I agree entirely with TSR's theory. In my own personal experience, though, i would just like to add that I think intimidation is a huge factor. When it comes to my parents (50 & 57) I think they look at gaming like a club that they were never invited into and don't know how to get in. They're pretty cool about my gaming habits, they just choose to admire it from afar.
When i was a lot younger my dad used to take me to the arcade every Friday (remember those things?). He mostly just watched me play stuff but he would occasionally find something he could enjoy. He's a WWII collector so he used to have fun playing Operation Wolf and other gun shooters cause he understood it more than say, a 360 or a PS3. (On a side note, he had a blast watching me play CoD2.)
I don't know if all baby boomers are like this too, but one thing my dad was awesome at was pinball. That mofo is way better at pinball games than I'll ever be.
synthetic1 on
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
"Hey Mega Man, join my side. You'll be mine, FOREVER!"
I agree entirely with TSR's theory. In my own personal experience, though, i would just like to add that I think intimidation is a huge factor. When it comes to my parents (50 & 57) I think they look at gaming like a club that they were never invited into and don't know how to get in. They're pretty cool about my gaming habits, they just choose to admire it from afar.
When i was a lot younger my dad used to take me to the arcade every Friday (remember those things?). He mostly just watched me play stuff but he would occasionally find something he could enjoy. He's a WWII collector so he used to have fun playing Operation Wolf and other gun shooters cause he understood it more than say, a 360 or a PS3. (On a side note, he had a blast watching me play CoD2.)
I don't know if all baby boomers are like this too, but one thing my dad was awesome at was pinball. That mofo is way better at pinball games than I'll ever be.
Holy fucking shit, I consider myself to be pretty good at most games (except FPS), but man. My dad completely schools me at pinball. We went to this bar once, and he put in 1 quarter. 1 fucking quarter, which got him 1 ball. He played till last call. We showed up at around 11 pm, last call is 2. He didn't even get to lose, he had to walk away. He had more bonus balls saved up than the LCD could display.
My dad had an atari in his bedroom far before I ever got my first NES. He and my uncles used to play punchout too... shit my dad will play anything he finds awesome... he was the first to beat Bionic commando and will never let me forget it. He plays WW2 flight sims at the moment... doesnt really like alot of the new mainstream games.
MistaCreepy on
PS3: MistaCreepy::Steam: MistaCreepy::360: Dead and I don't feel like paying to fix it.
I agree entirely with TSR's theory. In my own personal experience, though, i would just like to add that I think intimidation is a huge factor. When it comes to my parents (50 & 57) I think they look at gaming like a club that they were never invited into and don't know how to get in. They're pretty cool about my gaming habits, they just choose to admire it from afar.
When i was a lot younger my dad used to take me to the arcade every Friday (remember those things?). He mostly just watched me play stuff but he would occasionally find something he could enjoy. He's a WWII collector so he used to have fun playing Operation Wolf and other gun shooters cause he understood it more than say, a 360 or a PS3. (On a side note, he had a blast watching me play CoD2.)
I don't know if all baby boomers are like this too, but one thing my dad was awesome at was pinball. That mofo is way better at pinball games than I'll ever be.
Slot machines at casinos intimidate me. I know - you match up three of a kind, but I never get anywhere with them. I don't know any systems or odds or anything like that. I think I wasted a thousand Hong Kong dollars in Shenmue 2 just trying to figure out what the system was for the slots in the arcade. My conclusion: there is none.
Mind you, sonicretard, just about all media formats gained popularity and were later adopted by the public thanks to pornography. Erotic writings and paintings for one, black and white photographs of naked women, the kinetiscopes had plenty of peep shows, the burlesque plays made theater big for everyone, 'Boogie Nights' implies the VCR wouldn't exist without the porn industry, and the internet is so chock full of porn that it will never die off.
Porn gets people to buy the junk. There is relatively little porn in videogames. Hmmm.
I'm afraid you're incorrect. They might have helped, yes, but porn wasn't really introduced into American cinema until around the 1940's, which brought about the Hayes code. The examples I listed before date back to 1915 with Birth of a Nation. Porn does play a role, yes, but people over state it's importance.
And kinetiscope peep shows should really be nothing more than a footnote in cinema history.
you know, emnmnme, I was thinking... and this is pretty much an untapped well. I know it's not an original idea, but it's one no one has really run with. Someone make a vagina controller and a porno game, and jesus, it's basically printing money.
And I'm not trying to be funny either. I wouldn't doubt that sometime in the future we see something like this. And that's when we'll know that gaming is reaching full maturity, as ironic as that sounds.
Mind you, sonicretard, just about all media formats gained popularity and were later adopted by the public thanks to pornography. Erotic writings and paintings for one, black and white photographs of naked women, the kinetiscopes had plenty of peep shows, the burlesque plays made theater big for everyone, 'Boogie Nights' implies the VCR wouldn't exist without the porn industry, and the internet is so chock full of porn that it will never die off.
Porn gets people to buy the junk. There is relatively little porn in videogames. Hmmm.
I'm afraid you're incorrect. They might have helped, yes, but porn wasn't really introduced into American cinema until around the 1940's, which brought about the Hayes code. The examples I listed before date back to 1915 with Birth of a Nation. Porn does play a role, yes, but people over state it's importance.
And kinetiscope peep shows should really be nothing more than a footnote in cinema history.
you know, emnmnme, I was thinking... and this is pretty much an untapped well. I know it's not an original idea, but it's one no one has really run with. Someone make a vagina controller and a porno game, and jesus, it's basically printing money.
And I'm not trying to be funny either. I wouldn't doubt that sometime in the future we see something like this. And that's when we'll know that gaming is reaching full maturity, as ironic as that sounds.
Mind you, sonicretard, just about all media formats gained popularity and were later adopted by the public thanks to pornography. Erotic writings and paintings for one, black and white photographs of naked women, the kinetiscopes had plenty of peep shows, the burlesque plays made theater big for everyone, 'Boogie Nights' implies the VCR wouldn't exist without the porn industry, and the internet is so chock full of porn that it will never die off.
Porn gets people to buy the junk. There is relatively little porn in videogames. Hmmm.
I'm afraid you're incorrect. They might have helped, yes, but porn wasn't really introduced into American cinema until around the 1940's, which brought about the Hayes code. The examples I listed before date back to 1915 with Birth of a Nation. Porn does play a role, yes, but people over state it's importance.
And kinetiscope peep shows should really be nothing more than a footnote in cinema history.
you know, emnmnme, I was thinking... and this is pretty much an untapped well. I know it's not an original idea, but it's one no one has really run with. Someone make a vagina controller and a porno game, and jesus, it's basically printing money.
And I'm not trying to be funny either. I wouldn't doubt that sometime in the future we see something like this. And that's when we'll know that gaming is reaching full maturity, as ironic as that sounds.
I don't know - the porn games now are just copies of popular games with some nude skins thrown in. 'Sextris' is Tetris with naked people bent into shapes. 'Love Chess' is Battle Chess with erotic animations. But to actually mature and make a whole original game with strong porno overtones? Nah, unless the game were tremendously compelling, it would face too much competition from cheap internet porn and sexy Flash games.
Mind you, sonicretard, just about all media formats gained popularity and were later adopted by the public thanks to pornography. Erotic writings and paintings for one, black and white photographs of naked women, the kinetiscopes had plenty of peep shows, the burlesque plays made theater big for everyone, 'Boogie Nights' implies the VCR wouldn't exist without the porn industry, and the internet is so chock full of porn that it will never die off.
Porn gets people to buy the junk. There is relatively little porn in videogames. Hmmm.
I'm afraid you're incorrect. They might have helped, yes, but porn wasn't really introduced into American cinema until around the 1940's, which brought about the Hayes code. The examples I listed before date back to 1915 with Birth of a Nation. Porn does play a role, yes, but people over state it's importance.
And kinetiscope peep shows should really be nothing more than a footnote in cinema history.
you know, emnmnme, I was thinking... and this is pretty much an untapped well. I know it's not an original idea, but it's one no one has really run with. Someone make a vagina controller and a porno game, and jesus, it's basically printing money.
And I'm not trying to be funny either. I wouldn't doubt that sometime in the future we see something like this. And that's when we'll know that gaming is reaching full maturity, as ironic as that sounds.
I don't know - the porn games now are just copies of popular games with some nude skins thrown in. 'Sextris' is Tetris with naked people bet into shapes. 'Love Chess' is Battle Chess with erotic animations. But to actually mature and make a whole original game with strong porno overtones? Nah, unless the game were tremendously compelling, it would face too much competition from cheap internet porn and sexy Flash games.
Thats what I'm saying. Not a cheap porno game, like an honest to god sex simulator. Some porn company pours money and thought into it. It'd be a gold mind.
Mind you, sonicretard, just about all media formats gained popularity and were later adopted by the public thanks to pornography. Erotic writings and paintings for one, black and white photographs of naked women, the kinetiscopes had plenty of peep shows, the burlesque plays made theater big for everyone, 'Boogie Nights' implies the VCR wouldn't exist without the porn industry, and the internet is so chock full of porn that it will never die off.
Porn gets people to buy the junk. There is relatively little porn in videogames. Hmmm.
I'm afraid you're incorrect. They might have helped, yes, but porn wasn't really introduced into American cinema until around the 1940's, which brought about the Hayes code. The examples I listed before date back to 1915 with Birth of a Nation. Porn does play a role, yes, but people over state it's importance.
And kinetiscope peep shows should really be nothing more than a footnote in cinema history.
you know, emnmnme, I was thinking... and this is pretty much an untapped well. I know it's not an original idea, but it's one no one has really run with. Someone make a vagina controller and a porno game, and jesus, it's basically printing money.
And I'm not trying to be funny either. I wouldn't doubt that sometime in the future we see something like this. And that's when we'll know that gaming is reaching full maturity, as ironic as that sounds.
That's probably been done somewhere in Japan. :P
If its fucking weird and denies all logic and decency.... its been done in Japan.
MistaCreepy on
PS3: MistaCreepy::Steam: MistaCreepy::360: Dead and I don't feel like paying to fix it.
My parents originally thought of video games as tools of the Devil.
Then one Christmas hell froze over, and lo and behold they purchased a PlayStation.
My mother completed (not beat, but completed) Crash Bandicoot 1-3, Spyro 1-3, and Twisted Metal 2.
Watching my mom play Twisted Metal was hilarious. The physical disconnect mentioned earlier simply never clicked with her, and I seem to recall her accidentaly punching me in the head at one point while furiously attempting to make a U-turn in-game. She also liked to scream "WHERE'S THE HEALTH?!", since she was never quite able to decipher the mini-map. Even so, she was a monster at that game. If you haven't heard your mother cackle with glee as she immolates civilians with napalm, then you simply haven't lived.
One year for Christmas I had a custom license-plate frame made for her that read "I'd rather be playing Twisted Metal". I think she still has it.
She doesn't play many games anymore, due to failing eyesight and the early onset of arthritis. It's a shame, really.
My mother plays games. Ostensibly, she plays more than I do, owning (and using) from previous generations an Atari (I dunno which model) a NES, a Gameboy, a Playstation, an N64's, a Gameboy Color, a ps2, a gamecube, a Gameboy Advance, a Wii, a PS3, a DS and a PSP. (I only have owned a Gamecube, GB, GBC, GBA, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Wii.. 'course when I was younger, I just used the stuff she owned. 'Course I technically have possession of one of her N64's and I could easily gain possession of one of the spare NES if I cared that much.)
Her favorite titles include Spyro, Ratchet and Clank (which is what prompted the PSP and PS3 purchase), Jak and Daxter, Zelda and Mario Party.
I once got her to play Half-Life on the PC for a short while, before I wanted to play it again and took back the CD's.
My dad, to his credit, at least tries and get's into the phenomenon, but the most you can really expect for him to play is this 15 year old DOS solitaire game that he loves and I have to install whenever he buys a new computer.
I wonder what future medium I'll have difficulty adjusting to. But right now I can't imagine anything that would have the same level of sheer difference that interactive entertainment has from static entertainment.
I've tried thinking up mediums that I wouldn't be able to comprehend before. it's a fun activity.
My best guess would be some sort of biological medium. Like, something that's sorta living, but isn't, and has a very loose definition of tactile input or something.
I could see myself just throwing my hands in the air at something like that and saying "fuck it, I'll go back to transistors and metal for my media entertainment!"
I wonder what future medium I'll have difficulty adjusting to. But right now I can't imagine anything that would have the same level of sheer difference that interactive entertainment has from static entertainment.
I've tried thinking up mediums that I wouldn't be able to comprehend before. it's a fun activity.
My best guess would be some sort of biological medium. Like, something that's sorta living, but isn't, and has a very loose definition of tactile input or something.
I could see myself just throwing my hands in the air at something like that and saying "fuck it, I'll go back to transistors and metal for my media entertainment!"
Virtual reality by itself very well might not be it. Any game with a well-designed interface essentially already is virtual reality, since you can lose your sense of having to control it from the outside. They may not be attempting to emulate our reality, or be being successful if they are, but to some extent they do feel real within their own context, even if that context involves making little numbers appear on top of sprites.
Why didn't the parents of the early teens listen to the radio?
Why didn't parents in the turn of the century go to Nickelodeons?
Why didn't parents in 1939 watch TV?
It's called radical suppression of new technology, and it's an old phenomenon. Basically, the first generation to grow up with a new technology is the one who ushers it in, and the older generation, outside of rare oddities, will simply choose not to participate.
Trust me, every medium goes through it. Get this - Socrates condemned written language back when it was a new technology. He thought it'd dull the mind.
This is pretty much it.
My dad used to play flight sims, and he bought a NES "for the family" back in the day. But.. after playing some Super Mario Bros. and Tetris for a little while, he went back to his flight sims, and eventually stopped playing games of any kind. Both of my parents get a kick out of Wii Sports though.
The big thing is that most of people that grew up with videogames as a major source of entertainment are becoming adults and having children of their own now.
It's going to be awesome when I have a kid. I'm going to play every videogame there is with the little guy. And I'm not going to go easy on 'im (or her) either.
Another part of the problem is how .... well simple and crappy alot of those old games that were around before WERE. Most of these older games wre nothing more then twitch reflex type games. No story, no characters, no resemblance to reality, barely any content. Just barebones time killing crap.
I don't think most parents understand how far video games have progressed.
My older brother, by 1 year, we used to play NES/SNES/Genesis, everything together for many years. Then the N64 came out.. he didn't really get into the whole competitive Goldeneye thing.. he liked Mario 64, but soon his interest waned out into nothing.
He never touched a console in the last generation. Nothing. No GCN/Xbox/PS2. But he did end up getting a DS when NSMB came out, and has a few RPGs and some puzzle games.
When my family got together for Thxgiving, I told him that the new Guitar Hero was out. He immediately wanted to play it. Taking turns, the topic videogames came up.
He pretty much said that the reason he doesn't play videogames any more is because they're extremely uninviting to 'newcomers.' He hasn't been trained on the new types of games that make up a great deal of titles out there. First person shooters, for example? He's terrible at them and they're no fun to him. It's not just dealing with the analog sticks for moving and aiming either. Think about it. Skills such as leading projectile weapons, utilizing splash damage, taking head shots, using rail guns or sniper rifles, projecting grenades, rocket jumping, circle strafing, etc. The list goes on. The average FPS fan will pick up a new game and know these things immediately.
I think we've taken for granted how easy things come to us since we've been honing these skills for many many years. People trying to pick them up now, as adults, are going to have problems. There's no history of things that have been ingrained into us that they are second-nature for a lot of people.
What about games that have no main characters? Like RTS games where you are an invisible cursor building factories and commanding units? Black and White, Medieval 2: TW, Command and Conquer, etc.
I personally consider RTS games to be an example of games becoming less accessible to older gamers. With turn based strategy games, you have time to think, to consider, to set up your moves. RTS games involve a crap ton of clicking and are a big race to build up technologies/units/etc. It's difficult to be strategic in a RTS game if you can hardly keep up with the click race.
SwashbucklerXX on
Want to find me on a gaming service? I'm SwashbucklerXX everywhere.
I just find it insulting that most people look at my hobby like 'it can't provide the sort of depth I can find in a newspaper crossword'. To quote an earlier post.
Basically, if you watch TV you can't say anything about gaming and it's my role in the world to extend a middle finger to those who do.
I understand I sound intolerant, but it's entirely natural and the feelings between me and the other side are mutual.
When you get older you'll become more content and confident in who you are, resulting in less time worrying about what others think of you and more time just enjoying the things you enjoy in life. What others think of your hobbies will become irrelevant.
I just find it insulting that most people look at my hobby like 'it can't provide the sort of depth I can find in a newspaper crossword'. To quote an earlier post.
Basically, if you watch TV you can't say anything about gaming and it's my role in the world to extend a middle finger to those who do.
I understand I sound intolerant, but it's entirely natural and the feelings between me and the other side are mutual.
When you get older you'll become more content and confident in who you are, resulting in less time worrying about what others think of you and more time just enjoying the things you enjoy in life. What others think of your hobbies will become irrelevant.
yah but we're talking about others not accepting gaming as a valid hobby. How would your argument hold up if smokin' crack was our hobby?
KingMoo on
![▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓]!
!!!!▓▓▓▓▓Gravy?▓▓▓▓▓!!!!!!
!!!!!!▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓!!!!!!!!!
of doom
I just find it insulting that most people look at my hobby like 'it can't provide the sort of depth I can find in a newspaper crossword'. To quote an earlier post.
Basically, if you watch TV you can't say anything about gaming and it's my role in the world to extend a middle finger to those who do.
I understand I sound intolerant, but it's entirely natural and the feelings between me and the other side are mutual.
When you get older you'll become more content and confident in who you are, resulting in less time worrying about what others think of you and more time just enjoying the things you enjoy in life. What others think of your hobbies will become irrelevant.
yah but we're talking about others not accepting gaming as a valid hobby. How would your argument hold up if smokin' crack was our hobby?
I just find it insulting that most people look at my hobby like 'it can't provide the sort of depth I can find in a newspaper crossword'. To quote an earlier post.
Basically, if you watch TV you can't say anything about gaming and it's my role in the world to extend a middle finger to those who do.
I understand I sound intolerant, but it's entirely natural and the feelings between me and the other side are mutual.
When you get older you'll become more content and confident in who you are, resulting in less time worrying about what others think of you and more time just enjoying the things you enjoy in life. What others think of your hobbies will become irrelevant.
yah but we're talking about others not accepting gaming as a valid hobby. How would your argument hold up if smokin' nicotine was our hobby?
I just find it insulting that most people look at my hobby like 'it can't provide the sort of depth I can find in a newspaper crossword'. To quote an earlier post.
Basically, if you watch TV you can't say anything about gaming and it's my role in the world to extend a middle finger to those who do.
I understand I sound intolerant, but it's entirely natural and the feelings between me and the other side are mutual.
When you get older you'll become more content and confident in who you are, resulting in less time worrying about what others think of you and more time just enjoying the things you enjoy in life. What others think of your hobbies will become irrelevant.
yah but we're talking about others not accepting gaming as a valid hobby. How would your argument hold up if smokin' nicotine was our hobby?
O_o
Hey fuckface, thanks for the condescension.
FYI, I'm older. I'm confident in who I am. That's exactly why it's become easy to write off these cud chewing dips who treat me like shit as the idiots they are. They call me childish, or "nerdy", or assume that I have no life and I don't fuck my girlfriend because I interact with my entertainment.
I don't give them the benefit of my attention.
They sit, and stare at their entertainment. Commercial filled, by the numbers sit-coms day after day. Reruns 24/7. Fuck them. They will never understand it, I've stopped trying. Child-me would take offense, be hurt, try to explain. Adult-me laughs at their stupidity and feels sorry for their deprived lives then moves on. I'm much better off without these people in my world.
Don't try to reason with Jack Thompson. Move to another planet and forget about him.
I just find it insulting that most people look at my hobby like 'it can't provide the sort of depth I can find in a newspaper crossword'. To quote an earlier post.
Basically, if you watch TV you can't say anything about gaming and it's my role in the world to extend a middle finger to those who do.
I understand I sound intolerant, but it's entirely natural and the feelings between me and the other side are mutual.
When you get older you'll become more content and confident in who you are, resulting in less time worrying about what others think of you and more time just enjoying the things you enjoy in life. What others think of your hobbies will become irrelevant.
yah but we're talking about others not accepting gaming as a valid hobby. How would your argument hold up if smokin' nicotine was our hobby?
O_o
Hey fuckface, thanks for the condescension.
FYI, I'm older. I'm confident in who I am. That's exactly why it's become easy to write off these cud chewing dips who treat me like shit as the idiots they are. They call me childish, or "nerdy", or assume that I have no life and I don't fuck my girlfriend because I interact with my entertainment.
I don't give them the benefit of my attention.
They sit, and stare at their entertainment. Commercial filled, by the numbers sit-coms day after day. Reruns 24/7. Fuck them. They will never understand it, I've stopped trying. Child-me would take offense, be hurt, try to explain. Adult-me laughs at their stupidity and feels sorry for their deprived lives then moves on. I'm much better off without these people in my world.
Don't try to reason with Jack Thompson. Move to another planet and forget about him.
I have no freaking clue what you're talking about or where you're coming from.
But, uh, word of advice? If you're getting this pissed off and riled up, then no, you aren't "not carng" about what they say. They're still getting under your skin.
Just learn to relax and enjoy life. It's a wild ride.
I just find it insulting that most people look at my hobby like 'it can't provide the sort of depth I can find in a newspaper crossword'. To quote an earlier post.
Basically, if you watch TV you can't say anything about gaming and it's my role in the world to extend a middle finger to those who do.
I understand I sound intolerant, but it's entirely natural and the feelings between me and the other side are mutual.
When you get older you'll become more content and confident in who you are, resulting in less time worrying about what others think of you and more time just enjoying the things you enjoy in life. What others think of your hobbies will become irrelevant.
yah but we're talking about others not accepting gaming as a valid hobby. How would your argument hold up if smokin' nicotine was our hobby?
O_o
Hey fuckface, thanks for the condescension.
FYI, I'm older. I'm confident in who I am. That's exactly why it's become easy to write off these cud chewing dips who treat me like shit as the idiots they are. They call me childish, or "nerdy", or assume that I have no life and I don't fuck my girlfriend because I interact with my entertainment.
I don't give them the benefit of my attention.
They sit, and stare at their entertainment. Commercial filled, by the numbers sit-coms day after day. Reruns 24/7. Fuck them. They will never understand it, I've stopped trying. Child-me would take offense, be hurt, try to explain. Adult-me laughs at their stupidity and feels sorry for their deprived lives then moves on. I'm much better off without these people in my world.
Don't try to reason with Jack Thompson. Move to another planet and forget about him.
I have no freaking clue what you're talking about or where you're coming from.
But, uh, word of advice? If you're getting this pissed off and riled up, then no, you aren't "not carng" about what they say. They're still getting under your skin.
Just learn to relax and enjoy life. It's a wild ride.
If I follow the quote tree, I think I'm talking to "Shoegaze".
I didn't appreciate his comment. Fucking irritating to be sure.
Also I had a shitty day at work so I can't help but fucking type the word fuck every two fucking words, because FUCK does it feel fucking good. Especially when you point it at fucking idiots who get away with insulting your intelligence daily.
I'm the guy who throws Socrates out of my house for calling my 'written language' stupid.
I'm also the guy who's inner monologue has turret's syndrome.
Peace, Love, Hardcore Sex & Drugs
(objects in monitor appear angrier than they actually are)
I am a parent and play games, well for a living I guess. My son, 4, plays some, but I try to keep him active in stuff as well (enrolled in a soccer group for kids his age and such). My dad loves his DS, and wants a PSP for Christmas. He's just over the 60 year old hump.
Your interests shift too, as you get older. I find myself a lot less interested to play games these days, and when I do, it's usually only for an hour or so. My interests have kind of shifted towards movies (esp. political thrillers like Syriana, Constant Gardener and Last King of Scotland) and books. I can watch movies and read for hours, even days, on end. It used to be the same with videogames, but not so much anymore. I think it's mostly because they don't challenge or interest me enough intellectually. The games that DO, like Advance Wars, can still keep me completely enthralled for hours and hours and days and days.
Gaming isn't so much an 'old fogey vs. young whipper-snapper' thing, but a direct relationship to how much free time you have. When I was still in high school/college, I was up until all hours playing games. If I wanted, I could skip classes to play. Then comes your first job, and you realize that if you want to eat, you have to work harder than you used to. Then you get married, and the spouse, and then kids, take even more time away from your favourite pastime.
I went from being a highly competitive gamer to being 'one of those' casual types in the span of a few short years. But I still manage to get my gaming in, I just sacrifice sleep in order to do so! (Who needs sleep anyways? Overrated.)
So, I wouldn't pawn the lack of gaming off on a generational gap (although there is some credence to that), it's really just that life eventually sneaks up on you with all the other fun stuff there is to do.
God. I just reread that, and I sound so goddamned OLD.
Im glad i share the same type of life as someone else. I got 2 hours of sleep last night because it was the only time i could get some good gaming in.
I'm 29 years old, and I'm about right in the middle of the age distribution in my guild in WoW. As has been stated before, free time has a lot to do with it.
My wife and I just had our first kid. It's hard to justify farming mats for consumables all day Saturday when she's taking care of a screaming baby. Not that I haven't tried...
Why didn't the parents of the early teens listen to the radio?
Why didn't parents in the turn of the century go to Nickelodeons?
Why didn't parents in 1939 watch TV?
It's called radical suppression of new technology, and it's an old phenomenon. Basically, the first generation to grow up with a new technology is the one who ushers it in, and the older generation, outside of rare oddities, will simply choose not to participate.
Trust me, every medium goes through it. Get this - Socrates condemned written language back when it was a new technology. He thought it'd dull the mind.
/Thread Over.
Rey Del Aguila on
Because you know who SAID you know what with you know who, let's keep that between me and you.
Your interests shift too, as you get older. I find myself a lot less interested to play games these days, and when I do, it's usually only for an hour or so. My interests have kind of shifted towards movies (esp. political thrillers like Syriana, Constant Gardener and Last King of Scotland) and books. I can watch movies and read for hours, even days, on end. It used to be the same with videogames, but not so much anymore. I think it's mostly because they don't challenge or interest me enough intellectually. The games that DO, like Advance Wars, can still keep me completely enthralled for hours and hours and days and days.
Heh. I've found that I read less in Uni, mostly because if I'm reading something not directly related to course material I feel guilty. Presumably once I get out I'll start up again, it's really the most convenient way to entertain yourself.
Your interests shift too, as you get older. I find myself a lot less interested to play games these days, and when I do, it's usually only for an hour or so. My interests have kind of shifted towards movies (esp. political thrillers like Syriana, Constant Gardener and Last King of Scotland) and books. I can watch movies and read for hours, even days, on end. It used to be the same with videogames, but not so much anymore. I think it's mostly because they don't challenge or interest me enough intellectually. The games that DO, like Advance Wars, can still keep me completely enthralled for hours and hours and days and days.
Heh. I've found that I read less in Uni, mostly because if I'm reading something not directly related to course material I feel guilty. Presumably once I get out I'll start up again, it's really the most convenient way to entertain yourself.
Masturbation is probably the most convenient, but reading is close.
Your interests shift too, as you get older. I find myself a lot less interested to play games these days, and when I do, it's usually only for an hour or so. My interests have kind of shifted towards movies (esp. political thrillers like Syriana, Constant Gardener and Last King of Scotland) and books. I can watch movies and read for hours, even days, on end. It used to be the same with videogames, but not so much anymore. I think it's mostly because they don't challenge or interest me enough intellectually. The games that DO, like Advance Wars, can still keep me completely enthralled for hours and hours and days and days.
Heh. I've found that I read less in Uni, mostly because if I'm reading something not directly related to course material I feel guilty. Presumably once I get out I'll start up again, it's really the most convenient way to entertain yourself.
Masturbation is probably the most convenient, but reading is close.
Hey fuckface, thanks for the condescension.
FYI, I'm older. I'm confident in who I am.
You're certainly not coming across that way.
This is probably because we don't know eachother and you're making snap judgements based on what I'm typing into the internet.
That, or because you're complaining bitterly about people who don't respect your hobby and telling us how imsulting you find that, as if their difference in taste is a grave personal slight.
Naaaah, that couldn't possibly have anything to do with it.
Don't worry, though. When you become an adult you won't find that insulting anymore, because you'll be content in who you are. Best of luck to you in finding that contentment.
My dad's the reason I'm into games. We had an Atari VCS when I was little, later replaced with an Intellivision and then Atari 800, Atari 1040 and later 286 and 386 machines and so on.
He finished Alternate Reality: The Dungeon, Ultima IV and Dungeon Master before I did. He also was very fond of Baldur's Gate and Final Fantasy VII. FF7 was the last game he really played though. He thought the graphics got too realistic for him, and didn't leave anything to the imagination.
But there really aren't any games for adults anymore, imo. I mean, does anyone remember Microprose? They released 300 page manuals with keyboard overlays for each game! That couldn't be done today, I think. And Infocom games for the mainstream? Forget it!
But times change, I guess. Even I feel that I don't have time for games anymore, and want easy accessible stuff which I can put down at a moments notice.
eobet on
Heard the proposition that RIAA and MPAA should join forces and form "Music And Film Industry Association"?
Posts
When i was a lot younger my dad used to take me to the arcade every Friday (remember those things?). He mostly just watched me play stuff but he would occasionally find something he could enjoy. He's a WWII collector so he used to have fun playing Operation Wolf and other gun shooters cause he understood it more than say, a 360 or a PS3. (On a side note, he had a blast watching me play CoD2.)
I don't know if all baby boomers are like this too, but one thing my dad was awesome at was pinball. That mofo is way better at pinball games than I'll ever be.
"Hey Mega Man, join my side. You'll be mine, FOREVER!"
Holy fucking shit, I consider myself to be pretty good at most games (except FPS), but man. My dad completely schools me at pinball. We went to this bar once, and he put in 1 quarter. 1 fucking quarter, which got him 1 ball. He played till last call. We showed up at around 11 pm, last call is 2. He didn't even get to lose, he had to walk away. He had more bonus balls saved up than the LCD could display.
Pretty shocking.
Slot machines at casinos intimidate me. I know - you match up three of a kind, but I never get anywhere with them. I don't know any systems or odds or anything like that. I think I wasted a thousand Hong Kong dollars in Shenmue 2 just trying to figure out what the system was for the slots in the arcade. My conclusion: there is none.
you know, emnmnme, I was thinking... and this is pretty much an untapped well. I know it's not an original idea, but it's one no one has really run with. Someone make a vagina controller and a porno game, and jesus, it's basically printing money.
And I'm not trying to be funny either. I wouldn't doubt that sometime in the future we see something like this. And that's when we'll know that gaming is reaching full maturity, as ironic as that sounds.
That's probably been done somewhere in Japan. :P
I don't know - the porn games now are just copies of popular games with some nude skins thrown in. 'Sextris' is Tetris with naked people bent into shapes. 'Love Chess' is Battle Chess with erotic animations. But to actually mature and make a whole original game with strong porno overtones? Nah, unless the game were tremendously compelling, it would face too much competition from cheap internet porn and sexy Flash games.
Thats what I'm saying. Not a cheap porno game, like an honest to god sex simulator. Some porn company pours money and thought into it. It'd be a gold mind.
If its fucking weird and denies all logic and decency.... its been done in Japan.
Wow. I had a thread in D&D suggesting we give Katchem_Ash a huge budget to make the best porn game possible. The thread didn't end well.
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=40188&highlight=breasts
EDIT: Can we tun this into a videogame?
Then one Christmas hell froze over, and lo and behold they purchased a PlayStation.
My mother completed (not beat, but completed) Crash Bandicoot 1-3, Spyro 1-3, and Twisted Metal 2.
Watching my mom play Twisted Metal was hilarious. The physical disconnect mentioned earlier simply never clicked with her, and I seem to recall her accidentaly punching me in the head at one point while furiously attempting to make a U-turn in-game. She also liked to scream "WHERE'S THE HEALTH?!", since she was never quite able to decipher the mini-map. Even so, she was a monster at that game. If you haven't heard your mother cackle with glee as she immolates civilians with napalm, then you simply haven't lived.
One year for Christmas I had a custom license-plate frame made for her that read "I'd rather be playing Twisted Metal". I think she still has it.
She doesn't play many games anymore, due to failing eyesight and the early onset of arthritis. It's a shame, really.
Her favorite titles include Spyro, Ratchet and Clank (which is what prompted the PSP and PS3 purchase), Jak and Daxter, Zelda and Mario Party.
I once got her to play Half-Life on the PC for a short while, before I wanted to play it again and took back the CD's.
My dad, to his credit, at least tries and get's into the phenomenon, but the most you can really expect for him to play is this 15 year old DOS solitaire game that he loves and I have to install whenever he buys a new computer.
Being the uncool parent is MUCH less embarrassing for the kid than being the parent who tries to be cool and fails miserably.
My younger sister is really really into myspace.
Virtual reality by itself very well might not be it. Any game with a well-designed interface essentially already is virtual reality, since you can lose your sense of having to control it from the outside. They may not be attempting to emulate our reality, or be being successful if they are, but to some extent they do feel real within their own context, even if that context involves making little numbers appear on top of sprites.
This is pretty much it.
My dad used to play flight sims, and he bought a NES "for the family" back in the day. But.. after playing some Super Mario Bros. and Tetris for a little while, he went back to his flight sims, and eventually stopped playing games of any kind. Both of my parents get a kick out of Wii Sports though.
The big thing is that most of people that grew up with videogames as a major source of entertainment are becoming adults and having children of their own now.
It's going to be awesome when I have a kid. I'm going to play every videogame there is with the little guy. And I'm not going to go easy on 'im (or her) either.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
I don't think most parents understand how far video games have progressed.
My older brother, by 1 year, we used to play NES/SNES/Genesis, everything together for many years. Then the N64 came out.. he didn't really get into the whole competitive Goldeneye thing.. he liked Mario 64, but soon his interest waned out into nothing.
He never touched a console in the last generation. Nothing. No GCN/Xbox/PS2. But he did end up getting a DS when NSMB came out, and has a few RPGs and some puzzle games.
When my family got together for Thxgiving, I told him that the new Guitar Hero was out. He immediately wanted to play it. Taking turns, the topic videogames came up.
He pretty much said that the reason he doesn't play videogames any more is because they're extremely uninviting to 'newcomers.' He hasn't been trained on the new types of games that make up a great deal of titles out there. First person shooters, for example? He's terrible at them and they're no fun to him. It's not just dealing with the analog sticks for moving and aiming either. Think about it. Skills such as leading projectile weapons, utilizing splash damage, taking head shots, using rail guns or sniper rifles, projecting grenades, rocket jumping, circle strafing, etc. The list goes on. The average FPS fan will pick up a new game and know these things immediately.
I think we've taken for granted how easy things come to us since we've been honing these skills for many many years. People trying to pick them up now, as adults, are going to have problems. There's no history of things that have been ingrained into us that they are second-nature for a lot of people.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
I personally consider RTS games to be an example of games becoming less accessible to older gamers. With turn based strategy games, you have time to think, to consider, to set up your moves. RTS games involve a crap ton of clicking and are a big race to build up technologies/units/etc. It's difficult to be strategic in a RTS game if you can hardly keep up with the click race.
.. I never got the hang of hotkeys. 'Course, I quit playing RTS after WCII.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
yah but we're talking about others not accepting gaming as a valid hobby. How would your argument hold up if smokin' crack was our hobby?
!!!!▓▓▓▓▓Gravy?▓▓▓▓▓!!!!!!
!!!!!!▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓!!!!!!!!!
of doom
O_o
Hey fuckface, thanks for the condescension.
FYI, I'm older. I'm confident in who I am. That's exactly why it's become easy to write off these cud chewing dips who treat me like shit as the idiots they are. They call me childish, or "nerdy", or assume that I have no life and I don't fuck my girlfriend because I interact with my entertainment.
I don't give them the benefit of my attention.
They sit, and stare at their entertainment. Commercial filled, by the numbers sit-coms day after day. Reruns 24/7. Fuck them. They will never understand it, I've stopped trying. Child-me would take offense, be hurt, try to explain. Adult-me laughs at their stupidity and feels sorry for their deprived lives then moves on. I'm much better off without these people in my world.
Don't try to reason with Jack Thompson. Move to another planet and forget about him.
I have no freaking clue what you're talking about or where you're coming from.
But, uh, word of advice? If you're getting this pissed off and riled up, then no, you aren't "not carng" about what they say. They're still getting under your skin.
Just learn to relax and enjoy life. It's a wild ride.
If I follow the quote tree, I think I'm talking to "Shoegaze".
I didn't appreciate his comment. Fucking irritating to be sure.
Also I had a shitty day at work so I can't help but fucking type the word fuck every two fucking words, because FUCK does it feel fucking good. Especially when you point it at fucking idiots who get away with insulting your intelligence daily.
I'm the guy who throws Socrates out of my house for calling my 'written language' stupid.
I'm also the guy who's inner monologue has turret's syndrome.
Peace, Love, Hardcore Sex & Drugs
(objects in monitor appear angrier than they actually are)
Im glad i share the same type of life as someone else. I got 2 hours of sleep last night because it was the only time i could get some good gaming in.
My wife and I just had our first kid. It's hard to justify farming mats for consumables all day Saturday when she's taking care of a screaming baby. Not that I haven't tried...
/Thread Over.
You're still an ass.
Heh. I've found that I read less in Uni, mostly because if I'm reading something not directly related to course material I feel guilty. Presumably once I get out I'll start up again, it's really the most convenient way to entertain yourself.
Masturbation is probably the most convenient, but reading is close.
Can't masturbate on the bus.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
Naaaah, that couldn't possibly have anything to do with it.
Don't worry, though. When you become an adult you won't find that insulting anymore, because you'll be content in who you are. Best of luck to you in finding that contentment.
He finished Alternate Reality: The Dungeon, Ultima IV and Dungeon Master before I did. He also was very fond of Baldur's Gate and Final Fantasy VII. FF7 was the last game he really played though. He thought the graphics got too realistic for him, and didn't leave anything to the imagination.
But there really aren't any games for adults anymore, imo. I mean, does anyone remember Microprose? They released 300 page manuals with keyboard overlays for each game! That couldn't be done today, I think. And Infocom games for the mainstream? Forget it!
But times change, I guess. Even I feel that I don't have time for games anymore, and want easy accessible stuff which I can put down at a moments notice.