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Has The 7th Guest held up over time? In your opinion?


Leeroy ST

Has "The 7th Guest" Held up?  

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  1. 1. Has "The 7th Guest" Held up?

    • Yes
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    • No
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With 7th Guest entering conversations amongst gamers and casuals after the new updated Myst release, I figured it was a game too look back on.

 

Like Myst, The 7th Guest was important for "PC" CD drive adoption and was a big hit. Not as big as Myst but it really set the stage for FMV adventure games. They already existed before The 7th Guest, but the increase in release frequency can't be denied.

 

But do you think The 7th Guest was a great game and still holds up today standing the test of time?

 

Imo, I saw better quality, better made, more in depth FMV games back then, so I never got why those, some of which were popular to varying degrees, didn't click in the mainstream, but 7th Guest blew up in popularity and mindshare. 

 

I dont think most younger gamers from 10-25 could even handle or have the patience for such a game. Same with Myst honestly.

Edited by Leeroy ST
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It's hard to say.  Back in the day it was all about how amazing the game looked, but honestly the story was corny (and a bit confusing) and the puzzles ranged from tricky but fun to insanely unfair and difficult.  There was an uneven quality to the game that I think most people overlooked because it was sort of mind blowing at the time.  I enjoyed back then but I don't think I've ever replayed it.

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5 hours ago, Tempest said:

It's hard to say.  Back in the day it was all about how amazing the game looked, but honestly the story was corny (and a bit confusing) and the puzzles ranged from tricky but fun to insanely unfair and difficult.  There was an uneven quality to the game that I think most people overlooked because it was sort of mind blowing at the time.  I enjoyed back then but I don't think I've ever replayed it.

Are the puzzles the style that would make some have to consult a guide? I only played maybe the first half or a bit less of the game long ago so I dont know about the later puzzles.

 

I know for Ripper they did, that game had some nonsense puzzles, are they like that?

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At least one of the "puzzles" is a game of Reversi.  So not even consulting a hint book helps you.  You just have to git gud.  I used to play a BASIC version of the game on the PC, and once you got a corner it was pretty much game over, you win.  But this version had a much fiercer strategy where the corner didn't mean jack.

 

A few of the games were well-known historical puzzles though.

 

Edit:  Maybe the Reversi game was 11th Hour.  7th Guest has a version of Ataxx (Spot).

Edited by ChildOfCv
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7th guest is actually a rather nice little game.  However, it hasn't aged well, due to the now rather dated pre-renders.

 

I am of the opinion that the exact same game could be re-released with much higher resolution pre-renders, or even give it live 3D (since the hardware is out there these days), then either hunt down the original video capture or AI Upscale it, and release it in some resolution "just a teensy bit better than 320x240 mcga" ;)

 

 

 

 

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16 minutes ago, Leeroy ST said:

It dies if you want to expand your audience.

Okay.  I did not infer that from the question, but considering that as criteria then the assumption is that is will pull in expanded audience, and the implication is that Atari 2600 classic games would need revamp to become interesting.  Not arguing either side, as we have a clearly seen the longevity of series like Mario in which each iteration incorporates new multi-media abilities.  But, would that translate to games like Demon Attack, for instance?

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7 minutes ago, OLD CS1 said:

Okay.  I did not infer that from the question, 

What question? The op? It doesn't even mention graphics or touching up.

 

If you're talking about Wierd W's post, since video FMV is important for the game, increasing the res and touching it up makes it easier to look at and play.

 

7 minutes ago, OLD CS1 said:

 But, would that translate to games like Demon Attack, for instance?

I dont think that comparison works with 7th Guest since video is an important part of the game.

 

That inevitably will have an impact over time. 

 

 

 

Edited by Leeroy ST
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1 hour ago, OLD CS1 said:

Good game-play does not require the latest eye candy.  Perhaps a nicety, and a modern refresh would be attractive, but is that a requirement for a good game to hold up?

 

Considering that a major feature of said game *WAS* the eyecandy you could load up on a CDrom...  (The inclusion of FMV in a game was a radical new concept (The creators of 7th guest created their own codec for the FMV, because none existed yet-- and produced the Groovie format, which all the FMV is in, which is tailored specifically to the playback speed of a vintage CDrom for its bitrate requirements), the pre-rendered scenes were radically good for the era, etc....) It basically falls into the same kind of trap as Myst does today.

 

I am basically saying that the game concept itself is still good-- however, its "shine" has dulled a bit, given what is currently possible.  Now it is just a quirky puzzlegame from yesteryear.  (and an obscure one to most people under 30, which is not necessarily a BAD thing. It means people can "discover" the game, and it will feel new.)

 

Do I have it loaded up in my dosbox collection?  Of course I do.  It's a great little game, and it had great music. (especially if you have roland sound as an option.)

 

I am just of the opinion that it would benefit the same way Myst seems to be, given the Steam Re-Release/Remake.

 

Stauf's house could be much more cleanly modeled today-- more puzzles and general exploration features could be added, the atmospheric horror that was intended could be greatly enhanced with better lighting and interaction, etc-- and all that would greatly enhance the title, without taking away from its core.

 

 

Edited by wierd_w
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1 hour ago, wierd_w said:

Considering that a major feature of said game *WAS* the eyecandy you could load up on a CDrom...  (The inclusion of FMV in a game was a radical new concept (

I agree with your post except this, FMV was already something the industry was heading toward, but 7th Guest was maybe the first to appeal and attract the mainstream first. At least to the point of selling a couple million.

 

But otherwise I agree with your post.

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2 hours ago, wierd_w said:

It's a great little game, and it had great music. (especially if you have roland sound as an option.)

The Fatman did an amazing job on the music.  I know at one point Trilobyte sent us a whole bunch of CDs full of music tracks he had written that were never used, and I could kick myself for all those things that I never thought about taking with me, or archiving in any way when I left a company. 

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One of the reasons I went through the trouble of compiling MUNT for my linux box, was to have MT32 compliant playback for this title. 

 

Sure, it takes FOR-EV-ER for the GM patches to load, but it is worth it.  It really is.

 

(Dont get me wrong, The Fatman did an amazing job even with OPL2/3 synthesis. Fucking wizard. But the MT32 experience is worth it.)

Edited by wierd_w
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As for the "10 to 25yr olds not having time or mindshare for such a title" angle...

 

 

7th guest would lend itself obscenely well to a VR immersion remake.  Many of the puzzles would be easily adapted, such as the piano puzzle in the music room. 

 

Being able to just freely roam around Stauf's house (with the exception for rooms that you cannot enter yet-- and then, having some force-feedback haptics for being denied could be entertaining), including the experience of being whisked through the secret passages (including the drain pipe!) could be quite entertaining on that platform.

 

The puzzles were only part of the fun of that game-- there were little clickables everywhere, and those could be incorporated and expanded for a fully roamable version of Faust's house.

 

But yeah-- the difficulty level of the microscope puzzle would probably need to be nerfed.

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