6 ms·

Do you still find playing the old games enjoyable?

SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
Not OP but I wanted to chip in. I love the "pick up and play" aspect of older games and consoles. I don't have much time to game anymore so I just don't have time to sit in front of Steam waiting for GBs of updates before I can even start playing (there are a few franchises I'll make the effort for - the new DOOM, Wolfenstein and Deus Ex games to name a few). The console I'm getting the most use out of at the minute is actually my old Dreamcast - I can hit the power button and be tearing around in Crazy Taxi in less than 2 minutes. Always good for a laugh when I have a spare 15-20 minutes to kill.
- crooked-v 8y ago
  The Switch is pretty good for this, since there's a ton of games you can take on in short play sessions and the console can pause one active game at a time indefinitely.
pjmlp 8y ago
Not the OP but I also grew with the gaming industry since early 80's, and additionally had a short foray into it, many eons ago. For me yes, which is why I tend to play more old-style games on my mobile devices than multiple GB downloads on modern consoles.
galfarragem 8y ago
Playing old games is not enjoyable anymore (they are symbiotic with old hardware) but playing old style games adapted to nowadays hardware is. From the top of my mind: curious expedition, stardew valley, undertale, freecol, dwarf fortress (...)
- dkersten 8y ago
  Can you talk a little more about what you find enjoyable about these types of games versus new style games? Is it that they have more depth in their mechanics? Is it their presentation? Something else entirely? I know this might be a rather hard question to answer.
  - veli_joza 8y ago
    Here's my take. Back in 80s there was no established concept what video game was supposed to play like, so developers experimented much more than today. Some of those experiments didn't belong to any established genre (Seven Cities of Gold, Civilization, Harvest Moon) but managed to get huge following. Modern remakes aim to bring back same spirit and open-endness of those games, but with UX improvements, more streamlined gameplay, multiplayer and other nice features we came to expect from games. Another improvement over classics is more open development process with fascinating dev logs, creators requesting feedback and with suggested changes making it into future version.
    - dkersten 8y ago
      It sounds more like a case for indie games rather than for old-style games. That is, games that aren't afraid to try new, different, unconventional things.
  - galfarragem 8y ago
    > Is it that they have more depth in their mechanics? I think it might be related with it. I like that old games are more a 'game' and not some kind of virtual reality. E.g. Chess is an abstraction of a battle at most, not a copy of it and Physics don't need to be always realistic just because we have more capable hardware.
    - dkersten 8y ago
      Do you enjoy storytelling games? For me, there are a few different kinds of games that I enjoy for different reasons: There’s the pick-up-and-play games that don’t try to be anything other than a fun activity. Usually they’re somewhat abstract and have simple gameplay with a lot of replayability. The Tetrises of the world. This sounds largely like what you’re referring to. Then there’s the games that try to challenge you to hone your skills. This could be multiplayer games that could be seen as digital sports in some ways or it could be single player games that are all about challenging you to master the game (eg Dark Souls if you ignore the pvp like I mostly do). Racing games could also fall into this category. Then there’s the sandbox style games. They give you a few gameplay systems to play with and let you loose in a large play pen. This are the typical open world games or otherwise open ended games. Finally, there’s interactive storytelling. Some are more virtaul reality simulation than others and some have deep gameplay while others have very shallow gameplay. These games are more about the storytelling though, so it doesn’t always matter. In recent years, I personally think that (some) games have actually surpassed movies in storytelling ability. Of course, many games are some combination of these and some pull it off better than others. You can have deep or shallow versions of all of these too. I guess what I’m wondering is: do you have any interest in the other three types of games I mentioned and if not, how come? (I know, again, its not an easy question to answer) Also, do modern indie games tick your boxes?
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
  Heh, the "instant on" aspect of old hardware is a big part of the draw for me. Although I agree that there are some excellent modern "old style" games - Cuphead, Undertale, Two Point Hospital, and the recent Wonder Boy remake all spring to mind.
fiblye 8y ago
I find myself enjoying 80s/90s games that I'd never played before over the typical major release these days. Some new major releases really are excellent, but the quantity is far lower than it was 20-30 years ago, likely mostly due to massive budgets and unmanageable team sizes.

Not OP but I wanted to chip in. I love the "pick up and play" aspect of older games and consoles. I don't have much time to game anymore so I just don't have time to sit in front of Steam waiting for GBs of updates before I can even start playing (there are a few franchises I'll make the effort for - the new DOOM, Wolfenstein and Deus Ex games to name a few). The console I'm getting the most use out of at the minute is actually my old Dreamcast - I can hit the power button and be tearing around in Crazy Taxi in less than 2 minutes. Always good for a laugh when I have a spare 15-20 minutes to kill.

crooked-v 8y ago
The Switch is pretty good for this, since there's a ton of games you can take on in short play sessions and the console can pause one active game at a time indefinitely.

pjmlp 8y ago

Not the OP but I also grew with the gaming industry since early 80's, and additionally had a short foray into it, many eons ago. For me yes, which is why I tend to play more old-style games on my mobile devices than multiple GB downloads on modern consoles.

galfarragem 8y ago

Playing old games is not enjoyable anymore (they are symbiotic with old hardware) but playing old style games adapted to nowadays hardware is. From the top of my mind: curious expedition, stardew valley, undertale, freecol, dwarf fortress (...)

dkersten 8y ago
Can you talk a little more about what you find enjoyable about these types of games versus new style games? Is it that they have more depth in their mechanics? Is it their presentation? Something else entirely? I know this might be a rather hard question to answer.
- veli_joza 8y ago
  Here's my take. Back in 80s there was no established concept what video game was supposed to play like, so developers experimented much more than today. Some of those experiments didn't belong to any established genre (Seven Cities of Gold, Civilization, Harvest Moon) but managed to get huge following. Modern remakes aim to bring back same spirit and open-endness of those games, but with UX improvements, more streamlined gameplay, multiplayer and other nice features we came to expect from games. Another improvement over classics is more open development process with fascinating dev logs, creators requesting feedback and with suggested changes making it into future version.
  - dkersten 8y ago
    It sounds more like a case for indie games rather than for old-style games. That is, games that aren't afraid to try new, different, unconventional things.
- galfarragem 8y ago
  > Is it that they have more depth in their mechanics? I think it might be related with it. I like that old games are more a 'game' and not some kind of virtual reality. E.g. Chess is an abstraction of a battle at most, not a copy of it and Physics don't need to be always realistic just because we have more capable hardware.
  - dkersten 8y ago
    Do you enjoy storytelling games? For me, there are a few different kinds of games that I enjoy for different reasons: There’s the pick-up-and-play games that don’t try to be anything other than a fun activity. Usually they’re somewhat abstract and have simple gameplay with a lot of replayability. The Tetrises of the world. This sounds largely like what you’re referring to. Then there’s the games that try to challenge you to hone your skills. This could be multiplayer games that could be seen as digital sports in some ways or it could be single player games that are all about challenging you to master the game (eg Dark Souls if you ignore the pvp like I mostly do). Racing games could also fall into this category. Then there’s the sandbox style games. They give you a few gameplay systems to play with and let you loose in a large play pen. This are the typical open world games or otherwise open ended games. Finally, there’s interactive storytelling. Some are more virtaul reality simulation than others and some have deep gameplay while others have very shallow gameplay. These games are more about the storytelling though, so it doesn’t always matter. In recent years, I personally think that (some) games have actually surpassed movies in storytelling ability. Of course, many games are some combination of these and some pull it off better than others. You can have deep or shallow versions of all of these too. I guess what I’m wondering is: do you have any interest in the other three types of games I mentioned and if not, how come? (I know, again, its not an easy question to answer) Also, do modern indie games tick your boxes?
SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
Heh, the "instant on" aspect of old hardware is a big part of the draw for me. Although I agree that there are some excellent modern "old style" games - Cuphead, Undertale, Two Point Hospital, and the recent Wonder Boy remake all spring to mind.

fiblye 8y ago

I find myself enjoying 80s/90s games that I'd never played before over the typical major release these days. Some new major releases really are excellent, but the quantity is far lower than it was 20-30 years ago, likely mostly due to massive budgets and unmanageable team sizes.