Do videogames age?

[Sinful]

What blackoak said is basically the reason why videogames don't age. Games back then let you imagination roam free. Someting I don't see nearly as much today. Reading a Book VS watchinng a movie. ... Do I have to add "literally?"

Graphics wise, I think graphics where good enough from 8-Bit era and up to last a lifetime. And sure, sometimes I noticed in the past I wasn't always in the mood for 8-Bit graphics, even though that's the era I started with, for some strange reason? ie. Going from Metroid Zero to original NES Metroid on the same cart.

And in that same Metroid example I also thought the gameplay was too primitive. Yet as soon as I finally got into it (ie. past the 5 min mark, which took a few tries), it easily blew the remake out of the water gameplay wise too. So 8-Bit gameplay ain't too primitive either.


Heck, I prefer the artstyle of older games too. And not just in games. But guess artwork has to be more simple cause it makes it much eaiser for the many artists required to work on games today to sync up. Same reason as to why the Batman TAS went from very complex to very simple. Cause buddy could tell which studio handled the animations just by looking at the artwork. So yeah, another reason for older games/cartoons aging like fine vine.


One other problem I'm noticing is that some people won't play or watch anything that's even a year old. Yes, this dense are some people being raised these days. We're screwed I tell you! As these are also the target audience, lol. (They also always set their games to very easy like a muscle reflex, by the way) So yes, lets not fall into this category too.

[Vexorg]

Yes, I do think games age, but not all age at the same rate. A lot of it depends on how good something was relative to the other games of its time period. For example, these days there's a lot of 16-bit era stuff that one could say looks dated, but even back in its day it was the filler stuff (roughly 5-7 on a 10-point scale) and the out-and-out shovelware (< 5) that looks the most dated. Even some of the good stuff from the 16-bit era is looking a little rough around the edges these days, but still mostly holds up. In terms of the 8-bit era, you have much the same situation, but with a narrower list of the top games that still hold up well. Beyond that (in the 2600/ColecoVision/Intellivision era), by now just about everything looks really old and dated, and the simplistic gameplay of most things from that time doesn't help matters much.

The early 3D era (PS1, Saturn, 3D PC games prior to 3D acceleration, etc) is a bit of an anomaly here too, since it represents something of a step back from the previous generation as reasonably good 2D graphics gave way to what was in many cases really terrible 3D graphics. And yes, there are good games from that era, but a lot of the early 3D stuff was pretty forgettable.

[BobbyNewmarkiii]

Games don't age - gamers do

Games do age, but an open minded gamer can see past any age related deficiencies. Asking a 30-something gamer to experience a game from the perspective of a teenage player is a stretch indeed. I can't enjoy Zelda as much as an adult as I might have as a child.

Zelda sucks!

[Ruldra]

OP's title reminds me of Cranky Kong rambling about the old days

[CMoon]

Games don't age - gamers do

This! And let's be honest, some of my skills aren't what they used to be and I'm not willing to practice the way I once did.

The games aren't changing, we are. I can still enjoy plenty of older games, but personally I'm glad a lot of new developers are taking accessibility into account--trying not to go too casual, but also no love for masochism.

[Skykid]

trying not to go too casual, but also no love for masochism.

Dude, you play fucking dungeon crawlers!

[CMoon]

trying not to go too casual, but also no love for masochism.

Dude, you play fucking dungeon crawlers!

Hahaha...well I suppose some people consider them masochistic, but the skill and patience required IMO is less than some of the 8 and 16 bit games. Really depends on the particular game though.

[Sinful]

Hey, I good deungeon crawler rules, I just found out (SiTD on Genesis with no maps making & guides).


Anywho, games getting more complex ain't exactly all good. It's why game balance is going on a downslope so fast. The more complex a game is, the harder it is to balance and test properly. And a lot of game dev skill is required also (ie. very few can pull this off well. And even then). So yeah, I think more people need to start looking at the past every now and then for reference to this, at least.

A lot of folks look back at the 8-Bit NES era and see very primative gamerplay. I see gameplay in it's purest form with very tight gameplay. Yeah, you can't whip in every direction is Castlevania, but the game is so much better for it, can't you see?

[quash]

What I want to know is why no-one plays ST! Sacrilege!

Neo-Geo games/bootlegs were cheap enough for arcade owners there to buy. At least, that's the story I've been told. Apparently that had a lot to do with KOF picking up in Mexico and South America, as well.

[CMoon]

Thing is, as a lot of genres have evolved, they've often eliminated the most annoying aspects. I'll pick on dungeon crawlers since Skykid pigeon holed my true love. Wizardry 1-7 had no mapping system, but Wizardry Gold (just a repackaging of Wiz7) included an auto-map. Someone could argue that such a feature marked a dumbing down of dungeon crawlers. I mean, true hard core dungeon crawlers should be using pen and paper for the whole thing, right? Well I assume most of you are with me that including a map is a great idea. I think there are a lot of cases like this where more modern iterations of genres have included features which ease the frustration factor on players, but subsequently make it harder to go back and enjoy older entries.

The question however is at what point this changes from improvement to dumbing down. Personally I think a lot of older games have pretty masochistic check point systems, yet eliminating the check point system is saying that mastering any particular stretch is irrelevant to your enjoyment of the game. Although the Souls games to me feel very modern, they have no issue implementing a harsh check-point system (you have to one-life the level and the boss.)

I'm still not 100% sure on Shin Megami Tensei 4, and am of the attitude that it might be--if only slightly--too casualized. The big thing is the 'save anywhere' feature, undermining the entire tension of the dungeon crawling experience. And I'm afraid now that it is there, we'll never see it go away. On the other hand, I love the new fusion system, and while it is a lot easier to become powerful, I ultimately spent more time with fusion than in other SMT titles. I don't think this will make it hard for me to go back to earlier entries, but I've definitely been spoiled.

I know this is just rambling, but the whole question of whether games age or not boils down to your tolerance of older features (or lack thereof). For some people, Toaplan's 'lose all power-ups upon death' is just too much of a headache, and they'll say these games have aged. In reality though, they just don't have the patience for this sort of punishment anymore.

[BulletMagnet]

The question however is at what point this changes from improvement to dumbing down.

A fairly simple solution to many such issues is simply to make the "new" additions and tweaks optional or otherwise adjustable; to stick to the auto-map thing, the last two (maybe more, I haven't played 'em) Etrian Odyssey games allow players to enable or disable auto-mapping to varying degrees. Moreover, the most recent one even includes a separate mode with a more straightforward story and fixed characters to ease "modern" RPG players into older-style dungeon crawling, alongside the usual difficulty select and a handful of other things.

[Mortificator]

Wizardry 1-7 had no mapping system, but Wizardry Gold (just a repackaging of Wiz7) included an auto-map. Someone could argue that such a feature marked a dumbing down of dungeon crawlers. I mean, true hard core dungeon crawlers should be using pen and paper for the whole thing, right? Well I assume most of you are with me that including a map is a great idea.

I am! You probably also know that the compilations of Wizardry 1-5 for PS1 include an automap as well. Like I've said before, though, I think those games are just utter shitpiles. Automating the mapping process doesn't significantly improve them.

I think there are a lot of cases like this where more modern iterations of genres have included features which ease the frustration factor on players, but subsequently make it harder to go back and enjoy older entries.

I notice that in old RPGs, but not often in action games. In Mega Man, yeah, it'd be nice to have a couple of shoulder buttons to switch weapons without opening the menu. In Castlevania, I don't feel anything's lacking.