Poetic thief on 4/9/2009 at 17:50
I spent this summer doing a lot of gaming, particularly focusing on the "classic" top-ranked pc games.
However, one thing that came up was I couldn't help escaping the feeling that while I enjoyed these games, I would have enjoyed them infinitely more if I was still in high school/ still new to gaming.
The games I played were Deus Ex, Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate, System Shock 2, Kotor 1.
I'm NOT saying these games are immature, far from it. What I mean is that as a kid, there is a certain way of looking at the world that makes it easier for you to just completely immerse yourself in a game. As you get older, and have to take on responsibilities, it somehow becomes harder to completely lose yourself the way you were able to. Your accumulated experience from playing games also make it easier for you to spot inconsistencies, and faults, and plot holes, and stilted dialogues etc. I'm not even that old, I'm only 23. But I feel like games have lost that certain spark they used to have back when I was 14-15.
There are certain aspects of games that I've just grown weary and tired of:
1. Situations where you are forced to learn what to do by dying first :rolleyes:
2. (slightly related to number 1) Situations where you either execute the action and succeed, or fail the action and die e.g. you fail a saving throw and die a horrible death.
Thing like this don't really test skill, just luck, and if I were still a young, inexperienced gamer, I would have a less cynical attitude towards them.
It's kind of like with "The Catcher in the Rye." It's one of those books, that when you read it as a high-schooler, you view it a certain way, and you think it's the coolest book ever written. But if you're an older person reading it, you are more easily able to spot Holden Caulfield's faults and you see him in a different light than a high school student would.
mothra on 4/9/2009 at 17:57
hmm, for me it's more like older games (since they loose much of their visual attraction and are harder to keep running nowadays) have more ... "abstract" qualities where the imagination fills up the missing normal maps and dynamic lightning but wear their design philosphies much better on their sleeves for that, if you catch my drift. That, and of course the undisputable fact that there just are no games like that on the market atm and the genres and settings are most beloved to me (steampunk/cyberpunk).
SubJeff on 4/9/2009 at 18:00
I don't think I enjoyed certain games when I was younger because I was younger but because that's what we had back then.
I started gaming on a ZX Spectrum 48K+ when I was 10 or so. I moved onto an Atari ST, then an Amiga 500 and then I had a gaming break for a few years where I didn't even play consoles before I got my own PC in '97 I think.
There are alot of games I used to play that I wouldn't want to now and I've even tried some retro gaming on various devices and yeah there are some that don't draw me in anymore. But at the same time there are a lot of games I was really into years and years ago that I'd love to play again or see remakes of.
Cadaver for the Amiga is one of them, but this is because there is nothing that is really like it now. I was a big fan of Dungeon Master and Eye of the Beholder but I wouldn't want to play them now but then I don't really want to play any dungeon hacker as my taste has changed.
I guess what I'm saying is that taste changes and technology changes. Spy Hunter was fun then but if I want a fun drive there are more advanced games that would give me a more visceral experience.
I don't think its age - its other factors.
Poetic thief on 4/9/2009 at 18:06
Quote Posted by mothra
hmm, for me it's more like older games have more ... "abstract" qualities where the imagination fills up the missing normal maps and dynamic lightning but wear their design philosphies much better on their sleeves for that, if you catch my drift...
I caught your drift. I even started a thread here:(
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127155)
Malf on 4/9/2009 at 18:15
Don't write off Dungeon Master so quickly SubJeff; I was a massive fan of the ST original, and to my delight, I recently (well, last year) discovered that both the original and Chaos Strikes Back can be played for free.
Grab them (
http://dmweb.free.fr/) here.
Dungeon Master still plays brilliantly, and some of the puzzles are right mind-benders. You really did need a sheet of graph paper (or a maths book swiped from school).
Of course, the internet makes things a tad easier solution-wise these days, but it still makes me marvel at how much the makers expected from the gamer. There was no underestimating the intelligence of their audience here.
Another game that I was still playing on the Speccy well into the early nineties was Rebel Star, along with the original Laser Squad.
Something about turn-based games means they age better than less abstract titles; well, for me at least.
Poetic thief on 4/9/2009 at 18:17
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
I don't think I enjoyed certain games when I was younger because I was younger but because that's what we had back then.
I started gaming on a ZX Spectrum 48K+ when I was 10 or so. I moved onto an Atari ST, then an Amiga 500 and then I had a gaming break for a few years where I didn't even play consoles before I got my own PC in '97 I think.
There are alot of games I used to play that I wouldn't want to now and I've even tried some retro gaming on various devices and yeah there are some that don't draw me in anymore. But at the same time there are a lot of games I was really into years and years ago that I'd love to play again or see remakes of.
Cadaver for the Amiga is one of them, but this is because there is nothing that is really like it now. I was a big fan of Dungeon Master and Eye of the Beholder but I wouldn't want to play them now but then I don't really want to play any dungeon hacker as my taste has changed.
I guess what I'm saying is that taste changes and technology changes. Spy Hunter was fun then but if I want a fun drive there are more advanced games that would give me a more visceral experience.
I don't think its age - its other factors.
I think I see what you mean.
To give an example: I used to love civilization 4, but Rome total war really spoiled the game for me. In Rome, you get tactical combat, where's it's like a game of chess, but when I went back to civilization, the combat was severely lacking and cartoonish. Before I played Rome, I had no complaints about the combat in civ 4.
So for you, it's less a matter of age, and more a matter of changing tastes. (Although, these two usually go hand in hand.)
gunsmoke on 4/9/2009 at 18:29
Quote Posted by Poetic thief
However, one thing that came up was I couldn't help escaping the feeling that while I enjoyed these games, I would have enjoyed them infinitely more if I was still in high school/ still new to gaming.
The games I played were Deus Ex, Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate, System Shock 2, Kotor 1.
I would agree with you that, yes, some games are definitely better when you are younger. But, I find it odd that you picked some of the deepest, dialogue heavy, longest, and more 'intelligent' games that IMHO seemed aimed at an older demographic.
Aerothorn on 4/9/2009 at 18:56
I'm actually going to agree with you on this. The point others have made in this topic - new games changing the way we view older games - is entirely valid, but I also think there's something to the age thing.
First off, IMHO, KOTOR is kind of an immature power fantasy that is more likely to be enjoyed by younger gamers, though maybe this is just my personal experience. This is less true of Baldur's Gate, but that's still using a generic D&D setting.
I replayed Deus Ex recently, and while it's still a great game, it has lost a little bit of its edge. Deus Ex is one of the only games to be overtly political (the other that comes to mind being the Metal Gear Solid series), and when I was younger its politics seemed really interesting and fresh. Now that I'm plugged into real-world politics and political philosophy, Deus Ex comes off as a bit more simplistic. Still throughly enjoyable, mind you, just a bit less so.
As for Torment, I'm about to replay that, so no idea.
Kuuso on 4/9/2009 at 20:22
Ignorance is bliss they say. While younger, you're more readily discarding negative aspects, even if they involve gameplay.
I at least find myself way more easily frustrated by games than when I was younger. As a youngster you played games to the finish, even though they were badly designed.
glslvrfan on 4/9/2009 at 21:01
Its got to do time, patience, and a sore ass. Hell when I was younger i could sit and play for hours. Now I just cant sit upright that long after having worked all day.
If i had a recliner and a big ass monitor, wireless keyboard, and mouse then I just might quit work for a year and play everything mentioned plus the Fallout series
