The Graying Gamer

I've been calling myself that for some time, but I guess someone coined the phrase here.

The article talks about how they are targeting the older gamer now, which is great news for me, since I'm about to turn a whopping 33 years old here. I know, ancient, but a gamer until the bitter end. I plan on being the only guy in the nursing home with some sort of game pad in my twisted fingers.

I find as the years go by my tastes toward most everything is changing, including games.

I have no problem with games having under 20 hours of game time. Max Payne II is a great example of this. It's a game I loved dearly that most "hardcore" gamers get through in a single sitting. It took me about three weeks to finish.

Another area I'm noticing change in is the type of presentation I want from my games. I want the big screen, 5.1 digital, take your head off graphics when I'm gaming. I want movie quality music and acting, and a STORY for god's sake. I like it when I put in a game and people aren't sure if I just started a DVD. To this day I've never been able to show any interest in GBA's, or old arcade classics (unless for a few laughs). I've got to have the big show. I know, it sounds jaded, but it may just be old age.

And a little nudity, if done correctly (which is still hasn't) I think would go a long way. Like a serious action / stealth game where the hero saves the lady half way through and has a sex scene with her that's comparable to what they do in the movies. Not overdone, not to long, just enough to let you know they got it on BIG TIME. During this right requires some character development, and some hard-to-get playing around with the dialog to get it to work.

And I don't just start my sentence with AND to get under Elysium's skin, having to go copy/paste his hard to remember how to spell name is no picnic, ether. Heck, is that even a sentence? I don't think so.

But I'm a happy gamer. I love watching my hobby of choice rise out of it's nerdy ashes into a "cool" thing to do. Now I leave the really twitchy games up to my 11 yr old son. Otogi was my last attempt at a twitchy game, and I couldn't keep up with him so I just quit and watched. Ninja Gaiden will probably be the next reminder of my aging reflexes, but alias, living through your kid's eyes is something a parent gets really good at.

Any other graying gamers out there with reflections on how their gaming tastes have changed?

Great thread idea!

One thing that has changed for me (being just south of 30) is how much time I''m willing to spend ''getting into'' a game. When I was a kid, I could afford only a new game every couple of months or so, but had tons of time to play games. I would spend hours and hours with a game, sticking even with the stinky ones.

Now that I can buy any game I want, but have very little time to play, I give up VERY quickly on games that don''t grab me immediately (WCIII, Halo, several others of late). I''m not willing to spend time on games unless I''m pretty sure that time will be rewarded.

Hear hear, KT. I gave up on KOTOR for the same reason. I finally got to the point where I had the ability to get to all the different planets (after becoming a jedi), realized how big the game really was, and gave up. Let my friend borrow it and he''s feeling the same way. I only play games that allow me to get in a quick one, whenever I want. It also has to be easy and quick to pick up and learn. Sports games do this, racing games, RTS games. That''s about all I play.

The main difference for me is that I can''t stay up all night playing games or I lose too much wife faction

Don''t think my taste in games has changed too much.

And a little nudity, if done correctly (which is still hasn''t) I think would go a long way. Like a serious action / stealth game where the hero saves the lady half way through and has a sex scene with her that''s comparable to what they do in the movies. Not overdone, not to long, just enough to let you know they got it on BIG TIME. During this right requires some character development, and some hard-to-get playing around with the dialog to get it to work.

Worst. Idea. Evar. I''m only 21 but I think adding nudity will not add anything to the gaming experience. Games are not movies, they are games. If you want to watch a movie, put one in. Gameplay is were we need to focus.

I don''t think you''re allowed to post in this thread, Ulairi. You have to have been born before 1980 to comment on what it''s like being an antique gamer. Once you''re as old as we are, you need to get your sex scenes from whatever you can. Heaven knows we''ve run out of them in real life.

The only thing I don''t have patience for in gmaes these days are the instant death areas that require you to devote oodles of time to memorize one level or track or boss fight to move on. If I can''t get through an area in a reasonable amount of time, say 1-2 hours I move on. No patience for that crap anymore. Or time for it. It used to be I was content to spend an entire saturday figuring out how to kill a boss, or advance through a level but no more.

That''s about the only thing I''ve outgrown over the years.

Worst. Idea. Evar.

I think that if a game can get away with a little sex scene that''s convincing and meaningful it did the job of making ""realistic"" characters and a compelling story.

Hell, if I can see two characters in a game sharing a kiss without rolling my eyes I''d say the industry is making progress.

Hell, if I can see two characters in a game sharing a kiss without rolling my eyes I''d say the industry is making progress.

Good point!

Hell, if I can see two characters in a game sharing a kiss without rolling my eyes I''d say the industry is making progress.

Hell, if I can see two characters in a game falling in love without rolling my eyes I''d say the industry is making progress. That said, the narrative style and level often tends to be rather embarrassing.

Hell, if I can see two characters in a game sharing a kiss without rolling my eyes I''d say the industry is making progress.

This is exactly how I feel about it. It''s not throwing in nudity and sex just to be ""mature"", it''s having the maturity to let you play in a world that involves sex. That would be a great day for gaming. The Sims is on the right track in this arena. Tomb Raider''s nude patch is not.

Even though I''m only 22, I''d say I have much less patience with games. If I have major problems getting into it I just drop it, the game has to hook me and keep me going. I won''t put up with stupid interface problems, mundane gameplay or buggy code anymore just to get to the good stuff. I don''t have the time and what time I have I want to spend on things other than fighting a lazy developer/publisher.

Basically I''m just more discerning about what I play, though jaded would also work in that sentence.

"Certis" wrote:
Worst. Idea. Evar.

I think that if a game can get away with a little sex scene that''s convincing and meaningful it did the job of making ""realistic"" characters and a compelling story.

Hell, if I can see two characters in a game sharing a kiss without rolling my eyes I''d say the industry is making progress.

It is very hard to do that in a non-human form. I think this is part of the reason the final fantasy movie wasn''t that good. They are not real, no matter how good the graphics are or how great the voice acting is. We should play to gamings strenght not its weakness.

The problem with doing nudity in games is that *any* nudity beyond that you could see on network TV is going to earn an ''Adults Only'' rating, pretty much ensuring that it doesn''t even get on the shelves of your local supercenter. In fact, I doubt that the Powers that Be at Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft would allow them to put out a title with nudity in the U.S.

"KillerTomato" wrote:

The problem with doing nudity in games is that *any* nudity beyond that you could see on network TV is going to earn an ''Adults Only'' rating, pretty much ensuring that it doesn''t even get on the shelves of your local supercenter. In fact, I doubt that the Powers that Be at Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft would allow them to put out a title with nudity in the U.S.

BMX XXX.

"Ulairi" wrote:

It is very hard to do that in a non-human form. I think this is part of the reason the final fantasy movie wasn''t that good. They are not real, no matter how good the graphics are or how great the voice acting is. We should play to gamings strenght not its weakness.

Physically yeah, but there''s another reason the chick in Final Fantasy wasn''t hot, her character was boring and generic. There''s a whole character and relationship side to this equation that can only be explored by gaming and it''s almost completely untapped. Again, The Sims example, there are all kinds of people who get crushes on thier Sims. They are about as doll like as you can get. It''s not really the body that''s the problem, it''s the rest of the package. Nobody''s really doing anything like that.

Pac man was nude. I was a child for god''s sake!

Pac man was nude.

And such curves. Rowr.

And now that I about it, Mafia had a sex scene. Still, very cringe-evoking.

And probably the worst part about cutscene makeout sessions is that with all the technology and the evolution of graphics, they still haven''t managed to make the inside of a characters mouth appear darker than the outside.

Even of late: Bastila looked like she was chewing a 60 watt lightbulb.

Its really disturbing

"Ulairi" wrote:

Worst. Idea. Evar. I''m only 21 but I think adding nudity will not add anything to the gaming experience.

Are you kidding? Fatalities didn''t add much either, but they made the game notorious and fun. I''m thinking ""lesbialities"" ...Sung Mina, Kitana, I''m looking at yoooou. [/tongue-in-cheek]

On a more serious note than that last post, I am 28 and I can agree for the most part with the sentiments about not minding short games. However, a steady diet of drop in quickies (BF1942) left me craving something more in-depth. In fact, I didn''t even mind if it took me forever, since I have no money for games anyway. So I highly recommend KoTOR if you''re in the same boat. I''m playing the 2nd time light side...

Although I find 5.1 and widescreen etc are less important to me now since I can only play when the kids are in bed...meaning no subwoofers...

Gothic 2 features a certain movie you''ll get to see if you spend a night at the local brothal. It''s short, but one may consider it as some sort of softporn. It''s kind of odd and one doesn''t really expect to see something like that. One wonders though why they decided to use some resources for that. (It''s one out of about three or four movies the whole game features and it''s even ''optional'' since the main story doesn''t require you to check out that place IIRC.) On the upside, the devs didn''t run around pimping that aspect of the game in every interview imaginable to try to point out how mature the game is.

Does this mean I should spice up my NWN mod with between chapter movies of celebratory naughtiness?

Does this mean I should spice up my NWN mod with between chapter movies of celebratory naughtiness?

It can''t hurt. You can splice in some Paris Hilton footage and pretend we are viewing it in ultravision...

You know, there are some women who I wouldn''t mind seeing naked as they are simply beautiful both in attitude and body, but Paris Hilton is about as far from those qualifying statements as anyone I can think of.

You know, there are some women who I wouldn''t mind seeing naked as they are simply beautiful both in attitude and body, but Paris Hilton is about as far from those qualifying statements as anyone I can think of.

First of all, nice avatar. I, of course, support having another innocent-looking kitten fronting for an unstable mind (see: myself and Fang for further examples). Secondly, I was born in Cedar Rapids. Not sure what that''s worth, but just thought I''d mention it. Now onto the important issue. Paris Hilton, while remarkably stupid and seemingly plastic, is damned hot, especially naked. Plus she is willing to be pounded for your and my downloading enjoyment. It is very important that we nurture these impulses in hot, stupid women - not put them down. Thank you, in advance, for your support on this issue.

First of all, nice avatar. I of course, support having another innocent-looking kitten fronting for an unstable mind (see: myself and Fang for further examples).

Kittens are awesome.

Pirate kittens are the most powerful force in the universe.

Thus, my kitten can beat up your kitten.

Secondly, I was born in Cedar Rapids - not sure what that''s worth, but just thought I''d mention.

Cool! I actually moved here from Louisiana when I started college, and I like it here enough that I stayed.

Of course, since all I have to compare it to is Louisiana, that doesn''t necessarily mean that Cedar Rapids is better than anywhere else. Only thing I liked about living in LA was the food.

Now onto the important issue. Paris Hilton, while remarkably stupid and plastic, is damned hot, especially naked, and willing to be pounded for your and my downloading enjoyment. It is very important that we nurture these impulses in hot, stupid women - not put them down. Thank you for you support on this issue.

Good point. Guess I''m off to do some downloading and see if she really is that hot while naked for myself. Thanks for making sure I don''t miss out.

But if you can see Paris Hilton naked without playing my mod, why would you play my mod?

But if you can see Paris Hilton naked without playing my mod, why would you play my mod?

It''s all about context, Gorack.

I can see X-Wings shoot at TIE fighters by watching the Star Wars movies, so why play the video games?

Because then, it''s interactive!

Use your imagination.

But if you can see Paris Hilton naked without playing my mod, why would you play my mod?

You''re also selling it all wrong. You should be telling us, not only do we get to play your mod, we also get to see Paris Hilton naked! (again) Plus, maybe you could replace that dude in the video with my player character. Or an iron golem. Whatever.

The Sims example, there are all kinds of people who get crushes on thier Sims.

I think I have a crush.

I''m thinking ""lesbialities""

Apparently, so is EA in The Sims2!

Bow chicka bowwow

I''m also old. But I need short game sessions because after a while I forget what I''m doing. Once I even fell asleep playing Diablo II (that last part is not a joke and I wasn''t bored with the game).