged... but the cutscenes aged very badly (and seems that they were made only to fill CD space and make the game harder to share).
- RGB leds everywhere. I like to have RGB leds in some devices (i.e.: mouse, keyboard) but using dimmed single color light (enough to see that devices in the dark). I hate those computers that you must use eye protection to look at or behaves like a high-intensity mood light. I bet some "modded" computers may be used as anti collision lights on ships and planes. Also, the everywhere bit is important... there are bluetooth speakers, mouse mats, TVs and other devices equipped with those lights... the OMS should release a ban on some devices to avoid an eye strain pandemic.
- Apple Magic Keyboard (ANY keyboard like that)... I find them uncomfortable, but they're sold as "high-end" or "premium" keyboards (hint: they're NOT). They're even on laptops, where other options are better/thinner. (Confession: I have one of these. I bought it because the game costed about $10 and the keyboard may be used with any bluetooth device. So it is way cheaper and better than most bluetooth keyboards)
I have traveled across the universe and through the years to find Her.
Sometimes going all the way is just a start...
