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Post by megatronbison on Apr 12, 2012 9:45:06 GMT -5
Gotta say Ike - I totally understand where you are coming from. I still have a tonne of retrogames in my attic and various systems and like you- the problem is that they live in the attic never seeing the light of day or use. I keep telling myself that when I move into my own place again I'll get around to using them more...but I can't honestly see it. I am due to move out again soon and all being well my girl will be moving over to live with me too. Thing is- she isn't much of a gamer...and it's not like I have a lot of time to do much gaming as it is. Half the time after work I am either doing stuff for the band, talking to her, at the gym or decide to listen to some music with a book for company instead. I just got a nice new PC and thought that might re-inspire me to do some gaming...but it hasn't really worked. My 360 recently broke and tbh- I am in no rush to replace it just yet. I look at the backlog on it alone and all I see is open world game on top of FPS on top of action game with "RPG elements and endless replayability!" and I go man, that feels more like a burden than anything. I played some Final Fantasy 13 this week again and man- will to game...dying moreso...  I think the most fun I had with a game lately was in Ninja Gaiden on the NES which I finally got around to finishing after 20 years. It was quick to play, brutal but rewarding. Could I say the same of any of the games in the backlog? Not really no  I'm sure you are all well aware of my feelings on the modern industry- the emphasis on co-op multiplayer, DLC, massive open world games and then the "gotta stay online to play" stuff...It just isn't for me. I've no doubt I will continue to play games- I just don't think I'll be willing to persue it with the same fervour as before. There's little on the release schedule for the next few years to interest me to be honest- the Last Guardian...maybe that's it- cause Resident Evil 6 and Metal Gear Revengence just look unrelated to the series I fell in love with. I'd still rather not part with the old consoles- at the same time no one benefits from me hoarding what I have. Bleh |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2012 10:18:07 GMT -5
I held off on replying because I'm not sure how to respond to this thread. I'm depressed seeing Ike disillusioned with gaming, since he's A) one of the mainstays on IRC since I started hanging there almost 3 years ago, B) was a major collecting enthusiast and C) an all around nice guy. Also, D) I'm depressed you're selling that Master System II I sold you. All I have to say is that although I have no fucking clue what's going through your head right now and don't know the whole story, make sure clearing out your collection is what you want to do; you may regret it someday. Glad you'll still be on IRC somewhat though.
As for gaming today I still enjoy it but I rarely have the time to play all the stuff I want to. I'm mostly embittered about how we're moving towards digital only, and there's too many games where there's a deferred cost (i.e., Capcom Fighters, Asura's Wrath) and oops, sorry kids, there's shit that you're going to have to pay for if you want all the characters/actually want to see the ending.
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Post by Allie on Apr 12, 2012 10:31:13 GMT -5
I held off on replying because I'm not sure how to respond to this thread. I'm depressed seeing Ike disillusioned with gaming, since he's A) one of the mainstays on IRC since I started hanging there almost 3 years ago, B) was a major collecting enthusiast and C) an all around nice guy. Also, D) I'm depressed you're selling that Master System II I sold you. All I have to say is that although I have no fucking clue what's going through your head right now and don't know the whole story, make sure clearing out your collection is what you want to do; you may regret it someday. Glad you'll still be on IRC somewhat though. As for gaming today I still enjoy it but I rarely have the time to play all the stuff I want to. I'm mostly embittered about how we're moving towards digital only, and there's too many games where there's a deferred cost (i.e., Capcom Fighters, Asura's Wrath) and oops, sorry kids, there's shit that you're going to have to pay for if you want all the characters/actually want to see the ending. You know, this honestly makes me wonder how much of a bath Japanese developers and publishers were taking on releasing games for HD consoles at $60 US in the first place. Especially with the exchange rate in the tank the way it is. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2012 12:14:24 GMT -5
That's an excellent point. I understand there's been a disconnect in prices forever; DVD prices in Japan are (and have always been) for lack of a better word "fucking retarded." Games too.
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Post by Ike on Apr 12, 2012 12:34:19 GMT -5
D) I'm depressed you're selling that Master System II I sold you. I know, I feel bad about it but I just don't have room or need for it now, since I've got a SMS Converter for Genesis. If you want it back I'll send it back to you, no charge. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2012 12:40:37 GMT -5
D) I'm depressed you're selling that Master System II I sold you. I know, I feel bad about it but I just don't have room or need for it now, since I've got a SMS Converter for Genesis. If you want it back I'll send it back to you, no charge. Nah, I was just kidding about that one. Mostly I just want to make sure it has a good home and doesn't end up with a 4 year old pooping in it. That's part of the reason I have a hard time getting rid of shit. |
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Post by Allie on Apr 12, 2012 12:46:46 GMT -5
I know, I feel bad about it but I just don't have room or need for it now, since I've got a SMS Converter for Genesis. If you want it back I'll send it back to you, no charge. Nah, I was just kidding about that one. Mostly I just want to make sure it has a good home and doesn't end up with a 4 year old pooping in it. That's part of the reason I have a hard time getting rid of shit. Because you can't find anywhere better to do it than inside of a Master System?  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2012 12:48:48 GMT -5
If pokey were real, it would be one of the first places to hide poop because of the little sliding door on top of it.
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Post by Ike on Apr 12, 2012 13:10:12 GMT -5
I have no fucking clue what's going through your head right now and don't know the whole story, make sure clearing out your collection is what you want to do; you may regret it someday. I kinda want to respond to this because it probably seems really sudden to all of you, but it's been a long time coming. Basically ever since I got fired from the store, and my easy access was cut off, I've been having a harder and harder time justifying buying games, but I kept doing it anyway. I get the idea that a lot of you are in the same boat. Something I've realized about myself is that I'm the type of person who responds to depression by buying things. I've been battling a latent depression and anxiety for a long time, and while I was on medication it made it very easy for that depression to manifest itself in other ways, so I started "self medicating" with games and some other unnamed substances. Since moving home and getting out of that element, and getting off my SSRIs, I've realized just how big a problem it was. If you've been keeping up with the "Where are they now" thread in the Off Topic forum, you'll notice I did a whole lot of complaining about Kitten. A lot of what I saw her going through in person and her own increasingly obsessive buying habits (which actually got much worse after she quit her job) hit a little too close to home and seemed a little too familiar, and I decided that wasn't a path I wanted to go down. What spurred all this is the fact that the job I'm working now is hard, physical, repetitive, mundane labor that I have to get up at midnight every night for. It's horrible, but one of the perks is that I get a whole lot of time to meditate on myself. Two major things are factoring into this. About 2 and a half years ago, I was sitting on my knees, execution style, in the back room of my minimum wage workplace, with a revolver held to my forehead by a crack addict threatening my life if I moved. It's one thing to have a close brush with death due to negligence or human error, like when you accidentally fall asleep while driving and pull off the road and nearly fall into a ditch, but it's a very, very different thing to have your life held in the hand of another human being. I've been suppressing it for a long time, but it's the kind of thing that makes you really reevaluate your position in the world. I can't really say why that lesson is hitting me so hard now, but it is. Secondly: A number of years ago in one of my comparative religion classes, I learned about a sect of Buddhists that spend every day for decades constructing these enormous, intricate, personalized mandalas. Once they finally finish their life masterpiece, they burn it. Something I've been wondering, as a question of my character, is whether I could ever part with something I've spent the better portion of my life working on just to prove a point to myself. Well, obviously I'm not going to burn my stuff, but I feel like this is the sort of gesture I think I need to move forward. I realize that comparing selling a game collection to burning a mandala is the First World Problems-est thing ever, but eat me. |
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Post by Allie on Apr 12, 2012 13:17:57 GMT -5
I think in that case, it's really less about the symbolism, and more about the jettisoning of what was a heavy money and time sink.
But that could just be the cynical curmudgeon in me talking :/
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Post by The Great Klaid on Apr 12, 2012 13:23:57 GMT -5
I have no fucking clue what's going through your head right now and don't know the whole story, make sure clearing out your collection is what you want to do; you may regret it someday. I kinda want to respond to this because it probably seems really sudden to all of you, but it's been a long time coming. Basically ever since I got fired from the store, and my easy access was cut off, I've been having a harder and harder time justifying buying games, but I kept doing it anyway. I get the idea that a lot of you are in the same boat. Something I've realized about myself is that I'm the type of person who responds to depression by buying things. I've been battling a latent depression and anxiety for a long time, and while I was on medication it made it very easy for that depression to manifest itself in other ways, so I started "self medicating" with games and some other unnamed substances. Since moving home and getting out of that element, and getting off my SSRIs, I've realized just how big a problem it was. If you've been keeping up with the "Where are they now" thread in the Off Topic forum, you'll notice I did a whole lot of complaining about Kitten. A lot of what I saw her going through in person and her own increasingly obsessive buying habits (which actually got much worse after she quit her job) hit a little too close to home and seemed a little too familiar, and I decided that wasn't a path I wanted to go down. What spurred all this is the fact that the job I'm working now is hard, physical, repetitive, mundane labor that I have to get up at midnight every night for. It's horrible, but one of the perks is that I get a whole lot of time to meditate on myself. Two major things are factoring into this. About 2 and a half years ago, I was sitting on my knees, execution style, in the back room of my minimum wage workplace, with a revolver held to my forehead by a crack addict threatening my life if I moved. It's one thing to have a close brush with death due to negligence or human error, like when you accidentally fall asleep while driving and pull off the road and nearly fall into a ditch, but it's a very, very different thing to have your life held in the hand of another human being. I've been suppressing it for a long time, but it's the kind of thing that makes you really reevaluate your position in the world. I can't really say why that lesson is hitting me so hard now, but it is. Secondly: A number of years ago in one of my comparative religion classes, I learned about a sect of Buddhists that spend every day for decades constructing these enormous, intricate, personalized mandalas. Once they finally finish their life masterpiece, they burn it. Something I've been wondering, as a question of my character, is whether I could ever part with something I've spent the better portion of my life working on just to prove a point to myself. Well, obviously I'm not going to burn my stuff, but I feel like this is the sort of gesture I think I need to move forward. I realize that comparing selling a game collection to burning a mandala is the First World Problems-est thing ever, but eat me. That was powerful... As you Ike are aware I have a terrible habit of getting my meaning across so please bear with me I mean nothing to you. This has stopped being fun for me. I've been talking about leaving for this summer for time reasons, I think I'm going to leave now. I'll see you all in the fall. Kurt if you read this I'll try to have that piece finished up by then. It's been really fun guys and we're all a little better for having know each other. |
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Post by Ike on Apr 12, 2012 13:27:39 GMT -5
I think in that case, it's really less about the symbolism, and more about the jettisoning of what was a heavy money and time sink. But that could just be the cynical curmudgeon in me talking :/ That's the proximate reason, yes, but ultimately I would like to make it into one of those life-altering events that I can look back on when I inevitably get into a similar sort of funk later. |
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Post by 9inchsamurai on Apr 12, 2012 15:25:20 GMT -5
I'll probably say more when I get home, but have you considered pursuing anything professional/scholarly with respect to video games? Both my roommate and I underwent similar feelings (though we did not have the pleasure of guns pointed at our heads) after we finished college and started working shitty jobs, so we decided to make our own video game. I don't know your particular skill set, but NYU just started an MFA program centered on video games. I realize it's probably not really what you had in mind, but I think you should look into ways you can personally create the artistry you want video games to have. |
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Post by steven on Apr 12, 2012 17:20:38 GMT -5
Ike, I guess at some point we all come to that crossroad junction where we wrestle with this question:  I think this hobby, especially among retro gamers, tends to cross us between enjoying the things of our youth vs. "growing up"... or finding the right moderation. It doesn't have to be extreme one way or the other. It makes me think of the Peter Pan story in many ways:   I know I've also had many moments of the following. Perhaps you do, too:   I kinda want to respond to this because it probably seems really sudden to all of you, but it's been a long time coming. Basically ever since I got fired from the store, and my easy access was cut off, I've been having a harder and harder time justifying buying games, but I kept doing it anyway. I get the idea that a lot of you are in the same boat. Something I've realized about myself is that I'm the type of person who responds to depression by buying things. I've been battling a latent depression and anxiety for a long time, and while I was on medication it made it very easy for that depression to manifest itself in other ways, so I started "self medicating" with games and some other unnamed substances. Since moving home and getting out of that element, and getting off my SSRIs, I've realized just how big a problem it was. If you've been keeping up with the "Where are they now" thread in the Off Topic forum, you'll notice I did a whole lot of complaining about Kitten. A lot of what I saw her going through in person and her own increasingly obsessive buying habits (which actually got much worse after she quit her job) hit a little too close to home and seemed a little too familiar, and I decided that wasn't a path I wanted to go down. What spurred all this is the fact that the job I'm working now is hard, physical, repetitive, mundane labor that I have to get up at midnight every night for. It's horrible, but one of the perks is that I get a whole lot of time to meditate on myself. Two major things are factoring into this. About 2 and a half years ago, I was sitting on my knees, execution style, in the back room of my minimum wage workplace, with a revolver held to my forehead by a crack addict threatening my life if I moved. It's one thing to have a close brush with death due to negligence or human error, like when you accidentally fall asleep while driving and pull off the road and nearly fall into a ditch, but it's a very, very different thing to have your life held in the hand of another human being. I've been suppressing it for a long time, but it's the kind of thing that makes you really reevaluate your position in the world. I can't really say why that lesson is hitting me so hard now, but it is. Secondly: A number of years ago in one of my comparative religion classes, I learned about a sect of Buddhists that spend every day for decades constructing these enormous, intricate, personalized mandalas. Once they finally finish their life masterpiece, they burn it. Something I've been wondering, as a question of my character, is whether I could ever part with something I've spent the better portion of my life working on just to prove a point to myself. Well, obviously I'm not going to burn my stuff, but I feel like this is the sort of gesture I think I need to move forward. I realize that comparing selling a game collection to burning a mandala is the First World Problems-est thing ever, but eat me. Ike, wow, I had no idea you've been through something as traumatic as that! Thank you for sharing your heart with us. Yes, those life-altering events can really trigger something deep within that usually can't be awakened if not for said life-altering event. You are definitely not alone. I'm certain there are many gamers (or collectors) out there who are buying and hoarding games at an unhealthy rate. It's good when you are able to look in the mirror and give yourself a dead honest self-assessment. I also echo your sentiments of seeing one's own behaviors in others who are going down a path of self-destruction with their blinders fully in place. It can be scary when you come to that sobering realization. I'm not giving up gaming in its entirety, I am just rapidly ceasing to give a shit about games in the way that I used to. It kind of hit me last week when I got a ROM of Super Mario World and played through it. That game is fucking amazing on a really core level and I don't see that same amount of love put into things anymore. SMW is a game about showing off new technology and finding creative ways to work within its expanded but still restrictive limits. All kinds of little things are in the game that nobody notices, like how Mode 7 is used to rotate the sprites of Goombas and Bob-ombs that are floating in the bubbles of later stages. Amazing timing. I've recently been tinkering around with SMW, and yes, it's an absolutely amazing game on a really core level. It's full of "Miyamoto Magic" and is the kind of stuff legends are truly made of. You can feel the 'pulse' of the game breathing within each nook and cranny. There's just something special about it. I created this pic last month to describe how I feel about SMW. I know it will hit home for countless others   |
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Post by dire51 on Apr 12, 2012 17:40:00 GMT -5
You rang? Anyway, I thought I'd weigh in with my own two zenny on the subject. If anyone here besides sotenga's actually read Memoirs of a Virtual Caveman, you may recall a chapter I wrote entitled "The Great Crash." It told the story of when my ex-wife and I first split up in 2004, and what I had to do with my game collection due to my lack of cash (I had been unemployed for almost six months when the split happened). As I was going to be moving across the country, and traveling by bus at that, I had no way to take the collection with me. So I sold it all. A lot of it went to a former co-worker of mine, some went on eBay, a little went to friends and family, and the rest was sold to members of the Digital Press forum. The money I received from all the sales I divvied up between my soon-to-be-ex (for the kids) and myself. I did have a couple of CDs full of ROMs and emulators which I took with me, but I didn't play them that often. After a month or so of being in my new home, I came to realize that I felt free, now that the weight of the collection was off my shoulders. I missed a lot of it, don't get me wrong, but the ability to just pack what little I had and move when I needed to was so liberating. Anyway, after about a year and a whole bunch of crap happened, I found myself reunited with my ex and my kids and in a much better position than I was when we'd split. I also realized that I really did miss the collection, and I wanted to start collecting again. So I did. Talking to my former coworker and buying back a decent portion of my original collection - my absolute favorite games and consoles that I'd sold him - was the starting point. Some of the friends I'd given games to graciously returned them to me as well. Once I had the nucleus of my new collection in place, I started adding to it. This time, though, my strategy was much different. Originally, I was a "collect for the sake of collecting" kind of gamer. I had so many games that I knew I'd never play for one reason or another in my old collection. For example, I owned a copy of Dragon Warrior. I don't do RPGs at all, but when I found that copy, I bought it just for nostalgia's sake (my brother had rented it quite a bit back in '90). But I never played it. I might pop it in from time to time to listen to the title screen music, but that was it. It was a waste of money and a waste of space. Now I was collecting to play, getting only the games I knew I would play instead of getting the games that I wanted "just because." I had absolutely no problem going through my collection now and weeding out games I was no longer getting any enjoyment out of either, regardless of how I felt about the subject matter or any sort of nostalgia involved. Time passed. My collection has been rebuilt, and I feel it's far superior to my original collection, seeing as how I only own the games I know I'm going to play. If I buy game lots on eBay that have games I don't want in them, I dump those games immediately. I don't keep them around for any reason. Sometimes I even just give them away to interested parties. However, I have felt my desire to play lessen immensely over the past few years. I don't think it has to do with any desire to get out of the hobby; rather, I think it's just part of my life at this point. I've gone through a lot in the past year alone, and the fallout from those events is still affecting my life in all sorts of different ways, gaming included. I have no desire to sell any of my collection, as I do still play. I just don't play anywhere near as often as I used to. My kids play games more than I do these days, and I've given quite a few of my games to them for their own collection. They may grow up and out of gaming at some point, and if that happens I'll hold onto their collection for them until they want it back, if they ever do. Even though I doubt I'll ever truly lose interest in gaming, I don't think I'll ever be as heavy into it as I was - although I still enjoy discussing games and writing about them. The next generation hold little promise for me, based on all the speculation that I've read and seeing the way the industry is headed. I'll admit, I felt that way about the current generation too for the longest time, and it took a minor miracle to get me out of my virtual cave (the miracle in question being Splatterhouse '10). If another miracle like that happens, I'll probably upgrade again. But as of right now, I'm staying where I am. |
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