Gaming isn't dying, you're getting older.
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You know, I feel I'm getting older only with regards to rereleases and ports. I'm finding that I not only am okay with ports and rereleases, I wholeheartedly encourage their release with with much happiness. We have "classics" that are worth playing without having to dig out RF switches or carts with potentially dead batteries and such. And thank God for the PSN/XBLA/Virtual Console for that.
Otherwise, even with my fulltime job in the summer and fulltime schooling the rest of the year, I get hella pumped by new games and new IPs, though I'm not suffering from the silly sequelphobia a lot of people here appear to be plagued with.* As long as the game is good, I don't care if it's a sequel or not.
*I say "appear to be" because every man has his price. They only have to announce the right sequel to the right game and suddenly it's all okay. I'm sure if X-Com got a sequel in the style of the original games, that hipster-cool "WHEREA RE THE NEW IPS" mentality would disappear with a lot of people.
Otherwise, even with my fulltime job in the summer and fulltime schooling the rest of the year, I get hella pumped by new games and new IPs, though I'm not suffering from the silly sequelphobia a lot of people here appear to be plagued with.* As long as the game is good, I don't care if it's a sequel or not.
*I say "appear to be" because every man has his price. They only have to announce the right sequel to the right game and suddenly it's all okay. I'm sure if X-Com got a sequel in the style of the original games, that hipster-cool "WHEREA RE THE NEW IPS" mentality would disappear with a lot of people.
And yet, you have time to tl;dr and hold discussions concerning said tl;dr. Could've been playing Witcher 2 or something.Snowalker said:
Pretty solid argument. Yeah, I notice recently I have been possessing both less interest in gaming and time to spend on it. Between getting straight A's in College and finding jobs in the summer, I have had less amounts of time to kill than I did say during my high school years, or earlier. This doesn't necessarily mean I have had absolutely no time to kill at all, as the lack of a job during semesters has pretty much kept my weekends open, most of which I either spend hanging out with friends or gaming (or both). So I can definitely see where the OP is coming from.
However, I will still argue that the current state of gaming isn't a very good one. True, games have the potential to be infinitely superior to anything we've seen in previous eras, but that doesn't mean they necessarily will be. Take for instance all of the CoD/Gears of War clones we've seen as of recent. Yeah, developers could create a concept of their own for a game, or take a previous concept and improve on it, but instead they'd rather just copy and paste a system someone else has used in attempt to milk the "realistic shooter" cash-cow.
Also, even though I still play games every now and then, rarely do I play any of the "big hits" found on current gen consoles. This is mostly because I find most big games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Oblivion, Fallout 3, etc. to be fairly dull and unsatisfying. Maybe I can't get into these types of games because I'm stuck in some sort of nostalgic mindset and will only accept games that mimic the old ways, as my snes games probably get more attention than my 360 ones. Maybe my taste just differs from most others, and all I need is a new concept in gaming that will appeal to me personally (like when I discovered guitar hero on the PS2). Or maybe I am just getting older like the OP claims. Regardless of the reason, I still have yet to find a current gen game that even comes close to blowing me away.
However, I will still argue that the current state of gaming isn't a very good one. True, games have the potential to be infinitely superior to anything we've seen in previous eras, but that doesn't mean they necessarily will be. Take for instance all of the CoD/Gears of War clones we've seen as of recent. Yeah, developers could create a concept of their own for a game, or take a previous concept and improve on it, but instead they'd rather just copy and paste a system someone else has used in attempt to milk the "realistic shooter" cash-cow.
Also, even though I still play games every now and then, rarely do I play any of the "big hits" found on current gen consoles. This is mostly because I find most big games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Oblivion, Fallout 3, etc. to be fairly dull and unsatisfying. Maybe I can't get into these types of games because I'm stuck in some sort of nostalgic mindset and will only accept games that mimic the old ways, as my snes games probably get more attention than my 360 ones. Maybe my taste just differs from most others, and all I need is a new concept in gaming that will appeal to me personally (like when I discovered guitar hero on the PS2). Or maybe I am just getting older like the OP claims. Regardless of the reason, I still have yet to find a current gen game that even comes close to blowing me away.
Ah the aging gamer. It's a circumstance that I've pondered before.
"Gaming is supposed to be getting better, yet I'm liking it less."
I'm finding that this has little to do with age as time goes on; I still find games I like despite having played them for a lifetime.
Granted, finding said games is comparatively rare now than six years ago.
To me, gaming isn't getting worse; but rather, much of it is now going in circles. The industry is finally being forced to cope with tech tradeoffs vs better presentation; they cannot rely on consistently growing graphical capabilities to carry otherwise unremarkable/generic titles anymore.
How do I know it's not nostalgia? I often go back and try my previous games to see if they hold up today; some of them do, most of them do not. Sometimes I discover certain tricks in the gameplay or nuances in the presentation that I missed or didn't understand before.
And of course, I pay much closer attention to the politics and business of gaming than I did before. Back in 2001, Daikatana, to me, was just a really crappy PC game. Today, it's a landmark case of one of the biggest development and business disasters in gaming history. Its significance has changed in my eyes (and yes, it's still an incredibly shitty game).
"Gaming is supposed to be getting better, yet I'm liking it less."
I'm finding that this has little to do with age as time goes on; I still find games I like despite having played them for a lifetime.
Granted, finding said games is comparatively rare now than six years ago.
To me, gaming isn't getting worse; but rather, much of it is now going in circles. The industry is finally being forced to cope with tech tradeoffs vs better presentation; they cannot rely on consistently growing graphical capabilities to carry otherwise unremarkable/generic titles anymore.
How do I know it's not nostalgia? I often go back and try my previous games to see if they hold up today; some of them do, most of them do not. Sometimes I discover certain tricks in the gameplay or nuances in the presentation that I missed or didn't understand before.
And of course, I pay much closer attention to the politics and business of gaming than I did before. Back in 2001, Daikatana, to me, was just a really crappy PC game. Today, it's a landmark case of one of the biggest development and business disasters in gaming history. Its significance has changed in my eyes (and yes, it's still an incredibly shitty game).
I don't think age has anything to do with people who do think that gaming is dying. It's just that gaming is changing. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. It probably has something to do with gaming industry bringing in more money then entire Hollywood. And the fact that it's almost an end of this generation of games. Remember all those awesome games at the beginning of this generation? We used to call it next gen? Well, that's getting old and it's dying. Ubisoft was right, we need the next gen. In a perfect world we'd ditch the consoles and just make games on PC. And piracy wouldn't be a big problem either. If there were no consoles, then everyone would have a PC, and companies would actually be motivated to make a better anti-piracy system. One that isn't based on punishing the customers.
''You don't stop playing because you get old. You get old because you stop playing''
I'm 29 and I got asked for ID to buy Crysis 2 today so it appears to be working.
Either that or I just have really good genes.
I'm 29 and I got asked for ID to buy Crysis 2 today so it appears to be working.
Either that or I just have really good genes.
Yea.Volkov said:
I have to say I have a bit more free time now than I did then. In fact, that was around the age that I wasn't playing games so much, I even skipped the PS1/N64 generation.
Gaming isn't going to die but it is choking. Mostly I think it's pricing. Most people I know who had a ps2, never got a ps3 or 360 because they thought it was too expensive, don't like the extra fees, and/or don't trust the hardware/network. And honestly, as a ps3 owner, I can't blame them. They still play games on their ps2s, the pc, or sometimes when they visit my place. I even know a couple of people who did take the plunge, but their console broke and they didn't bother replacing it.
The gaming companies need to add some value to what their hardware and software provides and people might start buying it all again. At this point they may as well give people the ability to replace their pc with a console. Sony was on their way to doing that before they crashed the plane into the mountain.
I do not think I could make things more clear. you implied the existence of social norms. I, being a social sciences major, countered by saying that there is no such thing. The concept of "social norms" is a fiction of the mind intended to make one feel like part of a larger whole, when the reality is that people are terrifyingly different from each other. Your theory of "normality" goes out the window the second it is subjected to reality.Snowalker said:
No, I wasn't confused by your statement that social norm don't exist, I was confused by how you come to that conclusion though... but you sum it up lightly with the whole "people are terrifyingly different" thing. However, I'm still confused, because if norms don't exist, how can we have a logical morality system? and how are taboos even possible? But again, not a social science guy.magnuslion said:
Jesus! I just finished doing a write-up for that poem in L.A. on Tuesday!Littlee300 said:And of course people will say that games are getting worse because they're no longer golden.
Edit: I can't one of the users here got suspended for that pic since I loledNature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Post Poems, bitches love Poems
I dunno, I've met a lot of people as young at me (19) who love retro games and REFUSE to play anything new. Like one of my friends despises Assassin's Creed because it's new. She says that the whole thing is a Prince of Persia knock off (another game she hates because it's not pre-2000s. Silent Hill 2 counts as retro to her because it was made in 1999) despite having only watched a few pieces of gameplay, never having touched the controller herself.
It's one thing to NOT like a game after a few hours of playing it. I HATED FF13 after 4 hours of just running around, getting bashed with random encounters, but I bloody played it at least and gave it a chance (and this is coming from someone who has never liked a FF game EVER) rather than writing it off as another shitty Square game.
So yeah....young people can be elitist with older titles as well. It is possible.
It's one thing to NOT like a game after a few hours of playing it. I HATED FF13 after 4 hours of just running around, getting bashed with random encounters, but I bloody played it at least and gave it a chance (and this is coming from someone who has never liked a FF game EVER) rather than writing it off as another shitty Square game.
So yeah....young people can be elitist with older titles as well. It is possible.
getting older sucks.
Because I was riding freestyle BMX from fairly early on, i'm now developing arthritis already, and i'm only 22. So now my reason for not gaming as much as i used to is not only thanks to lack of time, but also because my fingers and thumbs get stiff, and i can't sit still in a chair for more than a couple of hours like i used to, because i cramp up. I hate getting older.
But anyway, on hating games that aren't "nostalgia", you've at least got to give something a chance before passing judgement, I agree. Personally, I'll try not to say too many bad things about a game I've only seen a preview of, but i will say "It looks like ____" or "To me, it seems like it will be a bit ____". I thought I'd hate MGS4 after playing the originals, but I didn't. Sure, you could call it another rehash of an old title, but I still got some kicks out of it.
Because I was riding freestyle BMX from fairly early on, i'm now developing arthritis already, and i'm only 22. So now my reason for not gaming as much as i used to is not only thanks to lack of time, but also because my fingers and thumbs get stiff, and i can't sit still in a chair for more than a couple of hours like i used to, because i cramp up. I hate getting older.
But anyway, on hating games that aren't "nostalgia", you've at least got to give something a chance before passing judgement, I agree. Personally, I'll try not to say too many bad things about a game I've only seen a preview of, but i will say "It looks like ____" or "To me, it seems like it will be a bit ____". I thought I'd hate MGS4 after playing the originals, but I didn't. Sure, you could call it another rehash of an old title, but I still got some kicks out of it.
Perhaps you can explain why UO had and has more content and options than the next 5 MMO's you want to name, choose any, the comparison stands.
The reason is (in case you dont know what UO is son), games have been progresively dumbed down to acheive 2 things. Firstly to cut development costs and secondly to appeal to a larger market with an average attention span about half what it was 15 years ago.
Put that in your bubble pipe and smoke it kid.
The reason is (in case you dont know what UO is son), games have been progresively dumbed down to acheive 2 things. Firstly to cut development costs and secondly to appeal to a larger market with an average attention span about half what it was 15 years ago.
Put that in your bubble pipe and smoke it kid.
This. So much this.FieryTrainwreck said:
I suppose that theoretically you could slap the label of 'age' on it, but it's not age in the sense of how long someone's been on this earth. :3