Classic gaming-is it pure nostalgia,yearning for youth or much more?

[+Gemintronic]

I think we're all in agreement with Cynicaster. I would NEVER admit I got Smurfs on Coleco or 2600 for Christmas! It's okay to admit you like wearing black leather whilst stuffing your mouth with a rubber ball.. just, don't hurt yourself with the Smurfs horrid controls. That's just CREEPY.

Edited July 3, 2012 by theloon

[AtariLeaf]

Sure its nostalgia, that's what gets you back into it in the first place, BUT its the gameplay and fun that keeps you there. Nostalgia will only hold your interest for so long. I've personally picked up 2 or 3 lots in the past couple of years from local people who bought a 2600 and some games just because they remember having them when they were a kid. However, they quickly bore with it and resell it.

[7800Lover]

It's a combination of both nostalgia and yearning for youth.

 

To be honest, the newer consoles like Playstation 4 and Wii U don't really interest me. I prefer my older games as well as classics collections I have for PSX, PS2, and the Wii. I don't know what it is - maybe it's the fact that I'm older (I'm 32) or maybe it's because the video game industry has changed so much.

[jaybird3rd]

Anyway, I’m glad to see most people saying nostalgia is a small factor. Honestly, I find it a bit pathetic—almost creepy, sometimes—how badly some people in their 30’s and 40’s just want to be kids again. If you enjoy playing Atari, then that’s great—but please actually play it rather than just talking about it all time. If you’ve got a high score to brag about, I’d love to hear about it, but I don’t really care to hear story after story about how you played such and such a game “back in the day” when you were 8, or how you got Smurf for Christmas in 1983.

I'd have to agree with this as well.

 

I don't like criticizing how anyone spends his or her leisure time, but I have issues with the ways in which some people choose to "do" classic gaming, and you've touched on one of them. Of course, we also see this kind of "arrested adolescence" in modern gaming: we all know the cliché of the twenty-something gamer who evades life's responsibilities by playing Call of Duty in his basement all day. Perhaps trying to escape into the past by complacently re-playing and re-chewing the same old games one played as a kid is the classic gaming equivalent. I can see how one could call it "creepiness", but I see it as evidence of passivity (or a lack of passion, if you prefer), and this is where I would differ with some of my fellow classic gaming fans.

 

As I said earlier, I try to bring a certain level of creativity and initiative to all my hobbies, and at the risk of sounding like an arrogant ass, I sometimes wish that more of those in classic gaming would do the same. If you want to play the same old games, at least develop your skills enough to set a new record. Better yet, expand your horizons and try something outside your comfort zone: if you were an "Atari kid", for example, get an Intellivision and try it with an open mind. If you want an A/V kit or a different controller for your old console, or if you simply want to be able to repair your hardware, get some tools and take the opportunity to learn a little something about electronics. Or, try to understand the games you claim to like so much by studying game design, or by disassembling them and figuring out how they work. Or, try your hand at programming your own games. As the old adage says, "whatever you are, be a good one."

 

Granted, everyone's skill set is different, and some can learn to do these things better than others. But more often than not, I think it's mostly laziness which prevents them from doing so.

[fiddlepaddle]

<p>

I don't like criticizing how anyone spends his or her leisure time, but I have issues...

Apparently, yes.

...At the risk of sounding like an arrogant ass, ...

From my perspective, you lost that bet.

...I think it's mostly laziness which prevents them from doing so.

I suspect you are generalizing from the specific.  What appears to be laziness may actually be relaxing.  I don't like someone leaching off society when they don't need to, but I believe everyone is entitled to enjoy themselves any way they want (as long as it's not destructive to others), especially if they put the energy into setting things up the way they like it.  If someone wants to listen to the Moody Blues, watch Charlie's Angels, and play Pac man all night long, that's groovy, man.

[jaybird3rd]

I suspect you are generalizing from the specific. What appears to be laziness may actually be relaxing. I don't like someone leaching off society when they don't need to, but I believe everyone is entitled to enjoy themselves any way they want (as long as it's not destructive to others), especially if they put the energy into setting things up the way they like it. If someone wants to listen to the Moody Blues, watch Charlie's Angels, and play Pac man all night long, that's groovy, man.

Right, and that's why I said that I don't like to criticize how people spend their leisure time. I brought it up here only because I thought it was related to what Cynicaster was talking about. All I'm saying is that a lot more people would get a lot more enjoyment out of their classic gaming hobby if they put a little more imagination and effort into it. But if they don't want to, of course that's their choice.

[gooner73]

I think it is all personal raelly, judging by the responses so far.

 

for me i have come to realise that underneath the glamour and technical shine of the next gen gaming systems, there is for me something missing. I love being able to put a game on for 20 minutes and challenge myself to beat old scores etc,you don't need to spend hours developing the storyline.

The old stuff is simple but beautiful!

 

it does bring back good memories for me, but i also realise that it is just pure and simple fun.

[Shephda]

Honestly, I find it a bit pathetic—almost creepy, sometimes—how badly some people in their 30’s and 40’s just want to be kids again. If you enjoy playing Atari, then that’s great—but please actually play it rather than just talking about it all time. If you’ve got a high score to brag about, I’d love to hear about it, but I don’t really care to hear story after story about how you played such and such a game “back in the day” when you were 8, or how you got Smurf for Christmas in 1983.

 

Say that when you are 30 or 40, it won't be no where as creepy pup.

 

???

 

Dude, I'm 35. And it's still creepy.

 

Point taken.

[Cynicaster]

Anyway, I’m glad to see most people saying nostalgia is a small factor. Honestly, I find it a bit pathetic—almost creepy, sometimes—how badly some people in their 30’s and 40’s just want to be kids again. If you enjoy playing Atari, then that’s great—but please actually play it rather than just talking about it all time. If you’ve got a high score to brag about, I’d love to hear about it, but I don’t really care to hear story after story about how you played such and such a game “back in the day” when you were 8, or how you got Smurf for Christmas in 1983.

I'd have to agree with this as well.

 

I don't like criticizing how anyone spends his or her leisure time, but I have issues with the ways in which some people choose to "do" classic gaming, and you've touched on one of them. Of course, we also see this kind of "arrested adolescence" in modern gaming: we all know the clich頯f the twenty-something gamer who evades life's responsibilities by playing Call of Duty in his basement all day. Perhaps trying to escape into the past by complacently re-playing and re-chewing the same old games one played as a kid is the classic gaming equivalent. I can see how one could call it "creepiness", but I see it as evidence of passivity (or a lack of passion, if you prefer), and this is where I would differ with some of my fellow classic gaming fans.

 

As I said earlier, I try to bring a certain level of creativity and initiative to all my hobbies, and at the risk of sounding like an arrogant ass, I sometimes wish that more of those in classic gaming would do the same. If you want to play the same old games, at least develop your skills enough to set a new record. Better yet, expand your horizons and try something outside your comfort zone: if you were an "Atari kid", for example, get an Intellivision and try it with an open mind. If you want an A/V kit or a different controller for your old console, or if you simply want to be able to repair your hardware, get some tools and take the opportunity to learn a little something about electronics. Or, try to understand the games you claim to like so much by studying game design, or by disassembling them and figuring out how they work. Or, try your hand at programming your own games. As the old adage says, "whatever you are, be a good one."

 

Granted, everyone's skill set is different, and some can learn to do these things better than others. But more often than not, I think it's mostly laziness which prevents them from doing so.

 

Well said.

 

As for anyone getting upset about such opinions, walk it off. Maybe it is a good thing to hear different perspectives on things once in a while.

 

I love jamming with the band on our grungy garage anthems--so what. But I find myself having to keep that a "secret" at work because of stereotypes about rock n rollers being slackers and stoners; things that I am not at all. The fact that the hobby has that image to some annoys me. Similarly, with retro gaming, it annoys me that, to most, the stereotypical retro gamer is Keith Apicary (as entertaining as he is). The truth is, I'm not a fringe 40 year-old weirdo with a peach fuzz mustache who still wears Superman underoos--I can function in society despite my niche hobby.

[desiv]

Sure its nostalgia, that's what gets you back into it in the first place, BUT its the gameplay and fun that keeps you there.

Yep.. +1

 

desiv

[raskar42]

for my leisure gaming - it's retro all the way.

 

1. i'm a busy guy. i need games i can play for a few minutes at a time, the fewer load times, cut scenes and drawn out quests the better.

2. kids, I need tough systems that can take a beating.

3. I want to be able to build a collection without paying $60 a game.

 

or maybe i'm just a creepy, lazy, underdeveloped man-child

[atarilovesyou]

Anyway, I'm glad to see most people saying nostalgia is a small factor. Honestly, I find it a bit patheticalmost creepy, sometimeshow badly some people in their 30's and 40's just want to be kids again. If you enjoy playing Atari, then that's greatbut please actually play it rather than just talking about it all time. If you've got a high score to brag about, I'd love to hear about it, but I don't really care to hear story after story about how you played such and such a game "back in the day" when you were 8, or how you got Smurf for Christmas in 1983.

I'd have to agree with this as well.

 

I don't like criticizing how anyone spends his or her leisure time, but I have issues with the ways in which some people choose to "do" classic gaming, and you've touched on one of them. Of course, we also see this kind of "arrested adolescence" in modern gaming: we all know the clich頯f the twenty-something gamer who evades life's responsibilities by playing Call of Duty in his basement all day. Perhaps trying to escape into the past by complacently re-playing and re-chewing the same old games one played as a kid is the classic gaming equivalent. I can see how one could call it "creepiness", but I see it as evidence of passivity (or a lack of passion, if you prefer), and this is where I would differ with some of my fellow classic gaming fans.

 

As I said earlier, I try to bring a certain level of creativity and initiative to all my hobbies, and at the risk of sounding like an arrogant ass, I sometimes wish that more of those in classic gaming would do the same. If you want to play the same old games, at least develop your skills enough to set a new record. Better yet, expand your horizons and try something outside your comfort zone: if you were an "Atari kid", for example, get an Intellivision and try it with an open mind. If you want an A/V kit or a different controller for your old console, or if you simply want to be able to repair your hardware, get some tools and take the opportunity to learn a little something about electronics. Or, try to understand the games you claim to like so much by studying game design, or by disassembling them and figuring out how they work. Or, try your hand at programming your own games. As the old adage says, "whatever you are, be a good one."

 

Granted, everyone's skill set is different, and some can learn to do these things better than others. But more often than not, I think it's mostly laziness which prevents them from doing so.

 

Well said.

 

As for anyone getting upset about such opinions, walk it off. Maybe it is a good thing to hear different perspectives on things once in a while.

 

I love jamming with the band on our grungy garage anthems--so what. But I find myself having to keep that a "secret" at work because of stereotypes about rock n rollers being slackers and stoners; things that I am not at all. The fact that the hobby has that image to some annoys me. Similarly, with retro gaming, it annoys me that, to most, the stereotypical retro gamer is Keith Apicary (as entertaining as he is). The truth is, I'm not a fringe 40 year-old weirdo with a peach fuzz mustache who still wears Superman underoos--I can function in society despite my niche hobby.

 

Lol, while I understand the point you're trying to make, I think the stereotype of slacker musician is just as funny as the socially awkward (or inept) video game nerd. I know far more 30-somethings who are deperately clinging to some rock n' roll dream than retrogamers, and I look at those people in much the same way as you do.

 

Personally, few things are funnier to me than guys in 'bands' in their 30s-40s trying to 'make it' in the music industry...mainly because they're so out of touch with what the music industry has become, and what's actually popular and selling today. The landscape has changed so much that the very concept of success has absolutely nothing to do with the era from which these wannabe guys came from. You mentioned grunge, but at least that's still moderately 'acceptable' today. People don't roll their eyes when you mention Nirvana, Pearl Jam or Soundgarden. I know guys who are still trying to bring back spandex and big hair metal, lol!

 

I actually like hearing about those stories of early game experiences; I have a ton of em and every time I play certain games I think about those old days (much like listening to music from that time). But I also have a firm grip on reality and don't let the thoughts of yesteryear cloud my judgement: Turbo sure was fun on my Coleco in 85, but it just doesn't hold up today and no nostalgia (for me, at least) can change that.

 

The people I find really creepy are the truly hardcore, barely-functioning misfits of the video game hobby. There's a few of them in King of Kong, and almost everybody in Chasing Ghosts. It's those people that give me the creeps, lol.

 

But I digress: I gotta go woodshed this Malmsteen solo, cause boy I tells ya, IT'S COMING BACK!!!!...lol!

[Cynicaster]

 

 

The people I find really creepy are the truly hardcore, barely-functioning misfits of the video game hobby. There's a few of them in King of Kong, and almost everybody in Chasing Ghosts. It's those people that give me the creeps, lol.

 

But I digress: I gotta go woodshed this Malmsteen solo, cause boy I tells ya, IT'S COMING BACK!!!!...lol!

 

 

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean about the aging/struggling musician syndrome. Kind of sad, really. I see them around the local music scene all the time—these guys that have been writing and performing for 20 years or so without anything coming of it, but somehow they actually believe they’re only one ripping solo or castrati note away from hot tubs and limos. What they refuse to accept is that their age alone is enough to shut that door for them. Not only that, but in most cases, the only way their music could be any less relevant would be for it to not exist at all. The bass player in my band sometimes seems to get carried away with what he sees as the “potential” of what we’re doing, but I have to keep reminding him that we should consider ourselves lucky to be able to play live at local bars in front of the waitstaff, the other bands, and maybe a dozen or so patrons because that’s about as rock star as it’s likely to ever get.

 

As for the sexy studs of Chasing Ghosts and King of Kong, no doubt. That one tubby guy with the rapist glasses and collection of skanky porn paintings comes to mind. The experience of watching those guys in action is akin to taking the perspective of a “social drinker” in looking at a raging alcoholic—seeing the utter mess they have become makes you feel shame for partaking in the same activities as them, even if it’s at a much smaller level. Some people say that those movies brought them back to gaming, but I didn’t get that at all; in fact, after I saw Chasing Ghosts I regretted it because some of those guys are a total embarrassment to the hobby, IMO.

[BydoEmpire]

Personally, few things are funnier to me than guys in 'bands' in their 30s-40s trying to 'make it' in the music industry...mainly because they're so out of touch with what the music industry has become, and what's actually popular and selling today. The landscape has changed so much that the very concept of success has absolutely nothing to do with the era from which these wannabe guys came from. You mentioned grunge, but at least that's still moderately 'acceptable' today. People don't roll their eyes when you mention Nirvana, Pearl Jam or Soundgarden. I know guys who are still trying to bring back spandex and big hair metal, lol!

I see them around the local music scene all the time—these guys that have been writing and performing for 20 years or so without anything coming of it, but somehow they actually believe they’re only one ripping solo or castrati note away from hot tubs and limos.

I've known a handful of musicians that are really stuck in a time warp and think they'll get "discovered" playing 60s covers in dive bars, but that's very, very few people. Most of the 35+ folks I know that put a lot of effort into music do it because they really enjoy it. Nothing wrong with wanting success, that doesn't mean you're delusional. I hope I have enough free time in a couple years to get a band going again, and I'll be well into my 40s. I don't care about being a "rock star," but that doesn't mean I can't be serious about the music or the business. I'm not going to do it to suck. Might as well aim high, why not? The industry has changed a lot, though, so what might have been a good strategy 20 years ago isn't going to work now. That is a big disconnect for some folks, I think.

 

For what it's worth, I was practicing some Yngwie stuff just last week! And playing Atari.

Edited July 5, 2012 by BydoEmpire

[almightytodd]

I don't actually put a lot of hours in each week playing classic games, but I do enjoy following the discussions here and trying out the new homebrews while they're in development. As someone who went through my teenage years in the 1970s, the arrival of videogames and computers that you could actually own and have in your house has had a major influence in my life and shaped decisions that have led to a 20 year career as a software developer.

 

In this 1969 Disney production the opening scene (...after you get through the credits and the groovy theme song a minute and 51 seconds in...) has the Dean of Medfield College exclaiming, "Professor Quigly I'm sure that we all appreciate your interest in progress... ...but a computer! ...well that is a luxury that we just cannot afford..."

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMbRD7qmZJY

 

It was only 3 years later that Computer Space became the first commercially produced coin-operated video game. Another five years or so and there were microprocessors like the MOS 6502 and the Zilog Z80 that were becoming inexpensive enough that people could actually have their very own home computer or microprocessor-based home game system. It was a pivotal moment in history.

 

For those who are younger - who grew up in a time when videogames had always "just been there", I think it's difficult to understand how much the world seemed to change in those 10 years from 1969 to 1979.

[macgoo]

Hmmm interesting question but my answer is simple if arbitrarily split into 2 parts.

 

1. Games - Not nostalgia, many many 8bit games from certain machine architectures are superior today to the crap put out like Super meatboy etc. So I play them because there are probably 100,000+ games to choose from if you go from VCS to Amiga 1200 and everything inbetween.

 

2. Computers of the past - This IS nostalgia, emulation is at a stage where there is no actual difference in all honesty. It is because we want to feel how it was to use those machines and remember a time when bollox from Apple and Microsoft had not infected the home computer world. The early 80s when there were 20 different incompatible computers and 5 incompatible video game consoles to choose from were the best time EVER in the history of home computing. However in order to play the games I used a wholes suite of Retrogenius Ultimate DVDs (latest ones being for the Tatung Einstein and Mattel Aquarius computers)

 

If you want to extend it to the wish of me actually wanting to own the games as physical objects.....well truth is even when I was in my early teens I promised myself I would keep all my VCS/C64/ST/Amiga games for the rest of my life until I died, sadly I had to leave many behind when moving back from living abroad and that is the only reason I had to buy them. Had I never emigrated I would still own 1000s of original games on those formats and 10,000s of pirate copies to this day

[Bartsfam]

I guess I'm a creepy dude here!! I'm 46, and have been playing ever since my parents bought one of the first Odyssey's, (I remember you had to put like 6 "D" batteries in it to make it work....)

 

Maybe because life isn't so kind as you get older, nostalgia does kick in, and I always play my 2600 or Colecovision, above and beyond any other console. And it brings back memories, whether you like it or not.

My beloved brother in law, who is now passed on, and I used to play Missile Command over Bloody Mary's on Sunday mornings while everyone else was at church....my high school girl friend and I playing the 2600 until all hours of the night, and she kicked my a** more then a few times...and the geekiest of all is probably my cousins and I playing Gorf all night long on the CV at a family reunion.

Unfortunately, once I play one of those titles, I do get brought back.

 

But, now that I 'm older with a wife and two kids,and 60 hours a week at work, time is the other issue. Like others have said, I don't have the time to invest an hour at the beginning of a game, just to get going, like in a Zelda.

I like to just pop in a game, and try to beat an old score....and relive old memories.

Edited July 6, 2012 by Bartsfam

[gooner73]

I guess I'm a creepy dude here!! I'm 46, and have been playing ever since my parents bought one of the first Odyssey's, (I remember you had to put like 6 "D" batteries in it to make it work....)

 

Maybe because life isn't so kind as you get older, nostalgia does kick in, and I always play my 2600 or Colecovision, above and beyond any other console. And it brings back memories, whether you like it or not.

My beloved brother in law, who is now passed on, and I used to play Missile Command over Bloody Mary's on Sunday mornings while everyone else was at church....my high school girl friend and I playing the 2600 until all hours of the night, and she kicked my a** more then a few times...and the geekiest of all is probably my cousins and I playing Gorf all night long on the CV at a family reunion.

Unfortunately, once I play one of those titles, I do get brought back.

 

But, now that I 'm older with a wife and two kids,and 60 hours a week at work, time is the other issue. Like others have said, I don't have the time to invest an hour at the beginning of a game, just to get going, like in a Zelda.

I like to just pop in a game, and try to beat an old score....and relive old memories.

 

 

well said! this was the whole point of the thread.

[AtariLeaf]

I guess I'm a creepy dude here!! I'm 46, and have been playing ever since my parents bought one of the first Odyssey's, (I remember you had to put like 6 "D" batteries in it to make it work....)

 

Maybe because life isn't so kind as you get older, nostalgia does kick in, and I always play my 2600 or Colecovision, above and beyond any other console. And it brings back memories, whether you like it or not.

My beloved brother in law, who is now passed on, and I used to play Missile Command over Bloody Mary's on Sunday mornings while everyone else was at church....my high school girl friend and I playing the 2600 until all hours of the night, and she kicked my a** more then a few times...and the geekiest of all is probably my cousins and I playing Gorf all night long on the CV at a family reunion.

Unfortunately, once I play one of those titles, I do get brought back.

 

But, now that I 'm older with a wife and two kids,and 60 hours a week at work, time is the other issue. Like others have said, I don't have the time to invest an hour at the beginning of a game, just to get going, like in a Zelda.

I like to just pop in a game, and try to beat an old score....and relive old memories.

 

Very well said, and personally, I don't understand the "creepy" comments from above. Nostalgia and the fun of the machines and games themselves combine for a fun hobby whether I'm having a Millipede marathon on the 2600 or making a review video on youtube about some obscure game, they're all a part of the hobby that each person individually enjoys and it shouldn't be minimized by comments about some perceived "creepiness".

 

EVERYONE is nostalgic about something - music, movies, toys, games, etc from their childhood. Ever sit around with your grandparents and just talk - it almost inevitably turns to nostalgic talk about their youth. Its just what human beings do. We long for simpler times without responsibility or hardships which almost always strongly includes the things we enjoyed as children.

 

If that's creepy then I am too.

[atarilovesyou]

The creepiness is right here:

 

 

I love the nostalgia associated with retrogaming...the guy above actually isn't as creepy in my mind as the obese guy who sleeps on the floor surrounded by his insect collection (can't remember his name, probably for the best). It's the stereotypical perception of the overblown OCD retrogamer that creeps me out, but every hobby (or walk of life) has people like this. And sure, if that's his bag and he's not hurting anybody, go ahead and fill your boots. But you tend to find personalities like this who are associated with video and computer games, roleplaying games, that kinda thing.

 

Nostalgia might not be the right word for it...I'm not pining for 1983 to come back. I just love the memories from those days; gaming was a huge part of it.

[+thegoldenband]

Honestly, I find it a bit pathetic—almost creepy, sometimes—how badly some people in their 30’s and 40’s just want to be kids again. [...] I don’t really care to hear story after story about how you played such and such a game “back in the day” when you were 8, or how you got Smurf for Christmas in 1983.

 

Creepy:

 

 

Definitely pathetic:

 

 

What a loser!

 

 

Yeah, there's definitely nothing worse than an adult who feels nostalgic for his/her childhood. Yup.

[AtariLeaf]

 

Nostalgia might not be the right word for it...I'm not pining for 1983 to come back. I just love the memories from those days; gaming was a huge part of it.

 

Well put.

[Cynicaster]

Honestly, I find it a bit pathetic—almost creepy, sometimes—how badly some people in their 30’s and 40’s just want to be kids again. [...] I don’t really care to hear story after story about how you played such and such a game “back in the day” when you were 8, or how you got Smurf for Christmas in 1983.

 

Creepy:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skmodkj42eE

 

Definitely pathetic:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0WMSovOboY

 

What a loser!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq8LDUCw6sg

 

Yeah, there's definitely nothing worse than an adult who feels nostalgic for his/her childhood. Yup.

 

Really?

 

There is a difference between fondly recalling your childhood as an adult and living life day to day in a fantasy that your childhood is still ongoing.

 

Sure, everybody reserves the right to live their life exactly how they see fit--I would never say otherwise. All I am doing here is making the suggestion that if your obsession with your childhood starts to negatively affect other social/professional/personal areas of your life, then you've entered a problem zone. Too much of anything is bad--booze, pot, twinkies, bingo, gambling, and yes, even Atari.

 

If you can't see what differentiates Stevie Wonder from that Chasing Ghosts creep then, well, there is no point in having this conversation in the first place.

[+thegoldenband]

I think you ought to dial back your rhetoric a little, and stop worrying so much about what other people think of you. (And maybe develop a bit more of a sense of humor, while you're at it.)

[raskar42]

here's what i think, life is mostly crappy. if you find something you like, then enjoy it. If you happen to find that thing when you are 6, well hey, that's just lucky.