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Are old games redundant?

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    Are old games redundant?

    Can older games offer inspiration to developers that will cater for todays gamers needs? And compared to other media why has gaming such a vibrant Retro scene? For example when was the last time you went to your local Blockbuster and rented out a 1930's black and white musical movie?....is this a fair comparison?

    My point is many of us still play classic games from the Snes/MD era but do we regularly play games from previous generations and are earlier games actually relevant to the industry today?

    Thoughts please.

    #2
    fans of movies will often rent/buy/watch the old classics - i know that i do anyways

    same with retro games - you play them for the gameplay/ for the memories etc etc

    camps

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      #3
      30s films is not a "fair" comparison to games of the early to mid 90s.

      Its all relevant, games need to take ideas from everywhere - any kind of media and any time.

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        #4
        Yes and no; I think old games, for the most part, hold back developers by tying them down to a certain way of thinking. RPGs were born out of technical restraints, but developed into a paradigm which is still followed today... so when you think about it, developers are still adhering to standards laid down ages ago and basing much more complex 3-dimentional games around them.

        Of course, this can be a good thing too - abstract game designs can be born out of such a system, but in general, I think the always present retro aspect of gaming can be fairly damanging to the industry too.

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          #5
          Originally posted by camps
          fans of movies will often rent/buy/watch the old classics - i know that i do anyways
          But do you feel movies have aged as well as games or vice versa? Still i guess the games industry is young compared to the movie industry but in 70yrs will people still play Super Mario World?

          Originally posted by saif
          30s films is not a "fair" comparison to games of the early to mid 90s.
          Maybe not but that's really just an example of older media that i think just isn't relevant today. At what point will this happen in gaming? Or has it already happened?

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            #6
            Will people still be playing Super Mario World in several decades time? If they've got any sense!

            It's perhaps too early to even guess at a serious answer to such a question.

            Aside from the apparent pace of development (look at how much games have changed in 10, 20 or 30 years), I think it may be possible and fair to compare the film and game industries; however, I do feel that more 'fuss' is made over an interest in or the playing of older titles.

            I have a collection of films on DVD that ranges from the modern to films made in the 1960's. On video, I have recordings of films that were made in the 1920's and yet, no-one thinks it worthy of note or comment (cue: WEIRDO! ). The same can't be said of videogames...

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              #7
              One thing is for sure - people think it less odd for me to buy a French 50s film (Rififi) newly released on DVD than they would to buy Japanese NES ports.

              Come to think of it, you'd get absolutely killed on any film buff site if you suggested that The Third Man (as an example) should be colorized and given a 5.1 remix for any new release, but the idea of NOT doing the same for an XBox version of Asteroids of Battlezone would be thought as strange.

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                #8
                Well I certainly have a good number of 40/50/60s films in my DVD collection, and it can be shown without a doubt that there is influence in the film media from decades ago in the new. The story telling hasn't changed much, only the technology.

                The same can equally be said for the gaming industry, the story telling has generally remained the same, but the technology (graphics, sounds etc) has moved on.

                I would say that the retro scene in gaming is due a lot to emulation. I think I would further go on to say that the majority of people who are playing classics are doing so via the emulation medium.

                In answer to your question though, yes I do think older games can offer inspiration to the new generation, take for example Elite and how that has inspired Jumpgate or Freelancer, both exellent games.

                Regards
                Marty

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                  #9
                  I think the success of the Emu scene (esp. Mame) leads deveopers into the false sense that recreating these olds games will make them successful or cool, but thats not always true, as games like Defender display. What programmers forget is that those games were a nolstalgic snapshot of our lives and are mindset was completely different. Many people within the EMU scene today, were young and taken in by the whole arcade/computer/console thing.
                  But we're older now and the next gen of young gamers have been brought up into a world where computers are the standard, so theres nothing new and exiting anymore.
                  The revolution has been missed by these gamers (in the same way that films like Jaws and Star Wars were).

                  Gamers like me and, many others born in the early seventies had our young teenage lives during the era of the movie blockbuster and the Videogame, and also the advent of the Video and Computer.
                  There was a lot to get exited about and prehaps we were spoilt back then, but those feelings will never be recreated by any programmer, ever again.
                  The only way i can see this changing is a new revolution, such as full immersion in games, but whilst this exisited in the arcade to some degree, it will never exist in the home during our lifetimes.
                  Sad, but true. And its the reason why many gamers are beginning to feel more then a little let down, but theres no much we can do about it because home gaming is not going to advance fast enough.
                  I do hope i'm wrong though.
                  Sorry, i might have gone off topic a bit here.

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by acidforblood
                    Can older games offer inspiration to developers that will cater for todays gamers needs? And compared to other media why has gaming such a vibrant Retro scene? For example when was the last time you went to your local Blockbuster and rented out a 1930's black and white musical movie?....is this a fair comparison?
                    Well, there are also a lot of people driving cars from 10 years ago, not because they pine for the classics, but because that's what they can afford. New games and consoles are expensive! MAME is free!

                    Retro games also have the ability to transport us back to when we were kids. There's a reason most of the biggest MAME fans are in their 30's. You don't see many 12 year olds getting into the oldies -- not for long, anyway, especially if they have access to modern gear.

                    I think there will always be a retro scene, just as there will always be people obsessed with antiques or old-timey radio shows. I don't think that those of us who like the old stuff have sufficient numbers to drive the industry one way or another. I certainly got some strange looks the day I bought Defender, Dragon's Lair 3D, and Activision Anthology all at once. I was probably the only person to ask for any of those by name, and at full price.

                    20 years is really not that long. We're going to continue seeing nods to the past like Pac-Man and Mappy in Ridge Racer. I don't think we'll ever see a resurgence of simple, single-screen gaming ever again though.

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