Gaming history - do you think it's important?

[Orogun01]

Now that subject matter, the old Greek plays and myths, they truly are timeless.

Religion and mythology; the monomyth in general, they tell the story of humanity. We empathize with the struggles of the hero as we have gone or are going through similar feelings.

Still, my struggles at my new job hold nothing to killing monsters but I'd like to think that I would handle an angry customer better than Perseus.

[Tigranes]

I would say that if you get stuck in a puzzle then a walkthrough (definitely), guide (probably) or a hint system (maybe) is a useful part of that history. Wouldn't you?

 

How is that history in the sense that eveyrone else is talking about?

 

And indeed, it's funny that many people still read Thucydides, Homer, Shakespeare, etc. or listen to music more than five years old, if the new is always indeed better...

[Amentep]

Stop motion animation still has a certain odd unsettling quality that fits perfectly with some of the subject matter, one of the reasons that I found the modern remake of Clash of the Titans to be deeply uninspiring compared to Harryhausen's epic. His Gorgon still haunts my memories.

 

Edit: Or Kubrick's paranoid, sparse cinematography for the Shining, arguably making one of the most effective psychological horrors without all of the jump scares or gore that modern directors think will terrorise, but in truth only shock.

I've always wanted to see someone create a stop-motion performance like Haryhausen did but use modern CGI to make sure it was integrated better than the old blue screen process.

 

There's a certain character in stop-motion animation - because the armature & figure exist in real 3D that computer animation hasn't been able to match. But certainly element integration is more seamless now with computer technology - love to see that explored.

 

And indeed, it's funny that many people still read Thucydides, Homer, Shakespeare, etc. or listen to music more than five years old, if the new is always indeed better...

Words aren't limited by technology, really (although they are limited by ability to read or hear/understand).

 

(And all media has its detractors - I know people who'd never watch a B&W film, who'd never listen to a mono recording, who'd never read a 1940s comic book or who'd never watch an old TV show where the status quo had to be restored every week).

[Janmanden]

 

I would say that if you get stuck in a puzzle then a walkthrough (definitely), guide (probably) or a hint system (maybe) is a useful part of that history. Wouldn't you?

 

How is that history in the sense that eveyrone else is talking about?

 

And indeed, it's funny that many people still read Thucydides, Homer, Shakespeare, etc. or listen to music more than five years old, if the new is always indeed better...

 

Erm... How is that not history? A recording of a first-hand impression that details his or hers experience with a game in detail? It's probably the best kind of history, because it's actually useful in the same context and for more than just making up your mind about whether you want to be part of that history.

 

What sense is that? Everyone else, who? I see a whole who isn't talking about anything in the same sense. Everybody seem to contribute in their own way, which is perfectly fine. Should I quote the whole thread and point out how each and everyone is contributing with different threads on history and some who isn't? I don't think so, but you can name a sense, that you would like me to contribute to.

[Tigranes]

All media has its presentists, obviously. Most of the time, stuff that is produced now is always going to be the most popular. I don't think anybody's arguing that every gamer should play every classic or anything like that. The point is that people who want to make games, be a game journalist, critic, etc. should take some time to learn and experience some relevant older games. Instead, today, they are too busy apologising for how bad older games are and how new is better because it is new. One of the benefits is that we get better games, because so often games today go backwards and reinvent the wheel. Another is that more gamers are enticed to try a wider variety of games. One consequence of that is that it is less of the case that everybody has to make the same kind of in-fashion game to survive. 

 

I don't like the fact that a company like Obsidian, which clearly is the best at making games like POE or MOTB, is forced to do things like Armoured Warfare or Dungeon Siege 3 to keep employees on its books. I'd rather that it was able to just make the games it is good at, and do well enough to survive - without convincing everybody in the world that those are the only games to play. There's many factors behind what would make that possible, but one is surely a world where you don't say, "have you played POE?", and people dont just chime back, "oh man, that old looking game, I hate old games, old games suck because they're old."

 

 

 

 

I would say that if you get stuck in a puzzle then a walkthrough (definitely), guide (probably) or a hint system (maybe) is a useful part of that history. Wouldn't you?

 

How is that history in the sense that eveyrone else is talking about?

 

And indeed, it's funny that many people still read Thucydides, Homer, Shakespeare, etc. or listen to music more than five years old, if the new is always indeed better...

 

Erm... How is that not history? A recording of a first-hand impression that details his or hers experience with a game in detail? It's probably the best kind of history, because it's actually useful in the same context and for more than just making up your mind about whether you want to be part of that history.

 

What sense is that? Everyone else, who? I see a whole who isn't talking about anything in the same sense. Everybody seem to contribute in their own way, which is perfectly fine. Should I quote the whole thread and point out how each and everyone is contributing with different threads on history and some who isn't? I don't think so, but you can name a sense, that you would like me to contribute to.

 

 

Sure, if you want to argue that walkthroughs and other player-created content is an important part of the history of gaming, and they communicate a history that not everyone has time to experience. Your original comment was just "I don't care about history unless I get stuck in a puzzle and I need a walkthrough". I had no idea how that was meant to connect, so I asked.