Are there games that you tried but just couldn’t get into because they feel outdated? Games that, in theory, you would enjoy, but don’t because the controls, graphics, writing, or mechanics just don’t feel good anymore. Games that, compared to today, just don’t hold up to your standards.
I recently tried playing Heroes of Might and Magic III, and I realized that a lot of the invisible language used through game design from that era, I do not understand. There are many things that the game didn’t explain, and I assume they were just understood by players. Not only that, but I imagine there was a lot of crossover between video games and board games back then, so maybe that language was used as well. I ended up downloading a manual and putting it on my second screen and I get it and played it, but it just wasn’t for me.
I also dropped Mirror’s Edge, but this time it was because of the graphics. It looks and feels great, but the graphics give me a headache. There is way too much bloom, and for some reason, there are some parts that look like the imaginary lens has been covered in Vaseline. This didn’t bother me before, but my eyes are not used to it anymore.
There are also games like the first two Tony Hawk Pro Skater games that I can’t fully get into because they’re missing mechanics from the later games. The levels and controls feel great, but they don’t feel complete without those mechanics. It keeps me from enjoying the games as much as the others.
Please share yours!
Motion blur: taking a performance hit to make your games look like fuzzy ass.
Lens flare is up next.
Can we bump “let’s make it look like shit on purpose” chromatic aberration above that?
Putting in a lot of effort to make games look like the protagonist has camera lenses for eyes.
Real life doesn’t have motion blur, or chromatic aberration, or lens flares. Real life does have depth of field, but it moves with my eyes, not my right hand on the mouse.
Putting in a lot of effort to make games look like the protagonist has astigmatism.
I’m almost certain this is why so much blurring and flare was pushed as “realism” a couple generations ago. The devs and artists needed their eyes checked.
As someone that already has to deal with a somewhat blurry perception, I don’t want any more of that, ever.
I’ve heard it was to mimic films, which has actual lens flares. But I like this alternate “game devs had eye problems” narrative!
Real life absolutely has motion blur and flares. You’re just used to it