finalark
SNORLAX
Link to original post: [drupal=3590]Retro Gamers and why they need to get over it[/drupal]
So as most of us know, there are many types of gamers who lurk about the net. The fanboys of any of the big three, Modern FPS lovers, JRPG-haters, the list goes on. But the particular Persona I'd like to ***** about right now would be that of the retro elitist, a particularly nasty version of the Retro Gamer.
So let's get one thing straight, I have nothing wrong with old games. Many of my favorite games are from years and years ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth and graphics were laughably poor compared to today. With that out of the way, I would like to tell you a simple truth: video games age terribly, as in, probably the worst out of any other medium. Yes, there are old games that do still look surprisingly good or actually feel really good on the eyes but for the most part, the graphics on older games look pretty bad in retrospect. Take the first Crash Bandicoot, that game may have looked alright back then but these days it just looks crude and ugly. Or how about the first Mortal Combat? That game looks strange and kind of ugly these days (and I'm not just talking about the Genesis version). Or how about a more recent game? Shadow of the Colossus is only five years old but still doesn't look nearly as good as it did back in 2005.
Now, you may be ready to argue that graphics aren't everything and that's it's the game play that matters. Well, old games don't age well in that category either. Many old games are missing several key elements from modern games that make them better. First of all, not being able to save your game freaking sucks. Yes, I know that many games allowed you to but this wasn't the case for most of them. And yes, while many games did have passwords writing down pages of these things was really annoying. But wait, it's nostalgic so that must mean that it's instantly better than just choosing "load game" and being done with it. Or how about the insane difficulty of many older games? Do you realize that most of the time games were hard for bull**** reasons? Like how in old RPGs they made the game "challenging" by keeping key information from you or never even hinting to where you're supposed to go next. Or in some platforming poor jumping physics made platforming more difficult than it needed to be. Or how in many cases the only reason why you'd die is because a bunch of enemies came out of nowhere and killed you and if you wanted to get past it then you better have it all memorized. Do you really think that this was a good thing? Do you really want games to be so difficult to the point where only the most devoted of gamers can finish them? And those two things are just the tip of the iceberg, I'd go farther but I won't in hopes of avoiding "lol tl;dr."
Games are in fact, better these days. I don't care what you remember, I don't care how nostalgic it is, games are better now. Hell, many excellent games would only be half the games they are today if they were made back then. These days games can tell better stories (do you really want a majority of the plot to be restricted to the manual?), be more artistic (can you imagine the previously mentioned Shadow the Colossus in 16-bit?), and just be better (can you even imagine how many game play elements just wouldn't work in the old days?). Despite all of this, nostalgia will tell you otherwise. In the words of the American Politician George Ball, "Nostalgia is a seductive liar." Games are not as good as you remember them, you don't want to know how many games I went back and played only to realize that they are nowhere near as good as I remember them.
I don't care what you remember, the truth of the mater is that games then are not as good as you remember them. If you're one of those people who are convinced that games were actually better back then, you need to move on. If I never moved on, I would never have discovered all of the great games made these days and would still be playing a Genesis. Old games are not better than modern ones, open your eyes and realize that.
tl;dr: What's wrong with you? Stop being so lazy and go and read the whole thing. It will take you around maybe five minuets if you're slow.
So as most of us know, there are many types of gamers who lurk about the net. The fanboys of any of the big three, Modern FPS lovers, JRPG-haters, the list goes on. But the particular Persona I'd like to ***** about right now would be that of the retro elitist, a particularly nasty version of the Retro Gamer.
So let's get one thing straight, I have nothing wrong with old games. Many of my favorite games are from years and years ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth and graphics were laughably poor compared to today. With that out of the way, I would like to tell you a simple truth: video games age terribly, as in, probably the worst out of any other medium. Yes, there are old games that do still look surprisingly good or actually feel really good on the eyes but for the most part, the graphics on older games look pretty bad in retrospect. Take the first Crash Bandicoot, that game may have looked alright back then but these days it just looks crude and ugly. Or how about the first Mortal Combat? That game looks strange and kind of ugly these days (and I'm not just talking about the Genesis version). Or how about a more recent game? Shadow of the Colossus is only five years old but still doesn't look nearly as good as it did back in 2005.
Now, you may be ready to argue that graphics aren't everything and that's it's the game play that matters. Well, old games don't age well in that category either. Many old games are missing several key elements from modern games that make them better. First of all, not being able to save your game freaking sucks. Yes, I know that many games allowed you to but this wasn't the case for most of them. And yes, while many games did have passwords writing down pages of these things was really annoying. But wait, it's nostalgic so that must mean that it's instantly better than just choosing "load game" and being done with it. Or how about the insane difficulty of many older games? Do you realize that most of the time games were hard for bull**** reasons? Like how in old RPGs they made the game "challenging" by keeping key information from you or never even hinting to where you're supposed to go next. Or in some platforming poor jumping physics made platforming more difficult than it needed to be. Or how in many cases the only reason why you'd die is because a bunch of enemies came out of nowhere and killed you and if you wanted to get past it then you better have it all memorized. Do you really think that this was a good thing? Do you really want games to be so difficult to the point where only the most devoted of gamers can finish them? And those two things are just the tip of the iceberg, I'd go farther but I won't in hopes of avoiding "lol tl;dr."
Games are in fact, better these days. I don't care what you remember, I don't care how nostalgic it is, games are better now. Hell, many excellent games would only be half the games they are today if they were made back then. These days games can tell better stories (do you really want a majority of the plot to be restricted to the manual?), be more artistic (can you imagine the previously mentioned Shadow the Colossus in 16-bit?), and just be better (can you even imagine how many game play elements just wouldn't work in the old days?). Despite all of this, nostalgia will tell you otherwise. In the words of the American Politician George Ball, "Nostalgia is a seductive liar." Games are not as good as you remember them, you don't want to know how many games I went back and played only to realize that they are nowhere near as good as I remember them.
I don't care what you remember, the truth of the mater is that games then are not as good as you remember them. If you're one of those people who are convinced that games were actually better back then, you need to move on. If I never moved on, I would never have discovered all of the great games made these days and would still be playing a Genesis. Old games are not better than modern ones, open your eyes and realize that.
tl;dr: What's wrong with you? Stop being so lazy and go and read the whole thing. It will take you around maybe five minuets if you're slow.
