Modern gaming... is this decline actually a real decline in quality? or are we fooled by nostalgia?

[JoshGod]

The problem is, when people talk about 'modern gaming' they usually mean games made in the last 3-5 years. Gaming has been around for about 40 years now. If you look at all the games released in those 40 years and compare it to the ones released in the last 4, of *course* there's going to be a higher quantity of really top tier games in the former category rather than the latter. The thing is, their were many more crappy games released in those 40 years that have been (rightfully) forgotten. I very much doubt the ratio good games to crappy games has changed all that much, we just haven't had a chance to forget the most recent load of crap that has been produced.

that seems about right i hope in 10 years i will have forget haze sigh

anyway i think that along tim ago games were more rpgish now its more shooter...ish and thats why ur unhappy and to know if you fit into this category-are u excited about dragon age origins. im intereste but not crazy if youv already pre-ordered it ur probly thinking most games have declined in quality.

 

[tsolless]

Nostalgia. We tend to forget all of the crap games that were released in the past generations and only remember the true gems of those generations. The nostalgia of those gems raise them to a holy grail state for many gamers. Add to this that for most people past gaming is a period of around 20 years and modern gaming is considered around 5 years so there were much more gems released in that 20 year period.

So no, I don't think that there is a real decline in quality. People underestimate nostalgia.

 

[TheScarecrow]

I don't think that applies to me as probably about 90% of my favourite games are on the 360

Play older games! You havn't lived enough!

Anyway. I don't feel that quality is declining as much as people like to say it is.

 

[Epifols]

I just want to say:

Game quality is purely subjective!

So yes, it is just nostalgia.

 

[saxist01]

WHAT? Ocarina of Time is a Classic! God Damn I'm old. I'm gonna go play Yoshi's Cookie now.

 

[zahr]

We're blinded by nostalgia. The power of rose-tinted glasses should not be underestimated.

No. I still play all the old games that I consider superior to modern games. It's not nostalgia when I can pick it up, play it, and say, "Hey, this game is better than modern games."

Thief 2. Dawn of War. KotOR. Wizardry 8. Nox. And so on.

 

[veloper]

The lack of challenge in many games this generation is real.

Generally, the further back you go in time, the harder the games become. There are exceptions (usually from indie scene), but in mainstream this is very common.

It is not nostalgia. It's even happening within older developer studios.

Look at KOTOR and compare how easy it is opposed to BG2 (which wasn't very hard to begin with).
Compare the handholding in Oblivion to Morrowind.
Rome total war to medieval total war.

 

[Epifols]

We're blinded by nostalgia. The power of rose-tinted glasses should not be underestimated.

No. I still play all the old games that I consider superior to modern games. It's not nostalgia when I can pick it up, play it, and say, "Hey, this game is better than modern games."

Thief 2. Dawn of War. KotOR. Wizardry 8. Nox. And so on.

It may not technically be nostalgia but there still is a bias, I think. The games we play earlier in our lives we are more affectionate towards. Hell, looking at xfire records those games aren't just entertainment, they are a huge part of our lives. Maybe THATS what makes them truly better though, for each person individually.

 

[Ancientgamer]

People don't rag on new games because they're bad, they do it because they're different.

people need to take off the nostalgia goggles.

 

[zahr]

We're blinded by nostalgia. The power of rose-tinted glasses should not be underestimated.

No. I still play all the old games that I consider superior to modern games. It's not nostalgia when I can pick it up, play it, and say, "Hey, this game is better than modern games."

Thief 2. Dawn of War. KotOR. Wizardry 8. Nox. And so on.

It may not technically be nostalgia but there still is a bias, I think. The games we play earlier in our lives we are more affectionate towards. Hell, looking at xfire records those games aren't just entertainment, they are a huge part of our lives. Maybe THATS what makes them truly better though, for each person individually.

But I can lay out all their qualities and state with absolute certainty that they are superior to any modern game I can think of. It's not nostalgia when you can break a game down and break another game down, compare their various aspects, and it still comes out on top.

 

[SimuLord]

For mainstream genres like FPS and RPG, you've got to have the rose-colored nostalgia glasses on if you seriously believe that games were that much better in the old days. Sure, there were classics (FF6, the greatest console game ever made), but we remember those and tend to forget the flood of crap that came with it because we didn't play the crap then.

Where you can make a legitimate argument for gaming having gone downhill is if you're into genres that were once mainstays but have gone by the wayside and just aren't really made anymore. Trade sims, city builders, point-and-click adventure games, Paradox's 2D Europa engine, just for starters. While two of those have gotten a real revival lately (Telltale Games' body of work plus the upcoming For The Glory on the Paradox 2D engine), the other two haven't had a great release in five or six years (Port Royale 2 in 2004 and SimCity 4 in 2003.)

 

[zahr]

For mainstream genres like FPS and RPG, you've got to have the rose-colored nostalgia glasses on if you seriously believe that games were that much better in the old days.

Planescape: Torment. Wizardry 8. Baldur's Gate. Baldur's Gate 2.

Well, looks like you're wrong. Really, the only modern RPG that can stand with the old ones is Mask of the Betrayer.

FF6

Is not an RPG.

 

[Avatar Roku]

Real decline. The future portrayed in the Mike Judge comedy Idiocracy will come a lot sooner. The world is being dumbed down to maximize profits. Soon people will expect less and less from their entertainment and someday we all will be watching Ow My Balls!

I'm sorry, I had to.

My completely non-scientific theory is that when I was younger I had a not better but more wild and free-flowing imagination that allowed games to really come to life and be truely memorable. As I get older and I know how games are made, what patterns to look for to advance to the next level as quickly as possible etc the magic seems to be dwindling.
Put a 7 year-old infront of Fable II and they'll be talking about it non-stop in ten years or so.

I agree. Although there's no denying the quality of old games, there's nothing so inherently superior about them except that we played them when we were younger.

 

[Amnestic]

For mainstream genres like FPS and RPG, you've got to have the rose-colored nostalgia glasses on if you seriously believe that games were that much better in the old days.

Planescape: Torment. Wizardry 8. Baldur's Gate. Baldur's Gate 2.

Well, looks like you're wrong. Really, the only modern RPG that can stand with the old ones is Mask of the Betrayer.

FF6

Is not an RPG.

Yes it is. Just because it doesn't fit into your thin line of what you think is an RPG doesn't make it not so.

Pretty sure your own definition discounts Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, if I remember our last conversation on this as well.

 

[zahr]

For mainstream genres like FPS and RPG, you've got to have the rose-colored nostalgia glasses on if you seriously believe that games were that much better in the old days.

Planescape: Torment. Wizardry 8. Baldur's Gate. Baldur's Gate 2.

Well, looks like you're wrong. Really, the only modern RPG that can stand with the old ones is Mask of the Betrayer.

FF6

Is not an RPG.

Yes it is. Just because it doesn't fit into your thin line of what you think is an RPG doesn't make it not so.

Pretty sure your own definition discounts Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, if I remember our last conversation on this as well.

FF6 has a linear story with no input from the player.

Not an RPG.

 

[UtopiaV1]

...and some lesser known titles such as System Shock 2.

Yeah, I think only two copies of System Shock 2 were ever sold, because I bought the game... twice. No-one else seems to have heard of this classic, I mean, I go on Bioshock threads and people are all like 'Dude, wtf is system shock? Sounds gay!!! I love Bioshock, it's the most original game ever, and totally not a spiritual successor to any other games whatsoever."
Yeah, no-one in the world has heard of System Shock, I go into Game and the storepeople are always like "Wtf is system shock? Never heard of it, but you should play Star Wraith 2, it's the biggest game this summer, everyone's playing it, I've never heard of your 'system shock 2' thingy, is that like Spore or something?"
I talk to my friends about games from late 90's, and they're all like "Yeah, i fucking love Half-Life and Ground Control, what the hell is system shock 2? Never heard of it, all i played when i was younger was Ghost Recon and Destruction Derby, but I seem to have this big gap in my memory that started on 11th August 1999 and lasts the next year or so. I don't remember playing any games from that time..."
Yea, system shock 2 was never mentioned by any big games critics or magazines, or hailed as "The greatest action-RPG of our generation", i heard the game just passed everyone by and failed commercially and as a piece of art. It will go up with the unknown gems of gaming like Savage or Project Eden. Yup, no-one ever played this game.

*pant pant* Okay, bile-spewing is over. Obviously what you wrote was just a throw-away line that you didn't think that clearly about. That's fine, and i hope you didn't take my hateful monologue too seriously, but in the name of Company of Heroes and everything that is holy, please don't say that System Shock 2 is a lesser known title any more. It makes you, and (when i do that stupid sarcastic rant) me, look like total muppets.

Again, sorry

 

[Amnestic]

For mainstream genres like FPS and RPG, you've got to have the rose-colored nostalgia glasses on if you seriously believe that games were that much better in the old days.

Planescape: Torment. Wizardry 8. Baldur's Gate. Baldur's Gate 2.

Well, looks like you're wrong. Really, the only modern RPG that can stand with the old ones is Mask of the Betrayer.

FF6

Is not an RPG.

Yes it is. Just because it doesn't fit into your thin line of what you think is an RPG doesn't make it not so.

Pretty sure your own definition discounts Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, if I remember our last conversation on this as well.

FF6 has a linear story with no input from the player.

Not an RPG.

Baldur's Gate 1 has a linear story with no input from the player.

Exactly how do you finish Baldur's Gate 2 without killing Irenicus? Or Baldur's Gate 1 without killing Sarevok? They both end the exact same way with no input from the player. Their main quest is essentially linear, and whatever your actions along the way have no effect on the outcome.

Thus, once more by your own logic: The Baldur's Gate games are not RPGs.

 

[PurpleLeafRave]

Great games have been around for ages. And they are still around.

Devil May Cry (1 and 3).
Dues Ex.
Batman: Arkham Asylum.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess.
Quake.
Killing Floor.
The Path.
Ratchet and Clank.
Jack and Daxter.
Prototype and inFamous.
God Hand.

If anything games are getting better as a whole...

Batman! Woop woop. Just expressing my love for that game.
I bet there's at least one gamer on this site that wants to dress up their girlfriend like Harley Quinn. (from Arkam Asylum.)