What a cool thread! Ten pages of essentially troll food. I am not sure what overgeneralizations are even being contested at this point. So here are a few of mine:
NerdRage over Games-Suck is not age specific.
The First Star Wars Movie (Episode 4) was epic because it did a lot of cool stuff for the first time. It did a lot of old stuff in a crappy way too. It was the Beatles of Epic Sci-Fi and special effects. Not too much new or original, but had a really catchy hook. ESB is actually my favorite because it had a little less flash and a little more character. I think George Lucas' talent lies in marketing and not in story telling.
And yep, I bought into his hype when I was ten -- hook, line and sinker. And, years later, I see through his drivel like a smegma-covered glass at a nudie-booth. Yeah, so I am old and jaded. Not only does it mean that a lot of games just suck, but it qualifies me to criticize them more indepth. I have oodles more experience with which to judge and compare.
It's dissappointing that we seem to be selling the same stuff, at a lower quality for a higher price, in shinier wrappers. Like our whole culture seems to be on a sinking treadmill. It's the same nudie booth, it's just that I know those are track marks on her arms and notice her implant scars. Are we going to strive for the stars, ever?
I often say that older people should called younger people immature or kids just because they are younger. I don't see why I would support your argument either. Age is the definitive answer to all these questions. Things would probably be easier.
And as a fact, a lot of games DO suck, and it has nothing to do with Age.
How much WoW could a WoWhater hate, if a WoWhater could hate WoW? As much WoW as a WoWhater would, if a WoWhater could hate WoW.
It seems like the overall point of that article was humor. I'm not sure it was meant to be taken as "this is the truth about your age and the games you play." However, there are some great points made particularly concerning the amount of time an older gamer has compared to his younger counterparts or even the younger version of himself. I remember the enourmous amount of time an EQ raid would take, and even how much time it use to take in vanilla WoW to get a group together and then actually travel to the instance. Some people consider that great immersion, which is fine, but I just don't want to waste my precious gaming time traveling 35mins to actually start an instance. I wasn't crazy about it when I was 20, less so now.
I think the Star Wars comments have been covered. Carry on.
"Games Don't Suck. You're Just Too Old For Them." -Jimmy_S.
I couldn't pass this up...
We enter the MMOG world with eyes wide shut. It is a place of fantasy, dreams, and excitement. Some, like my friend, went from FPS to RPG at the age of 28. I introduced him to RPG just before WoW released with a game called Asheron's Call. He has never turned back to FPS since.
Games can and do suck, OP.
There are some good games out there, better games out there, and worse games out there.
(I am going to shamelessy steal your discussion and create my own.)
You know why the original Star War Trilogy was so much better than the prequels? It's because you were 10 years old and everything is fucking awesome when you're 10 years old.
You've been there. You've done hat. And now you're no longer in the demographic that the game industry caters to. You aren't a surburban white boy between the ages of 14 and 25. It's not the games, it's you.
I've been trying to get this across for years, but it always falls on deaf ears. So here it is one more time. The games are the same brainless fun that they've always been. You've just gotten to old and jaded to participate.
It's not that I am too old......but when I WAS part of the "target demographic" games were targeting.....they weren't quite so "brainless".
Think about that for a minute. MMORPGs used to be targeted at pen and paper RPG players. There was a steep learning curve, insane amounts of non-linear content, no concept of an "end game", complex systems (such as AO's implants) and a focus on a living, breathing world.
Now they are targeted at console 3rd person shooter players. Any complex systems have been removed completely because the target audience can't be bothered to read anything, much less figure out how to accomplish something without a big flashing sign or dotted line to follow. Focus is almost entirely on combat, to the point where people ACTUALLY complain if there is a story, or a crafting system.
And what's worse is that the corporations developing these games don't seem to realise that their target audience....this "lowest common denominator", has so little attention span that in targeting them for a subscription based product they are shooting themselves in the foot.
The game is released, these droolers rush to max level, complain there is nothing to do, and LEAVE. And then we have ANOTHER f2p game limping along until they finally pull the plug.
So no.....it's not me. It's not my age. It's corporate exploitation of the american "cash cow".....bringing the MMORPG industry to the brainless american "consumer herd" and tailoring it to appeal to them, in order to make a quick buck.....while leaving us old MMORPG gamers looking on in horror as we are left in the cold with nothing but indie games to place our hope in.
I disagree partially both with the OP and that Cracked article. I started my videogaming path playing Atari arcades at age 3 (Moon Patrol, Pacman, etc.).
Games have evolved a lot since the days of Pong. As graphics evolve, the cost of producing the graphics that the amount of content requires increases.
I remember that one of the games I loved the most was Xenogears, for the PSX. It had a very deep plot, mechas, giant ships, martial arts, etc. When Xenosaga, by the same team, was announced, I bought the game, but the game was only like... 20 hours of gameplay against the 90 or so of Xenogears. Why? Because now all characters had full 3D models, and the locatons, NPCs, enemies became way more detailed. In Xenogears most of the graphics were sprites, most of the 3d models and locations were very low poly, and most of the textures were low res.
In the current generation of games, graphics have gone insane. Gears of War 2, Soul Calibur 4, etc. They look almost like movies. With normal mapping, shaders, etc. the cost of creating a single character model have gone to the roof. Companies spend millions in graphic content alone, favoring shorter plots and artificial ways to make the games feel less empty, like 'achievements', unrelated subplots, etc. In the other hand, Flash / browser games have gained a lot of push, some of them like Realm of the Mad God, Steambirds, Angry Birds, offer lots of fun to people of any age with very little graphic requirements.
In conclusion. AAA Games in this generation focus a lot in ultra realistic graphics, but this sometimes dictates shorter plots and hollower gameplays than of older games who didn't needed such levels of detail.
Having been an enthusiastic gamer for the last 25 years, I've played a lot of games, both online and offline. That has lead to the situation where I have certain expectations of games in specific genres.
What is a "good" game ? It's a game that YOU enjoy playing. Thousands may disagree with you, but that does not change the fact that YOU enjoy that particular game.
Personally, I don't feel that "games are crap" now that I'm older. There are still good ones and bad ones. I don't feel that there are fewer "good" games being made nowadays than 10 years ago.
The one thing that has certainly changed, is the AMOUNT of games that are available now, as opposed to 10 years ago. Perhaps the sheer volume is causing a drop in quality in general, because it's much easier to produce a game than it is to produce a GREAT game...
Another factor that is bound to affect the perceived quality of games is the huge increase in the amount of people playing games nowadys, as opposed to 10/15 years ago. Developers know the market is bigger, so they perhaps target a wider audience. That can lead to a "dumbing-down" of game mechanics, as certain so-called hardcore features are dropped from game design to give the product more mass appeal.
Wow what a funny post, So age explains why people dont like games that think for them, point them where to go, automate half the experience, dig for money at every turn, turn mindless action into core game mechanics, etc etc. If wanting games that require me to actually think, read, plan and execute packaged in the form of a game, makes me old then im ANCIENT! lol.
Yes your right, most games today are designed for kids with A.D.D. I will not argue there.
So how i'm having a blast playing Minecraft when i'm 49yo?
For the same reason I love Monday Night Combat: It's unique.
There is no other game on the market that you can compare Minecraft to. Going all the way back through my memory, which stretches all the way to the Atari 2600, I can't think of any previous game that is like Minecraft. You like it because it's new and it's good.
But how thrilled are you going to be five years from now with another Minecraft clone? There's already two Minecraft inspired games out there that I'm aware of. It won't be long before the AAA developers get the bug and start working on there own Minecraft cash cow to milk. I wouldn't be surprised if some big publisher like EA was already looking into it.
The bottom line is that most games that are released are competent representations of their genre. You've just been playing for so long that you want something more than a standard, functional, <insert game type>. In the case of a game that hits all the bullet points for its genre, the problem is less about the game and more about the player's expectations.
4) There have always been game critics. And genres get stale over time and the critics complain about it. But then there are sporadic revolutions in gaming that take one genre or another (or hybrids) to new heights. FPS games for instance (once called Doom clones) had been stale for many years, but had been reinvigorated by Halo 3/Cod4, and probably now reentering a stale phase again.
As an older gamer I was around during the great gaming crash of the late 1980's when people thought gaming had run it's course (many gaming companies went bankrupt including Activision). Gaming has only gotten bigger and broader demographics. I am today in my 40's and probably log more hours gaming than I ever have. Definately more than when I was in my 20's. Older gamers like myself don't go out partying as much anymore because we have kids in the house. Instead we settle down for some gaming when the kids go to bed...
This is pretty much what I'm getting at.
The majority of games are not bad; just average. But those of us who have been around for awhile see those average games as "brainless," "dumbed down," "eye candy," etc., and so on. We've been here long enough that we're looking for something new and/or exceptional rather than something competently made. And many of us don't bother considering the cycle that you discussed in point four.
As for the demographics widening. . .
I think that the industry has actually split into catering for two seperate demographics. On the side this forum is on, as well as the bulk of the mainstream gaming market, you have the traditional 14 to 25 white male demographic. On the other side, you have the 40+ cell phone and Facebook market. There's room for both audiences in this hobby. But if you're standing in a teen club, you have no right to complain that there's no beer on tap.
You know why the original Star War Trilogy was so much better than the prequels? It's because you were 10 years old and everything is fucking awesome when you're 10 years old.
You've been there. You've done hat. And now you're no longer in the demographic that the game industry caters to. You aren't a surburban white boy between the ages of 14 and 25. It's not the games, it's you.
I've been trying to get this across for years, but it always falls on deaf ears. So here it is one more time. The games are the same brainless fun that they've always been. You've just gotten to old and jaded to participate.
wooot Im 34 and still having fun with most games, do that mean I have a 10 years old kid mind? Wooot awesome!, Thansk a lot I feel like a child again
There is a lot of 76'ers out here, experience trumps youth.
The average game player is 37 years old and has been playing games for 12 years.
The average age of the most frequent game purchaser is 41 years old.
In my opinion, i disagree with you. I miss the games of yesteryear because they were DEEP, had DEPTH, and a story.
Great graphics weren't available then, so gamers had to get sucked into the STORY and GAMEPLAY, not the awesome graphics and OMGSHINY GIMMEGIMMEGIMME's simple gameplay of today.
Games then had storyline twists, up's and down's in the emotions of the games, made you WANT to play to see how it all ended, and the fights/puzzles/whatever were the entertainment along the way.
My two cents.
Let's play a game.
First, go to Metacritic and look at the top five games across the PC, XBox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii. Or just pick the top one from each platform. Let's break this down with the number one game from each plaform:
Xbox 360 = Deus Ex: Human Revolution
PC = Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Playstation 3 = Limbo
Wii = Bit. Trip Complete
Wow, looks like PS3 and Wii owners are kind of artsy and esoteric....
... But let's continue.
Go check out the Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailer at Gametrailers. Now ask yourself: Who is his trailer made for? Who is the target audience for this ad? Rinse and repeat for any high profile title.
I'm not saying that there are no games made for an older demographic. Or that there are standout games that break with genre conventions. What I'm saying is That, by and large, the game industry is geared toward selling content for boys in thier parent's basement. Sure, we get an occassional Sword of The Stars 2 or E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy. But those games are NOT the bread and butter of the games industry.
The complaints about game quality from older gamers has more to do with how genre savvy they are and less to do with the quality of the games in regard to their target audience. You don't like most of the new games out there, because those games were not made for you.
BTW, the reason why the most frequent purchasers of games are aged 41 and over is because most people in that age group have kids. The kids don't make money, so mom and dad have to buy their games. A vast majority of those forty-somethings that are purchasing games, are either not playing them or so casual that they don't even consider themselves gamers.
I'm 30 and I like most of the games listed there. Deus Ex: HR deals with a lot of the issues that are debated by the religious and transhumanists today. I'm sure the subject is lost and thought of as "fantasy" by the younger crowd. Limbo is just a good game. The only thing my Wii is good for is Monster Hunter Tri.
On the subject of the Star Wars movies: Episodes 1-3 lack the level of character development that we saw in Episodes 4-6. Saying that they were childrens movies is nonsense. My parents were in their 30s and they loved episodes 4-6. Most of the adults that went to see them when they first came out loved them.
You know why the original Star War Trilogy was so much better than the prequels? It's because you were 10 years old and everything is fucking awesome when you're 10 years old.
You've been there. You've done hat. And now you're no longer in the demographic that the game industry caters to. You aren't a surburban white boy between the ages of 14 and 25. It's not the games, it's you.
I've been trying to get this across for years, but it always falls on deaf ears. So here it is one more time. The games are the same brainless fun that they've always been. You've just gotten to old and jaded to participate.
I used to think that all games sucked but like 1 year ago I started thinking about my age and how I feel playing some games and I came up with this same idea...I'm just getting too "old", I'm 26 right now, it's not that I'm really old but just too old for this games.
So how i'm having a blast playing Minecraft when i'm 49yo?
For the same reason I love Monday Night Combat: It's unique.
There is no other game on the market that you can compare Minecraft to. Going all the way back through my memory, which stretches all the way to the Atari 2600, I can't think of any previous game that is like Minecraft. You like it because it's new and it's good.
But how thrilled are you going to be five years from now with another Minecraft clone? There's already two Minecraft inspired games out there that I'm aware of. It won't be long before the AAA developers get the bug and start working on there own Minecraft cash cow to milk. I wouldn't be surprised if some big publisher like EA was already looking into it.
The bottom line is that most games that are released are competent representations of their genre. You've just been playing for so long that you want something more than a standard, functional, . In the case of a game that hits all the bullet points for its genre, the problem is less about the game and more about the player's expectations.
So if the games start to be clones of previous games yet the gamer's expectations are for a good, non-clone game than it is the gamer's fault for expecting something new and not the game's fault for being a suck-ass clone? Poor logic if you ask me.
I'm 35 and I still get excited over some game releases whether they are similar to other games or not. Skyrim, RAGE, SWTOR, Guild Wars 2..if they are good games or sound good to me. So does my 65 year old father who games with me and is really looking forward to Skyrim. OP, your attitude reminds me of the industry mentality of blame the players not the game and in this case it is the games, plenty of them do suck and it has nothing to do with anyone's age.
Originally posted by seansean I never got to play SWG before the NGE because I knew nothing of MMO's then. I wish I had; sounds like it was wonderful, even with all the bugs I've read about.
You know what? Despite the fact that SWG:NGE was much simplified vs the original.. it was still a much more complex and complete game than the stuff we get these days.
Those times were basically before the mega-corporations started making mmos, and they only care about turning a quick buck, hype hype hype hype, sell box, hype hype hype, sell another box.. rinse repeat
This guy is either trolling or retarded. Every game company in the world will tell you the average age of gamers is 33, and that is the age they cater too. Do not know where you get ppl say all games suck, I play EQ2 and love it and I am in my 30's. The reason I love it is in EQ2 there are not children like this guy in it for the most part. Go back to wow troll.
I sincerly believe that it is the second point. 20 years ago any computer game magazine were full with new games about to be released and usually tested 25 or so of the games that had been released the last month, abd that were far from all games.
There are a lot of fewer games releasing now and while that means fewer bad games it also means fewer good one. We are talking about 5-10 times as many games in the old days, now only cell phone games have that many releases.
Not only that but many of the games that actually releases are follow ups to older games. Activision and Electronic arts more or less own the industry now and that have made a all time low for creativety.
What does that have to do with TOR? Nothing really, but the problem is that computer games have gotten to expensive to make except by the largest studios and that have lead to less fun games.
I am not saying that all games stink, the percentage of bad games are still about the same as in the time of the C-64 but now only about 5 good games release every year compared to 25-50 20 years ago and that sucks.
some one proly already said this but.....I think your 180 out...Its the kids today that want instant gratification. the ones that yell in global chat WHATS THE QUICKEST CLASS TO LVL...or how long it take to get to endgame...crap like that is what is killing games no one wants to PLAY the game they just want all the shineys at the end. No one wants to do the work. used to be you dident get all the cool looking amrour and skills untill you earned them lvl 20 or so hell in most games ive played you had to walk untill lvl 20-30 and couldent even think of buying a mount till 25ish.
Now due to all the crybabies in the gameing world you get it all at lvl 1....and we wonder why games suck? there over before we start them theres no challange no game to it. thats not the older crowds fault at all look in the mirror for the cause of the problem lil guy.
But hey, you had to be there to know that. But it's your lucky day; get a hold of an old NES system with a copy of Ninja Gaiden. Play it, then try to compare it to ANYTHING currently on the market.
THAT is how games used to be (although that example is a harsch one). THAT is what we want. Not the fruitcake games of the present.
The Ninja Gaiden trilogy on the NES are some of the best platformers of all time. To this day, I can't beat them without the use of hacks. I was able to get all the way through the Gamboy version, but never the original NES games.
In ESB he was little more than a green muppet. If you look back at contemporary criticisms of the first three films you'll find a Jar-Jar comment in each. The Jar-Jar for the first three movies (in order):
You know why the original Star War Trilogy was so much better than the prequels? It's because you were 10 years old and everything is fucking awesome when you're 10 years old.
You've been there. You've done hat. And now you're no longer in the demographic that the game industry caters to. You aren't a surburban white boy between the ages of 14 and 25. It's not the games, it's you.
I've been trying to get this across for years, but it always falls on deaf ears. So here it is one more time. The games are the same brainless fun that they've always been. You've just gotten to old and jaded to participate.
Well I did enjoyed Star Was a New Hope when I was 6 years old and thought it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, however with Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, I enjoyed them as I got older, but it didn't hit me as hard as the 1st movie.
When I was 11 and watched Poltergeist, I never liked clowns or even like looking under my bed after seeing this movie which still affects me to this day as a adult.. LOL! But the movie is STILL AWESOME TODAY!
When I turned 15 and saw Alien 2 or should I say Aliens, that movie FLOORED ME. It was the best scary sci-fi that I will never forget.
When I turned 20 and saw yet another Cameron movie called Terminator 2, I couldn't believe how kick ass this movie was.
And finally when I turned 38 and saw the reboot for Star Trek, I thought it couldn't be done, but saw this movie 3 times at the theaters (1 IMAX 3d of course).
We still can find magic in new movies and games today at any age, it's just we have no more innovation when we make these games. All the programmers and developers are reading the same text manual when they get out of schooling and produce the same ole same ole. (Can you imagine watching 30 different versions of a wannabe Star Wars)?
We got to have more imagination. Just look at our music scene today. There is nothing really original either, it's all rips from past hit songs or their beats are recycled.
So as i finish and I can say this, your entitled to your own opinion just as me, however your paragraphed statements doesn't fall into my category at any age.
But hey, you had to be there to know that. But it's your lucky day; get a hold of an old NES system with a copy of Ninja Gaiden. Play it, then try to compare it to ANYTHING currently on the market.
THAT is how games used to be (although that example is a harsch one). THAT is what we want. Not the fruitcake games of the present.
The Ninja Gaiden trilogy on the NES are some of the best platformers of all time. To this day, I can't beat them without the use of hacks. I was able to get all the way through the Gamboy version, but never the original NES games.
It's actually a pretty good time to be a platform gamer ;-)
Well, I never said I completed it :P. The once that have are as scarce as Jedi.....pun intended.
Anyhoo, I wasn't really trying to compare it to platform games of this time, but I was trying to state that a lot of games back then required more than the skill to find the exclamation marks above NPC heads. Obviously, others were a pile of crap, but that's beside the point.
Games have, over time, become easier. Too easy, in my opinion. And the MMO genre is at the top with this. Catering to the youngest of folk, who are still used to their parents clapping and yelling "Way to go!" whenever they manage to do something trivial.
Me, with my 30 years, am still young (compared to a few in this topic. You know who Im talking to, you old farts!), but I am already on the MMO decline. All I can do (with MMO games that is) is try out the new ones and hope one will finally give me that adventurous feeling, mixed in with a bit of panic here and there.
Comments
What a cool thread! Ten pages of essentially troll food. I am not sure what overgeneralizations are even being contested at this point. So here are a few of mine:
NerdRage over Games-Suck is not age specific.
The First Star Wars Movie (Episode 4) was epic because it did a lot of cool stuff for the first time. It did a lot of old stuff in a crappy way too. It was the Beatles of Epic Sci-Fi and special effects. Not too much new or original, but had a really catchy hook. ESB is actually my favorite because it had a little less flash and a little more character. I think George Lucas' talent lies in marketing and not in story telling.
And yep, I bought into his hype when I was ten -- hook, line and sinker. And, years later, I see through his drivel like a smegma-covered glass at a nudie-booth. Yeah, so I am old and jaded. Not only does it mean that a lot of games just suck, but it qualifies me to criticize them more indepth. I have oodles more experience with which to judge and compare.
It's dissappointing that we seem to be selling the same stuff, at a lower quality for a higher price, in shinier wrappers. Like our whole culture seems to be on a sinking treadmill. It's the same nudie booth, it's just that I know those are track marks on her arms and notice her implant scars. Are we going to strive for the stars, ever?
And yeah, get the f@#$! off my lawn!
TSW, LotRO, EQ2, SWTOR, GW2, V:SoH, Neverwinter, ArchAge, EQ, UO, DAoC, WAR, DDO, AoC, MO, BDO, SotA, B&S, ESO,
I often say that older people should called younger people immature or kids just because they are younger. I don't see why I would support your argument either. Age is the definitive answer to all these questions. Things would probably be easier.
And as a fact, a lot of games DO suck, and it has nothing to do with Age.
How much WoW could a WoWhater hate, if a WoWhater could hate WoW?
As much WoW as a WoWhater would, if a WoWhater could hate WoW.
It seems like the overall point of that article was humor. I'm not sure it was meant to be taken as "this is the truth about your age and the games you play." However, there are some great points made particularly concerning the amount of time an older gamer has compared to his younger counterparts or even the younger version of himself. I remember the enourmous amount of time an EQ raid would take, and even how much time it use to take in vanilla WoW to get a group together and then actually travel to the instance. Some people consider that great immersion, which is fine, but I just don't want to waste my precious gaming time traveling 35mins to actually start an instance. I wasn't crazy about it when I was 20, less so now.
I think the Star Wars comments have been covered. Carry on.
"Games Don't Suck. You're Just Too Old For Them." -Jimmy_S.
I couldn't pass this up...
We enter the MMOG world with eyes wide shut. It is a place of fantasy, dreams, and excitement. Some, like my friend, went from FPS to RPG at the age of 28. I introduced him to RPG just before WoW released with a game called Asheron's Call. He has never turned back to FPS since.
Games can and do suck, OP.
There are some good games out there, better games out there, and worse games out there.
(I am going to shamelessy steal your discussion and create my own.)
It's not that I am too old......but when I WAS part of the "target demographic" games were targeting.....they weren't quite so "brainless".
Think about that for a minute. MMORPGs used to be targeted at pen and paper RPG players. There was a steep learning curve, insane amounts of non-linear content, no concept of an "end game", complex systems (such as AO's implants) and a focus on a living, breathing world.
Now they are targeted at console 3rd person shooter players. Any complex systems have been removed completely because the target audience can't be bothered to read anything, much less figure out how to accomplish something without a big flashing sign or dotted line to follow. Focus is almost entirely on combat, to the point where people ACTUALLY complain if there is a story, or a crafting system.
And what's worse is that the corporations developing these games don't seem to realise that their target audience....this "lowest common denominator", has so little attention span that in targeting them for a subscription based product they are shooting themselves in the foot.
The game is released, these droolers rush to max level, complain there is nothing to do, and LEAVE. And then we have ANOTHER f2p game limping along until they finally pull the plug.
So no.....it's not me. It's not my age. It's corporate exploitation of the american "cash cow".....bringing the MMORPG industry to the brainless american "consumer herd" and tailoring it to appeal to them, in order to make a quick buck.....while leaving us old MMORPG gamers looking on in horror as we are left in the cold with nothing but indie games to place our hope in.
I disagree partially both with the OP and that Cracked article. I started my videogaming path playing Atari arcades at age 3 (Moon Patrol, Pacman, etc.).
Games have evolved a lot since the days of Pong. As graphics evolve, the cost of producing the graphics that the amount of content requires increases.
I remember that one of the games I loved the most was Xenogears, for the PSX. It had a very deep plot, mechas, giant ships, martial arts, etc. When Xenosaga, by the same team, was announced, I bought the game, but the game was only like... 20 hours of gameplay against the 90 or so of Xenogears. Why? Because now all characters had full 3D models, and the locatons, NPCs, enemies became way more detailed. In Xenogears most of the graphics were sprites, most of the 3d models and locations were very low poly, and most of the textures were low res.
In the current generation of games, graphics have gone insane. Gears of War 2, Soul Calibur 4, etc. They look almost like movies. With normal mapping, shaders, etc. the cost of creating a single character model have gone to the roof. Companies spend millions in graphic content alone, favoring shorter plots and artificial ways to make the games feel less empty, like 'achievements', unrelated subplots, etc. In the other hand, Flash / browser games have gained a lot of push, some of them like Realm of the Mad God, Steambirds, Angry Birds, offer lots of fun to people of any age with very little graphic requirements.
In conclusion. AAA Games in this generation focus a lot in ultra realistic graphics, but this sometimes dictates shorter plots and hollower gameplays than of older games who didn't needed such levels of detail.
Having been an enthusiastic gamer for the last 25 years, I've played a lot of games, both online and offline. That has lead to the situation where I have certain expectations of games in specific genres.
What is a "good" game ? It's a game that YOU enjoy playing. Thousands may disagree with you, but that does not change the fact that YOU enjoy that particular game.
Personally, I don't feel that "games are crap" now that I'm older. There are still good ones and bad ones. I don't feel that there are fewer "good" games being made nowadays than 10 years ago.
The one thing that has certainly changed, is the AMOUNT of games that are available now, as opposed to 10 years ago. Perhaps the sheer volume is causing a drop in quality in general, because it's much easier to produce a game than it is to produce a GREAT game...
Another factor that is bound to affect the perceived quality of games is the huge increase in the amount of people playing games nowadys, as opposed to 10/15 years ago. Developers know the market is bigger, so they perhaps target a wider audience. That can lead to a "dumbing-down" of game mechanics, as certain so-called hardcore features are dropped from game design to give the product more mass appeal.
Wow what a funny post, So age explains why people dont like games that think for them, point them where to go, automate half the experience, dig for money at every turn, turn mindless action into core game mechanics, etc etc. If wanting games that require me to actually think, read, plan and execute packaged in the form of a game, makes me old then im ANCIENT! lol.
Yes your right, most games today are designed for kids with A.D.D. I will not argue there.
For the same reason I love Monday Night Combat: It's unique.
There is no other game on the market that you can compare Minecraft to. Going all the way back through my memory, which stretches all the way to the Atari 2600, I can't think of any previous game that is like Minecraft. You like it because it's new and it's good.
But how thrilled are you going to be five years from now with another Minecraft clone? There's already two Minecraft inspired games out there that I'm aware of. It won't be long before the AAA developers get the bug and start working on there own Minecraft cash cow to milk. I wouldn't be surprised if some big publisher like EA was already looking into it.
The bottom line is that most games that are released are competent representations of their genre. You've just been playing for so long that you want something more than a standard, functional, <insert game type>. In the case of a game that hits all the bullet points for its genre, the problem is less about the game and more about the player's expectations.
This is pretty much what I'm getting at.
The majority of games are not bad; just average. But those of us who have been around for awhile see those average games as "brainless," "dumbed down," "eye candy," etc., and so on. We've been here long enough that we're looking for something new and/or exceptional rather than something competently made. And many of us don't bother considering the cycle that you discussed in point four.
As for the demographics widening. . .
I think that the industry has actually split into catering for two seperate demographics. On the side this forum is on, as well as the bulk of the mainstream gaming market, you have the traditional 14 to 25 white male demographic. On the other side, you have the 40+ cell phone and Facebook market. There's room for both audiences in this hobby. But if you're standing in a teen club, you have no right to complain that there's no beer on tap.
There is a lot of 76'ers out here, experience trumps youth.
Yoda didn't suck? Really?
The ewoks didn't suck? Really?
They're fucking children's movies!! Get over it!!
I'm 30 and I like most of the games listed there. Deus Ex: HR deals with a lot of the issues that are debated by the religious and transhumanists today. I'm sure the subject is lost and thought of as "fantasy" by the younger crowd. Limbo is just a good game. The only thing my Wii is good for is Monster Hunter Tri.
On the subject of the Star Wars movies: Episodes 1-3 lack the level of character development that we saw in Episodes 4-6. Saying that they were childrens movies is nonsense. My parents were in their 30s and they loved episodes 4-6. Most of the adults that went to see them when they first came out loved them.
My theme song.
I used to think that all games sucked but like 1 year ago I started thinking about my age and how I feel playing some games and I came up with this same idea...I'm just getting too "old", I'm 26 right now, it's not that I'm really old but just too old for this games.
So if the games start to be clones of previous games yet the gamer's expectations are for a good, non-clone game than it is the gamer's fault for expecting something new and not the game's fault for being a suck-ass clone? Poor logic if you ask me.
I'm 35 and I still get excited over some game releases whether they are similar to other games or not. Skyrim, RAGE, SWTOR, Guild Wars 2..if they are good games or sound good to me. So does my 65 year old father who games with me and is really looking forward to Skyrim. OP, your attitude reminds me of the industry mentality of blame the players not the game and in this case it is the games, plenty of them do suck and it has nothing to do with anyone's age.
All I remeber after reading this was how awfully cute the story about GTA was :P
You know what? Despite the fact that SWG:NGE was much simplified vs the original.. it was still a much more complex and complete game than the stuff we get these days.
Those times were basically before the mega-corporations started making mmos, and they only care about turning a quick buck, hype hype hype hype, sell box, hype hype hype, sell another box.. rinse repeat
This guy is either trolling or retarded. Every game company in the world will tell you the average age of gamers is 33, and that is the age they cater too. Do not know where you get ppl say all games suck, I play EQ2 and love it and I am in my 30's. The reason I love it is in EQ2 there are not children like this guy in it for the most part. Go back to wow troll.
As I see it there are 2 possibly answers here:
1. I and many others here are just getting old.
2. Games are not so good as they used to be.
I sincerly believe that it is the second point. 20 years ago any computer game magazine were full with new games about to be released and usually tested 25 or so of the games that had been released the last month, abd that were far from all games.
There are a lot of fewer games releasing now and while that means fewer bad games it also means fewer good one. We are talking about 5-10 times as many games in the old days, now only cell phone games have that many releases.
Not only that but many of the games that actually releases are follow ups to older games. Activision and Electronic arts more or less own the industry now and that have made a all time low for creativety.
What does that have to do with TOR? Nothing really, but the problem is that computer games have gotten to expensive to make except by the largest studios and that have lead to less fun games.
I am not saying that all games stink, the percentage of bad games are still about the same as in the time of the C-64 but now only about 5 good games release every year compared to 25-50 20 years ago and that sucks.
some one proly already said this but.....I think your 180 out...Its the kids today that want instant gratification. the ones that yell in global chat WHATS THE QUICKEST CLASS TO LVL...or how long it take to get to endgame...crap like that is what is killing games no one wants to PLAY the game they just want all the shineys at the end. No one wants to do the work. used to be you dident get all the cool looking amrour and skills untill you earned them lvl 20 or so hell in most games ive played you had to walk untill lvl 20-30 and couldent even think of buying a mount till 25ish.
Now due to all the crybabies in the gameing world you get it all at lvl 1....and we wonder why games suck? there over before we start them theres no challange no game to it. thats not the older crowds fault at all look in the mirror for the cause of the problem lil guy.
You just lost all credibility
The Ninja Gaiden trilogy on the NES are some of the best platformers of all time. To this day, I can't beat them without the use of hacks. I was able to get all the way through the Gamboy version, but never the original NES games.
As far as comparing it to the market today. . .
Super Meat Boy, Outland, I Wanna Be The Guy, N+, Super Crate Box, VVVVVV . . .
It's actually a pretty good time to be a platform gamer ;-)
No, no I didn't.
In ESB he was little more than a green muppet. If you look back at contemporary criticisms of the first three films you'll find a Jar-Jar comment in each. The Jar-Jar for the first three movies (in order):
R2-D2
Yoda
The Ewoks
Again. These are children's movies. Period.
Well I did enjoyed Star Was a New Hope when I was 6 years old and thought it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, however with Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, I enjoyed them as I got older, but it didn't hit me as hard as the 1st movie.
When I was 11 and watched Poltergeist, I never liked clowns or even like looking under my bed after seeing this movie which still affects me to this day as a adult.. LOL! But the movie is STILL AWESOME TODAY!
When I turned 15 and saw Alien 2 or should I say Aliens, that movie FLOORED ME. It was the best scary sci-fi that I will never forget.
When I turned 20 and saw yet another Cameron movie called Terminator 2, I couldn't believe how kick ass this movie was.
And finally when I turned 38 and saw the reboot for Star Trek, I thought it couldn't be done, but saw this movie 3 times at the theaters (1 IMAX 3d of course).
We still can find magic in new movies and games today at any age, it's just we have no more innovation when we make these games. All the programmers and developers are reading the same text manual when they get out of schooling and produce the same ole same ole. (Can you imagine watching 30 different versions of a wannabe Star Wars)?
We got to have more imagination. Just look at our music scene today. There is nothing really original either, it's all rips from past hit songs or their beats are recycled.
So as i finish and I can say this, your entitled to your own opinion just as me, however your paragraphed statements doesn't fall into my category at any age.
Well, I never said I completed it :P. The once that have are as scarce as Jedi.....pun intended.
Anyhoo, I wasn't really trying to compare it to platform games of this time, but I was trying to state that a lot of games back then required more than the skill to find the exclamation marks above NPC heads. Obviously, others were a pile of crap, but that's beside the point.
Games have, over time, become easier. Too easy, in my opinion. And the MMO genre is at the top with this. Catering to the youngest of folk, who are still used to their parents clapping and yelling "Way to go!" whenever they manage to do something trivial.
Me, with my 30 years, am still young (compared to a few in this topic. You know who Im talking to, you old farts!), but I am already on the MMO decline. All I can do (with MMO games that is) is try out the new ones and hope one will finally give me that adventurous feeling, mixed in with a bit of panic here and there.
Therefor, I disagree with the statement.