4 ms·
I feel like it has to do with the games themselves. And it's not just the sketchy dark patterns, it's the whole way that games are designed, bigger and more imm
by blacktriangle 5y ago
I feel like it has to do with the games themselves. And it's not just the sketchy dark patterns, it's the whole way that games are designed, bigger and more immersive. The social and competitive aspects are huge as well. I completely swore off gaming for awhile due to how addictive it was for me. Then when Nintendo came out with their tiny little NES anthology device, I thought I'd try again.
Retrogaming is awesome.
You go from pushing power to playing the game in 5 seconds. No intro level or cutscenes giving you a feeling of sunk cost.
They are designed for you to walk away from. When you die, game over, no reason to continue immediately.
They often have a shocking amount of depth. Looking at this games now as an adult vs when I was a child makes me appreciate so many more details and layers of complexity.
Its a shame we generally refer to this as retro gaming, because what it really is is a collection of design sensibilities that deserve to make a comeback. There are still some indie developers working like this. Braid comes to mind as a game that feels like this.
Point being, I don't think that gaming has to be as damaging as it is now, and I think its deeper than just all the engagement and microtransaction crap, its into the core of how games are designed.
- spywaregorilla 5y ago>Its a shame we generally refer to this as retro gaming We don't. Retro gaming is largely an aesthetic style. There are dozens of games like what you describe released every year.
- blacktriangle 5y agoIs there a word for this style of game? I don't think "indie games" would be accurate since games from Indies span genres and styles.
- hn8788 5y agoFor FPS games, "Boomer Shooter" is the common term because they're similar to the types of games "Boomers" played when they were kids.
- ska 5y agoWhich is an odd association to make, since only the very youngest boomers would have even had a chance to play a shooter while under 20, which would have been what, 1983?
- blacktriangle 5y agoWhich is why I'm trying to think of some descriptions of such game unlike retro or boomer that aren't linked to a point in time or a generation so much as linked to an actual set of design values.
- bananabiscuit 5y ago“Boomer” is a tongue-in-cheek label used by Gen-Zers for anyone in the millennial generation (or older).
- 30yoboomer 5y agoThey are talking about the 30 year old boomer, its a 4chan meme. He drinks monster zero ultra, plays quake, mows the lawn at 5am, etc. The meme is subtle and sophisticated incorporating multiple levels of irony.
- spywaregorilla 5y agoNot really. It's more that genres tend to fit within this design ethos. Retro games like the ones you described included a lot of platformers for instance. edit: why would people downvote this question above?
- JKCalhoun 5y agoMaybe you would prefer "casual gaming". That certainly is my preference for games these days: pick up, play, drop in 5 minutes.
- blacktriangle 5y agoThe problem there is that casual is mostly associated with Farmville type games. The style I'm thinking is more defined by a level of difficulty and unforgivingness that I wouldn't call casual.
- cercatrova 5y agoHave you played the latest Doom games, or the Demon's Souls / Dark Souls / Bloodborne series? They're basically what you describe, all gameplay, no cutscenes, punishing challenge.