Well, to be fair, it's generally a feeling that we all have and is quite close to us all. Now you're curious... What is that feeling? It's NOSTALGIA! It is that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you see and deal with something that reminds you of happier times and places. You might be wondering how this could possibly be a topic for a Side Post though. To put it simply? Let's just walk on down to the intro line below...
Recurring Fantasy Side Post Proudly Presents...
Nostalgia! The Greatest Feeling? OR The Thing Holding Us Back?Now, I'm all for the feeling of nostalgia. Those times when you are remembering the "good times", and it's just a nice feeling in your heart, mind, and belly. I've got nothing against it, but in many cases, I feel it tends to hold us back as a people. However, I plan to focus more on the aspect of nostalgia for gaming versus all of life. Where shall I start...
In gaming, Nostalgia brings the greatest feeling for those of us who have been playing games for all our lives. It's the first game you ever played, or maybe it's the first game you ever beat. That first time you played that game with a friend. There are many situations where nostalgia is born, but in the end, it all ends up in the same place. Your memories.
What does all that mean? Nostalgia is the reason a lot of people in the video game industry are doing what they are doing. The rise of the indie game developers and their own companies is testament to people wanting the experiences of old to merge with those of new to create a new product. Games like Braid, Bleed, FEZ, and many more are prime examples of old mixed with new to make something amazing. (Keep in mind, I do enjoy all of those games and many more.)
However, at the same time, what we get is a pile of past games being brought back from the past. Things like HD collections, Nintendo's Virtual Console service, or Sony's PlayStation Classics. Again, I enjoy many of these things. However, the problem I feel like we have now is... I almost see lazyness. I understand that companies do have to put forth effort to release these, and that there is demand for some of these. At a point though, I feel like we need to move away from the past and evolve.
Keeping that in mind, people with "nostalgia" are likely to scrutinize a newer game by comparing it to an older one. "This game sucks compared to a previous one" or "I remember when games where on discs/something like that" "Back in my day, we didn't have DLC or patches... AND WE LIKED IT!" (I kinda agree with that last one. MOVING ON.)
As far as I'm concerned, it comes down to something like this. Nostalgia is a great feeling to capture again. There's nothing wrong with taking a look back at old games and trying to recapture the sensation from then. At the same time though, we, as nostalgia-ers, need to realize that it's incredibly hard to recapture that old feeling without making the same thing. If you keep to it, nostalgia keeps a game from changing into something new and different because we're afraid of losing that feeling.
In the end, we should focus on taking the best of the old while improving it with the best of the new. Even after that, you should never be afraid to try out a new idea or concept to mix things up. Sometimes, game developers make mistakes. There are bad games out there, but there are also a lot of good games. Good games that gave it their best, tried something new, and were ignored because they weren't "that same old feeling".
So, in summation, be friends with your nostalgia, but don't let it hold you back. Don't be afraid to try a new kind of video game just because it's "not how things used to be". Who knows, you might find a new nostalgia for you to go crazy about.
That is all.
~May the Crystals Guide Me~
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