Why too much interest in games, ruins gaming

by Dave Hunt - 2008/05/28 8:27am

It’s a safe assumption that all of you who visit gaming news sites like this one are huge fans of gaming. It’s likely you were young when you first played a video game, be it Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario, or Donkey Kong. Your love for video games started in your youth, and that passion has never dwindled or disappeared.

Gaming has come a long way since we were young. There are few clearer examples of technological advancement than the evolution of video games over the past 25 years. But if the games should be improving, then why do we hold the old games in such high regard? Why does it seem that while technology is getting better, the games aren’t as enjoyable as they once were?

Our emotional investment in the Mario, Zelda and Final Fantasy games was unmatched by any other kind of entertainment experience, and we longed for more. In order to find out what the next "big game" is, we wanted to hear about it straight from the developer. As a result, gaming blogs and news sites were born. Then we wanted trailers of new games, years before it was scheduled for release; we wanted all the information about the contents of the game, summaries of the plot, new gameplay mechanics, screenshots, gameplay videos. Now with the consoles online, we have the internet to deliver us demos of the game straight to us, so we can play the game before we get to play the game!

Then comes the day, a couple years later when we actually get the game, and we sit down and play it. By this time we already know everything about the game, we know to play it, we’ve all ready watched the cut scenes, we know the characters, we know their motives, we know how the game will look, we know it all. Having this much knowledge about a game before playing is like reading the script of a movie before watching it. There’s nothing fresh about the gaming experience, and you are left disappointed.



Looking back on the games I loved the most, I notice a trend. I knew nothing about the game before I played it. I had never heard of Final Fantasy before I sat down and played Final Fantasy VII, and it remains my favorite game today. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was unlike anything I had ever experienced before and I only discovered it by visiting a friend’s house. I noticed that Shadows of the Colossus had excellent ratings, but I didn’t watch any trailers or read any reviews, so playing the game was a refreshing experience.

Every one of my favourite games was a fresh new experience. I trusted other’s opinions that the game was excellent, and instead of finding out all I could about these games before playing.

This is also what Rockstar did right with Grand Theft Auto IV. Notice how they barely released any media or information about the game? All of the information starting pouring out once the review sites got their hands on it. Rockstar understands that to truly enjoy a game, it has to be a fresh experience.

So next time you think that the golden age of gaming is gone and the experience that games once offered is dead, remember you have only your lust for knowledge to blame. By drowning ourselves in information about games we’re looking forward to, we're just robbing these games of their true enjoyment.

Jamie: I dont think you can blame the gaming companies Larsa, the whole point is you look for it. Got to be patient and not look at game infomation, though that is always hard when something you like coming out...great article anyways

erikguy: WRONG. you're just stupid.

Derek: Awesome article Dave!! I thought that thread was more suited as a feature ;)

Larsa: Damn Dave, I love this article! It got everything perfect about it. I just hope that the other game companies realize what Rockstar did.