ghosts-from-gaming-past-article-why-its-important-mostly

Games have been around a long time. Far longer than the Video games of today that have captured a large majority of the world’s pocket books.  When you look at it, video games are babies in the realm of games period. As with any new entity it’s important to pay attention to its beginnings. Starting from “SPACE WAR” All the way to today’s hits there are hundreds of games that people call classics. I happen to have my own idea of what those games are, but I think it is more important understand why its important to understand the classics rather than to just list out my favorites.

History teaches us that what we forget we tend to repeat, and science teaches that Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind.  ~Marston Bates. So we are faced with a problem of trying not to repeat our mistakes while blindingly stumbling into the future.  So when we look at games of the past we  need to find out what went right and what went wrong. What was the experience of Final Fantasy 7 that made it such a great game to play. Then as the writer suggests we need to find out what it is that makes the game  not translate into today’s gaming culture.

Thankfully we are presented with fine specimen in Duke Nukem Forever, where and old game was given new life via a life line of multiple partners.

When Duke Nukem came out all those years ago I remember seeking glimpses of this beyond naughty game that offered me a glimpse into an adolescent teenager future that I was sure to have. Thankfully that came in the form of Duke Nukem Zero hour.  At that time in history I was ecstatic over this game. Everything from the controls to the graphics to the undeniable urge to find every dirty little secret enthralled my juvenile behavior fueled brain. As an adult there are still many juvenile thoughts that I do not practice but still enjoy in both film and games.

That was the core experience that Duke Nukem offered: SAVE WORLD, KILL ALIENS, SAVE BABES, All with the class of a 10 year old given free rein to reenact every dirty joke and thought in their head. Duke Nukem Zero Hour also had very tight controls for the time keeping in tread with Turok in terms of control schemes.

So here is what they did right.

Fast forward 12 years and we now have Duke Nukem Forever. As a personal note I plowed through the game and beat it in the fear that I might never get another opportunity to have this experience again. While playing this game I was frustrated often by a failure to take into account the changing of the times. Now the issues of Duke Nukem forever have been talked into the ground and I’m sure they will be talked about long into the future so I will not get into it. So here is what they did right, and wrong.

Right

Wrong

Duke Nukem Failed because They tried to remember their history but they failed to take that step into the future.

Game from the past of great, some hold up over time some do not. It is however important to remember them, study them be inspired by them, however it is also important to not get mired down in nostalgia but strive for the future. To walk down that alleyway into the unknown. Because that is what the classics did. That is why they are Classic.