Noisepurge
Member
Im 33 and im just glad Duke Nukem Forever got released while i was alive!
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+30 GAF. Did you ever thinked that we are part of a historical event?
- Thread starter butman
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I'm 47 so I've been around the gaming scene since before Atari 2600 was a thing.
One big thing I've noticed about this long-view experience is the perspective it lends in modern-day appreciation for what we have and how far we've come.
When people online so casually drop sentiments that this game or that game is "complete shit" (Fallout 4, iOS, etc.), I just shake my head and laugh.
When you lived in an age where Superman (2600) was legitimately mind-blowing, it's hard to take a gaming community's ruthless criticism and cynicism seriously.
Sure, there are still bad games being made, like the recent Homefront. I'm not blind.
But the shit people give genuinely good/great titles is a compete joke if you've been around long enough to have been completely entertained by two white rectangles paddling a white square back and forth across a black screen.
Not to overquote you, but very true. 44 here and still amazed. If only I had been born 10 years earlier I wouldn't have put so much time into this stuff.
Anyway, I have an Xbox One, I love Fallout 4, and overlevelling and being terrible in Dark Souls III is what makes gaming fun.
Maneauleau
Member
I do feel privileged to have experienced the first video games and I have enjoyed the ride. I recently treated myself and bought this book and as I was flipping through the pages it blew my mind to visualize the evolution this way. I look fondly back to the evolution and all the machines I played and owned before. And even the ones that I did not play or owned. After all there were so many of different machines during that time that it was really hard to experience them all. Especially that I was young and poor ^^'
That being said I don't think we've seen everything.
The increase in computational power, sensors and miniaturization will further improve the experiences that are starting to flourish now: VR, AR, Toys to life etc.
These trends will continue to mature and evolve tremendously. Video games will offer a even broader type of experiences. I don't say it will be better or worse but for sure it will be interesting to see and experience as well.
I would not have minded also experiencing the music in the 70's but that's another topic.
That being said I don't think we've seen everything.
The increase in computational power, sensors and miniaturization will further improve the experiences that are starting to flourish now: VR, AR, Toys to life etc.
These trends will continue to mature and evolve tremendously. Video games will offer a even broader type of experiences. I don't say it will be better or worse but for sure it will be interesting to see and experience as well.
I'm 47 so I've been around the gaming scene since before Atari 2600 was a thing.
One big thing I've noticed about this long-view experience is the perspective it lends in modern-day appreciation for what we have and how far we've come.
When people online so casually drop sentiments that this game or that game is "complete shit" (Fallout 4, iOS, etc.), I just shake my head and laugh.
When you lived in an age where Superman (2600) was legitimately mind-blowing, it's hard to take a gaming community's ruthless criticism and cynicism seriously.
Sure, there are still bad games being made, like the recent Homefront. I'm not blind.
But the shit people give genuinely good/great titles is a compete joke if you've been around long enough to have been completely entertained by two white rectangles paddling a white square back and forth across a black screen.
47 soon to be 48. Fuck, I thought Superman on the 2600 was dope. I agree with you. Too be honest, 30 isn't even old enough. 30 itself brings some people to 1985 or 1986. Of course many, will say, I remember playing at 3 years old, blah blah blah. That brings you to 1988 and 1989. Still 10 or 11 years short. Matter of fact, thinking about it, we at 47 missed some shit also.
I'm 34, but this is pretty much my stance.I'm 47 so I've been around the gaming scene since before Atari 2600 was a thing.
One big thing I've noticed about this long-view experience is the perspective it lends in modern-day appreciation for what we have and how far we've come.
When people online so casually drop sentiments that this game or that game is "complete shit" (Fallout 4, iOS, etc.), I just shake my head and laugh.
When you lived in an age where Superman (2600) was legitimately mind-blowing, it's hard to take a gaming community's ruthless criticism and cynicism seriously.
Sure, there are still bad games being made, like the recent Homefront. I'm not blind.
But the shit people give genuinely good/great titles is a compete joke if you've been around long enough to have been completely entertained by two white rectangles paddling a white square back and forth across a black screen.
Is part also why I prefer to play on my own or locally (or online with people I know).
The cynicism across posts online, replies, voice chat make for a toxic environment. The sense of superiority too. Sometimes it feels even around here that is no longer about enjoying something, but having to proof that you liked it based on some arbitrary reasons.
Suddenly I can't enjoy how a game looks because is not HD or is not stable 60fps, or has screen tearing...that it makes me an ignorant.
As long as I have fun and the game doesn't have a game breaking/save corrupting bug or glitch, and runs well enough to not slowdown heavily by just walking around, no biggie.
d00d3n
Member
It honestly was. I really wish that younger people get to experience that kind of generational leap in their lifetimes. Maybe with VR I guess?
It has been a fun ride.
The next quality of life advancement that needs to take place is a unified place where you can play all past games. Having the games be locked behind ancient and hard to find systems makes preserving the form a chore.
Steam and other PC systems are a godsend for that. Also, the move toward console refreshes is a good start for this. Now, companies need to focus on being able to purchase most past games on the current platform.
The next quality of life advancement that needs to take place is a unified place where you can play all past games. Having the games be locked behind ancient and hard to find systems makes preserving the form a chore.
Steam and other PC systems are a godsend for that. Also, the move toward console refreshes is a good start for this. Now, companies need to focus on being able to purchase most past games on the current platform.
The odometer just rolled over to 42 this month, so yeah, been there and seen it all. Like others, I don't understand the cynicism and particularly the entitlement issues I see so prominently with the gaming community.
It's also kinda weird seeing someone talk about their 30s as being old. I'm sure it will be even stranger when I'm in my 50s seeing the same thing.
It's also kinda weird seeing someone talk about their 30s as being old. I'm sure it will be even stranger when I'm in my 50s seeing the same thing.
Vigilant Walrus
Member
Did you see the The Last Guardian video that was posted on IGN today/yesterday?
Fumito Ueda seems... he seems really depressed that the game has been under way for 10 years. Thats a significant part of your life dedicated to one thing.
CrazyArcadia
Member
Another great scene from pop culture like this is Scotty in Star Trek IV when they're in the past and he has to operate a computer. It's roughly something like... Scotty wants to use a 80s computer and starts talking: "Computer! Hey Computer!" *gets handed the mouse by s.o. else: "You gotta use this." *Scotty takes up mouse, puts it to his mouth, begins to speak into the mouse "Computer?".
Or the real-life example of save-symbols in computer programs not being floppy discs anymore because many people don't understand the symbol anymore.
Speaking of Star Trek, as a kid I always was imagining how it would be to talk to other people through a video phone like that or use touch interface computing devices. Then all of this just happened somehow. Now I hope we also get to holodecks and space travel during my lifetime.
I am even a bit nostalgic for times without the internet sometimes. The whole "always connected, every device" thing sometimes distracts and annoys me to the point where I sometimes would go on and play retro games on original hardware just to play something without any internet whatsoever (or just deactivate wifi on my portables). Though this doesn't allow me to, in theory, not checking my mails and seeing an important work-related update sunday afternoon.
That's also a very interesting point - the history is different depending on where you live. I am always fascinated by Brazils SEGA MegaDrive/Genesis-history and I believe for people in Korea, China, South America and many other places in the world, videogames and computer tech in general had a quite different time of impact, especially before the smartphone age (I think smartphones really kicked off a sort of unification of the digital and real world, seeing as they're basically affordable pocket computers capable of all important information gathering and communication tasks without the need for expensive big external hardware). Even if only taking into account US, EU and Japan and just for gaming, the 80s and early 90s played out so differently. US had the videogame crash, EU barely noticed that one. Japan with their gaming-computer culture, UK with their 80s/90s gaming devices, Germany and eastern Europe countries being PC gaming territory.
It's going to be very interesting how history will look back on this. I mean, looking at the birth of other media, movies were around a while longer before the big cinema classics started being produced, often it was just short loops of little scenes which might or might not be comparable to what was there in early gaming with a couple of pixels and one or two sounds. Same for books, when the tech was there, it wasn't an immediate huge revolution and it even took a while before narrative stories/novels really were introduced. Personally, I could see the first Mario games on the NES being the one thing people have in mind when they think of "early videogames", similiar to how people see Mickey Mouse cartoons as an image if they think of "early cinema" just because of how iconic these characters are for their medium. There was the joke about gaming not having its Citizen Kane yet - I think it will be interesting to see if gaming as it is now (with holding a controler in the hand and looking at a screen) will prevail or if we're going to get a huge revolutionary change which will make all of gaming including what is released today seem like the black and white cinema era.
I am glad I could see this grow till today and I hope to see it grow for another 50-60 years or so
(Though that goes for tech and social changes in general, I am very curious)
SolVanderlyn
Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
lmao.
I feel you
I also understand this thread completely. I'm not 30+ (close, though) but I definitely think watching the rise of gaming has been extraordinary. I can't even imagine where it will be ten years from now...
MiamiWesker
Member
Obviously the internet is the biggest advancement of our lifetime but personally its about gaming for me. Its the medium I love, I felt I have grown with it. I feel a great attchement to the medium, seeing it from the start to where it is now. And for the furture, I have Oculus now and I cant wait to see where we go from here.
Internet, cell phones, internet on your cell phones and gaming systems...
And now a big advancement for VR. Exciting times.
butman
Member
I'm 47 so I've been around the gaming scene since before Atari 2600 was a thing.
One big thing I've noticed about this long-view experience is the perspective it lends in modern-day appreciation for what we have and how far we've come.
When people online so casually drop sentiments that this game or that game is "complete shit" (Fallout 4, iOS, etc.), I just shake my head and laugh.
When you lived in an age where Superman (2600) was legitimately mind-blowing, it's hard to take a gaming community's ruthless criticism and cynicism seriously.
Sure, there are still bad games being made, like the recent Homefront. I'm not blind.
But the shit people give genuinely good/great titles is a compete joke if you've been around long enough to have been completely entertained by two white rectangles paddling a white square back and forth across a black screen.
Sir you are a scholar.
I'm 47 so I've been around the gaming scene since before Atari 2600 was a thing.
One big thing I've noticed about this long-view experience is the perspective it lends in modern-day appreciation for what we have and how far we've come.
When people online so casually drop sentiments that this game or that game is "complete shit" (Fallout 4, iOS, etc.), I just shake my head and laugh.
When you lived in an age where Superman (2600) was legitimately mind-blowing, it's hard to take a gaming community's ruthless criticism and cynicism seriously.
Sure, there are still bad games being made, like the recent Homefront. I'm not blind.
But the shit people give genuinely good/great titles is a compete joke if you've been around long enough to have been completely entertained by two white rectangles paddling a white square back and forth across a black screen.
I fully agree. I generally ignore people who call games with small flaws "trash". It's lucky for them that this idiotic hyperbole isn't banworthy on NeoGAF.
I can't follow you there. Which games is this observation based on?
Melchiah
Member
You don't think something like Bloodborne evolved and improved combat mechanics, Resogun sidescrollers, or TLOU and Witcher 3 storytelling?
Well my take on this, over the last few years gaming took a huge step back in terms of gameplay, sure the graphics were great but the actual game part....eh lets just say you had more interactivity in some Atari 2600 games. Probably in part of the smart phone gaming culture as well.
Games trying to be cinematic, when they are already their own thing, I think games can tell much richer stories than any movie, since your in control and to be honest, moments in gaming where I have been emotionally engaged for a longer period and more deeply effected are much more than I have in movies or books.
But on the bright side, thanks to games like the Souls series, MOBA and now Doom things are starting to look up. Even Minecraft is an amazing game which if I got my hands on in my younger years would be playing all the time.
World of Warcraft and being part of it was also a huge historical event too.
Yeah we are lucky to have experienced the growth of the tech and medium.
Games trying to be cinematic, when they are already their own thing, I think games can tell much richer stories than any movie, since your in control and to be honest, moments in gaming where I have been emotionally engaged for a longer period and more deeply effected are much more than I have in movies or books.
But on the bright side, thanks to games like the Souls series, MOBA and now Doom things are starting to look up. Even Minecraft is an amazing game which if I got my hands on in my younger years would be playing all the time.
World of Warcraft and being part of it was also a huge historical event too.
Yeah we are lucky to have experienced the growth of the tech and medium.
LookAtMeGo
Member
I miss the days when arcades were a thing. I know they still exist but its just not like it used to be.
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
30 is way too young, sorry guys.
If you born in the mid 80's you missed a decade's worth of incredibly rapid change and upheaval that laid the groundwork for what was to come.
* Pong, and the birth of the form.
* The Golden age of the arcades.
* The first generation of home games systems.
* The rise and fall of the second generation of cartridge based systems.
* The emergence of Home computers and hobbyist game development.
...and far more besides.
If you born in the mid 80's you missed a decade's worth of incredibly rapid change and upheaval that laid the groundwork for what was to come.
* Pong, and the birth of the form.
* The Golden age of the arcades.
* The first generation of home games systems.
* The rise and fall of the second generation of cartridge based systems.
* The emergence of Home computers and hobbyist game development.
...and far more besides.
nothing beats Internet. See the sizes of game patches this gen and the delays.
I don't think this is completely accurate. I'm 32 and my first system was a Intellvision II. I can remember wanting an NES even in 1988, years after it came out. I finally got one, and then shortly after was lusting after a Genesis. I still remember how to LOAD "*",8,1 and played games off tapes. Obviously there were things that came before that I missed, but from what I can remember it wasn't like today's industry where you move on to the new hotness ASAP. We still had a C64 in my classroom in 1994. I think saying 30 is way to young is disingenuous. And I grew up in smokey arcades, thanks to my lovely grandmother who would sit there and contribute heavily to the smoke while I stood on a milk crate and played games.
edit: Holy shit, I didn't even see your tag. That's weird. lol.
Just because you were behind the times doesn't mean he's disingenuous. 30 year olds legitimately missed a complete generation or two of gaming. 40+ were the first. Stop trying to steal our glory whippersnapper.
I often think about this and how I was a tiny bit too young to truly appreciate it in this way. OoT when I was eight years old was a life changing experience, but it wasn't because it was one of the first 3D games ever and analog sticks and stuff... it was just a magical adventure for a kid to go on. Not sure which is better.
I'm not arguing that we didn't miss anything. I think that's inherent. I guess what I'm saying is that I think my gaming experience growing up is a lot closer to someone's who was born in 1974 as opposed to someone who was born in 1994.
kamineko
Does his best thinking in the flying car
I'm 42. I do sometimes think about the fact that consumer video games, the business, the hobby, all of it, we grew up together. I had no idea the way my life would turn out, and I would never have guessed the future for video games. I've always felt that video games were an important part of my life. When I was young, they were young. It wasn't always considered "cool" to like them, but that didn't deter me. I was interested in how they worked--some of the technical advances just seemed impossible.
Those interests would later get me into Information Technology (dat Y2K hiring bubble).
I don't feel like I have seen it all. I am amazed all the time. So far as where things are going, I worry about the vanishing mid-tier title. I feel that we often overemphasize presentation (it's important, I'm not knocking it) at the expense of interesting systems or compelling writing. Then again, it's always been like that--Atari Age was full of screenshots. I'm still excited about what's coming, though. There have been droughts, but, even so, there has never been a bad time to be into video games.
Life before and after smartphones is interesting to think about, too
Those interests would later get me into Information Technology (dat Y2K hiring bubble).
I don't feel like I have seen it all. I am amazed all the time. So far as where things are going, I worry about the vanishing mid-tier title. I feel that we often overemphasize presentation (it's important, I'm not knocking it) at the expense of interesting systems or compelling writing. Then again, it's always been like that--Atari Age was full of screenshots. I'm still excited about what's coming, though. There have been droughts, but, even so, there has never been a bad time to be into video games.
Life before and after smartphones is interesting to think about, too
35 and I wish I had a better memory of my early youth as it'd be neat to reminisce about life before the Internet and video games. I remember playing football and basketball, late night phone calls on a real home phone, bowling alley arcades, radio stations to hear the latest songs, monopoly, but day to day life all I remember is homework, Sports and general fuckery with friends, and Atari/Nes/Snes/Saturn/Dos gaming.
Cornbread78
Member
Lol, I still remember downloading games as a young buck via bulletin boards. Oh, the birth of the WWW. But yeah, Atari started smoking, so mom's picked me up that brand new thing called NES with a gun and a little Italian man and it's been downhill from there.... We are truly lucky, but the evolution of society as a while during our parents lifetime is an even more amazing feat.
I'm 47 so I've been around the gaming scene since before Atari 2600 was a thing.
One big thing I've noticed about this long-view experience is the perspective it lends in modern-day appreciation for what we have and how far we've come.
When people online so casually drop sentiments that this game or that game is "complete shit" (Fallout 4, iOS, etc.), I just shake my head and laugh.
When you lived in an age where Superman (2600) was legitimately mind-blowing, it's hard to take a gaming community's ruthless criticism and cynicism seriously.
Sure, there are still bad games being made, like the recent Homefront. I'm not blind.
But the shit people give genuinely good/great titles is a compete joke if you've been around long enough to have been completely entertained by two white rectangles paddling a white square back and forth across a black screen.
Your post is getting a lot of support, and rounding on 40 myself I can see where you're coming from. However, I disagree with the idea that if you grew up playing Pong, you'd somehow be a lot less critical of modern games. Critique always happens in context and games released today are judged by and compared to the games of this generation. Sure, Fallout 4 might be mind-blowing to someone in 1979, but that's not the standard we hold the game to. Because of the technological improvements and maturing of video games as creative platform, our expectations are vastly different now than 35+ years ago.
I think an historical perspective is extremely healthy and would help inform a lot of discussions around here, but I don't think it's fair to wave away the core principle of criticism.
opulent_lemon
Banned
whoa there.. let's not make any crazy assumptions here. Video games aren't that big of a deal. Certainly not even close to being an established medium of art.
Poimandres
Member
Ehhhh maybe if I didn't have access to arcades? Conceptually it was pretty mind blowing, but seeing Daytona USA for the first time was easily my biggest "holy shit!" moment.
Plus, if we are talking about the invention of new genres we'd seen stuff like the invention of FPS games and RTS games a few years earlier.
I'm only 31, so I'm sure people from earlier would have bigger/other moments that I was too young to experience, but I felt like I'd seen a whole lot before SM64 hit the scene.
I don't know if it's a "historic event", but I do consider myself extremely lucky to have been born in a time where I could see the beginnings and rapid evolution of an entirely new artform.
Most people will probably live long enough to see new genres of music or artwork invented, but those were still existing artforms. Games are something entirely different unto themselves.
Most people will probably live long enough to see new genres of music or artwork invented, but those were still existing artforms. Games are something entirely different unto themselves.
Daytona USA was a pretty logical evolution of titles like Virtua Racing, STUN Runner, and Hard Drivin'. Not to say that it wasn't groundbreaking, but something like Mario64 was not only a revolution, but the creation of an entirely new genre. 3D racing had been done in many previous titles, so just seeing it in greater fidelity did not really wow me that much.
MrCunningham
Member
I'm not old enough to have been there from the very start, but I am now 35 and the first game console I have ever been exposed to was the Atari 2600. I grew up with a NES, Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear, SNES, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation, N64, Dreamcast, PS2, 360 and beyond. I also have been lucky enough to have had been exposed to a lot of different micro computers and PC's too, so I had been able to experience that side of the spectrum as well. I feel like I grew up during the evolution of gaming and even got to meet a few of the people who made some of the games that I love, though I have a few regrets that I never really contributed to the game industry yet.
I think Sega took some big steps and risks when they partnered up with Lockheed Martin to bring high end technology to the gaming market with their Model 2 board. I still think Daytona was just as big as a water mark as Mario 64 based on the idea that it created a water mark in the game industry for what everyone else should be shooting for. Mario 64 refined the 3D platformer and showed everyone how a 3D game character should be controlled in 3D space, but they didn't invent the 3D platformer. There were a few others that predated Mario 64. But the game itself is another watershed moment.
Yup, I too survived through the development of Duke Nukem Forever and lived to tell the tale of how disappointment it was. But the question is, will any of us still be alive for the unveiling of Half-Life 3?
I think Sega took some big steps and risks when they partnered up with Lockheed Martin to bring high end technology to the gaming market with their Model 2 board. I still think Daytona was just as big as a water mark as Mario 64 based on the idea that it created a water mark in the game industry for what everyone else should be shooting for. Mario 64 refined the 3D platformer and showed everyone how a 3D game character should be controlled in 3D space, but they didn't invent the 3D platformer. There were a few others that predated Mario 64. But the game itself is another watershed moment.
Yup, I too survived through the development of Duke Nukem Forever and lived to tell the tale of how disappointment it was. But the question is, will any of us still be alive for the unveiling of Half-Life 3?
blame space
Banned
I'm gonna tell my kids one day.. I was there.. I was on NeoGAF.com
Rhazer Fusion
Member
I'm 47 so I've been around the gaming scene since before Atari 2600 was a thing.
One big thing I've noticed about this long-view experience is the perspective it lends in modern-day appreciation for what we have and how far we've come.
When people online so casually drop sentiments that this game or that game is "complete shit" (Fallout 4, iOS, etc.), I just shake my head and laugh.
When you lived in an age where Superman (2600) was legitimately mind-blowing, it's hard to take a gaming community's ruthless criticism and cynicism seriously.
Sure, there are still bad games being made, like the recent Homefront. I'm not blind.
But the shit people give genuinely good/great titles is a compete joke if you've been around long enough to have been completely entertained by two white rectangles paddling a white square back and forth across a black screen.
Exactly. Exactly. I agree so much with this post. That is why I am more lenient on games than most people. When you grew up on some of the games from NES like Hydlide and some of the later Atari systems, it's hard to criticize something like Street Fighter, Battlefield, FallOut and Assassin's Creed. Oh, the writing, acting and story are horrible!!! Really? Games used to not have acting, voices, music, storytelling and barely any text. Kids have no idea how good they have it today.
Poimandres
Member
Daytona was the one that seared my mind visually because it was such a huge leap!
But if you were cognisant in the early 90's, you'd seen a bunch of new genres invented in rapid succession before you got to SM64. That and regional differences making a big impact because stuff like Tomb Raider was already out here before SM64 so the 3D revolution was well underway.
MrCunningham
Member
'96 was the year of 3D...
Resident Evil
Duke Nukem 3D (OK, this one was "fake" 3D)
Quake
Super Mario 64
NiGHTS into Dreams...
Pilotwings 64
Crash Bandicoot
Bubsy 3D (gotta include the Bubster)
Tomb Raider
It was the year when 3D gaming completely overtook 2D gaming and it was mind blowing to be there.
GuitarAtomik
Member
I do sometimes think about how lucky I was to grow up with games all the way from the NES era to VR (and beyond). It's really crazy when you think about it how lucky I (and others) were to be able to be of a generation to experience the history of it. Most kids today won't be able to appreciate the progression the same way we did.
On the other hand though, I think about how lucky kids are today to be able to grow up with VR and how much they'll see in their lifetime lol.
On the other hand though, I think about how lucky kids are today to be able to grow up with VR and how much they'll see in their lifetime lol.
catpurrcat
Member
Heck yes. Console wars threads are SO ridiculous now. Seeing the comments about xbox1 not having some 1080p (oh the horrors of 900p, whatever that is!), or ps4 controller criticism, feels like the FUN factor is lost on some.
Meanwhile im sure people like us look at our flat screen TVs and cloud saves with appreciation for the evolution of this wonderful medium.
Was legit shocked seeing SMB1, turtles arcade (including the NES port), street fighter 2, mario 64, ps1 sports and wipeout xl, dvd movies from the vhs tapes/cart games, now these all-in-one HDMI consoles with streaming. Its awesome!
History being made for sure. Incremental upgrades for consoles is certainly not something desired, but hey, it works for so many devices now (obvious cellphones, but also routers, cameras, TVs), cant fault them for trying.
Iztok Mravlja
Banned
This was it for me, too, along with Quake (same year, I think)? Just the way technology can suddenly create these immersive experiences.
I get that this is about videogames emerging as a whole, but to me SM64 and Quake really made me realize this stuff is going to be important.
eyeball_kid
Member
Being around when arcades first blew up, when Space Invaders, Missile Command, Donkey Kong, and Pac-Man Fever was raging, is probably more historical to me than seeing the parade of home consoles go by. That feeling of going to the local arcade and being around all these kids and adults like yourself who were amazed by videogames. That feeling of amazement is I guess at the heart of it, and of experiencing something completely groundbreaking. I don't think many people feel amazed by games anymore. It's rare when a game can do that.
I don't mean this in a backhanded way, I mean this genuinely, but I feel bad for people who didn't get to experience arcades in their prime. Crowding around the one guy who could finish Donkey Kong on a quarter, playing against random people in SF2 or doing 4-player co-op in Gauntlet or TMNT. Most people were cool to each other because there was no anonymity to hide behind. There was a sense of community in arcades that I guess we try to recreate here on GAF.
I get what you're saying, but gamers were as critical back then as they are now. The only difference is that back then the shit-talking was limited to your circle of friends, and now strangers want to give you their opinion. Though I will agree that I don't remember anywhere near as much complaining back then. Perhaps it's just because we're exposed to much more volume of it.
I think in the last generation we experienced some dark times where graphics were king, but the philosophy that gameplay is as (if not more) important has been making a big resurgence in the indie scene, which is bleeding over into AAA titles as well. I mean we've got games like Nidhogg which has a very 2600 aesthetic to it being decent successes now.
p.s. I just found out that Superman (which was always one of my favorite 2600 games) was made from the prototype for Adventure. Which is weird because Superman seemed like a much more modern game at the time than Adventure.
I don't mean this in a backhanded way, I mean this genuinely, but I feel bad for people who didn't get to experience arcades in their prime. Crowding around the one guy who could finish Donkey Kong on a quarter, playing against random people in SF2 or doing 4-player co-op in Gauntlet or TMNT. Most people were cool to each other because there was no anonymity to hide behind. There was a sense of community in arcades that I guess we try to recreate here on GAF.
I'm 47 so I've been around the gaming scene since before Atari 2600 was a thing.
One big thing I've noticed about this long-view experience is the perspective it lends in modern-day appreciation for what we have and how far we've come.
When people online so casually drop sentiments that this game or that game is "complete shit" (Fallout 4, iOS, etc.), I just shake my head and laugh.
When you lived in an age where Superman (2600) was legitimately mind-blowing, it's hard to take a gaming community's ruthless criticism and cynicism seriously.
Sure, there are still bad games being made, like the recent Homefront. I'm not blind.
But the shit people give genuinely good/great titles is a compete joke if you've been around long enough to have been completely entertained by two white rectangles paddling a white square back and forth across a black screen.
I get what you're saying, but gamers were as critical back then as they are now. The only difference is that back then the shit-talking was limited to your circle of friends, and now strangers want to give you their opinion. Though I will agree that I don't remember anywhere near as much complaining back then. Perhaps it's just because we're exposed to much more volume of it.
I think in the last generation we experienced some dark times where graphics were king, but the philosophy that gameplay is as (if not more) important has been making a big resurgence in the indie scene, which is bleeding over into AAA titles as well. I mean we've got games like Nidhogg which has a very 2600 aesthetic to it being decent successes now.
p.s. I just found out that Superman (which was always one of my favorite 2600 games) was made from the prototype for Adventure. Which is weird because Superman seemed like a much more modern game at the time than Adventure.
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