Posted July 25, 2019
low rated
After playing a bunch of games from my GOG library, and some newer games, I wanted to bring this topic up for discussion. Obviously, this doesn't apply to all games, as there will always be gems and outliers, but this addresses the general feel I am getting from the industry.
I've started feeling that, while a ton of new shiny games are coming out, whenever I play them, I don't find myself getting invested in them like I do when I play Ultima IV, Doom, Wasteland or Duke Nukem 3D. As I think about it more and more, I've come to realise that what these games are missing (At least for me) is the personal touch of the designers and developers. When I play these older games, made by smaller teams, I get a strong feel for who the people who worked on the game were. Doom oozes heavy metal and Alien fandom, and really gives you a good idea of who Id Software were and what they liked. Duke Nukem 3D may be ultra-referential, but I feel like I know George Broussard a whole lot better after playing it (A nerdy kid who's into 80s action films, and all the silly, over-the-top goofyness that went with them).
It may seem like a stupid point, but to me, that's a big reason of why I play games. It's why I follow my favourite game developers and designers on twitter, and check frequently to see if they're working on something new. Every time I play their games, it feels like we're having this silent conversation. By simply playing the game, I am experiencing a piece of that person, and that makes the game more memorable than all the flashy graphics in the world.
I've started feeling that, while a ton of new shiny games are coming out, whenever I play them, I don't find myself getting invested in them like I do when I play Ultima IV, Doom, Wasteland or Duke Nukem 3D. As I think about it more and more, I've come to realise that what these games are missing (At least for me) is the personal touch of the designers and developers. When I play these older games, made by smaller teams, I get a strong feel for who the people who worked on the game were. Doom oozes heavy metal and Alien fandom, and really gives you a good idea of who Id Software were and what they liked. Duke Nukem 3D may be ultra-referential, but I feel like I know George Broussard a whole lot better after playing it (A nerdy kid who's into 80s action films, and all the silly, over-the-top goofyness that went with them).
It may seem like a stupid point, but to me, that's a big reason of why I play games. It's why I follow my favourite game developers and designers on twitter, and check frequently to see if they're working on something new. Every time I play their games, it feels like we're having this silent conversation. By simply playing the game, I am experiencing a piece of that person, and that makes the game more memorable than all the flashy graphics in the world.
