Moggy wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 10:05 pm
Trouble is no amount of nostalgia would allow me to play the games I did as a kid without being told to grow up !
I don't know. Games are games. Would you still play a game of poker, or would you be ashamed of it as a "kids game"? Or chess? is it more legit, as a "grown ups" game, simply because it has existed for a longer period.
Same goes for physical sport, which are also "games". Rugby, a bunch of men running around tossing an odd shaped ball to each other. Tennis, two people smacking a fuzzy ball back and for to each other. All "just" games...
To me, games are games, they are recreational activities, that test our logic, strategic or physical skills. JSW is a reflex and precision based game. Same as Quake, but Quake also brings in some tactics as well. And since then games have evolved to incorporate many other factors. Today, a video game can be as simple as Tetris, or as cinematic as Baldurs Gate III.
TBH, I think the only person you have worries about tell you to "grow up" is yourself. As Howard Jones once said, "throw off your mental chains". I can't imagine at your age, you have too many people hanging around, waiting for you to play Candy Crush, point at you and shout "Loooooseeerr". Don't try and externalise your distain for games to 3rd parties. Its you yourself that seems to hold the viewpoint?
In my late teens I went to college to study graphic design, and whilst there, I also became serious about 3D graphics. In my heart, I wanted to work in, and MAKE video games. For me, it is the most compelling new media of the 20th century, far outstripping movies for instance, where its always a single narrative.
When I left college I did go and work in games. And, it was my favourite job to date. Sadly, I joined that industry during a large turn down, and that, combined with lower than warranted wages meant I moved on to more "respectable" and yet boring and less creative jobs.
I respect that you may want to use, and did use your ZX81 for "serious" work back in the 80s. But not sure why your so disparaging about a field, in which literally thousands of people make their living, across the UK and indeed the world.
I would hardly compare video games, to a game of conkers. But if thats what you think of video games. Each to their own...