I Noticed Something

[Naltic]

So the past few weeks or months or so I have decided on playing early 2000s games because of how shitty modern games are and I have to say, I have experienced this feeling I haven't experienced since I was a kid playing those games. To give an example, I have started playing the DMC: HD collection and just wow, playing through the first game really just evoked this "staying at home during school, playing on the ps, xbox or what have you and relaxing and having fun." Like it amazes me, and I might write in more detail about this experience in the writing guild, like man article or something but WOW, I was seriously amazed at how I haven't felt this feeling in a long long time.

So all of this made me think of something, we all often say that the past is the past and you really can't "relive" it. You have to grow up both physically but most importantly mentally and as such forget the feelings you felt when you were a kid, but, really, with what happened to me these past few week, I really came into a realisation; that those past "us" aren't really gone, those emotions we felt playing halo 2, 3, god of war 1,2,3 or what game be it before any one woke up or late at night as this excitement envelops you and devours you and as you enter this flow state of pure ecstatic enjoyment...are still there. Deep down, in us, they exist and are waiting for us to really tap into them and come back, and most important of all, enjoy. Enjoy what life, even now as we have grown old, has given us. And I think that this is something more should come to know, your past self is there and will always be there, you just have to be brave enough to go back and be him, even if it's for a couple of days or weeks.

 

[OPT1MUS]

One of the reasons why I'm "stuck", so to speak, in the legendary 80s (and 90s)
You have all my respect, earthling friend...

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

I often use the term "cozy" when referring to older favorites of mine, as the feeling is almost comparable to a comfortable blanket or a warm mug of coffee. Just comforting and refreshing.

 

[DanCalibur]

I drink to that

 

[Antilocal123]

I don't play video games but i feel this with music a lot, well-written!

 

[Kosmopirato]

It probably has a lot to do with their design philosophy too, old games WILL disrespect your time, but that's also because they expect you to be playing them to immerse yourself and go at your pace. The problem with modern games are too many to list, but I believe the part that touches this topic is the fact its jaded people making games for jaded people. Everyone thinks they saw it all before and at the same time don't want to risk putting effort people might not like. (and lose sales)
For modern stuff you'll want to go indie.

 

[soulsas]

Man, this is beautifully said. You captured something that a lot of people feel but don't quite have the words for. That rush of pure, undiluted excitement — the kind that isn’t weighed down by cynicism, responsibilities, or overthinking — it’s still alive in us, like a part of our soul that's just been sleeping. And the way you connected it to playing those old games is powerful because games, especially from that golden era, were built differently. There was a kind of raw creativity, an honesty to them that hit just right.

 

[Bakuma1997]

I have a saying
*We all can travel back to the past, the issue is that nobody is thre*

Yup, we could be stuck in our bubble of memories, but that's not the way, i rather "Update" my memories next to a confort game that still holds today rather than just permanently remembering something that was actually garbage

 

[Vebent]

You've pretty much expressed my thoughts exactly. I'm buying fewer and fewer new releases as time goes on. Because, we're going to have to face it, current day AAA development teams are not good at all. It's a possibility that they lack creativity, but it's definite that the publishers have them on a very tight leash. They can't even be bothered to use their own engine. Either because they don't know how to make one or they're not allowed to.

In the past, between the Nintendo days up until the PS3/360 days, these problems rarely existed. Yes, AAA publishers back then did have some administrative bloat, but it is much much worse today. I think this is why we can look back on games from back then and see how great we've had it. We weren't bombarded with bad news after bad news. Social media wasn't a thing. We had game magazines and a few gaming news sites. The only bad news we've seen was a studio closure or a cancelled game. Social media changed everything and I believe it's for the worse. Because of the constant bickering back and forth between customers, social media influencers, and developers, it just leaves a bad taste in our mouths. No matter which side you take, because a controversy exists it leaves you wondering if it's still worth it to buy the game.

I didn't intend to go on a sort of long rant. I just wanted to point out why I'm leaving current games and mostly been sticking to retro games. Because of this change in hobbies I now have a dedicated mini PC for emulation and a retro handheld. I am also about to hit 40 and I'm halfway into Pokemon FireRed. I played Pokemon Blue and Red for hundreds of hours when I was in high school and never bothered to check out the remakes because of that. I'm glad I'm now getting into it.