I've seen Axis and Allies mentioned a few times in here, and while it is a very good game, and I love it, I don't consider it a 'Master of Design' kind of game. The fact that, played straight out of the box, the Allies should *never* lose might have something to do with that. The problem is that it's a statistics-based game, and as such, there is a statistically 'best' way to play it out (namely, buy truckloads of infantry).

Anway, my contributions.

1.) Baldur's Gate II - yes, it has its flaws, but I still think it has one of the best storylines and presentations of any RPG I've ever played. Jon Irenicus is just the perfect villain; tragically flawed, uncompromising, mercyless, and completely twisted.

2.) Tetris Attack for SNES - This game is as addicting as crack, 10x better than regular tetris in my opinion. But, the game really shines in its multiplayer mode, I don't know if I've ever played a more furious multiplayer game. And it's actually a pretty good little puzzle/tactics game; some say that there's a ton of luck involved, but I've found that there is a lot of real skill in the game.

3.) Dune II - where RTS all started. Play it to see how little progress has really been made in most RTS games

4.) Zelda series - At one time I could boast about playing every Zelda game made (inclduing the terrible one for the 3DO (or was it CDI?). Zelda 1 and 3 are masterpieces, and I'm actually a big fan of Zelda 2, although most people blasted it. True, they aren't RPGs, more like adventure games.

5.) Civilization I - another vote for Civ here, I played this game a rediculous amount of time back in the day.

6.) Wing Commander III - come on, you play as Luke Skywalker fighting against the Kilrathi. I actually really enjoyed the 'interactive fiction' element of the game. It had a great cast (the acting was adequate considering it was a freaking game). And the gameplay was amazing (though, Prophecy took space-shooters to a new level in gameplay it hasn't reached since. I really, really want a multiplayer WC:Prophecy type game)

7.) Doom II - I still like playing this game multiplayer, the high-paced frenzied action is just superb, and the source code ports allow it to be played over the Net (Doomsday is the best source port now, by far)

8.) Chess - don't really need to defend this one

Personally I don't think you could possibly make a satisfactory top ten list for this sort of thing, there are just too many differeing opinions and too many great games. A designer should play as many games as they can get their hands on so they can learn what works and what doesn't. Anyway, heres a very short list of some games you should play if you never have:

Puyo Puyo - quite possible the greatest action-puzzle game ever made
The Jumper Series (www.helixgamesinc.com) - The most frustrating games I couldn't put down. *WARNING: REMOVE EASILY BREAKABLE OBJECTS FROM COMPUTER AREA BEFORE PLAYING*
X-Com Ufo Defense/Enemy Unknown - enough has been said about this already

1. The Sims
2. The Sims2( and EP's)
3. Fable
4. GTA: San Andreas
5. Breakout
6. Halo(or 2)
7. Dreiver3
8. Wolfenstein( your choice of any)
9. Stronghold or any other Medeivel game
10. Galaga

Daikatana -- to see why so many people hated it, and to see why there's still people around who love it.

The Neverhood -- One of the most unique games I;ve ever played.

DOOM 3 -- to see the effect atmosphere, tech, and wow factor can have on an otherwise basic shooter. If you're designing a horror game Aliens vs predator is also one to look into.

Unreal

Sonic the Hedgehog

Quote:

Original post by Al Gorithm Daikatana -- to see why so many people hated it, and to see why there's still people around who love it.

Yes, excellent point, I'll definately be putting that into the organised list, we havn't got too many examples of bad features yet. Thanks for the other suggestions too.

Quickly browsing the thread I saw lots of Starcraft and little of (in my opinion) the more superior Total Annihilation. Total balance, massive battles, plenty of strategy, and new unit add-ons.

Oh man aliens vs predator! I forgot all about that game. Where is my cd...


Scariest game ever (at least as marine).

Being an alien running on the walls, sneaking up on a marine, aiming perfectly, and biting the head? Gameplay blisssssss.

I remember an old game that I think every designer should play, called Iron Helix. Although it was not a particularly good game overall, it was one of the few games I can remember that could really get my adrenaline pumping.
It used pre-rendered environments that were navigated in steps, very much like Myst. The player had to explore an abandoned spaceship via a tele-operated robot, which had no weapons, and try to piece together what happened to the crew. However, there was also a security robot patrolling the ship which would destroy your probe on sight. If I remember correctly, you only got one probe, so there were no second chances. The security robot would normally just patrol on a random path, but would come to investigate certain player actions such as calling an elevator. The trick was to learn the layout of the ship and find ways to lure the robot away from where you wanted to be.
The main objective of the game was not all that interesting, but trying to evade that security robot was really fun.

I have noticed in the stickied ordered post that Far Cry was not in the list. I think it should be in there, just to see that a FPS CAN be done without lighting effects and deep shadows. Plain light and tropical landscapes can be just as fear-inducing.

Quote:

Original post by Anonymous Poster I have noticed in the stickied ordered post that Far Cry was not in the list. I think it should be in there, just to see that a FPS CAN be done without lighting effects and deep shadows. Plain light and tropical landscapes can be just as fear-inducing.

It's on the list I'm working from, it just hasn't been added yet; It's taking me quite some time to locate good information and write up summaries for all the games (about 130 of 'em left) but I'm getting there. [smile] Thanks for the observation about the setting, I'll keep it in mind when I write up the summary.