While we aren’t exactly a blog here at Gaming Shenanigans, I was intrigued by Hawty McBloggy‘s idea of Blog Banter, a monthly communal writing event for gaming sites. We don’t have nearly enough editorials as I’d like, so I figure that if we can put out at least once a month, it’ll be an improvement, This month’s topic is: If you could ask for one thing this year from the gaming industry as a whole, what would it be and why?
My answer comes with a caveat, so once you read the next sentence you’ve committed to reading the rest of the article (so if you don’t have time, I suggest you turn back now). I’d say that I would like more nostalgia from the industry.
There were two key words in my answer, so I’ll address them in order. ‘More’ does not necessarily mean ‘a larger number than there was in 2008.’ This year was pretty heavy on the memories, which is partially why the answer popped into my head. Instead, when I say ‘more’ I mean ‘keep it up.’ Maintain the status quo on the nostalgia front (even though the status is not quo).
‘Nostalgia’ is the center of my statement, both figuratively and literally. It’s the part that’s most likely to get misunderstood, so let me be clear when I say I do not mean I just want more remakes. They’re all well and good, and are certainly a part of the nostalgia package: Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is whetting many fans’ appetites for hadokens, and I’m currently having a great time playing through Chrono Trigger for the DS (expect a review of that up by this time next week).
The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘nostalgia’ as:
1. Acute longing for familiar surroundings, esp. regarded as a medical condition; homesickness. Also in extended use.
2. a. Sentimental longing for or regretful memory of a period of the past, esp. one in an individual’s own lifetime; (also) sentimental imagining or evocation of a period of the past.
Chrono Trigger definitely falls into this category: when the bass line for random encounters starts, I’m transported back to my grammar school years, sitting in the living room of my friend’s cousin’s house with a SNES controller. Penny Arcade documented the Mega Man 9 effect, which is precisely what I’m after from the industry: games do not have to be remakes to induce nostalgia. Through the course of playing Mega Man 9, I realized that its style of gameplay (‘sadistic’ is the term, I believe) has been missing for quite some time. I don’t necessarily need more Mega Man games (though of course I wouldn’t be complaining, either), but I do need more games like it.
The stage is already set for my nostalgia urges to be sated: Street Fighter IV is two months away, Rare has been inserting Killer Instinct hints into their work like they’re extraneous u’s, and Ghostbusters seems to be, well, awesome. Now that I have a PS3, I can finally get back to hoping for a Final Fantasy VII remake, the absence of which can only be interpreted as an aversion to money on Square’s part.
So it’s not just old games and franchises that I’m after. It’s the design methodology of days past, when there were significantly less than seven hundred and twenty p’s on my screen (I remembered when they were called bits, and I could count them on my phalanges). Capcom definitely seems to be getting the balance: in addition to Bionic Commando (both Rearmed and the new game), Age of Booty has the simple design but addictive gameplay that may repeat but doesn’t get repetitive. I hope that this trend of downloadable games continues into 2009, though of course Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe (albeit not a Capcom game, obviously) showed that a full retail product is also capable of giving me 20 cc’s of nostalgia (stat!). Now do it again, once more with decapitations. I mean feeling.
‘Retro gaming’ isn’t a reference to the year a game was made, it is — or should be, at any rate — a part of design aesthetic. Games can be, and are being, made that not only make me feel like I’m half my age but also introduce the youngins of the gaming bunch to the good ol’ days (sometimes with Good Old Games). So, what do I want from the industry? I want more of this, but not to the point of exploitation: I want, essentially, for the Konami code to be more than something printed on a shirt at Hot Topic.
Other participants!
What I want in 2009, The “Roxanne” Edition, Dear Gaming Industry, if the industry gave us all presents this Christmas, Demands for the industry, Santa, Don’t Bring Me Toys I Have To Share, All I Want for Christmas Is…, My Wish for the Year, Crossing Over, Checkpoint Unobtained. errr., Loading Requests, LISTEN BITCH!!!, One Wish, Dear Video Game Industry
I love how this post sounds like an episode of RetroforceGO! (best retro gaming podcast EVERRR!!) but yeah, I hear what you’re saying about wanting the feeling of old games to be present in newer games yet not necessarily of the same franchise. I haven’t felt like a kid while playing video games for a while…
The best thing about the old NES days.. now loading screens!
lol.
I got tired of Mega Man after the 3rd one.
Despite my article being on the opposite end of the spectrum, I love nostalgia as well. That is why I loved the ending to Halo 3; it brought me all the way back to CE. That is why I am more than looking forward to the Ghostbusters video game that I will probably buy regardless of how good or not good it ends up being. That is why I love when the LEGO series covers a new movie; it gives me the opportunity to introduce classics to the kiddos. Great article, and I agree!
The whole retro/remix trend right now is great. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HDR is a great example of this. For all intents and purposes it is the original game with a gorgeous coat of fresh paint on it and all the bells and whistles we need to reach out and play other gamers. I’d like to see more of this as it is fanservice, but it also pushes us in new directions at the same time.
Great article!
I think the industry is making a big push for nostalgia, and that will only continue to strengthen. Given the successes of Mega Man 9, Street Fighter, Bionic Commando, and Chrono Trigger it seems inevitable that we’ll see more comebacks.
Whether that exists as games being brought back as they were, or games being renewed and remade, I’m not so sure.
As much as I agree with you, people will always want new stuff, and encourage companies to get away from the “old school” stuff.
I never got to play Chrono Trigger when it came out years ago, but I recently got it for my DS. I’ll be beating it soon, and I don’t feel like I’m missing out on a classic anymore. I agree, we need more nostalgia! There are so many games that I’d love to play but can’t. And I’d also love the feeling of seeing old themes and gameplay tactics in new games.