... up until 2012 and played mostly 80s / 90s console games, but now I mostly enjoy games released post 2000.

Why?

Because as a mature gamer, I value more than just fun. I need games to be deep and immersive experiences that are worth my time and can take me away from the real world.

Actually I started craving more than just mindless fun before I got sucked into immersive 3D games. When I was playing old games, I had a feeling that something was missing. The games I was playing started to feel empty. I craved more than just jumping on bad guys and shooting space ships in Gradius.

I tried watching movies to full fill the need, but it didn't work.

At the end of 2012, I discovered GoG.com, from where I bought some of my favorite games like Duke Nukem 3D, Blood and Ultima. After browsing their catalog, I discovered and bought this game called Thief due to the cool sounding concept, and this game single handedly changed my view on 3D games.

I used to think 3D games are overrated and old school is king, but Thief: The Dark Project opened my mind and I came to appreciate the strength of the 3D gaming as a medium. Like an addict, started to chase similar experiences and learned about other great games like System Shock 2, Morrowind, Thief Deadly Shadows, Far Cry 3, Oblivion, KOTOR, Dishonored, Bioshock and Red Dead Redemption, just to name a few.

Now, I have difficult time getting any fun out of most old games or old style games. I played Mario 3D world on WII U and felt nothing for the game. M3DW just felt like shallow and easy game to me. I went back to Dying Light and Metal Gear Solid 5 and I was enjoying myself instantly and became sucked into the game's universe.

Since then, I've sold almost all my Snes and Sega Genesis games for good profit and have no problem reviving my childhood by playing these games on PC.

As a mature gamer, I want games to be not just about fun, I want them to be an immersive experience that I can get lost in and that is precisely what 3D games have done for me, especially post 2002.

For example, In order to relax after a long day at work, I used to have a shot of vodka and just get lost in the world of Dunwall in Dishonored. The game had rich history, a very unique and very believable world, memorable characters and extremely fun game play. All these things congealed together to create an immersive experience that I can't find anywhere else.

I'm sure there are people who share similar feelings as me. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I just wanted to share some random thoughts.

One of the first games I played was Civilization 1 and I remember that it was deep and immersive. It was only simple graphics but in my head it was so much more. Later I played Civilization 5 and it was still deep and immersive, however the graphics looked nicer. Loom was one of my first adventures and it was deep and immersive but later I discovered other adventures, even post-2000 ones and they too can be deep and immersive but for sure have nicer graphics.

My guess is that what changed most are the graphical abilities and the user interface and the extent of the content, but the deepness as defined by the game rules has comparably made a much smaller progress. So immersion is still possible with old games.

However it all adds up. I'm lazy too. If I can get immersion easier with modern games I will prefer them. Nowadays I only play Civilization 1 out of nostalgia, but I still occasionally play Civilization 3, 4 and 5, which, incidentally are made post 2000.

What I really love though are remastered versions of old good classic games with nicer graphics and easier user interface and maybe slightly streamlined rules and comfortable multiplayer support but otherwise as close to the original as possible. Heck, I would kill for the right to play the old classics in the new modern outfit.

But they had to introduce real time combat for the Master of Orion remake... (I hope it will become good nevertheless).

Any OP that long should also come with a blurb, or at least have the more important parts underlined.

Otherwise I just come in and post crap like I did without even reading it.
Well, I guess that's not much of a threat. But there you go.

otherwise others wil come in and post crap just like him and derail the thread

the op is a bit too long didnt read though

That's exactly what I said!

We release the robotic Richard Simmons

If the thread doesn't interest you, then just STFU and don't take the time to post in it, simple as that.

But if you can take the time to post in a thread TWICE (edit: now four times), surely you can take the time to read something. The OP isn't exactly an essay. It only takes a minute to read.

This isn't a chat room, it's a message board. If reading is so hard for you, then don't bother visiting message boards anymore. It would be better for you and better for everyone else too.

I will do whatever I want. And guess what! YOU CANNOT STOP ME!
Nyah nyah nyah nyah!
Fucker.

I wouldn't say this has to do with you being a "mature gamer" but your preferences in games has shifted. Considering Dishonored is mechanically a dumbed down Thief, you probably just mean you prefer immersion over game mechanics.

As a kid, I used to enjoy immersive experiences. As a mature gamer, I want my dose of fun before the next shift starts.

Immersion doesn't only mean feeling that you are in another world - it means total absorption in the activity you are engaged in. My favorite example is chess. Totally immersive - but you are immersed into the calculations and possibilities, not into another fictional world.

I find the Civilization games completely immersive. I can lose hours easily. Conversely, Skyrim and such I tend to play for only 30-60 minutes at a time - long enough to clear a dungeon or make marked progress on a quest.

I find it depends on the game. When a game is clearly beat by a newer version of it, like Wolfenstein and ... Well, sure, Wolfenstein: The New Order. I see no reason to play the original when games like the new one or Shadow Warrior exist. But when it comes to a game like System Shock which still does not have a single game remotely similar to it, well, I might come back to System Shock repeatedly.

Oh sure, when you remove all the mechanics Thief never contained, Dishonored is absolutely a dumbed down version of it! Sorry, I used to love Thief and still do, but after playing Dishonored I see very little reason ever go back aside from seeing the cool maps again.

I kind of get why OP feel that 3D games are more immersive, but to me, a lot of 3D games seem more like tech demos. I seldom get really into them.

3D games which sucked me in: PORTAL and MINECRAFT.
2D games which sucked me in: FTL, DON'T STARVE and SPACECHEM.