I've been thinking more about what I've been getting from finally completing old classics like "Skool Daze", and yep, it's definitely still lots of nostalgia.
To me the difference between Retro Gaming and Nostalgia Gaming is this: With Retro Gaming you're opening yourself up to classics from any older system. You're just looking for a new gaming experience, based on what other people say was good. With what I call "Nostalgia Gaming" you're doing it primarily because, well, it's like looking through old photographs: It reminds you of a certain period in your life.
That's why I've been happy to sit and watch the flashing screen borders like I did when I was 10. It's only partially to do with the gaming, and mostly to do with reliving an experience I had 20 something years ago, when I was younger, full of innocence, and the world seemed a pretty straight-forward sort of place. In other words: Good old fashioned rose-tinted glasses. And I have to say, it's been a huge amount of fun digging up these old games.
I'd literally forgotten the ones I used to play, and really had to sit and think to remember them... even though at one point in my life I must have known them like the back of my hand! I've no doubt that I'd spent tens of hours trying to master these things, and studied every aspect of them, but they were forgotten until I suddenly started to see them loading up again. Especially as they were doing so in precisely the same way they used to. Old, dusty areas of my brain were suddenly shocked into life, along with a surprising amount of long forgotten feelings.
Of course I've tried this sort of Retro Gaming in the past, but it had always been a rather disappointing experience. My Amiga 1200 struggled to handle running a Spectrum at the "right" speed, and even the things it could run well, something about the experience was off. It did little to ignite old passions, and instead just made me wonder what the hell people ever saw in those old games.
Years later I tried again on my PC, and still things weren't quite right.
Now emulation is doing a great job, which helps a lot, but there's other things I've learned: If you really want to enjoy these old games, then it requires a lot of patience (which due to me swimming in nostalgia, I thankfully had plenty of). They're not going to hook you in with dazzling sound and graphics, obviously, so they require you to take the time, to slow down, and really appreciate what they're trying to do. In other words, waiting for them to load is actually a great way to get you into the 1980s mindset.
Taking the time to read up on the controls and what have you, is also *essential* for these old games. They seldom included tutorials and really expected you to be reading the inlay while the game loaded. If you're going into them cold, with no understand of what's going on, you can expect a very underwhelming experience.
You may be thinking, "Yeah, I get that, but here's a question, aside from the nostalgia... Why bother?". Well something else struck me when I've been playing these old games: They're actually really good. Not only that, but if we rewound the technology clock 20 years, but kept everyone the same age, you'd all be agreeing with me.
We'd be getting as excited about Chase HQ and Operation Wolf as we would be about Red Dead Redemption and, er, We Dare. It's hard to imagine, but it's true. Some may find themselves looking back at those old games with a sneer, "They were for kids, look how basic they were!", but it's only because they were kids when the games were released.
These old classics were being created by, written about, and played by, guys in their 20s/30s. Sure, there was a huge teen market back then, and a smaller adult market than there is now, but that's because it was new technology. There were plenty of older players who were discovering the joys of gaming, too.
It's been a really interesting experience, especially seeing gaming stripped back to something closer to its core elements. (I think you could probably learn a lot about game design studying these old things.) Of course, if you want the full nostalgic experience, it helps to have a few ancient magazine back issues to hand, like I do. (Remember when Russia was a threat, Sylvester Stalone was a huge movie star, and Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan ruled the free world? No? Damn young 'uns!)
It seems now might be a great time to re-experience the gaming platform you grew up with, at least if Spectaculator is anything to go by: They're really got everything right now. I presume it's the same for your nostalgic games device (at least I hope it is).
I think I may have mined this experience for all it's worth now, but it was certainly fun while it lasted!
Well, maybe I'll give Target Renegade one last go for old time's sake...
