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Exhuminator wrote:So on that note, I come here explicitly to read about people playing retro games, and to discuss related retro gaming archeology. But more often it seems members here just wanna talk about playing the latest new releases for the latest new hardware. Which is totally OKAY, but it does seem a bit disingenuous given the original intent of the site.

I appreciate the perspective of someone that played these retro games new or have a deep appreciation for them commenting on new games. For example, I can see MrPopo playing Doom in my Steam friends list right now and his opinion on this iteration of a storied franchise is way more valuable than the comments/reviews you see on modern-focused forums and websites.

Exhuminator wrote:...most gamers consider a game even two years old to already be chopped liver.

Exhuminator wrote:

prfsnl_gmr wrote:if someone wants to consider Titanfall a retro-game, more power to him.

That game released in 2014... I'm not sure I understand what you're implying.

I was stating that, if someone wants to consider a two-year-old game a retro-game, he is well within his rights. There is no hard-and-fast definition of the term, and whether a game is a retro-game is a completely subjective determination.

I use a 15-year test, but other tests aren't wrong. (They just aren't as right as mine. )

Games released before I lost my virginity are retro. Those released after are modern.

20 year rule is now in effect. If the game was made post May of 1996 it is not retro.

I am a firm believer of two generations back. That is two generations from when it was in its heyday worldwide, not from when the last game was released. Sure there are weird one offs, like the SMS in Brasil, but those are exceptions.

BoneSnapDeez wrote:Games released before I lost my virginity are retro. Those released after are modern.

so let's see, how old is your oldest daughter now...?

Perhaps I'll actually entertain this seriously.

I don't like this idea of "10/12/15/whatever year old games are retro." Even backwards generational counting is fickle and arbitrary. By these standards a slew of random PS2 games that are currently "modern" will be "retro" come next year. And/or the Wii will transform into a "retro system" once the NX hits. Makes no sense.

I consider games from the first, second, third, and fourth generations to be retro - along with certain fifth gen and even (early) sixth gen titles. Stuff like modern indie platformers found on Steam can be "retro" in style and substance but I prefer tags like "modern retro" to refer to games like that, to indicate that they're not actually from the days of old.

For me, the "cut-off" occurs where game design fundamentally changed in both technical and aesthetic applications - namely the integration of heavy narrative exposition into genres where it was previously lacking and the proliferation of 3D graphics, voice-acting, cutscenes, analog controls, and so forth. I've heard Metal Gear Solid referred to as the "first modern game" - I'd take it a step further and say that a slew of others released in that era (Final Fantasy VII, Resident Evil, and so on) collectively comprise the "first modern games."

For the record, this is the viewpoint of someone who owns consoles ranging from the Odyssey up through the Wii U. I've noticed that many folks here who consider consoles like the PlayStation 2 to "retro" don't play games that predate it. On the flipside, I bet you can find old farts at AtariAge who'll claim that the crash of '83 marks the cut-off. It's a matter of perspective.

To swing back towards the original discussion of this thread, I wish there wasn't so much emphasis on whether someone is a "game collector" or not. I simply consider myself to be "into video games." Peoples' taste changes, life ebbs and flows; it doesn't always indicate a decreased appreciation for the hobby or medium.

BoneSnapDeez wrote:To swing back towards the original discussion of this thread, I wish there wasn't so much emphasis on whether someone is a "game collector" or not. I simply consider myself to be "into video games." Peoples' taste changes, life ebbs and flows; it doesn't always indicate a decreased appreciation for the hobby or medium.

I second this a lot and would add to it the distinction between being a gamer and game collector and whether the two are mutually exclusive. I get a lot of criticism from people who don't understand the concept of collecting because I have hundreds of games that I've never played (and I probably never will play many of them). "Why are you buying more games when there are so many you haven't played yet?" Well, because I'm a collector at least as much as I am a gamer. People don't get that, and while the rational side of the me can understand their confusion, it still really irks me.

I guess because technical aesthetic capability drives the gaming industry so strongly, I feel compelled to judge a game's "retro" status based more on its hardware origin than game design.

I mean take Metal Gear Solid for example. The game is now 18 years old. While it might have acted as a catalyst for modern game design as we know it, it's a stretch to call it a modern game in this day and age. If you took an 18 year old kid who's used to seventh and eight generation game graphics and design, in contrast Metal Gear Solid would feel incredibly clunky and look like junk to that kid. His frame of reference is so different to someone twice his age's, that there's just no way that kid could ever see MGS as not being retro.

As for collecting... yeah I buy a lot of games, but I don't mind selling them either. It's all about the play of the things, not seeing nice plastic cases filling shelves around me.

I've always considered retro to be a style classification rather than an age classification.

Specifically it's the style of being out of style.

Encouraging skill development through satisfying rewards and harsh punishments is a type of game design that is out of style, and thus any game that operates under this MO is a retro game regardless of age. Retro is all about the "School" part of "Old School." It's not about age, it's about a design philosophy.

But I don't really care that much anymore. I'm too old to be getting into shouting matches over something so trivial.