Browsing this forum (which I love, btw), and seeing all the topics nitpicking at the tiniest details makes me wonder...

Have we forgotten how to play? How to imagine and dream and absorb ourselves into a fictional world? Isn't that what gaming is supposed to be? Getting caught up in the make-believe, and loving it?

I have watched this trend of continual dissatisfaction for a while now. Every game that comes out and I find awesome is cut down to size by those playing it. Why? Surely you remember things like Oregon Trail, the original Mario Bros., etc.

I remember someone saying during an interview (can't remember who) that we are in a 'video game renaissance.'

And he's right. We have depth, customization, stories like we've never had in the past. So what is it, then, that in the midst of some of the greatest games out there, we are so unhappy with everything?

Have we forgotten how to play? Have we left behind our inner nerds with our childhoods?

And WTF is wrong with me, that I'm so easily entertained all these years later?

That's the part I disagree with. Otherwise I'd tend to agree.

Nothing wrong with you! It's called Imagination! Some got it, some don't! I remember growing up I played with Barbies and created a whole fictional world for them. LOL

A lot of the younger generation wants everything handed to them. They are pretty much brain-dead and don't want to make an effort to think or to imagine things. TV does all the imagining for them...

I agree with what you say.There does seem to be some people that spend too much time complaining,rather than enjoying what is a fantastic game

Hey Im one of those younger generation.....but i agree, long gone are the days of old

Nothing you are correct but its nothing wrong with you, im easily entertained too.


PS.: anyone out there use your imagination

Ditto

pretty much this, which is kind of sad when you think about it

Comments like that make me kind of sad, it feels like Im being persecuted for being a part of that generation.

I totally agree with you about the complaining. I don't think people have fogotten how to play, its just that people have learnt how to complain, lol. As much as I enjoy these forums as well, they are huge part of the problem. I am all for free speech but it seems people just complain about anything so they can make a topic and add to their post count. This seems innocent enough but it does result in a lot of group think. Even for me there are alot of things I wouldn't have even noticed in the game but now I do after reading posts about them on here.

There are other factors that add to it but I could talk about those for hours. One that is worth mentioning is that now adays games cut across so many generations that there will always be things that people don't like about them. Gaming just isnt for kids and teenagers anymore.

I'm prob considered to be of that generation too, just becaus there are exceptions doesn't make the general rule any less true

Mmm, there's nothing wrong with mind play.
But why spend money on a game if you're perfectly willing to day dream?

Games, like movies, need some substance to them. Otherwise they're just fancy slideshows.

Here's the problem I have. The use of the imagination is a lot like the use of mods. The use of mods should be to enhance your game experience. They should never be needed to fix errors and bad design choices. The same is true of the imagination. And just as there are people that sit back and say, "Well, mods will fix that," there are also people who say, "Just use your imagination."

I think part of the complaining is a forum syndrome. You see someone saying something about something that could have been better, is annoying or maybe even outright bad, and you go "hey, I thought about that, too!" and so the discussion - or complaining - has started.

There are things I think could have been better in the game. There are bugs. There are things that annoy me, some are little details, others are bigger. But the overall experience is that Skyrim is a fantastic game, it really triggers my imagination, and to be honest I enjoy playing it a little too much.

I am patiently waiting for the DLC.
I do agree with some of the nitpicking, I can not help looking back longingly at Morrowind
I can not criticize the fact that I spent sixty dollars and got many hours of enjoyment from it, but this book is showing its exteded usage. The Cover is gone and the first pages are dog eared. The paper is oil stained from my fingers and the page numbers have become illegible. The author has teased about his continuation of the heroes story, and I am spending a lot of time in the bookstore with my fellow enthusiasts talkng about the latest version and criticizing some of the flaws in the story. When the new book comes out, I will buy it because I have to.
I can hope the book does not fall into the same problems that the authors previous series did, I had almost given up on any of the author works until I read the Shimmering Isles.

To me, its kind of like saying "Just imagine that The Blair Witch is a literary masterpiece" and ranking it among some of the best films of all time.

As I see it, the problem is we expect a hell of a lot from Bethesda. Maybe too much. But, some of the things they spend time and money on make no sense, when there are so many more logical ways to spend them, and actually make players play more, enjoy it more and have new things to [censored] about.

"We are gamers, hear us [censored],
Give us more, we'll make you rich."

this.

people who are happy with a product are less like likely to state it than people who are dissatisfied.

There is probably a largish percentage of us here who might feel a bit slighted by this beta testing process we went through (PS3 users) which kind of pissed on our parade, so to speak.

+ its kind of the nature of the interweb - everybody gets to rant and everybody is just a bot, there are no real organic carbon storage units here - its all a figment of the ether so [censored] and moan, it doesn't matter, right?

I also think net forums favors diametrically opposed views over mutual ascent. much like the news where sensation sells.

Most games have the needed substance, yet it's never enough. I've been on plenty of gaming forums and nothing is ever enough. A game can be excellent, yet someone will find something to gripe about. Sure, this is the technological age, but until we can "implant" ourselves into a game, there will be issues. Today's gamers are so demanding.

The OP is simply wondering why we can't just enjoy a game for what it is. Just go play it and have fun.


Now, we are not talking about blatant errors and bad design here. I personally talk in general. If I just talked about Skyrim, I would agree with you and say that the "arrow in the knee" joke got old after playing the game a few hours. But this thread isn't about what's wrong with Skyrim.


Awww no no no, I didn't mean every single person. I have a lot of good friends with wonderful imagination that fall into this generation!! Sorry, I really didn't want to put down a WHOLE generation!

This is a fair enough comment. Though to my mind, It is difficult to enjoy the current volume to a series, when it shares little save a title with its predecessors.

All I ever have done and hope to ever do, is play games and have fun playing them. Hell Ive even purchased Resident evil on the psn because out of the main series its the only one I havent played. I often find myself playing FF7/8/9 or Parasite Eve 2 (not played the 1st one and doubt I'll will get the chance too)

I forgive you , but not those who did persecute me for being of the "casual generation", least thats what they called it lol. I was treated like a Khajiit....it was horrible for 4mins after which I went back to the game.

Imagination is fine for enhancing your game experience, creating stories in your head that go beyond what the game can and should be expected to show you. It's not so great when it becomes a case of sticking your fingers in your ears and going "lalala I can't hear you!" in the face of an overly rigid and scripted gaming experience which doesn't allow you to make the sort of choices for your character than an RPG should.

Imagining what my mage character gets up to at the College of Winterhold is one thing. Imagining that my warrior character didn't have to join even though the main quest forced him to is another.

Yes, that made absolutely no sense. Why couldn't you have just visited?
Hell, why did the main quest HAVE to go there anyway?

This is what I mean about Games needing Substance, not just a hook in the nose to show you all the locations.

That was the issue I was referring to in my statement. In a recent thread, people were discussing just that very issue. With out the use of metagaming, the main quest line requires you to join the College of WInterhold. Someone came into that thread and stated that it was not a problem at all. All you had to do was use your imagination and pretend that you didn't actually join.

I'm 24, I'm no old fogie