A troubled state of mind...

[Red Fortress]

Years ago, as a kid I played a bunch of Adventure and Role Playing games, but growing up my gaming slowly became dominated by Strategy games (especially the Civilization series), along with the occasional action game.

Recently (partly because of this site), I've decided to play some old RPG's and Adventure games again.
But every time I try, I just can't seem to get into the proper state of :( mind...

I'm worried this cloud hanging over me will ruin some otherwise memorable and enjoyable experiences if :( I keep on playing...

Have any of you guys ever experienced anything like this?

[Eagle of Fire]

Well, first of all... What kind of RPG did you play in the past? There is a lot of different kind of RPGs, and most of the very successful ones are not really RPGs but action games with RPG elements and whatnot.

Also... Tastes change with time. RPGs and especially adventure games are very light in term of seriousness, especially in comparison to most (real, not RTS) strategy games. Your taste or interests might simply have moved on.

[arete]

Yeah, you get to the end of your childhood and your brain finishes growing, and suddenly all the things you used to love are childish and don't have the same magic any more. The books you read that gave you cinematic journeys of adventure in your mind's eye are now flat and boring.

It's called growing up. It takes a while for you to adjust to the whole thing, and getting a fresh perspective to life. And realising all the silly hollywood memes about how the world should work are just impossible for so many reasons...

It'll get better. You'll realise you can do so many more amazing things now that you can make your own decisions, and have your own goals, and you can find ways to bring the magic back into your life ^^ And some of it never went away in the first place. Hang in there. http://s524.photobucket.com/albums/cc328/cushypie/sad%20emotes/Comfort_Emoticon_by_adamguest1985.gif

[Red Fortress]

It'll get better. You'll realise you can do so many more amazing things now that you can make your own decisions, and have your own goals, and you can find ways to bring the magic back into your life ^^ And some of it never went away in the first place. Hang in there. http://s524.photobucket.com/albums/cc328/cushypie/sad%20emotes/Comfort_Emoticon_by_adamguest1985.gif
Thanks :hello:.

Well, first of all... What kind of RPG did you play in the past? There is a lot of different kind of RPGs, and most of the very successful ones are not really RPGs but action games with RPG elements and whatnot.
Turn based CRPG's, an example would be, "Nethergate (http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/nethergate)".
(real, not RTS) strategy games
Hey :blush:, while I played mostly TB strategy, there were a couple RTS's I also enjoyed (namely Rise of Nations, AoK, and the original Empire Earth)...

[Eagle of Fire]

Hey , while I played mostly TB strategy, there were a couple RTS's I also enjoyed (namely Rise of Nations, AoK, and the original Empire Earth)...
Maybe, but all modern RTS are only action games in disguise. There is next to no strategy involved since the player who can click faster or build more units faster always win... A real strategy game allow you to pause the game to really consider your next move. Otherwise it is not really a strategy game but a reaction game (and thus action).

[RRS]

Maybe the problem lies with concentration? To enjoy Shogun: Total War I used to read stuff about Sengoku Jidai, to immerse myself more. Life gets faster, all those facebooks, twitters ;) ...perhaps they draw you away? Stress can also have such effect (I know something about that...).

[Japo]

Old dogs don't learn new tricks. I believe many games are intense learning exercises. A kid can take all the learning you throw at him if he's motivated, but later as you grow up your brain becomes solidified (not completely) with the basic skills you've trained as a kid. I believe a lot of the fun factor of games, as far as kids are concerned, lies in the fun of learning and mind exercising. I find that I could play Civilization again and again, but learning a new game with unknown rules feels tiresome; as a kid I couldn't get enough of them--and not just kiddy games.

[DarthHelmet86]

I run into this problem sometimes, I find it is normally cause I am stressed about something and just need to relax and enjoy the game at a slow pace. Sometimes it is cause I haven't played the game in a long time and the things I remember being so great are in fact horrible and flawed and make the game unplayable. Then again nothing can stop me playing Quest for Glory and it is always there to help de-stress me.

If you aren't in the mood for a game or just don't seem to be having fun don't force yourself to play, that will only lead to you remembering how bad you felt playing the game the next time you try. Try another game or read a book, go for a walk just do something else until you get into a mood more suited for playing the games.

[TotalAnarchy]

Never encountered such a thing. :mhh:

[Red Fortress]

A major factor is patience, it seem I was much more patient as a Kid.

I could tolerate the frustration of getting stuck, and even having to replay the game.

Now I worry to much about stuff like Unwinable builds, game gliches, and deadends.

This leads me to reading up online, which in turn manages to ruin the thrill of discovery and exploration.

Also I found my self desiring to experience the game in one playthrough, leading me to check up online “as I play” for missed side quests, content, basicaly spoiling :blush: the game for myself. (Also, unintentional reading spoilers online really sucks to.)

I never did any of the as Kid (possibly as I had no internet), and it made the experience much richer...

I played Fallout's 1 & 2 like this, and am now constanly :rant: kicking myself.

Next I played Arcanum, and being consiance about this problem managed to catch myself most of the time, which made the experience much more memorable.

But this problem still persists and makes me scared of playing RPG's, as I could end up just ruining some other great games for myself.

P.S. All the above also goes :blush: for Adventure Games.

[Eagle of Fire]

What you describe is probably a sub product of the modern gaming industry. That specific industry which believe that you are just as good spending exactly the same amount of money on games as in the past but for a game which will end up lasting only about one height of the play time the old games used to last.

The industry of minute play is still booming, especially with smart phone and flash games. It is just as easy as ever to pick a game and play it only for a short while before finishing it or experiencing the whole game experience... The fact that your patience diminished with time is not really surprising with such a setup.

[Red Fortress]

What you describe is probably a sub product of the modern gaming industry. That specific industry which believe that you are just as good spending exactly the same amount of money on games as in the past but for a game which will end up lasting only about one height of the play time the old games used to last.

The industry of minute play is still booming, especially with smart phone and flash games. It is just as easy as ever to pick a game and play it only for a short while before finishing it or experiencing the whole game experience... The fact that your patience diminished with time is not really surprising with such a setup.
You probably correct:

I can't stop guilt tripping myself over partly ruining Fallout's 1 & 2, and this makes me wary of playing more RPG's...

I was so exited when I found out about them, having missed out as a kid.

As preparation, watched a bunch of Post Apocalypic films, got Burntime from Abandonia, read up on history of the series...

It just sucks that I could not properly get :rant: rid of the "Modern Gaming Mentality", or what ever it is while playing them!!!

[DarthHelmet86]

There is no such thing as a "modern gaming mentality". I have brand new games with more hours of game-play required to beat them then most of my older games. Have you thought that maybe the reason you didn't get into Fallout is because you just don't like the game? It isn't perfect it has lots of flaws and is not a game for everyone.

Gaming is gaming, always has been and always will be. If you cant get into playing a game, don't play it, try another game.

[hunvagy]

There is no such thing as a "modern gaming mentality". I have brand new games with more hours of game-play required to beat them then most of my older games. Have you thought that maybe the reason you didn't get into Fallout is because you just don't like the game? It isn't perfect it has lots of flaws and is not a game for everyone.

Gaming is gaming, always has been and always will be. If you cant get into playing a game, don't play it, try another game.

+1 on that (there I used that infuriating google+ thing just for the sake of it). Ther are a lot of games, especially RPGs that are as long, or even longer then the old ones. Fallout 1 had a time constraint for instance, while you can go on and play Fallout 3 as long as you want, to find every last homage or hidden shack with a rifle in it. Lack of concentration derives mostly because you don't like the way of the storytelling. Your taste probably changed, and can't find yourself to be drawn in by it. Another thing is that you aren't patient enough with the game, and a more complex game/battle/whatever system might make you want to quit the game, and you don't persevere. If that's the case, give it a rest and try again later, or as Darth said, leave it be and play something else.

[TotalAnarchy]

My impression was that Fallout is hard to get into nowadays, if you're new to it. Even if you get addicted to most other old games easily. I also got excited about playing in a post-apocalyptic world, expecting I don't know what; but once I started both Fallout and Fallout 2, I was pretty disappointed, since it was not what I was searching for at that particular time. Uninstalled it and told myself I'll play it when I'm in the mood for that specific atmosphere.

[Lulu_Jane]

Darth and Hun are spot on here. The other thing worth bearing in mind is that if you're in your 20's-30's and still exactly the same as you were when you were 13, you're probably insufferable.

TA is right about the atmosphere in Fallout. It's not exactly "light" entertainment. The atmosphere is empty and oppressive, it's perfectly understandable that someone might not be into it at a given point in time.

[Japo]

We have talked about this again and again. The past always looks different from the present, because it is actually fundamentally different, from a present point of view. But if you want to establish facts that keep their truth when the present becomes past, you can't rely on your perception. You would need positive tools, e.g. statistics. In the past there were thousands of shallow games (e.g. lots of arcade platformers) with no play time value. Today nobody remembers them. Tomorrow nobody will remember today's bad games, only the good ones.

[Lulu_Jane]

Although I completely agree with you, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to forget that I paid full price for Kayne and Lynch for a very long time :whops:



;)

[Japo]

I'm sorry I can't help you there :p

[Eagle of Fire]

Sheesh people, I'm really starting to think I don't have my place around here anymore. You guys are really burying your head in the sand if you cannot realize there is a ton of difference between old games and the new modern era.

Even those "shallow platformers" of the old time had a great fun and replay value at the time they were created because they had the originality aspect slapped to them. It was new, it was hip and because of this it was fun. Then you try to compare it to new games who do exactly the same thing but with better graphics (don't tell me that Sonic platformers are different from his beginning on the Genesis simply because it is 3D and he can walk in four directions instead of 2???) and they are not original anymore.

Anyways... I'm losing my time talking here. Even if I had those statistics you are asking for, which would really be stupid in the first place since nobody would ever do that, you would still slap those preconceptions around.

[TotalAnarchy]

You're basically saying that if I want to enjoy cake, I need to change the flavor every time, or if I want to enjoy driving, I should change the cars every time.

[hunvagy]

Sheesh people, I'm really starting to think I don't have my place around here anymore. You guys are really burying your head in the sand if you cannot realize there is a ton of difference between old games and the new modern era.

Even those "shallow platformers" of the old time had a great fun and replay value at the time they were created because they had the originality aspect slapped to them. It was new, it was hip and because of this it was fun. Then you try to compare it to new games who do exactly the same thing but with better graphics (don't tell me that Sonic platformers are different from his beginning on the Genesis simply because it is 3D and he can walk in four directions instead of 2???) and they are not original anymore.

Anyways... I'm losing my time talking here. Even if I had those statistics you are asking for, which would really be stupid in the first place since nobody would ever do that, you would still slap those preconceptions around.

Okay, this will be less tempered then I initially wanted, but WTF!

Seriously, you have just as many preconceptions, or even more then "us", whoever the bloody hell us is. Have you ever, even for a nanosecond sat down and tried any of those "new gamez" you bash on and on? "Eww graphics, they can't reach up to the heights that was Sokoban.." and crap like that. I don't give a flying duck about FPS and RTS and all that crowd pleasing shyte, there's enough GOOD new games out there for everyone to enjoy without having to follow the gamer kiddie hype.

And you know what? Fallout 3 is a great game, in ways even better then the first two. And why? Not the graphics, not the pretty weak story. What makes it awesome is the exploration element, which is a lot more gratifying if you actually see the nuclear bomb, not just three red pixels and a line of text that you found ze bomb. It has flair and a very good atmosphere, and for me that even excuses that it is *gasp* partly a shooter. And fyi, it's you who are sticking his head into the sand and singing "lalalalalalalala these new games don't exist, it's just a bad dream" and hug your laminated copy of Ultima 1 like it's the last twinkies in Zombieland.

Nobody forces any of us to play hidden objects games, or to get an iPhone with iOS to play that load of shovelware. There's a great variety, and you don't judge the industry by AAA titles. Not when things like This (http://www.grimrock.net/) are in the making. Or this (http://xenonauts.com/), or even this (http://www.tigsource.com/2011/10/16/knights-of-the-chalice/).

This summer I spent almost two months playing the two Drakensang games and Witcher 1-2. And I had finished them, which is a lot to say for myself, because I usually leave all my games 80-90% finished, because I loose interest. But these kept me going, because they had intricate game mechanics, awesome lore and stories, and intriguing characters. And because it was bloody good fun for a good 40-50 hours each. So yes, you keep on campaining against new games and stay frozen in time, but don't go on telling other people that they can't play Fallout 1 because they have been corrupted by the evil gaming industry, because that is plain and simply BULLSHIT.

[Eagle of Fire]

Yup, as I said... Slapping preconceptions around.

Losing my time here...

[Lulu_Jane]

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject"
Winston Churchill


And with that in mind, I think we've thrashed this one out yet again, so I'm going to close this thread. I'm sure we all know it will come up again at some point :)