Let me start out by saying that this blog is sort of personal. It's really just me venting about things that have been on my mind lately. So yeah, read it anyway and stuff.
I've been a gamer for a good thirteen years now, and I've done nothing but get more involved in video game culture. While I have many people in my life that I would consider a friend, I try to surround myself with people that are as interested in video games as I am, which is more difficult than it sounds. A lot of my friends are gamers, but none of them are as deeply invested in games as they once were. It seems that I am the only one out of my group of friends that is still in touch with why gaming is so special. I don't think it is just my group of friends that is losing sight of why gaming is so great either, but the majority of 'gamers' are also slowly fading from their origins.
Gamers all begin somewhere; whether their first game was Space Invaders or, like me, Super Mario World. As we get older, our minds develop further and we begin to play more elaborate and time consuming games. We become lost in the beautiful worlds that video games can transport us to. From there, we begin to take pride in solving the worlds puzzles and discovering its' mysteries. Then we get older and we get more responsibility in the real world, forcing us to make a decision. Do I continue to game at a sacrifice to other things? Or do I pursue other goals and give up my gaming habits? For most people, I think this decision is obvious: give up gaming.
When I was younger (younger than I currently am) my friends and I would solely play video games. We were content with sitting around our bedrooms, picking up a controller, and gaming until 4 am. Countless nights were spent playing games like Super Smash Brothers and Halo. Summer afternoons were spent at the park or playing sports, however, most were occupied with sitting around a bench and discussing video game strategies concerning Pokemon and Final Fantasy. Now though, I can see my friends slipping away from our old gaming habits. No longer do they take joy in the simple pleasure of sitting down and playing a game. Now, it seems, that the only game they are able to play is Call of Duty or Battlefield. But while they're playing these games, they don't seem to enjoy them, they just rage at and troll other players. When they see a game like Dishonored, they cast it aside, deeming it boring and slow. To me, this seems as though they've forgotten why they play games; to have fun.
It's such a shame that gamers have lost the love of games that they once started out with. It's an even bigger tragedy when it's some of my closest friends that have lost their gaming love. I am beginning to see though, that the people in my life right now will not be in it for much longer. My group of friends and I all have different ambitions, and it's becoming more clear that video games are not in most of theirs. I still plan to make video games an even bigger part of my life, and even though I'll lose some friends on the way, I'm sure I'll gain some new and interesting ones as well.
I see your point and I do agree; some people only play video games for that competitive edge and bragging rights with Battlefield, Call of Duty, Halo, and the likes. However, there isn't really a right or wrong way to play video games. Video games are a form of entertainment and if people are entertained by trolling their teammates and rage at their enemies, that's their cup of tea. But if they're not enjoying them, then shame on them for wasting $60 just to get themselves aggravated at people across the ocean.
I agree though. It's not like I don't play CoD or BF ever. But to me, those are just like filler games, if you know what I mean. I play them because they're mind-numbing. I don't need to concentrate to heavily to play them.
I was born in 93 and my first game was mario 64. I miss the n64 days. Most people aren't even willing to play older games anymore, just the new gen games, which I usually find repetitive and boring.
A lot of the newer games move closer to FPS or pure combat strategy. Diasaga for one. I hated. IT just doesn't feel the same anymore. Whats sickening is when viewing games the companies try and give game trailers without battle systems.
Here are a few rarities I'm interested in.
http://www.newegg.com/Produ...
http://www.newegg.com/Produ...
http://www.newegg.com/Produ...
Tel me why these types of games are so hard to find! It's just there is not much out there anymore.
These days, it's hard to find those colorful and fantastical games on the big consoles. There's still a slew of games I still need to try out on the handhelds and a lot of good RPGs are on the DS and PSP. Most of the western games, I have to admit, don't appeal to me. The worlds presented in a lot of those games are brown and grey and dull. They try to mimic real life, but I play games to escape reality.
This is kinda where friend's interests comes into play. They love western and realistic games, especially COD. I always tell them that I'm not really interested in those games, but continue to cause arguments over my opinion on certain games. For example, I absolutely hated playing through Dead Island. When I tell them what I thought of it, they would rage hard and start picking out games THAT THEY NEVER PLAYED THROUGH and try to apply my reasons for hating dead island onto them.
It really makes me mad when they look at the games I play and go "Like in every other anime game, A-B-C and D always happens." I can't disagree with that sometimes, but when I tell them the A-B-C and D trends of western games, they get ridiculously mad.
They love the crap out of God of War, but wouldn't give Bayonetta a chance. They grew up on most of the same games I played, so what happened over those many years?
I don't hate all western games at all. I thought Saints row 3 was a blast and Castlevania was one of the very few Japanese-to-west reboots that was amazing. Skyrim...I had to mod the living crap out of it (make it colorful) for me to play through it till the end. Those lighting and floral mods really make a huge difference for landscapes, NPCs, and towns.
Except for Disgaea. Loved that game.
EDIT: You should add Tales of Xillia to the list, is going to be released this year.