Podcast Plus is written by the co-host of the Ready Up podcast, and aims to further discuss big or little things that come up in the conversation. Check out the most recent podcast here.
In the last podcast, the group was divided over the topic of Far Cry: Blood Dragon. Ready Up’s own Scott, and special guest Lucy James really enjoyed it, but it left me and my co-host Laura a bit flat. If you’ve not played it, it’s a retro themed neon sci-fi blast ’em up based on the Far Cry 3 engine. It’s also jam packed full of references to cheesy old action films and other 80s/90s staples.
I’ve come to realise since we recorded that that there is more at play here than just finding the perpetual darkness in the game a bit of a downer – I’m becoming a bit fed up with nostalgia. Nostalgia for sale! Roll up, roll up, relive your past, for mucho dinero! Games companies love to dole out remakes and reboots of old games, and who can blame them when gamers are crying out for it?
I’ve never understood this fascination that many gamers have with retro games. Sure, there’s a degree of fondness when I look back on games such as Elite, Paradroid or Laser Squad, but sadly, returning to those games is nothing but an exercise in frustration. People say that because the graphics were very blocky and simple, the gameplay had to make up for it. But the gameplay didn’t make up for it. It was almost universally terrible, but to our 10 year old eyes it was the most incredible thing. Many games from “back in the day” were so hard as to be practically impossible, and some were even completely broken or actually impossible at the end. A rare game that WAS possible to complete, Bruce Lee on the Commodore 64, had an incredibly memorable ending sequence. You finished the game, and were rewarded with the exact same “GAME OVER” that you saw when you ballsed it up and died. Still, I recalled it quite fondly, a sentiment that was rapidly killed dead by this YouTube video of it.
It was almost universally terrible, but to our 10 year old eyes it was the most incredible thing.
The thing about gaming is that by its very nature, it is a highly technical field. As consoles and PCs get more and more powerful, the level of effects, detail and in-game intelligence can rise and rise, and this (generally) leads to better and better games. As much as I like to mock PC gamers for their “my frame rate is higher than your frame rate” attitude, at least they are moving in the right direction with newer, more powerful technology on a regular basis.
As it stands, will there ever be another Mario? Or will Nintendo keep flogging us the same old moustachioed plumber until he is old, grey, and so very very tired? Why make a new character for the future when a large portion of your audience is looking backwards? I’m not saying new technology is the answer to all of gaming’s problems, but staring into the past like a wistful old man, gently touching his gramophone, is definitely not helping.
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