Back to the Classics: Revisited

 Okay. Here it is folks. My follow-up article to Back to the Classics: Why We Are Missing Out With Today’s Games. 

Let me start by saying that I was interested in this internship mainly for the experience. I was also hoping that it might rekindle my love of gaming because up until a few weeks ago, I really wasn’t that interested in video games anymore. That isn’t to say I wasn’t playing them. Simply that I had been losing interest for a long time. 

Now let me apologize because my original article was half-baked and frankly, not a good representation of what I was actually trying to say. Honestly, it was written mostly in frustration and it wasn’t as well-formulated as it should have been. And even worse, it was a generalized critique of the very interests of my audience. 

But, I have to admit, I am so thrilled I wrote it because the discussion it sparked really got me thinking and I ended up with some fabulous game recommendations.

What I started to realize as I read the comments (and I read them all) was that I had given up on the gaming world prematurely.

I should have realized that the Indie games were more my style. But instead, I latched onto the few games I still liked and decided to ignore the gaming world. Which was probably the worst decision I could have made because it meant that the only things seeping past my blinders were the over-advertised mainstream games like Call of Duty. The games I could only really escape by becoming a hermit in Siberia.

And the more I locked myself in a world where all I saw were those games, the more bitter I became. Essentially, I had trapped myself in this endless cycle. But the responses last week were the jolt I needed to get out of it and start looking again.

And then E3 happened…

It came at the perfect time. Honestly, I had promised a response article that I wasn’t sure I could deliver. Even with the fantastic responses I had gotten from my first article, I was still feeling a bit hesitant to accept that I had really missed so many great games when I felt like I had had plenty of opportunities to hear about them. And then I watched the E3 live feed and I reported on Watch Dogs, Deadfall Adventures, and Transistor.

And my whole world changed. Dramatic, I know.

I am constantly talking about games now and I keep looking things up online. (I’m still way behind gamers that have been this interested for years, but this is a big change. Most of my friends didn’t even know I played video games before this internship.)

Basically, I realize the error of my ways now and I concede that there are a lot of fantastic games out there that I was completely oblivious to!

But let’s think about this for a minute… 

I know I wasn’t alone when I posted my first article. And that’s what’s important to talk about here. 

So time for a translation. When I said things like “Back to the Classics” or “I miss the days when Pacman was hot stuff,” what I really meant was that I wanted to go back to a time that seemed to have more quality games. Games that weren’t advertised all over television or that weren’t generic first-person shooter games. I wasn’t necessarily saying that I thought Pacman was intellectual. (And that was a huge miscommunication on my part!) I was simply trying to say that I felt like I had lost interest years ago because the games had gone downhill and, honestly, I still don’t think I’m the only one who felt/feels that way. 

There are a lot of people out there playing video games. But there are also a lot of people who used  to play video games. I wonder what would happen if we managed to keep all those people interested. If we stopped losing gamers that were only exposed to Call of Duty or Halo. Would our Indie games be the norm? Would AAA games be more about quality because that would be what was bringing in the money?

A lot of gamers get defensive when someone starts attacking the industry.

I understand why. It’s hard to hear something you love being talked about in a negative light. But those are the voices of gamers that are shrinking away from the industry. Gamers that might just leave altogether if they feel like no one is listening to them or worse, if they feel attacked. And a lot of them are making good points. 

If we take the time to have these discussions, we might just reinvigorate the passions of gamers who are ready to pack their bags and devote their attention to a new geekdom. And even if we don’t save the gamer who is complaining, we might just save the gamer who is listening.

So thank you to all you wonderful people who took the time to comment on my post and give me recommendations because those are the sorts of comments we need. Ones that provide a solution rather than a defense. 

And please, if you are reading this, let me know what you think or if you have any game recommendations. Because I am ready for some incredible games!