Why gamers love Retro Video Games

Square Pixalated graphics, little to no voice overs, bland story line with little innovation, its a strange affair why us gamers love old games, but we do. There is something about retro games that make us gamers giddy at heart, but why do we love them so much? And why do retro themed titles like Hotline Miami, Super Meatboy and Fez still make it within an industry focused on compelling story lines and outstanding graphics?

Well as i raise this question i understand there is no definitive answer. There are a number of reasons why people love retro games and the spec for classifying what a retro game is can be quite large so it is difficult to cover every aspect. However there are a number of points I intend to cover to why we love these games as much as we do.

                                           (Photo taken at Scottish Game Jam 2013)

 An aspect of why we love retro games is because the amount of passion that actually goes into making them a worthy experience. Now thats not to say that current gen developers dont have a passion for what they're doing. Its a sense that games like 'The Last of Us' will have loads of people working on it, a number of peoples views on the development of the game and they have deadlines to be met with the company they are working for overlooking everything that they do, to make sure its done to there standard. With this there doesnt seem to be a lot of room for personal involvement in creating the game and it can be said what the company care for, are sales and how much money they can make. However with retro games, it is usually a small based team that can put there heart into it and put all there personal feelings into the game. They work for themselves and if there happy with what there doing thats that. With small teams working for themselves there is a bigger sense of risk, they put the things that they will enjoy in the hopes that others will. They know the benefits of the money side of things but create the game more on hobby based terms and sharing an experience with others and this is something that we appreciate greatly. I think a number of people are aware of what goes into creating a game and the difficulties it brings and we appreciate the fact that 2-4 people have came together to create a fun experience for us to enjoy.

Taking a trip down memory lane. There is something about the new retro themed games with there 8 bit graphics, that take us back to a time when blowing on the game cartridge was a legit way to solve any freezing issues and hundreds of tangled wires behind the TV that we gamers miss and love. It reminds us of when we were young and everything that games meant to us. So as games have developed and they keep, in essence, to there roots, we cant help but be in awe as a square man jumps about a 2D platform.

Borderlands DLC out soon; DLC coming to Bioshock; New patch for Aliens: Colonial Marines; Mario Nintendo 64 patch? Not quite. Something that happens near enough with every game is downloadable content that either adds extra to the already 'finished' game, or a patch that is suppose to fix various areas of the game. This is something that gamers have learned to accept, but why? Back in the day when a game released it was finished. It was a complete experience and we would play that over and over again. The next we would actually here something about the game being released was the sequel to the previous one. Thats not to say that with the DLC's that come out for current gen games that we dont enjoy them. Its the patches that are, in my opinion, the most irritating and the fact that games that get released are generally not finished. An example would be The Walking Dead telltale game an amazing game that received a number of awards for being that good. However when released on disc with all the episode, its buggy, at times jumpy and slow and we accept it. Reviews brush by the these facts stating everything amazing about it despite some minor bugs. But why have we grown accustom to these faults in a game?  That is a reason why people love retro games, its finished. Its the experience that the developer intended for you to have with nothing to add. A complete experience for you to enjoy.

Press A to open door, Grapple highlighted objects, Follow the yellow brick road. The challenge and mystery within current gen games seems to be lost. A number of people miss the challenge of learning things themselves and a case of not being carried through a story. There is an obvious reason why current gen games do what they do, they want you to follow the story and progress with each cut scene that comes but to do that they may have to highlight various things so you dont fall off track. But some gamers hate that. Most want to be thrown into the world and to learn everything themselves. It gives the player a sense of achievement and takes them through the emotions as they get to there goal. Super Meatboy again a perfect example you play the game you learn and enjoy, similar to Mario and Megaman, you play you learn what you do and enjoy the experience. Even if half way through the experience you lose your shit and throw controllers off walls, gamers are an insane bunch for a challenge. With Hotline Miami you will die a million times before you learn yourself what you have to do to get to your goal, and when you do it there is a brilliant sense of relief and accomplishment. Where as current gen games after failing a few times or waiting about not knowing what to do, you'll probably get a hint of some sort to push you in the right direction which can put a downer on the experience.



All these aspects discussed are purely opinion based. Some people may hate retro games fuck knows why, but there is something special about these old fashioned games that we love and will always have a place in our heart for years to come. Be it nostalgia or the difficulty of the game there are a number of reasons why they leave a print on our lives, whatever the reason there's nothing truer than the fact they mean something to us and they are gems to be cherished for a long time to come.


So why do you love Retro games? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading


ZebruhGaming

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Id also like to thank the people that contributed through my post on Google+ to get a broad outlook of retro games, it is much appreciated.

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