Classic Video Games

Why I'll Always Love Those Classic Games

Something became very clear during the first big classic gaming session I had on my new MAME machine. I realized that this was more than just biased nostalgia. These are not just great games from the past, some of these are great games PERIOD.

It's hard not to sound like an old coot when glorifying the meager beginnings of video games. (Cue the "Grampa Simpson" voice) - "Back in MY day, we didn't have no fancy shaded polygons or 3D playfields, all we had was sprites made out of big pixels, and the processing power warn't but NUTHIN! But we didn't complain, we did the best with what we had..."

Games have come a long way, and we have to admit that part of the appeal of the classics is to marvel at just how primitive they really were compared to today's games. Show any classic game from the early 80's to the average X-Box-toting youngster, the reaction will surely be along the lines of "HA! This sucks - my old Nintendo was better than this!" Hence the attitude problem that has plagued the video game business since it's very beginning, the myth that better graphics always = better games.

Flashier visuals entice us, even 20-some years ago we all stopped firing missiles at the Invaders as soon as we had the chance to fire at the more colorful Galaxians. Soon we all jumped ship again to battle Galaga. This trend continued, and ever since we have been conditioned to constantly crave more power. Rapidly developing technology has never failed to deliver, and it has driven the industry to amazing success - games turned over nearly 10 billion in the US alone in 2001.

Some modern console and PC games are a lot of fun (I own a PS2, so I'm not 100% retro). They should be - TONS of computing horsepower to work with, huge development teams staffed with not just programmers but artists, writers, musicians, entertainment visionaries, 12 to 18 month development cycles, etc. Putting out a competitive game is a BIG production these days. (Grampa again: "Back in MY day, all you needed was one Eugene Jarvis or Shiguero Myamoto and a couple weeks and BOOM - a great game")

On the other hand, many of the modern games are a big letdown. These days, there's a lot of titles that are more movie than game. As an example, I'll pick on one of the biggest, most hyped games of 2001 - Metal Gear Solid 2. Amazing detailed visuals, submersive 3D environments, complex storyline. The gameplay? What gameplay? I made it to the end, and enjoyed watching the story play out, but this hardly resembled a video game. It was more like an action movie that occasionally required you to fiddle with the controller to access the next scene. There was never any play mechanics or need for real controller skill, each challenge only required me to figure out, through trial and error, how I'm supposed to get past. There's never a doubt that you will get past, only the matter of how long it takes to figure out each scene.

Why do so many of us view the late 70s/early 80s as video gaming's "golden age"? It's not like this timeframe is when video games began, after all, history says that "Computer Space" arrived (and flopped big time) in 1971, and "Pong" was a big arcade success in 1973, the first video game to give pinball a run for it's money.

My theory is that, roughly before Space Invaders in '78, the primitive technology just wasn't good enough to make great games. After around 1984, the more advanced graphics began to often just get in the way, rather than helping gameplay. I believe this is why so many great games arrived during these years - developers couldn't simply rely on amazing graphics to draw customers, but they did finally have the necessary tools to create compelling, addictive games. Rarely since then have we played games with such finely tuned play mechanics. These are simple, elegant games that are easy to learn, but VERY difficult to master, requiring dexterity, split-second timing and unwavering focus. The best games scale up smoothly in difficulty, and always leave you feeling like it was your own fault when your character dies. "Quick, put in another quarter - I won't make that mistake again."

It's been an exciting journey, watching and playing as the game industry has matured. The future looks promising too - on-line gaming is gathering steam, I think it's going to be HUGE. Still, it's great to go back to the good-old-days and play with some of the classics. It's been fun to re-discover them and feel the nostalgia, and even more satisfying to realize that, even all these years later, those games are still every bit as exciting to play.

Well, I've got a date with Robotron 2084. Time to go save the last human family, before it's too late.

Rob Bischoff

April, 2002.