Pac-Man Reloaded

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Toronto Star article discussing the resurgence of classic gaming. The article suggests that "..the renewed interest [in classic gaming] is not only reviving the games themselves, but also establishing them as part of cultural history", but also argues that kitsch nostalgia is playing a big part in the retro revival: "..for a culture steeped in an alleged retro-chic movement - unlikely revivals of such high-camp iconography as cocktail music, loungewear, or '80s new wave music and '60s mod styles - the draw to classic gaming seems to have some of the same sheen." Above all, though, it seems to be about "..the old games, with their simple concepts and ease of play, [as] a welcome refuge from the increasingly complicated games being released today."

Comments

The old cliche is...

[burnsy]

Easy to learn, difficult to master.

And of course there's always emulation!

[dbirchall]

...which is how I enjoy playing classic games like Ms. Pac-Man, Arkanoid, Spy Hunter, Q-Bert and others... running under a Commodore 64 emulator called Frodo.

...which in my case is running on my Nokia 3650 cell phone.

...which (upgraded like mine) has 2,000 times the RAM of a Commodore 64, anyway. Lots of room for games! :)

Re:Red Rag at a Bull....

[qwak]

I don't think storyline is as important as gameplay, I enjoy a good "kiddie game" just as much as a more "adult themed game". It all depends on how good the gameplay is, IMO a higher proportion of early games were enjoyable than many modern games, I think this is because developers of early games had to focus more on gameplay to keep a player hooked than on story/graphics/etc. FFVII and later are a good example of this, generally not to challenging, and rehashed gameplay, but for many people great storylines (even if semi-rehashed) and great artwork. I suppose the entire discussion of retro vs. modern in terms of games is rather inane. A good game is a good game, gameplay i think is most important, but even if the gameplay is nothing new or not too impressive as long as it is enjoyable is all that really matters. the gameplay in half-life wasnt anything new or special, but they way they worked the story into it was, and that made for a more enjoyable experience than say quake. The final fantasy series as of late are typically interactive movies, but they do a great job of drawing the player into the story that's being told. I think the amount of adult oriented games on the market now stems from people that got hooked on games in the 80's/early 90's are often now the ones making games, hence they cater more to themselves and their peers in terms of what kinds of games they want to play. sorry for the fairly fragmented ideas, i'm getting ready for bed.

The cell phone connection

[Go Aptran]

I wonder how much of this is due to the reappearance of old classic arcade games on cell phones? The games that I download on my sprint phone wouldn't have been out of place in an arcade in the 80's.

Re:Come off it

[Kris_J]

What the hell am I thinking? Cartridges are still being produced in huge numbers. GBA. Doi!

Spoiled kids, back in my day we had wooden pixels!

[wynterwynd]

I can appreciate the simpler times and the games of yore, I had a 2600. But I don't hold to the opinion that these games were somehow more fun or more "pure". As I remember there were several really good games and a whole lot of crappy ones, much like today. There were the River Raids and the Pitfalls, and then there were the ETs or the Plaque Attacks (real game, very sad). It was and still is all about the gameplay.

Sure, the complexity of the games has changed, but that's a good thing IMO. There are still games you can sit down and play for 5 min, but now there are games you can play for 5 hours with enough depth to satisfy the more sophisticated gamer. Strategy or RPGs used to be more for the hardcore gamer, as many were clunky and average gamers lost patience. But now there's enough eye-candy and action to attract a wider range of players. Same with action games, they have more depth and complexity now to appeal to involved gamers, but can still be played right out of the box. There are exceptions of course, but the most successful games seem to follow this formula.

As for the "retro gaming" movement, I don't think it's a protest or a wanting for more pure games. I think it has more to do with associating those simple games with simpler times. It's all about roots. And more power to 'em, I say.

Now if I could just find my paddle controller I could dust off Ka-Boom! =D

Wynter