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Games Entertainment

Gaming When We're 64 132

Posted by Zonk from the old-gamers-frag-harder dept.
Via Kotaku, a post on the Aeropause site about gaming as we get older. Richard has a great 'get off my lawn you damn kids' rant, and some insightful commentary on the problems we'll face as we get up there. From the article: "The other issue older gamers will face is the ever increasing difficulty of games. Games have come a long way since the simplicity of the A and B buttons. Today's controllers are becoming more and more complicated and require greater dexterity to master. While this is no problem for gamers right now, as we get older and lose some of our dexterity we will need to come up with ways to simplify the gameplay or the controller."
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Gaming When We're 64 More

Gaming When We're 64

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  • what are they talking about (Score:5, Funny)

    by nocomment ( 239368 ) on Thursday August 17, 2006 @06:56PM (#15930951) Homepage Journal
    By the time we're 64 we'll be able to control the games just by shitting in our pants.

    • From TFA:

      The other issue older gamers will face is the ever increasing difficulty of games. Games have come a long way since the simplicity of the A and B buttons. Today's controllers are becoming more and more complicated and require greater dexterity to master.

      I guess he never played Defender.

    • but how will we justify that control scheme for use in Duke Nukem Forever?
      • I'm sure you won't need more than two buttons for that game.


        A - Shit pants
        B - Call nurse

        After all, Duke's gonna be a good 90+ years old when it finally comes out.

    • You joke but when i'm 64 (23 now) I would sure as hell hope that they had games that have more interesting controllers. The wiimote is a step in the right direction, but I want to use my whole body. Or my mind.

      And once we get direct mind interfaces, I think thats where a lot of older gamers of todays generation will be at an advantage because mental skill and experience will be a bigger component of how good someone is.

      I think of it like Fry on that episode of Futurama schooling everybody at a FPS. I can

  • Or... (Score:2, Funny)

    by __aaclcg7560 ( 824291 )
    You can still play the games. But you still suck just like you did when you were younger. Some things just don't improve with age.

    • Re: (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      It just feels better cause you don't have any teeth :o

  • Who says older folks don't play games? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by lkypnk ( 978898 ) on Thursday August 17, 2006 @06:59PM (#15930982)
    Since when don't older people play video games?
    I may be a young whippersnapper and know nothing about being "old", but my parents and grandmother play computer games. My mother loves Simcity. Do the big console companies not realize that the over-30 market is...well, huge? Back in the NES days, adults would actually play the console games. Maybe its just my experience, but that doesn't seem to be the case any more.
    I don't know why that is, but I have a feeling the complexity of modern games and the reliance of so many games on reflexes (read first person shooters) puts a lot of would be casual gamers; I believe most people over thirty could be classified as the casual gamer type. Whatever happened to the trivia, puzzle and strategy games adults seem to love?
    Maybe Nintendo's Wii will work its way into this market.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by skam240 ( 789197 )
      Who says older folks don't play games?

      Statistics do. Here's some research done by the ESA on the subject http://www.theesa.com/facts/gamer_data.php [theesa.com] . Only 25 percent of the 50+ age group plays games and you can bet the bulk of that group is clustered towards 50 years of age and less around 64. Certainly in the future there will be more older gamers but right now the number of people 64 or older playing games is fairly small.

      • wrong! (Score:5, Interesting)

        by John Nowak ( 872479 ) on Thursday August 17, 2006 @08:16PM (#15931400)
        You can't even read the statistics you're citing properly. That link says 25% of gamers are 50+, not that 25% of those 50+ play games. That's a huge difference, and indicates that 50+ gamers make up a large percentage of the market.

        Why do I even bother with Games postings...

        • Re: (Score:1, Flamebait)

          by skam240 ( 789197 )
          well you are correct (sorry i was busy at work and misread the study) but my point still stands. Given that only 50 percent of Americans play games (from the study) and that only 25 percent of those people are 50+ the number of people 50+ playing games is actually less than 25 percent.

          So congrats on being great and finding fault but said fault was irrelevant. You do earn an A+ for arrogance and being an ass (I would call it trolling) with your "Why do I even bother with Games postings..." comment, however.

          • Re:wrong! (Score:4, Informative)

            by Shaper_pmp ( 825142 ) on Friday August 18, 2006 @05:42AM (#15933188)
            Sorry, just to be clear: you're trying to claim that "12.5%[1] of all Americans" is a small number?

            According to to US population clock [census.gov] and some basic maths, that means around 37437999 people are gamers of 50+ years old.

            Which part of 37-and-a-half million implies "older folks don't play games"? Is it the part that's larger than the population of Canada [cia.gov], or the part that's seven times the population of Finland [cia.gov]?

            So congrats on being great and finding fault but said fault was irrelevant. You do earn an A+ for arrogance and being an ass (I would call it trolling) with your "Why do I even bother with Games postings..." comment, however. Thanks!


            Nice. Except that by jumping straight in and posting an unsubstantiated opinion, helpfully providing supporting evidence that completely negated your point, taking the time to dig up a web link but not even bothering with the simple mental maths required to realise that 12.5% of the population of a country might not actually be "fairly small", and your sarky and offensive response to a mildly-dismissive posting... well, I'd say you've more or less proved his point for him.

            Good work.

            [1] 25% of 50%

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Traiklin ( 901982 )
        that's a pretty big ass percentage there.

        I'd like to see more games for older people to play come back. Before the current generation there were TONS of those games around then they went to the PC area but lost the multiplayer aspect of the game so kids could no longer play with parents.

        I remember back in the NES days my parents were usually willing to play a game with me (naturally it was harder for them since everything went so fast) My dad didn't care for it (cause the two baseball games we played

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by skam240 ( 789197 )
          As good old John Nowak politely pointed out (sarcasm) I read the study wrong. The real amount is 12.5 percent of Americans 50+ play games (based off the numbers on the ESA report), which only emphasizes my point that not many older people play games.

          I do agree with you, however, that the Wii controller offers interesting interface options to those who might not have the manual dexterity they used to have.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Jaysyn ( 203771 )
          "..had to fight for controll and the other had kids that defied gravity and do special hits and what not"

          Super Baseball Simulator 2000. Man I loved that game. I hated watching & playing Baseball & I loved that game. I'm already seriously considering getting a Wii (& I'm not a console person), & if they remake that game or Smash TV I'll be completely sold....

          Jaysyn

    • Re:Who says older folks don't play games? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by kfg ( 145172 ) * on Thursday August 17, 2006 @07:29PM (#15931161)
      What's more, who says older people lose dexterity?

      I play with musicians in their sixties on a regular basis and sometimes with musicians in their seventies and eighties. I wish some of them would lose some damned dexterity so I could bloody well keep up. I've also noted that a piano accordian is more complicated and has more damned buttons on it than any game controller I've ever seen (although the controller sounds better); and if you want a complicated "controller" just have a look at an Irish pipe player, pumping the bellows with one arm, squeezing the bag with the other, fingering the pipe itself, hitting regulator keys, stopping the end of the pipe against his knee while the other leg stomps time.

      Don't you know how the old saying goes?

      Use it or lose it.

      You don't lose dexterity when you get old, you lose it when you quit.

      "Doctor, doctor, I lose dexterity when I don't go like this!" Figure out the rest on your own.

      KFG

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *
        who says older people lose dexterity?

        The Olympics?

        -Eric

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by kfg ( 145172 ) *
          The oldest Olympic competitor was 72 years old, although it's true he didn't win.

          He had to settle for silver.

          KFG

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *
            Yes, I am sure there are plenty of exceptions to the rule. But it is nonetheless foolish to pretend that our dexterity and other physical attributes, as a general rule, don't deteriorate over time after our 20's. It's rare to see an Olympian in any sport that requires dexterity who is very far over the age of 30. Olympians don't retire because they WANT to, after all.

            On the upside, you do gain more XP as you get older. ;-)

            -Eric

      • You don't lose dexterity when you get old, you lose it when you quit.

        Fortunately, that's not an issue for ADVENTURE [forkexec.com].

        Jamie - will play Elite [wikipedia.org] if pressed.

      • What's more, who says older people lose dexterity?


        Doctors [wikipedia.org].

        You are right - exercise and usage can keep fingers (and limbs) limber for longer. However, it can also bring on RSI and hasten a loss of dexterity.

        However, I think that "as people get older they lose dexterity" is pretty much unimpeachable as a general guideline.
      • Indeed, I think that it's a trade-off between practice/experience and dexterity. In a new situation, the older person might not be expected to be as dextrous, but with something he/she is experienced at, that person will probably do just fine - with some possible loss due to things like arthritis, etc.

        Basically, I'd expect an old music could keep on wailing on a sax or a guitar, and an old gamer will probably still be a good gamer depending on how varied the games are from his/her experience. Even if your
    • Back in the NES days, adults would actually play the console games. Maybe its just my experience, but that doesn't seem to be the case any more.

      Rookie. Back in my day adults would play the Atari 2600 and the licensed Sears Telegames consoles. I used to kick my grandfather's ass at the Atari boxing. My mother used to keep getting devoured at Pac-Man.

      LK

    • Re:Who says older folks don't play games? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by PriceIke ( 751512 ) on Friday August 18, 2006 @09:07AM (#15933911)

      How much do you want to bet there's a huge boom in MMOs about the time the Gen Xers reach retirement age?

      Imagine how easy it will be to take care of senior citizens in nursing homes then .. forget bingo and Scrabble, just plug them into their MMORPG of choice and just keep bringing em coffee (or soft drink, whichever) .. by that time you won't be wondering if that hot blonde elf you've been cybering is being played by a 14 year old boy, but a 70 year old codger in an assisted living facility. And hey, LAN parties every day ..

      "Ms. Daisy? Time for your evening medicine Ms. Daisy .. come on, time to log off, the Covenant will be there in the morning Ms. Daisy .. now, Ms. Daisy .."

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by mmalove ( 919245 )
        "Old folks home puts Chinese gold farmers out of business...."

        or even better:

        "Blizzard bans 14,000 accounts of seniors selling gold to pay their medical bills."

        Hell, if I have anything to say about it, I'll still be playing an MMO when I'm retired.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dolson ( 634094 )
      Do the big console companies not realize that the over-30 market is...well, huge?

      I'm pretty certain that it is indeed part of Nintendo's strategy with the Wii. And I daresay it's going to work, just from the excitement I've heard from people I know. Even my mom seems interested, and my mother-in-law perked up when I mentioned a Bob Ross painting game... Nintendo is getting ready to tap that market, and younger, under-30 gamers are going to win too. The more that I think about it, the more the name seems
    • "Do the big console companies not realize that the over-30 market is...well, huge?"

      Wait until you hit 35 your waistline will get wider too, you little smartass! ;)

      "...I have a feeling the complexity of modern games and the reliance of so many games on reflexes (read first person shooters)"

      My reflexes are still pretty good, it is the coordination of quickly finding the right key in a hurry that is hard. Using macro keys isn't a solution because I'd still have to find the right macro key (now what does M3 st
  • I foresee no retraining will be necessary. Grandpa's power wheel chair will have a USB plug into the computer. When he's done driving around town cruisin for hot grandmammas, he just plugs his cart in and plays with the chair's controller.

  • will you still need me, will you still feed me (Score:3, Funny)

    by 42Penguins ( 861511 ) on Thursday August 17, 2006 @07:02PM (#15930997)
    It's obvious. 10 years from now, everyone will have neural implants for playing games and activating blast doors on starships.

    We'll also have mass-produced flying cars.
    • It's obvious. 10 years from now, everyone will have neural implants for playing games and activating blast doors on starships.


      Except it's already happening now.
      RFID anyone?
    • activating blast doors on starships.
      It's a blast door. *sticks a second block of C4 on*
    • "We'll also have mass-produced flying cars."

      Yeah... but you'll have to lose a foot to get that
  • How about the fact that my new joystick is a fair bit stiffer than my old one was and makes my arm sore on long races :(

    I'll leave the innuendo/jokes to the rest of ya ;p

    hurfy
    online gamer for 25 years :)

  • Slower Reflexes, Slower Games (Score:4, Insightful)

    by dorath ( 939402 ) on Thursday August 17, 2006 @07:04PM (#15931012)
    My dad just retired, and he's been playing and loving Diablo-style games since, well, Diablo. He has played any number of knockoffs, and seems to have found a new one every time I visit. In addition to those, he spends a fair amount of time playing RPGs and adventure games. He saves early, and saves often.

    He also really takes his time. It's no race for him, and he doesn't have a problem returning to old saves. He's played Guid Wars with my brother and I, but he doesn't chat because he can't type that fast (I haven't got him set up on Ventrilo yet, bad son). He tried DAoC and EQ2, but he just doesn't like grouping with people because he'd rather take his time.

    I'm guessing that as I/we get older, we'll look for games where we can take our time too.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dave562 ( 969951 )
      I'm guessing that as I/we get older, we'll look for games where we can take our time too.

      Agreed. I'm only 28 and have been gaming since I was about 8 (F15 Strike Eagle, Gunship and all those other Microprose games). Now that I'm playing WoW, I'm just taking my time going through the quests and marvelling at how FREAKING BIG the game is. Even without monsters, I'm sure it would take you a good hour or two to cover the entire game on foot.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by reanjr ( 588767 )
        Marvel will slowly turn to annoyance as you progress and find out that everytime you log on you have to travel for literally 20 minutes before you do anything. Unless of course you dedicate you life to the game like most players seem to and log in once in the morning and go from there.

        • Marvel will slowly turn to annoyance as you...have to travel for literally 20 minutes before you do anything

          Dude, I'm middle aged; I'm (literally) relieved when I've got a long multipoint flightpath coming up. My bladder isn't what it used to be!

          It's like what TV commercials used to be, before TiVo and the like. The only problem is if you get delayed IRL longer than the flight, and you're flying into a PvP battlezone ("Tarren Mill is under attack!"). So you come back to a ghost. But PvP death isn't that a

    • My dad just retired, and he's been playing and loving Diablo-style games since, well, Diablo.

      Heh. My mom is in her 50s now, and she's been playing Diablo-style games since, well, *Rogue*. She still generally likes the RPG genre, and plays Baldur's Gate a lot.
    • My dad is a MS Flight Simulator fanatic. I even offered him some real flight lessons but he said he prefers the simulation! He also didn't think his heart could handle it.

      I've offered to build his next PC for him when he is ready so he can max out the graphics. I've already bought him a yoke and rudder pedals.

      "I'm guessing that as I/we get older, we'll look for games where we can take our time too."

      As I get older I'm realizing that frequently just getting there is half the fun.

  • Answered his own question.. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by jacks smirking reven ( 909048 ) on Thursday August 17, 2006 @07:05PM (#15931017)
    From TFA:

    Obviously the Wii is something that could be improved upon over the years, and just might become the senior's console of choice.

    As Nintendo has already stated older gamers is one of their targeted demographics with the Wii, I believe we'll see less dependence on buttons and a stronger focus on immersion in games as motion control and "VR" type systems get better and cheaper. The gaming system in 20-40 years may have no buttons whatsoever.

    Trying to predict anything about life in 20 years, much less technology, is a total crapshoot.
    • This is exactly what I'm banking on for my father, who just turned 59. He loves playing Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest games, but the buttons really screw him up for some reason. He just can't memorize X, O, triangle, square, R1, R2, R3, L1, L2, L3 at the speed at which some of these games require. His memory and motor skills just aren't there anymore. It sort of makes me sad because I know he just wants to smash more monsters without having to dick around with button combinations in some stupid puzzle to conti
    • The gaming system in 20-40 years may have no buttons whatsoever.

      "You mean you used to use your hands to play games, Grandpa?"

  • Assumptions (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Abcd1234 ( 188840 ) on Thursday August 17, 2006 @07:07PM (#15931030) Homepage
    Today's controllers are becoming more and more complicated and require greater dexterity to master.

    I see one right there. The Wii is clearly an example of a controller that's actually become *less* complex compared to it's contemporaries. Frankly, I think we've seen the peak of controller complexity.

  • Wrong issue (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Sigma 7 ( 266129 ) on Thursday August 17, 2006 @07:08PM (#15931033)
    Today's controllers are becoming more and more complicated and require greater dexterity to master.


    No, today's controllers require a grip which does not comfortably fit in the hand when you want access to all buttons all at once (and a game that requires that probably shouldn't be released.)

    Here's a quick way to handle most situations (assuming you have what I have, a Cyborg P2500):
    - Left palm on left grip, right palm on right grip.
    - Middle fingers on shoulder buttons.
    - Left index finger on D-pad.
    - Right index finer on 6-button array. Most often, you won't need to press more than one of those buttons at once.
    - Left thumb on left analog stick.
    - Right thumb on right analog stick.

    Alternativly, rest the gamepad on a surface, and use another grip you perfer.

    BTW, if you have dexterity problems arising from this grip, you'll probably have dexterity problems handling a simpler controller. Dexterity issues primairly arise from the D-pad or analogue controller, not reaction on when to press a certain button.

    If you instead have arthritis problems, I can't comment on what to do then. However, you'll probably have the same issue from regular controllers unless you use a "non-standard" grip.
    • I'm sorry what world do you live in..? D-pads and sticks very rarely have to be used together, so we just moved our thumbs from the D-pad to the left stick and TA DAR problem solved. Other than the D-pad-analog stick thing I've not seen pads change since the SNES. Hell I can't remember when I used the R3 button on my PS2 or the C stick on my cube.

      The buttons are there incase the designers want to use them, that doesn't mean EVERY game uses all of them at once.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Sigma 7 ( 266129 )

        D-pads and sticks very rarely have to be used together, so we just moved our thumbs from the D-pad to the left stick and TA DAR problem solved.

        If you carefully read my posting, you will notice that I already stated that.

        As demonstrated by games such as Goldeneye, you need to use the D-pad and stick to both move and look at the same time. While this doesn't represent most games, Goldeneye is part of a genre popular enough to make this significant.

        Saying that D-pads and sticks (or two sticks) aren't needed

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by grumbel ( 592662 )

          As demonstrated by games such as Goldeneye, you need to use the D-pad and stick to both move and look at the same time. While this doesn't represent most games, Goldeneye is part of a genre popular enough to make this significant.

          Can it be that you are trying to play Goldeneye on a PC on a N64 emulator? If so, then please fix your key mappings, since that game does *not* require such a braindamaged control setup, moving happens with analog stick, looking around with the C-buttons with strafing/turning sw

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by grumbel ( 592662 )

        I'm sorry what world do you live in..? D-pads and sticks very rarely have to be used together, so we just moved our thumbs from the D-pad to the left stick and TA DAR problem solved.

        ACK, I have yet to see a single game that actually requires you to use buttons/dpad and analog stick at once. Every once in a while I use both at once, ie. switch weapons while running, but then I use my right-thumb for the Dpad not the left index finger (ok, XBox/Gamecube-style layout helps here of course, PS2-like not so muc

  • The Beatles (Score:5, Funny)

    by Tackhead ( 54550 ) on Thursday August 17, 2006 @07:09PM (#15931039)
    When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now.
    Will we still be playing Castle Wolfenstein?
    On emulators ported to WINE?
    If there's a walkthrough on quarter to three [quartertothree.com], with some ancient lore?
    Will ya still RUN me,
    Load-eight-comma-one me,
    My C-64?

    I could be handy, slip you a disk, when your drive has gone.
    You can bunny-hop with the rocket tube, then go back to Quake and some DOOM.
    Slower reflexes, arthritic grips, who could ask for more?
    Will you still need me,
    Duke Nukem 3D?,
    AMD-six-four?

    Send me an Inter-net through the tubes, stating point of view.
    The night of the LAN party we'll take Geritol,
    By Sunday morning, we'll pwn 'em all!
    Well past my half-life, emulate STEAM, Duke Forever IV.
    Will ya still phone me,
    Will ya still pwn me,
    When I'm 64?

    • I have to say, I laughed my pants off. I don't think people focus on the positive on /. so, Thank You. (BTW: Is it ok if I sing these lyrics? I don't want to get sued.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Tackhead ( 54550 )
        > . (BTW: Is it ok if I sing these lyrics? I don't want to get sued.

        /takes a bow

        Totally OK. All my filk is in the public domain. (Now, getting sued for the music you play in the background is another story... We'll probably both end up getting sued for remembering the tune.)

        And y'might enjoy this thread [slashdot.org] too. Although it takes a little longer to sing it when it comes around on the guitar. If'n ya give credit to anyone, give credit to the guy who prompted me to finish the job. The muse is a fin

    • Well done. Most attempts at parodying a song use half-baked rhythm and far too many syllables. With the exception of "The night of the LAN party..." line, it all flowed well. A suggested alternative:

      "At the LAN party we'll take Geritol, Sunday morning we'll pwn 'em all!"
       
  • Only now are games rated in terms of hours gameplay. And what's considered a good game offers 30 hours. I challenge any youngster to finish, for example, Head Over Heals [demon.co.uk] in that time.

    In my opinion, intelligent gamers just can't be arsed to play this modern rubbish, based on the same stuff as the year before, only with slightly smoother graphics. This is why the Wii will probably be successful. Not because it's Nintendo, but because it offers some actual gameplay developments over the previous 20 years.
    • I really can't figure out what you were getting at, through the verbal jungle that was your post, but I leave you with two points.

      1) I've played really great 80-hour games, and really great 10-hour games.
      2) Hardware does not offer "actual gameplay developments". Games do. A creative producer will make a good game idea work on any system, and a crappy idea will be crappy even on the CoolThing 9000.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Sigma 7 ( 266129 )

      Only now are games rated in terms of hours gameplay. And what's considered a good game offers 30 hours. I challenge any youngster to finish, for example, Head Over Heals in that time.

      Games within that era:
      - Generally didn't have saved games. (Passwords/passcodes qualify as saves.)
      - May have loading times between screens.
      - May rely on manually creating maps to navigate around.
      - In case of puzzle games (which were common at the time), cause the game's plot to be blocked if the person can't solve a given puz

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by newsdee ( 629448 )
        A lot of the "old games" issues can be addressed via remakes or emulators with throttling. For example, here's a very nice remake of Head over Heels for PC, Mac and Linux [sgn.net].

        Then about getting stuck, there is the Net... a lot of FAQs for old games are lying around. It's a bit cheating, true, but if you are really stuck to the point of the game not being fun anymore, it can get you out of there.
        Same can be said about number of lives... there are many cheating devices / software that allow you to make things eas

  • Electricity? Bah you kids had it easy! (Score:5, Funny)

    by _Hellfire_ ( 170113 ) on Thursday August 17, 2006 @07:21PM (#15931103)
    When I was a lad, all our games ran on Steam! [steampowered.com]

  • Games (Score:2, Funny)

    by tgpo ( 976851 )
    We may finally be playing Duke Nukem Forever by then.

  • Increasing difficulty? (Score:4, Funny)

    by uucp2 ( 731567 ) on Thursday August 17, 2006 @07:28PM (#15931157)
    Yeah, right. Kids today have it easy. When I was young, there were no such things as save or pause button. When your friend called you, too bad, can't come to phone right now mom.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by kfg ( 145172 ) *
      When I was a kid we played games with our friends -- by snail mail.

      Ummmmmmmmmm, that's not a joke.

      KFG
    • Pity this point wasn't made higher up in the thread, as it's key to the discussion at hand. Features like pause and save game have made games considerably easier to beat than games that existed before such things were common place. I once beat Half-life without taking any damage (aside from the freezer) but can RARELY get passed the third level on Marble Madness.

      Every game I buy now I find I'm quite capable of completing, with skill to spare no less. Older games will no doubt outpace me as I age, but I d

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by trdrstv ( 986999 )
        As long as there's an audience there will be game makers to cater to that demographic and ensure that the games aren't frustratingly difficult...

        I suggest you play F-Zero GX on 'Master Difficulty'.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Reapy ( 688651 )
          Or Ikaruga. I got the the 4th world after a lot of effort on my part, then put the controller down forever, because there was no way in hell I was ever getting past that rotating ship thing. Good lord.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by xtracto ( 837672 )
      Yeah, right. Kids today have it easy. When I was young, there were no such things as save or

      Well, you may joke about it but if you played Ninja Gaiden (any of the 3) in the NES you know you had to play somethin glike 3 or 4 hours straight in order to finish the game.

      To think that during vacations I used to go trough all the Ninja Gaiden 2 game several times (3 or 4) just to see the cut scenes (why didnt I just recorded them ? haha, well I was 10 year old back then). I spent all the day, no wonder why I am t
  • ...still doesn't include Duke Nukem Forever...
  • I have a hernia!
  • ...retirement. I have a big plastic box and within it are original boxes for each of the 35 Infocom text adventure games that were released. What more could I want?
    • A computer that can still play it.
      • I expect that I'll have a machine M1 that can emulate a mchine M2 that can emulate a machine M3 ... that can emulate a machine Mn that can run them. I could just pack my Psion 3mx in the box - it runs all but the three or so graphics ones.

        Actually it's not a big deal, the source code for Frotz [csubak.edu] is freely available and I have copies of all of the required data for each game. My only concern is that the scratch 'n' sniff [cs.uwo.ca] card that came with Leather Goddesses might no longer work.

    • A really great eye doctor.
  • It's early friday morning and the clock watching has already started until the 5:30 freedom call, and in my blurred 'havent had sugar/coffee' state I just assumed this was an article about the Commodore 64. I got all excited, and then I find out it's all about the few people that have actually grasped technology that wasn't around before they hit 30. (RIP DNA)
  • Shouldn't it be "Get off my server you damn kids!"?

  • The other issue older gamers will face is the ever increasing difficulty of games.

    It seems that many older games made up for technical limitations on content by being very difficult. Donkey Kong for Atari 2600 is hard, because it has to be. Otherwise it wouldn't provide more than five minutes of entertainment. (One could reasonably debate whether it provides much more than that as it is, but at least it's still a good challenge.) Modern games are, in my opinion, on average less difficult because they

    • I'd argue the point on some games which clearly go "this is going to be hard, don't even think it won't" like Devil may cry on DMD mode. But then most of these games also have much easier modes and allow you to get the game on a difficulty you want while still giving us "veterans" (ahem) a good seeing to if we want them to.

      I think the problem with "todays hardness" is they have to do something a bit more each time. So where in say Doom you had to shoot your way out of problems, now we have to take it to a s

  • I don't think I've slowed down (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ahenders ( 537057 ) on Thursday August 17, 2006 @08:30PM (#15931475)
    I've been playing games since the late 70s. I started in arcades with space invaders and asteroids, then moved on to choplifter, wizardry and infocom on an Apple II. After that there was a Commodore 64 and an Amiga (the Amiga was great). I played Wing Commander and Privateer in the early 90s. I loved Doom and Doom 2.

    In the last year or two I've played through Far Cry, GTA:SA and Doom 3. I'm now approaching my mid-forties and as far as I can tell I'm as fast as I was 25 years ago (if not faster). Perhaps some older people have difficulties because it's the first time they've tried gaming. I don't think kids are any more coordinated when they play for the first time.

    I'm sure that I'll still be gaming in 20 years!

  • ...At least, I think it was on slashdot. Those videos of the old woman playing side scrollers and stuff in her chair, swearing away at the console? Anyone remeber that?

    Not sure where it is, but it was called "Old Grandma Hard Core" or something. You might try googling for that, but I won't.

    • Those videos of the old woman playing side scrollers and stuff in her chair, swearing away at the console?

      ... it was called "Old Grandma Hard Core" or something. You might try googling for that, but I won't.

      Actually, I found the results of that search [google.com] to be relatively safe.

      The website is indeed a blog called Old Grandma Hardcore [blogspot.com] and it chronicles Grandma's hospital visits and back surgery as well as her video gaming addiction. The lucky old gal even gets free shit from Microsoft, Sony & Nintendo, w

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • My mother is 72. She plays computer games every single day, often for several hours. She likes logic/puzzle type games: I've given her a bunch of the Everett Kaser [kaser.com] logic games which she and I both enjoy- she plays while my Dad gardens. (I highly recommend Watson's Map)

    I'm 40. I picked up WoW the other day and I'm busy playing around with Combination and Hetheru, my warlock and shaman. I also really like the little logic games as a good break at work. Time is an issue since I have a job, wife and two

  • It doesn't seem to me that the problem with older gamers will be with the ability to control the games, the problem will be with the interest in available games.

    I used to play a lot of games, prefering the arcade and adventure type. I enjoy games along the lines of pac-man, battlezone, asteroids, diablo (I-II), warcraft (I-II), starcraft and things like morrowwind. As games shifted more to the side-scrolling fighters and shooters, my money and interest went elsewhere.

    Current generations will face the same p
  • I hope I'm gaming when I'm 128!

  • Get off my lawn you damn kids

    While not directly related to the story at hand, I do have a question ...

    What's the origin of this phrase? I'm seeing it, or variations of it everywhere, but can't seem to track down what it all came from. Some movie I'd guess, but I don't know which one ...

    google isn't much help, as the (ab)use of the phrase has really taken off, and it's now everywhere, and it's hard to tell who used it first.

    • What's the origin of this ["Get off my lawn you damn kids"] phrase?

      When I was a kid, back in the 1960s, we used to play outside.
      That's right, outside.
      I know that that seems unbelievable to kids today, but it's true; we used to play outside.
      One of the places we used to go to was Johnny's Gully.
      (It didn't actually belong to Johnny, but it was behind his house, so we called it Johnny's Gully.)
      There was a shortcut we could take to get there that ran across this old guy's lawn.
      Whenever he'd catch us crossing h

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dougmc ( 70836 )

        Nonetheless, the phrase is still used by people to indicate that a particular argument or point-of-view is curmugeony, or that a person is a curmugeon.

        Yes, I understand that.

        But the phrase has really taken off in the last few years -- it's all over the `web' now. Like people were quoting a movie or something. But perhaps you're right -- perhaps people are really quoting a few thousand crotchety old people who aren't at all related except in their disdain for children upon their grass.

  • Somehow, I suspect that by the time I'm 64, lines like this will apply:

    "Whoa! Check out those neural kinetics! They're way above normal!"

    And maybe video games are the cure for Alzheimer's. :)
  • They don't even take into account the Wii controller. I wonder if we'll still have the energy to play some of the games like Mario tennis on the Wii. Think of a first person shooter when you're hand normally shakes up and down just holding the controller, that'd be a sight to see. Maybe by then we'll just play Uno with cards instead of on the Xbox1280.

  • I reckon that the current crop of Nintendo titles would easily appeal to senior gamers for much the same reason that they appeal to younger gamers:

    • Bright, colourful, simple/cartoon-like graphics
    • Straight forward, easy-to-master gameplay
    • Comfortable controllers with simple game controls
    • Quick 5-minute games

    I'm talking about things like Mario Tennis, Double Dash, Golf and such like. The concepts involved in these games have been around for ages; these are just the latest version. I've watched my kids from

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rtb61 ( 674572 )
      As a long term gamer, I find that conclusion somewhat patronising and wholey unrealistic.

      Acceptance of game complexity is driven purely by gaming experience and a willingness to spend the money on more expensive games.

      The more experienced gamer is more likely to transition away from simplistic first person shooters to more complex strategy games and with regard to those strategy games away from the more unrealistic command and conquer types to the more realistic Rome total war types.

      Whilst the hands m

  • When I was a kid all we needed was the IJKM or WASD keys and the space bar, AND WE LIKED IT THAT WAY!
  • I am now in my 30s... I can definately say the golden age of gaming, for me, was about 23-26. I was on top of my game then. Between family, and deteriorating reflexes, I am not nearly as good as I was.

    Don't get me wrong, I am still a good FPS player... but not where I was a few short years ago. :-( People of my generation are getting older. My friends still play games. One of the guys in my LAN group pushing 50. Another guy is just a year or two behind him. I hope to still be playing in my retirement
  • Not really, I'll be 54 in a few weeks, I just used that line as a headline because it ryhmes with "when I'm 64".

    I have played computer games since the early 70s. I was old enough to go to bars when Pong showed up in them. I love to play games. I also love to write them. I was part owner of a small game studio in the early '90s and I teach game programming. I'll bet I have spent more time writing games and reading the source code for games than I have spent actually playing games.

    I really hate most modern g

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