It's also kind of interesting to see how video games have gained depth over recent years. Back in the day, killing the Space Invaders or rescuing Princess Peace was all the "story" a game ever needed. And because pretty much all video games began within the same genre or two (platformer or shooter/action), the important thing when reviewing a game was basically how well the game was to comprehend and control, i.e. graphics capability and input commands.
More recently, however, the situation has almost entirely flip-flopped. People still rave about Final Fantasty VII and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time being the "greatest games of all time" when the graphics and controls are clunky and archaic compared to new releases. Modern releases with stunning visuals often turn out to be an incredible waste of video gaming space, due to a lack of direction or purpose to complete them.
I've also noticed that because video games are no longer about claiming as many quarters as possible from the kids at the arcade (to an extent, at least), difficulty levels for video games have drasticaly dropped. There are still options for the hard core video head, however, such as opening every last treasure chest, changing difficulty levels, or even unlockables based on the amount of time spent completing the game. The challenges are still there, but they aren't required to "beat" the game (of course, depending of one's definition of "beat"). I, for one, really don't care much about collection every last Uber-weapon in a Final Fantasy game, so long as I can run the story to its end.
Any similar thoughts on similar variations in tabletop gaming?
It's also kind of interesting to see how video games have gained depth over recent years. Back in the day, killing the Space Invaders or rescuing Princess Peace was all the "story" a game ever needed. And because pretty much all video games began within the same genre or two (platformer or shooter/action), the important thing when reviewing a game was basically how well the game was to comprehend and control, i.e. graphics capability and input commands.
More recently, however, the situation has almost entirely flip-flopped. People still rave about Final Fantasty VII and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time being the "greatest games of all time" when the graphics and controls are clunky and archaic compared to new releases. Modern releases with stunning visuals often turn out to be an incredible waste of video gaming space, due to a lack of direction or purpose to complete them.
I've also noticed that because video games are no longer about claiming as many quarters as possible from the kids at the arcade (to an extent, at least), difficulty levels for video games have drasticaly dropped. There are still options for the hard core video head, however, such as opening every last treasure chest, changing difficulty levels, or even unlockables based on the amount of time spent completing the game. The challenges are still there, but they aren't required to "beat" the game (of course, depending of one's definition of "beat"). I, for one, really don't care much about collection every last Uber-weapon in a Final Fantasy game, so long as I can run the story to its end.
Any similar thoughts on similar variations in tabletop gaming?