The Gamer's Quarter

Lockeownzj00 · . Joined: 16 Aug 2005 Posts: 214

I wonder how prevalent it is on a forum of self-professed 'avid gamers,' but, here goes anyway.

Do any of you feel like you're falling behind on the videogame scene?

Here's my piece:

I have a DS. I have a fairly good computer. I have a PS2, a Gamecube, a Dreamcast...I have many videogame systems, it goes without saying. But I feel in recent years I've been missing the boat a little bit--whereas before, all the games that would leave peoples' lips would be familiar to me, and I would probably have played a good chunk of them, now they are all foreign. I don't have an Xbox 360--I don't really have much money, either (that's certainly part of it). Besides all these modern games coming out that I keep telling myself I have to play, I still have a billion old games I've never played to catch up on.

So lately, I just feel like I'm falling behind. I have this great PC--but most of my PC Gaming these days is Half-Life 2/Counter-Strike Source/Various other mods, little online games like Toribash (which deserves a thread of its own, incidentally), some old adventure games, and playign through SNES-era RPGs in Japanese on ZSNES.

And so I tell myself, "well, don't think that there's a bar that you have to live up to." My perpetual problem with movies and music, too, is that I'm always trying to get more, and I always feel like I'm missing out on half of it. With those two genres of art, it's only fueled my eclectic tastes, but it's almost like...geeze, even with all my free time, I don't have time to play games anymore. Sitting down for an entirely new game is almost scary to me. I still have Far Cry unopened sitting on my desk.

I haven't played F.E.A.R. Or Indigo Prophecy. Or Dreamfall. Or, 99 Nights, or Lumines. Hell, going to Japan made me feel like shit about DS because there's a gajillion awesome games for it, and I'm going to be playing them all when it's a dead system. I haven't read the Escapist in a zillion issues, even though I want to. Digg links are piling up again. And I just keep booting up the same familiar games. What is wrong with me? I know you could just say, "well, it's not that big of a deal," but I'm interested in all great experiences, and more and more it feels like my native art-form, videogaming, is full of them and I can't/won't feel it, too.

I donno--there's my garbled rant. Does anybody else feel kind of "interactively stagnent?" (not a euphemism for sex)

a_plus · . Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 252 Location: olympia

gosh, absolutely. a couple of years ago I was on top of most everything, but now I'm so poor I just kind of idly read about stuff. I have a gamecube, but haven't picked up any games for it, never had a ps2, and my pc is aging. Current gen systems are totally out of the picture, so I've been taking my time recently to look into older games I've missed, which suits me rather well.

dessgeega · Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 2:03 pm Post subject:

i don't consider myself an avid gamer. i can't remember the last time i bought a ps2 game.

oh, wait. sega ages alien syndrome.

well there you go.

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

I don't buy consoles until a couple of years after their release anyway.
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vf10a · . Joined: 02 Jun 2006 Posts: 25 Location: England

I was really starting to feel this way until the last couple of months. As I have just finished high school I have had an extra long summer holiday in which I have eaten into a sizeable chunk of my backlog. I would recommend just picking a new game up and starting it, then if it doesn't grab you by the time you first switch the console off stop playing it. Rinse and repeat until you find a game you really want to play. In the past I would have felt really guilty about not giving a game a proper chance but now I figure its better than leaving it to rot in a pile of games still to play.

Swimmy · . Joined: 16 Sep 2005 Posts: 990 Location: Fairfax, VA

I'm just in a complete slump. I get like this. All I need is one exciting something and I'll be back into games. And writing about them. (Sorry Shaper!)
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J.Goodwin · . Joined: 31 Jul 2006 Posts: 297 Location: North Shore, MA

I felt that way a while back.

Now I've embraced it. Dig up a copy of Tengai Makyo Ziria for PC-Engine and sit yourself down for some old school enjoyment.
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SuperWes · Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 5:42 pm Post subject:

I've got so much stuff that I don't know when I'm going to have time to play it all and new stuff seems to be coming out almost weekly that I really, really shouldn't get but know that I will. Arghhh!

But yeah, the key to keeping up with what's going on is to have a job where you can surf the internet for a few hours a day and still get everything done. The key to happiness is to not let this lazyness follow you home.

-Wes
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xvs07 · . Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Posts: 160

It's like this: According to Wikipedia, 172,000 books were published in the U.S. last year, and according to Nielsen-SoundScan, 60,331 albums of new music were released. Wikipedia has thus far indexed 635 games released in 2005. Now, let's be generous and say that a tenth of a percent of the music and books and five percent of the games are relevant to you, or something you suspect you would enjoy. That makes 172 books, 60 albums, and 31 games. Get crackin'. Oh, and don't forget to work sixty hours every week to pay for it all.

In short, you'll never keep up with the rate of production, so just prioritize as best you can. I try to keep a roughly even mix of stuff that my friends have enjoyed and stuff no-one I know has tried. That way there's common experience, but also lots of new experiences to suggest to people.

Edit: It's also a pretty telling fact that sales are down in all three categories in recent years. I think lots of folks are beginning to get over trying to keep up with the times. Which is just plain badass in my book.

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Yes, it is impossible to not feel this way with games. With films it was much, much easier. The crappy movies are easier to spot and they only eat up about 2 hours each on average. If you are really trying you can get through a good 5 of them on a lazy Sunday. This is usually more than what was released on that week (sometimes that month), so you can keep up with the new and throw in a few old ones.

This is pretty much impossible with games, and one of the main reasons that I have started to dispise crap thrown in to make them longer artificially. I give up on more games now even if I love them. I can't seem to make it past the 30 hour point on anything anymore. Games like Dead Rising are amazing though. The first play-through is only about 5 hours long. There are multiple endings, but so much of them feel competent on their own right that you don't feel like you need to get them all and they suit your play style usually. Because of this I have been spurred to complete it 3 times now.

I also try to be very, very selective of my RPGs. I can really only seem to finish them on hand held consoles anymore. They work better to have in your pocket and just play for a chunk at a time before bed: like reading a book slowly.

I also stopped attempting to play PC games, but I did this a long time ago.

Yet, I still play ten times more games than most gamers, and probably twice even that of casual gamers. Mixing things up with some retro games that only take a couple hours to beat are worth it. Also having arcade style game tastes will score you games like Metal Slug which are a blast and non-commital.

When all is said and done, most of the best games of the last two years are under ten hours long anyways.
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Six · . Joined: 15 Jul 2006 Posts: 313 Location: montreal

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

Janey Samm is a slut and should just shut her whore mouth.
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J.Goodwin · . Joined: 31 Jul 2006 Posts: 297 Location: North Shore, MA

Lackey · . Joined: 11 Jul 2005 Posts: 1107 Location: Canada

I have a pretty long "to play" list. Mostly I don't get around to it though, it's just such a large time investment. I wish there were more 10 hour games!

I'm not concerned with keeping up though. I've actually spent more time trying to catch up on my history. We've got a couple decades to be aquainted with.
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dessgeega · Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 3:21 pm Post subject:

i buy about one contemporary game every few months.

i'm having trouble deciding between dragon quarter and deep labyrinth. advice is appreciated.
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simplicio · . Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091

Dragon Quarter. And a rom of Shining In the Darkness, if you really need it both ways. Or Wizardry or whatever. Deep Labyrinth is gently-filtered jrpg pap.

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

dessgeega · Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 9:55 pm Post subject:

don't you have dragon quarter?
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SuperWes · Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 9:58 pm Post subject:

Get Dragon Quarter. Deep Labyrinth looks horrible.

To Matt: You'd probably enjoy RPGs if you make it a higher priority to recieve enjoyment out of them than to finish them.

-Wes
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dhex · Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 10:44 pm Post subject:

i was just playing f.e.a.r. this afternoon. it's well-executed. it has a mood: uncomfortable, tense, greasy. like a sweaty, abandoned subway train at three in the morning that's haunted by an evil little girl.

it's a game that lives up to its back cover blurbs. if you're not into that kind of game, that won't matter.

it also looks incredible. which, again, is not everyone's thing, but it's definitely quite good if that is your thing.
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simplicio · . Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

Dess, you shouldn't get either one. You should hold out for a couple weeks until the release of Contact, which looks like the best thing I'll play all year.
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simplicio · . Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091

possibly true enough. you could also borrow my copy of contact when it comes out, or my copy of dragon quarter right now.

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

I wouldn't worry about getting every awesome new release as soon as it comes out. Good games are good forever.

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

Contact certainly seems very solid as far as its art direction goes. I also like how they're aiming to use the DS in subtle fashions. Grasshopper Manufacture have been better clever about their use of controls in the past.
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J.Goodwin · . Joined: 31 Jul 2006 Posts: 297 Location: North Shore, MA

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

I think it's a lot harder to really fall behind these days than it was a generation of games back, or even two.

I mean, I'm barely even considering buying a next gen system right now, but there will probably be games for at least the PS2 for quite some time now, especially since I play imports-- the Saturn, for example, was supported pretty strongly in Japan LONG after it died in the US. But despite all that I don't feel left behind. With places like TGQ out here (something of the spiritual successor to Usenet from the 90's), I feel pretty in the loop even if the subject is NES games. In short: I think the idea that you're falling behind if you don't have the latest and greatest is something of a marketing construct.

dhex · Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:01 am Post subject:

J.Goodwin · . Joined: 31 Jul 2006 Posts: 297 Location: North Shore, MA

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

dhex · Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:04 am Post subject:

the very end of farcry was really stupid difficult, namely starting from the waterfall jump part.

but yeah, ravenholm is mint. that's why i like fear - its ravenholm + nova prospekt.
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J.Goodwin · . Joined: 31 Jul 2006 Posts: 297 Location: North Shore, MA

Swimmy · . Joined: 16 Sep 2005 Posts: 990 Location: Fairfax, VA

It's worth mentioning that FEAR multiplayer is free now. http://www.joinfear.com/main. I haven't installed it yet because I'm pretty sure it'll kill my computer, but if there will be a TGQ killfest anytime soon I won't have a choice.
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"Ayn Rand fans are the old school version of Xenogears fanboys."
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Lockeownzj00 · . Joined: 16 Aug 2005 Posts: 214

I always cringe when an RPG or some other game (Jak 2, I'm looking at you) tries desperately to fill the 'minigame' quota. I mean, I've read reviews which consider the "minigame factor" on an equal level with the other tiers of judgement. "Well, it seems to be in line...but are the minigames good?"

When it just feels like they gave one of the peon programmers free-reign for some of the minigames, I think it destroys the feel of the game.

Also, fuck card collecting. Fuck it.

Lackey · . Joined: 11 Jul 2005 Posts: 1107 Location: Canada

Scratchmonkey · . Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 1439

Yeah. "Holistic design" is pretty much a catch-all for when a design decision is poor or not.