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[BocoDragon]

I knew better... I grew up playing Oregon Trail

Actually, there's a 20 year old on my Facebook who says she grew up playing Oregon Trail on an Apple II too, and I was thinking.. Really? Apple IIs were old when I was in elementary school they must have sat around in classes for a loooong time. Probably still there, too, lol.

 

[subversus]

What new gamers will never feel (I think) is that sense of awe when the game does something which HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE (well, until technologies change everything drastically). Like you were playing Alley Cat and Livinigstone for a few years and then WOW, Wolf3d releases. You can walk not only left or right but forward too! You can talk to the characters in Space Quest. There are real actors in Phantasmagoria. You can go everywhere in GTA. The Prince moves like a real human in Prince of Persia. You can destroy everything in Red Faction. And so on.

 

[GillianSeed79]

I'm 32 and started gaming with the 2600. For me back then games seemed more like toys, albeit electronic ones. Even back in the day I think we realized the games then were kind of primitive, unless you were talking about the likes of Galaga in the local pizza joint. I definately spent more time outside playing war or catch than videogames back then.

I do remember being shocked when I found out my mother didn't have a television growing up. Of course, I grew up when TV's still had knobs on them and there were no remote controls or MTV. Then again, I'm sure my nieces and nephews will be shocked that I didn't have internet access until I was a freshman in college.

My only complaint is that some kids and young adults don't really appreciate how far the medium, at least presentation-wise, has come in the last 30 years. If someone showed me even the shittiest game released today 27 odd years ago my mind would have been blown. Enjoy this stuff young people. Games as they exist now are light years ahead of what I was playing as a youth. I'm sure you'll feel the same way when they invent the holodeck in 20 years and SMB64 looks like a cave painting in comparison.

 

[Cookychan]

I'm 13 and have played games on Atari, NES, SNES, N64, GCN, GB, GBC, GBA, Game Gear. I do feel like gaming has existed a long time before I came around. *cough*MagnavoxOdysseyScreenOverlays*cough*

>looks at friends who play nothing but CoD and have jumped on the Skyrim band-wagon. (Eugh.)

(EDIT) Oh. And I'm also trying to collect a Virtual Boy (stupid of me?).

 

[Night_Trekker]

The idea that children are growing up on Call of Duty is profoundly depressing to me.

No. They think all the games that came before this console generation are horrible and boring and marvel that anyone could ever be excited to play such shitty games.

To be fair, most NeoGAF gamers believe games from previous generations are "unplayable."

What new gamers will never feel (I think) is that sense of awe when the game does something which HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE (well, until technologies change everything drastically). Like you were playing Alley Cat and Livinigstone for a few years and then WOW, Wolf3d releases. You can walk not only left or right but forward too! You can talk to the characters in Space Quest. There are real actors in Phantasmagoria. You can go everywhere in GTA. The Prince moves like a real human in Prince of Persia. You can destroy everything in Red Faction. And so on.

I think that's still possible, that total "mindfuck" feeling you get when you experience something totally new or mind-bending, but it's going to be rare. Off the top of my head, Portal and Crush, when I saw gameplay demonstrated, did that for me.

I'm 13 and have played games on Atari, NES, SNES, N64, GCN, GB, GBC, GBA, Game Gear. I do feel like gaming has existed a long time before I came around. *cough*MagnavoxOdysseyScreenOverlays*cough*

>looks at friends who play nothing but CoD and have jumped on the Skyrim band-wagon. (Eugh.)

(EDIT) Oh. And I'm also trying to collect a Virtual Boy (stupid of me?).

Son, Skyrim is the shit. (Aside from the bugs, lolz.)

Your edit has gained my respect. That's pretty hardcore.

 

[BocoDragon]

What new gamers will never feel (I think) is that sense of awe when the game does something which HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE (well, until technologies change everything drastically). Like you were playing Alley Cat and Livinigstone for a few years and then WOW, Wolf3d releases. You can walk not only left or right but forward too! You can talk to the characters in Space Quest. There are real actors in Phantasmagoria. You can go everywhere in GTA. You can destroy everything in Red Faction. And so on.

I just cannot believe where gaming started when I was young, and where it is now. Generations of technology came and went. And I'm hardly "old" old now. I'm young enough that many adults still treat me like a kid what will games be when I'm 50 or 80?

 

[Myriadis]

No. They think all the games that came before this console generation are horrible and boring and marvel that anyone could ever be excited to play such shitty games.

Thanks for your generalization. My first console was a N64 and I still bought a SNES, played through several NES games (like Zelda I, SMB 1 and 3, Metroid), played Centipede, Missile Command and other arcade games (not on a cabinet, I wish I could find even one) and some games for the C64.

 

[AngelSoldier]

To be fair, most NeoGAF gamers believe games from previous generations are "unplayable."

Meh, the majority of my favorite games are actually from the SNES and PSX era. Not to mention the plethora of gems on the PS2 !

... And old PC games ... Oh baby. <3

 

[Zissou]

Actually, there's a 20 year old on my Facebook who says she grew up playing Oregon Trail on an Apple II too, and I was thinking.. Really? Apple IIs were old when I was in elementary school they must have sat around in classes for a loooong time. Probably still there, too, lol.

Some school districts are lacking in funding . I'm 27 and I don't think it was exactly new in my elementary school- at least by my later years there. Gave you a good understanding of the past though, as a kid. Your last wagon axle breaks and everyone in your party (named after your friends, of course) succumb one by one to disease and starvation as you wait for a trader to stumble upon your party before it's too late.

Spoiler

THEY NEVER COME IN TIME O_O

Great game.

 

[Cookychan]

A lot of GAF members think older generation games are unplayable? Hrmm. I'd say some have aged as horribly as Michael Jackson's face and some are jackshit, but some still hook me in every time.

And yes, I was referencing the bugs in Skyrim with the (eugh), haha.

 

[Jive Turkey]

I knew better... I grew up playing Oregon Trail

I played the pen and paper version.

I love how this thread has become an old fart pissing contest.

 

[I'm an expert]

I wonder more how teens nowadays take for granted having shit like instant communication or internet in their pockets with smartphones or tablets. My first cell was the size of a remote control.. I also wonder how by the time my son is a teen how much of his life will be "instant" as well.

 

[BocoDragon]

Some school districts are lacking in funding . I'm 27 and I don't think it was exactly new in my elementary school- at least by my later years there. Gave you a good understanding of the past though, as a kid. Your last wagon axle breaks and everyone in your party (named after your friends, of course) succumb one by one to disease and starvation as you wait for a trader to stumble upon your party before it's too late.

Spoiler

THEY NEVER COME IN TIME O_O

Great game.

I'm 27 too. Apple IIs would have been ancient when we were in grade 1

 

[Night_Trekker]

A lot of GAF members think older generation games are unplayable? Hrmm. I'd say some have aged horribly and some are jackshit, but some still hook me in every time.

Well that's the thing: games don't change. Peoples' expectations do. Any game that was worthwhile years ago can still be worthwhile and enjoyable, as long as you have your expectations in check.

I mean, yeah, Metroid 1 is pretty janky, but I can still get sucked into it easily. There are people who can't, and I feel sorry for those people.

 

[Zissou]

I played the pen and paper version.

I love how this thread has become an old fart pissing contest.

You might be joking, but I really hope that exists!

 

[Jive Turkey]

You might be joking, but I really hope that exists!

100% serious and it's 100% badass.

I lost my best friend do dysentery.

 

[brokenbeans]

C64.

This is where it all started for me, good times.

Yeah I guess thinking back even then I thought gaming had been around for years and years.

 

[Cookychan]

Well that's the thing: games don't change. Peoples' expectations do. Any game that was worthwhile years ago can still be worthwhile and enjoyable, as long as you have your expectations in check.

I mean, yeah, Metroid 1 is pretty janky, but I can still get sucked into it easily. There are people who can't, and I feel sorry for those people.

Metroid 1 on my 3DS with circle pad controls is an infinite improvement IMO, Zelda I and II however, oh God no.

 

[Emitan]

Born in 1991. First systems were a Game Gear and then an N64. I'm well aware gaming didn't always exist. I just have no idea what I would have been doing with myself. Reading I guess

 

[Valnen]

26 and I've been gaming as long as I have memory. Started on the NES.

It does feel nice to have seen the progression games have made first hand. It'd feel different if I started on 3D games.

 

[TAJ]

To be fair, most NeoGAF gamers believe games from previous generations are "unplayable."

I started gaming about 32 years ago, and I partially agree.

I loved the first and second console generations at the time, but I consider them unplayable now. Arcade games from that era still hold up, though.
I always thought that the fifth console generation was garbage.
Everything else is still fun, but the convergence board on my HD CRT blew recently, so I'm reluctant to play older games lately. They really need an older TV.

 

[BocoDragon]

Born in 1991. First systems were a Game Gear and then an N64. I'm well aware gaming didn't always exist. I just have no idea what I would have been doing with myself. Reading I guess

I was just thinking about how 1991 was only 7 years after I was born. Not really a distant generation. But by then, I think you would have had a well established older generation of gamers who were harping on the youngers about how they hadn't "seen it all". In some sense, I wonder if the 90s generation experienced the opposite effect of ignorance.... they knew far too well that gaming hadn't been around forever, being reminded about it constantly in every discussion of Nintendo, Square, Sega, etc.

 

[conman]

I'm 36 and started with Pong, the Atari 2600, and the TI-99 (and arcades, of course). I'm proud of the fact that my younger brother and sister (10 and 12 years younger than I am) got hooked on NES and SNES thanks to me. Because of that, I know that they don't really take games for granted. My sister still plays old SNES and N64 games for her fix.

As for those who are now under 13 and playing games, I couldn't even begin to imagine what they think. But they also don't know a world prior to the internet, so there are some bigger cognitive issues at play.

 

[Emitan]

But they also don't know a world prior to the internet, so there are some bigger cognitive issues at play.

Oh my gosh. They don't. Wow.

 

[BocoDragon]

I'm 36 and started with Pong, the Atari 2600, and the TI-99 (and arcades, of course). I'm proud of the fact that my younger brother and sister (10 and 12 years younger than I am) got hooked on NES and SNES thanks to me. Because of that, I know that they don't really take games for granted. My sister still plays old SNES and N64 games for her fix.

As for those who are now under 13 and playing games, I couldn't even begin to imagine what they think. But they also don't know a world prior to the internet, so there are some bigger cognitive issues at play.

Even though the internet has functionally been around most of my life, the fact that I had 10 years of life before it, means that I can't ever take it for granted. You wouldn't think that a 10 year old's view on the world is developed... but it is. I stand with you in wondering what it's like to think the internet was there forever

 

[AcceptableGhost]

I am in my early 20's and the idea of someone being 10+ years younger then me is actually still kind of terrifying. Though yeah I think that people who are actually -really- get into gaming (not just COD or whatever is the current fad) will explore the older stuff.

 

[Cookychan]

I feel as if I'm the only teen gamer that doesn't jump on the yearly map pac-CoD train. Bah.

 

[BocoDragon]

I am in my early 20's and the idea of someone being 10+ years younger then me is actually still kind of terrifying.

Get used to it I'm 7 years older than you and I feel like I was 20 about 5 minutes ago

 

[StevePharma]

A couple of weeks back I heard two 6-7 year olds talk about Youtube viral videos while riding the train. That freaked me the fuck out.

Witnessing the expansion of cellphones and internet everywhere was amazing. It'll be interesting to see how the new generations are going to cope with communication blackouts in the future. If the Blackberry outage from last year is any indication, we're in for a treat.

/oldmancloud

I feel as if I'm the only teen gamer that doesn't jump on the yearly map pac-CoD train. Bah.

Well you still need to wait about 4 years to play it ;-)

 

[BocoDragon]

A couple of weeks back I heard two 6-7 year olds talk about Youtube viral videos while riding the train. That freaked me the fuck out.

Witnessing the expansion of cellphones and internet everywhere was amazing. It'll be interesting to see how the new generations are going to cope with communication blackouts in the future. If the Blackberry outage from last year is any indication, we're in for a treat.

/oldmancloud

I don't think the old generations will deal with it much better. My mother is 60, has an iPhone, and I think she'd meltdown without texting, etc.

 

[Thoraxes]

I don't think the old generations will deal with it much better. My mother is 60, has an iPhone, and I think she'd meltdown without texting, etc.

I think, while your mother clearly won't, older people in general who lived without home internet for a large chunk of their lives will handle it better.

 

[BocoDragon]

I think, while your mother clearly won't, older people in general who lived without home internet for a large chunk of their lives will handle it better.

Yeah but if you have a smartphone now.. it doesn't matter how old you are. A blackout would hurt, even if you lived for decades without it.

 

[GillianSeed79]

A lot of GAF members think older generation games are unplayable? Hrmm. I'd say some have aged as horribly as Michael Jackson's face and some are jackshit, but some still hook me in every time.

And yes, I was referencing the bugs in Skyrim with the (eugh), haha.

If it makes you feel any better half the magic spells in Final Fantasy 1 for the NES were bugged and didn't work. We just didn't have the internet to tell us how buggy the game was back then.

 

[Gummb]

As long as consoles change and games "improve," some conception of beginning is bound to occur -- whether nostalgia for times better or a refusal to accept old games. Only when videogames remain stagnant and unchanged would any ignorance of past happen, even for kids.

I feel like we're having an argument about the end of history for videogames. lol

[edit] There has been a lot of scholarly writings about the end of history for movies since Lord of the Rings and Avatar "perfected" CG and 3D. Videogames, I imagine, have a long way until any such thing occurs, as the art of interaction has many possibilities.

 

[Cookychan]

I once heard this kid claim X720 would have Avatar graphics.

Aren't "I-just-came-out-of-a-moist-rock" people cute? .___.

 

[Teknoman]

I once heard this kid claim X720 would have Avatar graphics.

Aren't "I-just-came-out-of-a-moist-rock" people cute? .___.

Heh I remember those days. Stuff like kids claiming their uncles worked for Nintendo and let them play Street Fighter IV (in the days Capcom was only making SF II upgrades), and "Hyper Nintendo" being the next new system.

 

[BGBW]

Yeah I'm 20 and I feel that way. The SNES came out before I was born.

I'm only 24 and yet I feel I grew up along side gaming. Then again I got an old Atari as a kid and played the SNES a lot during the PSX/N64 days so I've always been interested in looking back. Or maybe that four year difference is all it takes.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

No. They think all the games that came before this console generation are horrible and boring and marvel that anyone could ever be excited to play such shitty games.

Pretty much this.

The amount of fanwank that Halo gets is astounding. We found out too late at SDCC 2009 that one of our party was a Halo Fangirl. She got physically upset when we would discuss important games other than Halo.

 

[Emitan]

Heh I remember those days. Stuff like kids claiming their uncles worked for Nintendo and let them play Street Fighter IV (in the days Capcom was only making SF II upgrades), and "Hyper Nintendo" being the next new system.

"PS3 will be backwards compatible with the original Xbox"

Someone told me that. And expected me to believe them.

 

[Cookychan]

Heh I remember those days. Stuff like kids claiming their uncles worked for Nintendo and let them play Street Fighter IV (in the days Capcom was only making SF II upgrades), and "Hyper Nintendo" being the next new system.

"My dad works for _______ and he can play *insert jack-shit crazy title here*!"

 

[shaowebb]

There is footage of my wife's baby sister when she was so little she could barely talk. That age when words are all goofed up ya know. Anyhow the video has her naming all the character's in Smash Bros Melee.

"Mah Yo" "Zare dah!" Peekachu! um...Baby Peekachu!"
"And who are these two?" *points at Ice Climbers*
"Um...babies!*giggles*"

She's adorable. She plays a lot of stuff now that she's gotten older. Mario Galaxy, Old School Sonic, Pokemon,Scribblenauts, but mainly Nintendo stuff since she's still pretty young and mainly wants platformers, or collection based games. You can pretty much tell that she's going to be all over her first RPG someday soon given how much she likes fantasy though.

To her games have always been around, but she doesn't dislike older games. She actually prefers them and got broken in on them easier than more realistic games due to the ease of understanding they offer in learning controls. 3D can be confusing to little kids so if you show em 2d when they're young they tend to latch onto it easier and love it more than 3D till they get older.

 

[Rikkun]

Well it just depends on how much you rely on them.

Thinking about it, it feels to me like DVDs have been here forever. But I have LOTS of VHS. I could say the same for CD-Roms, or even MP3s. But there are things I find to be pretty new, like Microsoft having a home console (even if it's been around for 11 years now), or smartphones, or motion controls, or online gaming.

But I'm 22, 23 in a month, and I clearly remember playing Sonic the Hedgehog all day, or using MS-DOS to play Blues Brothers on my father's Compaq, or feeling cool because I had a Sony Walkman, or that sad feeling when my VCR ate The Lion King.

 

[Cookychan]

I was a toddler in the middle of VHS > DVD > BluRay transition, and kinda near Dial Up > Broadband.

Only tech change I've witnessed, at least I guess.

 

[Gregorn]

I'm only 18 so I was born in the SNES days, but I can easily imagine that there was a world before video games. I can't however imagine a world without Google, I have no idea how I or anyone else lived.

 

[Emitan]

I'm only 18 so I was born in the SNES days, but I can easily imagine that there was a world before video games. I can't however imagine a world without Google, I have no idea how I or anyone else lived.

Alta Vista

 

[squidyj]

I'm actually more curious to see how opinions on specifc games themselves and trends in gaming correlate to age.

 

[subversus]

I'm only 18 so I was born in the SNES days, but I can easily imagine that there was a world before video games. I can't however imagine a world without Google, I have no idea how I or anyone else lived.

It's all about libraries and hooking up with right people. Good for health and social life.

 

[Night_Trekker]

[edit] There has been a lot of scholarly writings about the end of history for movies since Lord of the Rings and Avatar "perfected" CG and 3D. Videogames, I imagine, have a long way until any such thing occurs, as the art of interaction has many possibilities.

This is one of the funniest things I've read in a while.

 

[Zythrone]

I'm 20...

I grew up playing video games... I always knew there was a time where they didn't exist, I just had no idea what they did...

Played with sticks?

 

[Dynoro]

I'm 31 and have been around gaming as long as I can remember - even going back to BBC Micro/TRS80 days and playing games in 4 colours. So the younger generation will probably feel the same way.