Dead Pixels has 41 chronicles

1. The Humbug Age
   

   Player Chronicle -- Posted on Jun 16 2009

   The Humbug Age
   The Myth of the “Golden Age” of Gaming
   
   Dead Pixels by Ryan M. Eft
   6-15-09
   
   Upfront warning: if you’re one of those folks who, despite all the evidence to the contrary, think games used to be a lot better, it’s best if you just stop reading this week’s column now. Thankew.
   
   Who’s still with me? Good. Let’s get started.
   
   As the years have rolled by, gaming has gone from a toy to a hobby to an art form and a major industry. For the majority of that time, gamers have focused on what’s next. On what’s new and different. Since I played my first game, we’ve seen “bit” graphics, Mode 7, battery backup, cartridges, no saves and scoring points either disappear completely, or vanish from the central landscape in a way that makes them more or less obsolete. In their place, we’ve seen the rise of things like voice acting and recognition, physics engines, open worlds and choice come to dominate the scene. It’s almost impossible to tell what new and shinier thing will take the whole shebang by storm tomorrow. Prepare for one of those potentially contentious statements about which you’ve been warned: there is absolutely no objective doubt that these innovations have, on balance, made gaming a better place to be right now.
   
   Right away, a certain type of crowd is going to call foul over that one. I’ll call these people the “Battletoads Is Still Awesome” crowd, or BISA for short. Generally, I find that BISAs share a few common traits:
   A: They sincerely believe that some murky, ill-bordered period in gaming’s past was scientifically better than anything available at present.
   B: They shrug off any criticisms of outmoded game design by informing the critic that they simply aren’t good at video games. This is a catch-all defense, and can be used whether you die 111 times in a row because of bad controls, or whether the cartridge actually lights your console on fire.
   C: They are afraid of trying new design concepts. Just as an example, these would be the people who think the lack of turn-based combat is ruining Final Fantasy.
   D: They think the Super Nintendo is the greatest thing since oxygen. It’s sometimes the Genesis, and a rare freak or two might blow a wad about the Dreamcast. But it’s typically the Super Nintendo, which in vague memory has transcended the humble status of a video game box and attained godhood.
   
   Before I go on, I should stress that I’m not for a minute arguing against the quality of many older games. I myself possess a collection of old games that is extensive, if not measuring up to the piles amassed by some committed antique collectors. What I am saying is that, much like the 30’s to the 50’s in Hollywood, certain portions of gaming past have acquired the air of unassailable legend, a reputation that is not wholly deserved. Nintendo knows full well how much a certain segment of the population clings to the past, and part of the software available for the DS and the Wii is expressly intended to pimp to that contingent.
   
   I want to put my foot down, on a line no less, right here: we are currently living through the best time to be gamers. We’ve got physics that put real life to shame. We’ve got games with practically endless wonders that we can get lost in. We’ve got sweeping stories and compelling characters. We’ve got new innovations around every corner. Right now, we cast dewy eyes back towards some feverishly imagined “Golden Age”, but 40 years from now we’re going to look back on right now as the time when everything was changing, and when gaming finally developed an identity in the collective consciousness other than “toy for ADHD patients”.
   
   So why do so many gamers, including some who freely partake of the modern game landscape, choose to hold on to an idealized version of a dead past like a child to mommy’s leg?
   
   There are those who will think this sounds like a change in opinion for me, as I’ve expressed admiration for the blatant, likely stoned levels of creativity present in earlier games, and wished it could be more of a presence today. But wishing more developers would use pretty colors, and heaping praise on obsolete product are two different things.
   
   Yes. I know what you’re thinking. I’m psychic. You’re thinking “What do I want to eat?” But you’re also thinking “There are a lot of good old games out there that still flip the bird to Father Time!” And yes, there are some gems like Mario Bros that were designed so damn well they’ll never, ever get old. But if you consider the number of games that hit shelves during the heyday of the 8 and 16-bit machines, and the amount that hit shelves today. I think you’ll find that about the relative same amount of utter crap was released then as is released now.
   
   The reasons I think people do not realize that the “Golden Age” is a myth are many. For starters, we were kids. Kids do not have good judgment, by and large. We’d play any utter crap where you could stomp on something and love it. Another explanation is that most of us haven’t actually played those games or systems we tout since their heyday. The result is they become solidified in our minds as good memories, and we may even be timid about going back and giving ‘em another shot, for fear that they may not actually stack up as well as we’d like.
   
   In the end, you might wonder why I even care about this. If people insist on glorifying the old, let ‘em, right? Well, sure. But I actually have a very sound reason for being bothered by these rampant nostalgia attacks: they help hold games back from their true potential. For proof of this, look what the retro obsession has done to the Wii. What could have been revolutionary ends up more desirable for the Virtual Console-full of older titles, while the actual retailer shelves are filled with ropes tied firmly to that segment who only wants to play the tried-and-true.
   
   Essentially, this sort of catering is to people who would prefer it if the last fifteen or so years of gaming advancement had been a bad dream. I can’t fathom these mindsets, when there’s so many new and fascinating things happening in games as we speak.

   
   

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Dead Pixels has 4 comment s on this chronicle.

1. MaTrIx
   Posted On Jun 21 2009

   Ahhh...I remember the days when I was 8 sitting in front of the tv and playing Super Mario Bros. Great times! I do the same thing now only I'm playing games like GOW, AC or PoP. I embrace the old AND the new. Thing is to me sometimes I can't believe just how far gaming has come.

2. Dead Pixels
   Posted On Jun 19 2009

   I neglected an important point: if a person absolutely refuses to be dragged kicking and screaming fully into the new school, there are plenty of entrees out there that combine new ideas with tried-and-true concepts for a good time that remains entirely within that safety bubble. I've recently been having a total blast with Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, which contains a healthy dose of nostalgia but makes it new again with the addition of building your own vehicles to surmount the challenges presented. Of course, there's the oft-touted Little Big Planet, which is like a good ol' side scroller mixed witht he world's biggest Erector Set. Xbox Live is in on this scene with Braid, which is a smart platform-puzzler that benefits from modern artistry, The Wii has already given us two underappreciated Boom Blox games, and this fall we're getting a Mario game in Super Mario Bros. New that applies the classical tropes to 4-player awesomeness. The old school isn't behind us at all, it has simply taken on new forms.

3. Ana_Aryani
   Posted On Jun 18 2009

   "there are some gems like Mario Bros" Couldn't have said it better myself.
   
   I agree with ya 100%! You can't compare games from now to ones made years ago for different consoles, that's like comparing what gamers are interested in now to that of 10 years ago. No one can move forward if you dwell on past.
   
   That being said some games for me, like Zelda, Mario brothers even Perfect dark. Were truly epic and can't be replaced. I grew up on them, they're part of who I am and how I have come define games
   
   I remember when I was still in school come the weekend some of my mates would just come round my place and we'd game all weekend. Game of choice was perfect dark
   
   ^_^ Those were some great times. But they're sure not over we've still got some great gaming being released. 8)

4. JackDaniels624
   Posted On Jun 16 2009

   I know you don't like people to always agree with you, but this is exactly what I've been saying! Looking back at some of the old Nintendo games I loved as a child, some of them are still great, others kind of fun, but a lot just plain suck! Also I've noticed Nintendo games that were also made on the Super Nintendo are in many cases, EXACTLY the same, just with better graphics! Even the controls are the same...I'm looking at you Battletoads...I loved the B.I.S.A. thing you did! So I guess Nintendo never really did like change...
   
   And another thing I do is compare games to music. I hate all that talk that music was better in the late 80's and early 90's or whatever, since now we have access to those classics, and access to the modern stuff too!