all 22 comments

[–]Bigs 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

I used to love them and had high hopes for the future... But they suck.

Decades ago I was like the Pinball Wizard, literally famous around my home town for my ability to kick ass on the Williams Defender arcade machine. There was one other guy who came close but I always bested his high score. So was excited to get a Sega Megadrive, with the overpriced cartridges... then an Amiga A1200, with a proper mouse and keyboard... My friends and family said I was nuts when I spent 1500 GBP on a PC, specifically to play games, as I was sick of crappy Amiga graphics and always seeing 'Screenshots are IBM PC version"...

Yep, 4 whole megabytes of RAM and I paid extra for the 650 MB hard drive... 1500 GBP. On finance *facepalm

So if anyone should be super fucking STOKED at today's machines and games, tis me.

But they suck.

Just the same old same old bullshit for decades. They just take the same shitty gameplay and make the graphics prettier. That's never changed and I don't think it ever will, so I've given up and don't bother. This machine I'm using now was my 'gaming' PC I got a couple of years ago to try the scene out, but same shit. Pretty graphics but gameplay no better than the 90s.

If anything the gameplay is WORSE, because now they push micro-transactions n shit, and much of it HAS to be online, and even though my current net connection is blazing fast compared to most of my 25 year love affair with the net and PCs, it's still not fast enough to play games. Not least because as usual, they make the game pretty, so just wasting your time with lag etc.

I dreamed, wrongly, that modern games would have real computer simulation of car physics and crashes, for reals, not just pretending with the illusion of that. Yeah, Beam shit, which even on a machine built for games runs choppy, I know, I have it, on this machine. Meh.

I dreamed, wrongly, that shooting games would simulate real-world physics, with actual trajectories and penetrations, explosive energy effects and so on, of different weapons, armor and items. Nope, nothing like it. Same old shit, pretty graphics.

I dreamed, wrongly, that flight simulators would feature real-world simulation of actual air currents, weight etc etc, same shit

Remember, my 'better than the expensive Amiga' PC had a 650 MB hard drive, and it could run decent racing games like TOCA, which worked with my MS Sidwinder force-feedback steering wheel and was a blast. It played Doom and later Quake and all that 3D shooty goodness. MS flight Simulator looked awesome, to me, back then. Bit by bit I would upgrade, rebuild or even build a game PC from scratch, but...

But...

From a 650MB hard drive, this PC has 16 fucking GIGABYTES of fucking RAM, and today's games are still the same shallow illusionary glitchy shit as before, just pretty graphics.

I absolutely loved Colin McCrae rally on an old PC, so returning to games and 'Dirt' looked like it would be amazing... amazing!

Nope, same "pretending to be a simulation" feel, and actually worse in many ways, plus, and why I quit playing it, even playing alone as I prefer, the fucking thing keeps needing to connect to the internet and sits there annoying me as I wait for it to do some online bullshit I don't need or want, before I can proceed.

I hate that shit, and I hate the cheap-ass lazy programming that hasn't changed. Modern racing games STILL feature rubbery cars that bounce off things, if anything they are dumbed-down worse than in the past, where a mistake would cost you the race. Now you can just bounce off a tree or another car and keep going in most games? What am I, 6 years old?

So thanks for the chance to rant. I WOULD love computer games if they had advanced over the last 25 years, but they have actually got worse.

I just can't be bothered with them.

[–]RedEyedWarrior 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Don’t get me started on in game purchases. Fuck's sake, I already paid €70 for the game disc. I’m not spending anymore.

Furthermore, gaming consoles and PCs are more powerful than ever, but loading times are even worse and they crash the internet? Why is that? Because video games run on 5D 3840p graphics. I know I’m being hyperbolic, but video game developers are investing in higher resolutions and more "realistic" animations. Which might seem fine, but all this does is use up more RAM, more storage and more internet bandwidth. "Are games are more powerful than ever- gamers living in rural areas and with data limits can go fuck themselves".

The PS2 was the best selling games console of all time. It had a vast library of video games. Most of which were amazing. Yet it had no internal memory, so you used memory cards that went up to 8MB. I’m not joking. 8MB was enough in 2000 to store your gaming data. Mostly because you did not need to download an entire game onto your console - you just put the disk in and play. And the DVDs those games came from were 8.5GB, which was enough for Grand Theft Auto. Now you need at least 1TB of storage on your console to play a decent library of games, because you have to download the bloody game onto your console from the gaming disk before you can play. So what’s the point in this disk?

[–]Bigs 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Yeah, I had a PS2 for a while, was a fine little machine though already 2nd hand and old by the time I got it. I played some 3D thing where you hunt down and climb up giant monsters, was pretty good.

I wouldn't touch the latest Xbox, as it's just more Microsoft spyware in your house and I already have a PC... I was very interested in the new Playstation but they also did some dirty shit, can't remember what but I recall deciding they can go fuck themselves too.

The only reason I'm using this gaming PC now is cos my other machine's motherboard finally died (RIP Winnie 7..) so this was my spare. I have a Steam account and there are loads of games installed on this machine but I literally can't remember the last time I played any.

It sort of feels like re-reading a book I already read as a kid. In some ways it's new, but I sort of know where it's going. Same old shit, same shallow gameplay, same chasing the latest video card to play the latest games, which is out of date by the time it's on the shelves cos the latest games need even more blah fucking blah.

Same old shit and I'm just tired of it.

And here's another thing, while I'm ranting.. sex? Why is there so little sex still? With literally gigabytes of RAM we should have 4D wibblevision with Sniffomatic sensory goodness, you know, save the damsel and get a blowjob? But nooo, same "keep grinding for a better weapon and armor, just to face better monsters and bad guys anyway, rinse and repeat forever, with no blowjob. Ever."

And I have to pay for this shit?

No.

[–]RedEyedWarrior 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

My brother had the PS2. I got the Xbox just to have a different machine and the GameCube lacked a DVD player. I loved my Xbox but I can see why a lot of people didn't want it: too big, smaller gaming library and the fact that it was made by Microsoft. I picked the Xbox 360 over the PS3 but I now picked the PS4 over the Xbox One because I widened up to Microsoft's behaviour.

I can see your point about revising old video games. It is like picking up an old children's book. Can't deny it would be a lot of fun but I know it's a hassle to download an emulator onto a computer. Furthermore, my laptop is relatively powerful but it's not a gaming machine. But for now I'm preoccupied with my job, my livestreams and other stuff so I don't have the time right now to get back into video games.

[–]superfly 4 insightful - 4 fun4 insightful - 3 fun5 insightful - 4 fun -  (1 child)

CUZ I AM NOT SIX YEARS OLD.

[–]superbug 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

😮

[–]jet199 5 insightful - 2 fun5 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

Just play the whole internet like it is a game instead

[–]tiny-brown-mug 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

I'm not a huge fan, dude. I've tried to pry myself away from a lot of tech, and feel like I'm happier for it. Calmer, too. I just feel like it's kind of weird and silly to live in a fantasy world. I've known some avid gamers, and a lot of them have been kind of paradoxically hyper and depression-prone at the same time.

[–]Newzok 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Well I sometimes play some that I deem artistically valid like Psychonauts or HL: Alyx. But mostly I see them as a waste of time and don't play any.

[–]JasonCarswell 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

I'm not good at gaming and have no interest in practicing to get good.

I don't play out of habit of not playing.
And I don't want to get in the habit of wasting time exploring fascinating timesuck worlds.

I don't follow gamer news and don't know the titles of them, so there aren't many games that I know of that I want to know of. I can only recall two older games that I would even want to explore: Fez and Spore. I only remembered them because I thought my brothers' children might want to try them.

I prefer video where I can be active doing other things, peeking at the screen when necessary. Corporate media sucks, now more than ever, so I don't even watch movies much anymore, or when I do I'm dead tired and want to veg out, not be alert trying to score points.

[–]Alienhunter 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

For me it's because I expect gaming to be a relaxing pastime, when you don't have to think much and just chill out

See I consider sleep to fit the relaxing pastime of not having to think and veg out, or maybe some forms of light exercise. Walking. Etc.

From entertainment, be that games or TV or Books or whatever I want shit that actually makes me think and isn't mindless time killing.

Since most games and TV fit the mindless time killing mold I don't like them.

Some exceptions are had but it's rarely found by chasing the popular trends in either (though popular in terms of actual word of mouth praise rather than corporately imposed marketing schemes usually is an indicator of quality)

Really depends on the individual work itself and not the medium as to it's quality. Most TV and most movies are trite rehashes. Most games are dopamine gambling simulators designed to get you to buy more shit or keep playing for the add money.

Plenty of exceptions to these do exist. But all things being equal, I find that if I've got free time and I need to spend it on some kind of entertainment. Games usually win out over television as the interactive medium is more engaging than passive story watching. Books also win out over television as they are far more narratively interesting with few exceptions. Games are best when they either explore some novel physics concept you can't really do well irl due to practicality or they are a kind of simulator of some IRL thing and the fun is in trying to succeed with the limited rule set and push the limits rather than any kind of narrative.

I think I've got my great grandparents idea of television as the boob tube. Seems mostly an utter waste of time to me and turns your mind to mush. Games can be the same depending on what it is you are actually doing, but the same can be said of books and movies and basically any medium.

Ultimately though why waste any time on entertainment you don't like? Video games aren't exactly going to enrich your life if you don't enjoy them. If you're not a kid you don't have the kind of time needed to learn how to play them well and they won't be fun. Why bother?

[–]RedEyedWarrior 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

I’ve lost interest in video games. I have a PS4 that I got for Christmas 8 years ago, and for the last 4 years I haven’t been arsed to play it. Why? Because most games suck nowadays. There are only a few games I like, but I’m not going to spend a three week salary on a PS5 just to get three or four games I like. Too many games nowadays are either woke or unfinished. Am I the only one who misses the 6th and 7th Generation of video games? Bring me back Simpsons Hit n' Run, 007 Nightfire, XIII, COD Modern Warfare and Oblivion. I loved my original Xbox, my Xbox 360, my Nintendo DS and my Wii. But that was then.

If I ever get back into video games, I’m just gonna buy a gaming PC with proper graphics and 32GB of RAM.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Yep, PC gaming has so much more to offer, so many indie titles you can't get on console.

[–]RedEyedWarrior 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

You can also get updates for PC games you've purchased, unlike console games. Plus much more mods to choose from.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Yes, even community created bug fixes in the best cases.

[–]ID10T 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I like stealth games because they are really relaxing and slow paced but still action packed. Games like the hitman series or the old metal gear solids, and Assassin's Creed. My favorite was a weird title called Tenchu on the PS2.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I mostly only play Factorio and sometimes Stardew Valley.

Everything else I've given up, though I was a huge Doom, Unreal and Half-Life fanboy in the golden times of these franchises. Also, Demon's Souls on PS3.

Nowadays, I can't be bothered with anything that requires reflexes.

[–]Vulptex 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

Try Minecraft on Creative Mode.

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[deleted]

    [–]Vulptex 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    You probably got bored of it because the new updates suck.

    [–]IndianaJones 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

    For me it's because I expect gaming to be a relaxing pastime, when you don't have to think much and just chill out,

    You would love BBQ Simulator on Steam. I think it's a very relaxing game.

    [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    There were days when I'd spent several days straight playing games without much sleep. I'd revel in 9 hour Command & Conquer missions, dragging it out for maximum enemy humiliation, or indulging in off world exploration in Star Wars KOTOR.

    Growing up with Sega Mega Drive and SNES before the launch of the almighty PS1 was an incredible time for gaming. Playful arcade and racing games that didn't matter about special graphics or DLC. They were just fun.

    I sense these days that there is a lot of hype around certain games that end up being overrated. Many require massive amounts of storage, several registrations, subscriptions and additional purchases to get the most out of it, or they push you into online multiplayer when you just want a nice chilled game invested in the story.

    It's not that I don't play games ever now, but I play less. And aside from the occasional more recent game, I tend towards nostalgia now and play the games I grew up with like Sonic, Megaman, Tetris, etc.

    [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    I love games. I fell in love with them in the 1970s with Space Invaders and Asteroids. I stopped playing for years on end though, but came back to it with a vengeance when my health gave out and made me largely housebound.

    One thing that's interesting about games that gets overlooked is the experience it gives you. No, really. You will experience whatever conditioning you have through games as well as through Real Lifetm

    This means that, in many respects, events lived through a video game are equally valid as events lived in real life, as concerns the evolution of the human psyche, where the experience of the conditioning is what leads one to eventually revoke and destroy said conditioning, eventually generating beings that are actually free... of conditioning, beliefs, ignorance and superstition.