rose-t(a)inted
It’s been far too long, so tonight I’m headed to a friend’s for some SNES and N64-era multiplayer gaming. Split screens, absurdly shaped controllers, and Nintendo fanboyism abounding. I have a soft spot in my heart for all these things; they each played their role in making me the game enthusiast I am today. So why is such a group reminiscence so occasional an event?
Well, I’m not sure nostalgia is enough. Many times I’ve gone back to the games I treasured when I was younger. Games like Ogre Battle 64, Diddy Kong Racing, Yoshi’s Story. And once I’ve peeled back the heavy layers of fond remembrance, I find that they’re not really all that good. Sure, there are some good bits: some neat mechanics, some memorable storylines, but overall they don’t really stand out (and certainly don’t warrant another playthrough today). The truth is, they were the games I had. I played the hell out of them because they were there for me to do so. And the more time I put into them the more I convinced myself that it was all worth it. And, at the time, it might have been. But now I’ve a world of game experiences at my fingertips and comparatively less time in which to explore them. So I tend to consider any purchase for a while before I commit and even then I don’t play most games for very long at all. More often I pop in, have a look around, and then set them aside. It’s not enough, anymore, to just have a game. I have to have the right one. Maybe this is why I’ve been spending more and more time on development?
I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that some older games have stood the test of time and are exceptional in their technologically-bounded simplicity. There are gems, to be sure, monuments in gaming history, and these are what I tend to play when such an opportunity like tonight arises. But, all the same, I don’t want to play them every day. Maybe not even every week. I want to take those experiences and all the warm tinglies I associate with them and build them forward into new expressions. To provide games that know their roots and grow forward from them; further advancements in interactivity and emotion and engagement.
Boy, I really tend to set myself up, don’t I?
bervquest 