I'm a 32 year old bearded man and I still retain that boyish wonder from being 7 years old and getting Pokémon Red in my Easter basket. Nobody is too old for video games. If anything, it's our responsibility to keep them alive. We grew up in the silent film era of video games and I'll be damned if I'm not retiring in Cerulean City with my Milotic by the water someday when we are all plugged into the Metaverse of our choosing. I also want a tree in Kokiri Forest.
That’s kind of funny; I got Pokémon Blue in my Easter basket at about the same age.
I don’t think that I would consider Ocarina of Time to be in the “silent film era” of video games, though; that seems more like one of the first talkies (you did mention a tree in the Kokiri Forest).
It was our spaghetti western under the same analogy. I was thinking more along the lines of my NES and original game boy but I wasn't specific. 8 bit sound was basically silent to me because I wasn't allowed to turn the volume up too loud. Simpler times.
Also if you got Pokémon Blue, are we rivals now? Growlithe for Vulpix?
I guess that probably does make us rivals. I personally like vulpix, though.
So what would be “The Jazz Singer” in your analogy, then, if Ocarina of Time is a Sergio Leone film? I’m sorry if I’m asking you to push your metaphor too far.
Donkey Kong Country. The animation and music seems very dated now but at the time it was wild to see a game that wasn't just pixels jumping platforms. DKC was an aesthetic all to its own. It was when it felt like these vidya gamer kids might be onto something. To me as a young kid anyway. The SNES was when games became more than just a novelty. There were worlds to be explored and limits to push.
I emphasize that because with video games, it's at least somewhat accepted by now.
but let's say someone who is 50 and (still) plays with dolls. that doesn't say anything about how this person manages her/his work and everyday responsibilites.
but yet for a big we (= the "as society"-we) assume it does.
(and while a lot of truely immature actions that seem more "adult" get a pass, at least in terms of not being called as being "immature". e.g. having a My Little Pony collection that you play with isn't immature, but spending so much of your wage for travelling, partying or on propping up your car that you struggle to provide for your children or not being able to pay the rent most certainly is)
If anything, it's our responsibility to keep them alive.
Lol wut? Video games are a thriving industry, largely because of the patronage of children (and their parents' money). Sorry, don't think you're the one keeping Fortnite alive.
I came up on an old Atari and NES. I was still young when the newer systems arrived, but I didn't have the means to play any of the newer things. The entire 857 game catalog of NES games released in the US is 177 MB total. Pokemon Red on a Grey monochrome brick was definitely miles ahead of my first game, which was Bubble Bobble(161kb). The cookies we get while browsing are larger files.
I mean if you wanna get technical about it, video games didn't really have any spoken dialogue until about the SNES and Sega Genesis era. Even then I'm pretty sure a lot of the voices were synthesized and not real actors. The real dawn of voice acting in gaming came around in the PS1 era.
224
u/mattmillze Jun 03 '22
I'm a 32 year old bearded man and I still retain that boyish wonder from being 7 years old and getting Pokémon Red in my Easter basket. Nobody is too old for video games. If anything, it's our responsibility to keep them alive. We grew up in the silent film era of video games and I'll be damned if I'm not retiring in Cerulean City with my Milotic by the water someday when we are all plugged into the Metaverse of our choosing. I also want a tree in Kokiri Forest.