Internal Dialogue

There are so many (PC) games I played over the years, and although only few managed to capture my attention for longer than a few weeks or months, I’m having a difficult time finding that one game that I keep coming back to. Well actually, now that I think about it, the answer is quite simple.

I keep coming back to OpenTTD. Before that was released the answer was obviously Transport Tycoon Deluxe, the game from which OpenTTD was first derived. What I don’t know, however, is what my all-time favorite game is. I don’t think there is a single answer to this question. Rather, it’s a list of games I really enjoyed playing.

These games are (in order of release): SimCity 2000, Transport Tycoon Deluxe, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake, Age of Empires (1 through 3) and Counter-Strike. Note that with the exception of Age of Empires 3 and CS, all these games are from the late 90’s. There are probably a lot of games I left out but still played a lot (like Doom, Quake 2, Empires: DOTMW), but the ones I listed here topped them in some way or left a long lasting impression. Also note that half of these games are simulations/building games. And I built maps for all of the other (FPS) games on the list, so I tried to be creative and build things for those games as well.

So in games, I generally seem to be drawn to building things, to create things. And for me, OpenTTD is the ultimate building game. Although its handling, economics, graphics and sound are still quite basic, there are some pretty intricate things you can build. There’s nothing more gratifying than working on a train network for hours and then seeing it all come together when the first trains come rolling in. But I guess that’s the purpose of a game: for the player to have fun.

Interestingly enough, it’s actually quite an old game. Sure, since the OpenTTD project began the game has received an enormous overhaul, but there’s no denying it all feels a bit outdated. But once you start playing, none of that matters. This game proves that you don’t need modern graphics or even realism for that matter to create a good game. It’s incredibly fun to play! There have been a few attempts to create a new transport simulator in recent years, but none of them even came close to this game. Although it requires patience and a lot of insight to design a good network, the tools to do so are kept very simple. It’s usability is amazing when compared to recent transport games, and even simulators in general, really.

All the recent transport games I’ve tried had a horrible interface. I just gave up after a few minutes because I saw how impossible it was to create the things I wanted. And that’s another thing this game has going for it: you can do whatever you want. Unlike recent simulators you’re not restricted to building only pre-designed types of rail, interchanges or stations.

Although I haven’t played OpenTTD for quite a while (probably over a year), I’m sensing the urge to play again. If I start playing this urge will probably pass over in a week or so, but nonetheless it’s the game I keep coming back to. It’s gameplay can both be serious and fun at the same time. Playing together with friends over the internet can be very enjoyable, too: as a group we’ve played so many games and built countless networks. Over time our interest faded, though – you can’t keep playing a game forever. But unlike them, I have a wave of interest once in a while and I’ll start playing again. Just for a little while. Just long enough to remind me how great this game really is.