Random Gaming Thoughts

[marurun]

Video games have always had pick-up-and-play entries and WTF-Where’s-the-manual type games, going back to the Atari VCS in the 70s. The only games that are reliably pick up and play are arcade games, because they have to be.

[opa]

I concur. I literally have a game matrix worksheet printed out for pong sports. Most games now have a built in tutorial or game entry screen. Things are much better these days.

[alienjesus]

I miss the days when videogames were about starting the game and any one in the family could join the fun.
Now you have to dig through manuals and on screen menus to figure out how to operate this thing.

Maybe the last console to do this was the Wii where any one can hold the wiimote and play Wii Sports

Didn't you spend like 10 years on here posting about how much you didn't like the Wii?

[RCBH928]

Video games have always had pick-up-and-play entries and WTF-Where’s-the-manual type games, going back to the Atari VCS in the 70s. The only games that are reliably pick up and play are arcade games, because they have to be.

You are right but its more about the mainstream games. mid-80's to , idk, 2000? most popular games had a simpler controlling scheme like Sonic, Mario Kart, EarthWorm Jim, Contra.. you get the idea. Today the more mainstream games like Skyrim and CoD have much steeper difficulty level. This image shows how much more complex things got.

Didn't you spend like 10 years on here posting about how much you didn't like the Wii?

Yes and I still can not recommend a Wii over a PS3/xbox360 to any "gamer" with a clear conscience but I will not deny the fact that the console had many games built around the "simpler fun for every one" idea but we can't say all the same. Games that had to use both wiimote+nunchuck were not The most intuitive thing to control.

[Limewater]

You are right but its more about the mainstream games. mid-80's to , idk, 2000? most popular games had a simpler controlling scheme like Sonic, Mario Kart, EarthWorm Jim, Contra.. you get the idea. Today the more mainstream games like Skyrim and CoD have much steeper difficulty level. This image shows how much more complex things got.

I would suggest that more complicated games have simply become more mainstream.

Sonic and Mario aren't the forefathers of Skyrim. The Elder Scrolls series dates back to 1994, and was influenced by the earlier Wizardry series and Ultima Underworld. These were contemporaries to Mario and Sonic, but comparatively obscure.

What you're seeing is console gaming moving closer to PC gaming.

[Anapan]

I don't like the Wii as a competitive console either, but entirely dismissing it seems wrong. There's some awesome exclusives - Remember Contra Rebirth? M2 made it.

[PretentiousHipster]

People still shit talk the wii after this long?

I honestly vastly PREFER it over the 360/ps3/pc games of that era. The latter consoles were way too based on the current trends of the time ie first and third person shooters in a grey tone, GTA clones, and beat 'em ups. The wii on the other hand was based upon a console gimmick. As this was a more vague gimmick, the library is a lot more experimental and stands out because different companies were trying to find ways to play with it.

I've seen in an ms-dos discord the admin still going off on the wii all the time, with him always talking about the gimmick as a blanket statement, and that it is "of its time" which honestly set something off with me lol, but best to reserve it for myself or at the best for him.

[RCBH928]

I don't like the Wii as a competitive console either, but entirely dismissing it seems wrong. There's some awesome exclusives - Remember Contra Rebirth? M2 made it.

I share your opinion. If the Wii was the competitor for the Sega Gensis I would probably sell my kidney to get one.
None the less, if you have the money, Wii Sport alone is enough to justify the $250 price of the console. The new perplexing motion controls, the game itself, and the social fun you had with it was worth it. I really thought motion controls will become a vital part of videogames in the future.

@ PretentiousHipster

Yes, Wii library is more unique and expermintal but if I had to choose I would pick MGS4 and Gears of War over Boom Blox and Zack and Wiki. Its personal preference thing I guess.

[RCBH928]

I would suggest that more complicated games have simply become more mainstream.

Sonic and Mario aren't the forefathers of Skyrim. The Elder Scrolls series dates back to 1994, and was influenced by the earlier Wizardry series and Ultima Underworld. These were contemporaries to Mario and Sonic, but comparatively obscure.

What you're seeing is console gaming moving closer to PC gaming.

Yes , that is what I am saying. Simple control games probably still exist in the indie scene (Super Meatboy) but not the mainstream seller. but even the popular PC games had simpler controls back then. Prince of Persia, Point-And-Click , shmups...etc . Yes the more complex stuff was probably on PC.

Going back to my Wii comment, the Wii was probably the last console to try to sell itself based on simple control games as the mainstream titles.

[marurun]

RCBH, as usual, you have a very selective memory for the history of video games. Games have ALWAYS had a complex / simple dichotomy, and if there's an increased complexity in the most popular games that's only because moving in a 3D space is more complex to control by its very nature. If you are familiar with basic FPS controls, however, almost every game out becomes pick up and play. In the arcades of old every game had a unique control scheme. On the Atari VCS you had to read the manual to know what the different game modes activated by the switches were. Early computers were a pain just to load games sometimes. I grew up with an Apple II and an Atari 2600, and if I didn't have a manual I was playing blind. And why do you think Nintendo Power's game guides and hints and tips sections were so popular? Because those games could be bewildering and obtuse. For every Contra there was a Faxanadu. For every Mega Man there was a Legacy of the Wizard. For every Castlevania there was a Castlevania 2.