Less games skill as you get older

[Axeman]

I sat down and completed Rygar on the Spectrum the other day - didn;t know |I still had it in me

 

[frolik]

I find some games, like logical stuff (e.g. scumm games ) I've got better at

One thing that I've always thought is that if I play games at night - my brain/reflexes are far better than playing in daytime. Maybe it's just the way I grew up???

 

[jegHegy]

I find some games, like logical stuff (e.g. scumm games ) I've got better at

thanks for reminding me, i gotta replay all the LucasArts adventure games. i finished them when i was like 10-12 and didn't understand a thing XD so it was all just trial and error. the graphics sure were pretty though

 

[VirtuaLeech]

Ok so I'm only 18, but do you reckon Videogames skill decreases with age?

Just wait until you turn 36 and try to compete on XBOX-Live

(also my four year old can now beat me on Super Smash Brothers Melee, but in my defence he is almost five )

 

[jot2b]

Regarding Prince of Persia, yes it is beautiful.

Regarding skills, I'm with general; I've become more skilled, but less patient with repetitive games like Gauntlet.

Regarding frustration, games should be challenging but not difficult. When a player dies, he should feel like he deserved to. In good games, players die from lack of concentration or patience, or absense of thought. Poor games are the ones where your player dies from a either a glitch in the game, or some event that seems random or uncontrolled. It's why games like Metroid and Castlevania are so good -- the enemies' movements are predictable, but there are few escape routes. It's also why so many new action-adventure games are not fun; challenges were not programmed with human reactions in mind.

Regarding new games, there are still a lot of great games being made, but many of them are not commercial, and most commercial games are not worth playing. I play a lot of freeware and shareware games based on what looks appealing and who the author is. Many gamers buy a game based on what company produced it, such as Blizzard or EA. This is like watching a movie because it was produced by MGM or Dreamworks, regardless the director. This actually was a problem in the film industry in its second decade, when producers refused to give screen credit to directors and actors because a public image meant higher salaries for these people. Film as an art didn't progress at all for five or ten years, only technology did, and film companies churned out all sorts of crap for the theatres. Audiences didn't know any better.

Regarding new gamers, this generation of gamers have been playing games for most of their lives and since they were very young, which may explain why they are generally better players. Some of us have been playing games since we were young, but Mario Brothers' controls are very simple compared to Smash Brothers'.

 

[xafier]

I was thinking about this the other day when I started playing Zool 2 and realised I couldnt even complete the first level when I had it on the Amiga I completed the damned thing about 20 times... but that was about 7/8 years ago??

When it comes to RPG's Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger/Cross and games like that I don't have much trouble with them compared with years ago... but a lot of fighting games I SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO suck at now than when I used to play them... Street Fighter 2... I cant even go a few stages without getting whooped now... urghhhhhhhhh I hate getting older... and I'm only 18!!!!

 

[ThndrShk2k]

ehh since we have more of a life now, we do not have excuses to play the game to get better faster, i'd say we do not lose our skills, but merely forget some moves *as fighting games* or not care as much due to that we have lives now compaired to use as younger children


if you do suck alot though, do not worry, you will get better than plain n00bs due to yur previously known skills will re-active, in a manner of speaking, and make you get better faster *well, make you not suck as much to not suck at all*

I've experienced this alot with games, i've played doom for a couple hours and now i can do alot, i just need to actually get better now XD

 

[Rico]

Hmm, I've also noticed recently that i don't actually play games anymore, I just try them out. It almost seems as if my interest in video gaming is focused more on the technology behind it rather than the game itself.

dude, EXACTLY. i stopped playing PS games when emulation turned so good that you didn't need to fiddle with settings to make the game playable. i recently got the new Prince Of Persia, and i was shocked about the beautiful graphics. played it to around %50, and that's it, it's been sitting there since. the slightest frustrating part makes me just quit the whole thing and bury it. i've been like this with games since years. truly worrying. :/

dude, EXACTLY again. Prince of Persia... beautiful, puzzling, enthralling, nice plot. I got really into it for the first few levels until I reached my father. Now I can't beat him. I've been told wall vaulting knocks down the guys instantly and makes it easier, but I'm not exactly sure how to do that. I get repeatedly clobbered and if I get frustrated and give up for a bit, the next time I want to play I have to redo the chapter as the boss is at the end. Gah! If anyone has any advice please tell me... (preferably on IRC as this is a little OT, sorry)

 

[bringoutthegimp]

i would say ive developed more skill as ive got older. Take mario land for instance, i thought was a hard game the first time i played it, but now i can complete it far too easily..even on hard mode. This is the same with a lot of games

 

[Twimfy]

i would say ive developed more skill as ive got older. Take mario land for instance, i thought was a hard game the first time i played it, but now i can complete it far too easily..even on hard mode. This is the same with a lot of games

No there are some things that I am better at I just find it unsettling when I fail so miserably at something I used to be so good at.