I got into Wing Commander very late (WC 4), after having spent probably thousands of hours in the X-Wing series. So when I failed a mission and the story kept going, I was blown away. It's THE feature I remember most fondly, looking back. And this was a game with branching paths in full motion video! I was blown away.
> The sense of wonder that I got... I wonder if kids have anything even close to those experiences today.
I have 3 kids, and I can honestly say yes, they do. Minecraft. It has simple mechanics, but can be pretty deep too if you want it to be. You can also build anything your mind can imagine. Add on all the fan created stuff, mods, etc. and it definitely provides the same stuff for the new generation.
Don't worry, they do. Hell, so do adults. Dark Souls pretty much redefined my standards for great single player games.
> Heck I even created a branch diagram for all the missions. I was only 15 at the time!
I did the same thing! Would sometimes play the losing-then-winning route, that was my favorite.
The article surprised me by saying the branching wasn’t popular. I LOVED that about WC1 and was disappointed it wasn’t like that in 2.
I then played through the game with such "anal" tenacity. I had to have EVERY kill for the killboard that was possible. If my wing man ever got any.... I'd dump out and try again!
Then WC2 came out... holy moley! Yes I had to have it all, and as the article pointed out... I also promptly saved my pennies until I could afford my first sound blaster card and picked up the Voice pack too!
Played and loved and enjoyed EVERY WC game in the series. The sense of wonder that I got... I wonder if kids have anything even close to those experiences today.