I’ve been really burned out of modern gaming for a few years now.
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I’ve been really burned out of modern gaming for a few years now. Sure there’s the odd gem, but there’s a good reason I’ve not been compelled to upgrade my 1080Ti. Arguably the best consumer GPU card ever released, turning 9 years old this month.
I’ve been drawn to older, more polished, more mechanically sound games, entirely unphased by the allure of raytracing and more Ks to the screen.
This isn’t nostalgia talking. Looking back you can see key points where the artistry and passion of it all met rampant commercialism. I’ve figured it out.
It’s the 1997-1998 transition.
@SecurityWriter
I upgraded to a 3060 from a 1080 (non-Ti version) after I got a 4k monitor.
Almost all the games I play though will happily run on a potato.
I care not for photo realism or 120fps
I wonder how much this is an age thing? If you start with a ZX Spectrum does that impact your expectations? -
Gran Turismo was a success.
By success I mean it sold over 10 million copies. That IS a huge success.
By comparison, though, games *without* universal appear like Morowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim selling 4.5m, 9.5m, and 30m copies on their original launch. With Skyrim going on to sell nearly 70 million copies in all guises.
Bear in mind in 1997, was the year of Goldeneye, Final Fantasy VII, Fallout, Abe’s Odyssey, Star Fox 64, Diablo, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2, Tekken 3, Tomb Raider 2, Klonoa, and… Grand Theft Auto, of which the latest instalment went on to be the highest grossing media product of all time.
Gran Turismo could have been a fluke. A disrupter in a crowded market. So it wasn’t until the sequel that it became the real litmus test.
In 1998 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was released. To many the greatest video game of all time.
You know what absolutely bodied it?
Gran Turismo 2.
People were losing their shit to get their hands on it. It wasn’t as good or as polished, the release was fumbled by Sony, and it only sold just shy of 10 million copies.
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Gran Turismo could have been a fluke. A disrupter in a crowded market. So it wasn’t until the sequel that it became the real litmus test.
In 1998 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was released. To many the greatest video game of all time.
You know what absolutely bodied it?
Gran Turismo 2.
People were losing their shit to get their hands on it. It wasn’t as good or as polished, the release was fumbled by Sony, and it only sold just shy of 10 million copies.
GT3 was a generational leap forward in terms of technology, and went on to sell 15 million units.
But gamers and reviewers alike were complaining about something. It looks and handles great, but where’s the damage?
GT4 released selling just as quickly, but faced the same criticisms. Why?
Gran Turismo 4 is inarguably the best racing game of all time. It offers a value for money that few games would ever offer again, and while not my favourite, I still play it to this day.
But other franchises were doubling down on perceived realism. Damage.
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GT3 was a generational leap forward in terms of technology, and went on to sell 15 million units.
But gamers and reviewers alike were complaining about something. It looks and handles great, but where’s the damage?
GT4 released selling just as quickly, but faced the same criticisms. Why?
Gran Turismo 4 is inarguably the best racing game of all time. It offers a value for money that few games would ever offer again, and while not my favourite, I still play it to this day.
But other franchises were doubling down on perceived realism. Damage.
Driving games no long were judged on their ability to portray clean racing in a deep yet accessible way.
Things needed to be harder, grittier, or they weren’t grown up enough to have a seat at the big table.
This extended to other genres too. Being violent wasn’t enough, it needed to be dark and depressing in tone and/or content.
Or that’s what the critics said, and they in turn fed off fans insecurity and fear of being infantilised.
Media surrounding games was now about gatekeeping who was allowed to be taken seriously.
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Driving games no long were judged on their ability to portray clean racing in a deep yet accessible way.
Things needed to be harder, grittier, or they weren’t grown up enough to have a seat at the big table.
This extended to other genres too. Being violent wasn’t enough, it needed to be dark and depressing in tone and/or content.
Or that’s what the critics said, and they in turn fed off fans insecurity and fear of being infantilised.
Media surrounding games was now about gatekeeping who was allowed to be taken seriously.
Don’t get me wrong, I loooove violent video games.
But somewhere along the lines we traded authenticity for realism.
Escapism for time wasting.
Time isn’t wasted if you’re having fun. I’m just not sure many of us are having fun anymore.
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Don’t get me wrong, I loooove violent video games.
But somewhere along the lines we traded authenticity for realism.
Escapism for time wasting.
Time isn’t wasted if you’re having fun. I’m just not sure many of us are having fun anymore.
This isn’t a depressing tale though.
The tools of video game production are more accessible than ever, and believe it or not, you don’t need to use Unreal Engine to make games.
Indie developers are making the games people like us want to play, they’re having fun doing it, and building a community while they do so.
The money might be theirs for the taking, but the fun is ours for the making.
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@SecurityWriter
I upgraded to a 3060 from a 1080 (non-Ti version) after I got a 4k monitor.
Almost all the games I play though will happily run on a potato.
I care not for photo realism or 120fps
I wonder how much this is an age thing? If you start with a ZX Spectrum does that impact your expectations?@v_perjorative I did look at upgrading, even at a 3060. But in non-RT gaming at 1080p (I do have 4k monitors, I just sit quite a way from it) the 1080Ti still outperforms anything up to a 3070. Not that I’d notice as I usually just cap at 60hz to save power.
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@SecurityWriter
I upgraded to a 3060 from a 1080 (non-Ti version) after I got a 4k monitor.
Almost all the games I play though will happily run on a potato.
I care not for photo realism or 120fps
I wonder how much this is an age thing? If you start with a ZX Spectrum does that impact your expectations?@v_perjorative @SecurityWriter funnily enough I seem to care more and more about Hz and fps, in order to mitigate my growing loss of reflexes.
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@v_perjorative @SecurityWriter funnily enough I seem to care more and more about Hz and fps, in order to mitigate my growing loss of reflexes.
@AwkwardTuring @SecurityWriter I've stopped playing games that require reflexes.
I absolutely sucked at Unreal Tournament, and have only gotten worse. -
@v_perjorative I did look at upgrading, even at a 3060. But in non-RT gaming at 1080p (I do have 4k monitors, I just sit quite a way from it) the 1080Ti still outperforms anything up to a 3070. Not that I’d notice as I usually just cap at 60hz to save power.
@v_perjorative I should stress I don’t want to minimise your choice or enjoyment.
I’d just see no benefit right now, that’s all.
And it’s possible for those that have seen the entirety of gaming history like us, things look different.
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