Poetic thief on 3/5/2010 at 23:21

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The very first PC game I ever played was a demo of Tomb Raider 2. It came on a free disk along with a demo of Commandos 1.

This means that I have rather fond memories of exploring around the Great Wall of China. The sound of the helicopter, the roar of the tiger, and the "mm hmm" sound that Lara makes when she finds a secret, all give me a warm feeling in my heart.

However, I have found that even though current PC games might have objectively better graphics, stories, or gameplay, they rarely move me as much as I was moved by those demos during those early days.


We could just say, "bah it's just nostalgia," and shrug it off and move on. :p

But is there something more going on here? I think so, but I have trouble articulating it.

I think its related to the ideas about "frame of reference."

If our solar system suddenly shrank down to the size of a peanut, we will never know, and it wouldn't really affect us. Similarly, by increasing graphics, and complexity, our expectations are also increasing with them. So the impact of shinier and shinier graphics in games isn't really as powerful today as one might think it should be.

When I first played the Tomb Raider demo, I didn't really know other PC games, so I couldn't make comparisons. To me, the game I was playing was an amazing experience, period. I had an amazing time that has stuck with me to this day .


If someone had sent a 2010 graphics game back to 1998, the people there would have their jaws dropping, and it would have a great impact on them since their expectations were lower. To someone in 2010 though, the game would look like just another run of the mill FPS because our expectations also grew with the increase in graphics.

So two things can be garnered from this:

1.) If someone thinks that WoW is the best game ever made, and that's the only PC RPG game they've played, then, to them, it really is an amazing, wonderful experience. They're not really missing out on anything, even if you might think so.

2. As technology rises, so do expectations, and therefore the impact of shinier games with more complexity isn't as much as it would be. Just like how if everything shrank at the same time, no one could tell the difference.

I'm not sure if this made sense to anyone because I have trouble articulating it as I've said. But seriously thinking about this has given me a much more liberal and less snobby attitude towards people who truly enjoy more casual console games. It can also be applied to other areas of life. As a trivialized example:People living in (seemingly) destitute or impoverished conditions don't really have it that bad...until someone from outside comes in and tells them about what (they think) they're missing.

icemann on 4/5/2010 at 15:34

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Well fancy gfx is good and all, but its the gameplay that gets you hooked and coming back for replays at the end of the day.