Spam Spam Spam Humbug: Episode 41 – The Ageing Gamer III
We may have overlooked the most obvious point in this discussion…almost nobody is making games targeted to the ageing gamer anymore! And even those companies that are still doing so aren’t necessarily doing so (c.f. the controversy over lore changes and writing style in Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear).
And for most of us who have grown up with games, there’s also another question that looms large: we have kids now (or many of us do, at any rate), so do we want to see our kids pick up and run with a hobby that has brought us a lot of joy? And if so, how much do we want to involve ourselves in that…and how much do we want our kids to experience the same games that we did?
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This episode highlights a sad belief I hear some older gamers say that I feel needs to be addresses. There are some gamers that are so let down by the fact that they can’t find any games they enjoy anymore that they actually start to rationalize that they “have no time” for games anymore and basically stop playing them altogether. Sure they may dabble from time to time with a new game but then quickly realize that it really wasn’t made with them in mind, which of course just solidifies this belief all the more. It’s a sad state of affairs because they are actually destroying a part of life that has brought them so much fun and joy.
Yes older gamers usually have less time for leisure and more responsibilities then they did before, however, they still always find plenty of time for forms of entertainment that they do enjoy. This is where the “no time” argument is completely irrational. If they actually wrote down just how much time they actually spent on entertainment, such as being online or watching TV then they will see how stupid this “no time” argument really is. The truth is that anyone can find 30-60 minutes of free time per day for playing a game. Heck most people spend 3+ hours just watching TV per day! And yes, these are the same people who claim they have no time for games.
Time for entertainment will always be found no matter how old you are. In fact, the older you get, the more time you will actually want to spend with entertainment of various kinds. So why not video games? Its not that they no longer have time, its that they would rather spend their time with other forms of entertainment that is more enjoyable to them such as watching TV or a movie.
It’s really a sad state when gamers can’t find one single game that they actually want to play for a bit instead of just plopping themselves down in front of the TV! I remember when I was younger how I literally couldn’t wait to get home from school so I could jump back into Britannia and go exploring. And forget about homework, that could wait. Don’t you want to see games that made you feel like that made again?
If so, then all the “no time” gamers need to wake up and tell start letting companies know what type of games they want made. Not all will listen, but some will. Stop trying to convince yourself (and the world) that you have no time for games! Once a gamer, always a gamer. Humans enjoy playing games and will do so until the day they die. Games are a far superior form of entertainment than non-interactive forms such as watching TV. They not only engage your mind, but some can also engage you imagination. As you get older you should be spending more time with interactive forms of entertainment like games and less with passive forms of entertainment like watching TV.
Also, remember that even Hollywood makes movies targeted for “older” people. Everyone knows who movies like Cocoon were targeted for. The games industry is no different. As long as you have a heartbeat, you still have a voice, but not if you sit on your ass and say you don’t have time for games anymore?! Speak up and let people know what you really want to see in games, and then when a company actually comes along and makes games with things you like, turn of the TV and get off your ass and support them! That’s how it works.
It’s actually a great time to be a gamer with older tastes because with the direct marketing nature of crowdfunding these days you have a very good chance that some indie game company will actually come along and start making games with your exact tastes in mind. There has been a huge surge in older style games being made via crowdfunding, including old pen and paper style tabletop games, so the only thing that stands in the way of games being made for you, is really you! Support those that make your type of games, and you will find more games made for you.
I’d actually love to hear a whole podcast (or more) where people would simply just talk about what their “dream” games would look like if they could be made for them, any style old or new, features and all. You never know who may be listening.
I’m going to quibble here just a bit, albeit only from within my own context.
I watch one hour of TV a week: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Work and commuting consumes ten to eleven hours of every weekday; spending time with my family after work consumes another two or three per weekday. On weekends, it’s basically all family, all the time, which sometimes (but only occasionally) involves one or another of the kids having screen time. Factor in putting the kids to bed, and the five or six hours of sleep I get at night, and I’m left with an average of two hours a day of free time. Albeit it’s usually less than that, because I also need to spend some one-on-one time with my wife in any given week.
With those hours that remain, I maintain the Codex (which eats up a lot of time), record and edit podcast episodes, and maybe (hopefully!) find time to play games. Oh, and I didn’t go to the gym at all this week; when I add that to my schedule, it means a 5:00 AM wake-up call, which means I need to get to bed earlier than I otherwise would, which further cuts into that free time.
Which isn’t to say that I couldn’t play more games; I could…but either the Codex or the podcasts would suffer as a result. Which is actually what’s happening this week; I specifically took time to play Everspace and Stories: The Path of Destinies, and as a result didn’t quite have time to edit and upload the latest BSV episode. So in a sense, you’re right; it’s about how one prioritizes time…but I daresay that at least in my case, I’m not pissing away good gaming time in front of the TV.
Here, I agree. Of course, I’d probably end up single again if I immediately ran downstairs after coming home from work in order to log some more hours in Reckoning or Stories. I do want that feeling…but not in an overwhelming sense. Which is a taller order than it sounds like.
I hope so…but Ultima 6 and Ultima 7 didn’t exactly inspire a wealth of imitators even in their heyday, and indies these days seem more intent on revisiting the glory days of Baldur’s Gate (which I didn’t care for even when it was new). Not that I don’t continue to sound off about my desire for a good, oblique perspective, open world RPG…but for the moment, nobody seems keen on building those. I’ll support the heck out of the first one I see, though.
We’ll get that in the topic pipeline.
I don’t really view producers of content the same as consumers. Producers choose to spend their “free” time producing content for others instead of being entertained themselves. You are obviously more a producer than consumer in my book. As long as you continue to produce content (Codex, podcasts, games, etc…) for others to enjoy, you are an exception to this rule.
One day you may decide to produce less and spend more time enjoying what others produce instead, but I find a trait that many producers share in common is that they actually get a large portion of their entertainment value and joy from actually making things for others to enjoy. So yeah, if you stopped producing all the content you do, then you will surly have much more time to play games, but you probably won’t be as satisfied since you now get a lot of your entertainment from simply making things for others.
Everyone is both producers and consumers on some level, but I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about producers that obviously make it their mission to deliver something that is useful or entertaining to others.
Come to think of it, most of the guests on this podcast seem to fall into more of the producer category, which really makes them a bad fit to represent the normal gamer.
This all said, I still claim that if a game comes along that is targeted to even a busy producer type, they will manage to find time in their busy schedules to play it. It goes without saying that it would have to be something very special in many cases. Or at least something that will actually compliment or add to their own productions in some way.
This:
This is true. I guess I just don’t think of myself as much of a producer, or at least I haven’t internalized that I am. But, really, I am. There’s a shift in thinking that needs to occur there, on my part.
Hence my enthusiasm for mobile games, I suppose.
Hence my enthusiasm for Reckoning.
Yeah, I generally tend to agree. If you really want to do something you’ll make the time for it. Which isn’t to say we have the same amount of free time and responsibilities when we get older as we did as children.
Insofar I also agree that game developers don’t make ’em like they used to. Ultima 4ever certainly wasn’t in my demographic, but neither was Wasteland 2. By every rationale it absolutely should have been though. I think part of the problem we have is how jaded we get towards games. As we get older games simply aren’t as exciting and new as they used to be.
It’s funny how you mention wanting to hear about people’s perfect game. I recently started filling out a poll a publisher put out about what I would want to see in future games. I stopped short and closed the tab because I realized I have absolutely no idea.
*forgive the 3am typos. 😉 I also wanted to mention that I really enjoyed this three part series you guys did and it seemed like you guys had a fun time with it as well. Keep up the good work!
We missed you; would that you could have been online with us!