The Evolution of Gaming

Have any of you ever thought about the fact that as you have grown older, playing video games does not hold the same intensity as it once did? You know what I mean - you could eat, sleep, and breath video games when you were a kid. They let you travel to a world of make believe, a world where you could be anything or anybody you wanted. But then something changes, albeit gradually. It happens so slowly, in fact, you are not even aware of it. For whatever reason, be it increased life responsibilities or poorer hand-eye coordination, video games lose there importance and glamour.

I wonder if it wasn't me that changed, but the games. Video games have changed a great deal from the time I was an avid gamer. 2D, side scrolling games were the norm and 3D was still a few years away. But even so, and even with all the advances in gaming technology, games are basically the same, an escape from the real world. Why do we want to escape from the real world? Why do we create games in the first place? You could ask that of any human endeavor or activity. Its a very simple answer, because they are pleasurable. They touch something inside your brain that keeps you coming back for more.

Games are still enjoyable for me, just in a different way. I like collecting them, because they remind me of my childhood, of a time when everything was simple and carefree. More importantly, its because I have been conformed by my capitalistic world. Games are not valuable because they can transport me to a world of fantasy. They are valuable because they are material goods that people desire to own. Some of them can be quite valuable, although I have yet to find one to call my own. The desire to one day own them is what gives me pleasure now. Thank you society for allowing me to see the real value of games. (sarcasm)

And so my pondering and rambling ends. Will I ever be able to experience games the same way again? Maybe if I was rich - because then, and only then, will my life be simple and carefree. Or is that what my great economic system has taught me? My answer to that is yes. It is a viscous cycle, I have been brainwashed.....

Older Video Games

Recently, there was a post by IGN on Google Stream which showed a picture of Mario Bros. 1 for the NES. (see the picture below) I left 2 comments which I would like to re-share because I feel it summarizes my current stance on modern video games, which, whether you agree or not, is very negative. It also summarizes how I feel about games in general.

Post 1:

"Mario Bros is the apex of gaming history. Back when video games were challenging, before being dumbed down to increase the number of people playing them. I miss the golden age of video games. Today we live in a world dominated by games that require little to no thought and the only real challenge is making sure your crops don't wither. We need more games like Mario. Games that challenged the best of us, games you could be proud of winning. But it was bound to happen, because it is human nature to prefer instant rewards without effort and vanity over self pride."

Post 2:

"It really makes you realize the important things in life are not how much money you make, what kind of car you drive, or how cool you are. Rather, it is knowing where the warp zone is in level 1-2 or beating the game and being able to select all the levels in the game. With that, it's really about earning all the coins in a level, transporting yourself via pipes and warp zones, and feeling cool because you saved a beautiful princess and kicked Koopa's butt."