Indulgence Reigns: Creativity and Limitations
Mon, June 20, 2011 at 10:19 PM I’m not much for nostalgia. If you know me or have read my writing in the past, you’ve probably figured that out. I value my memories, but I’m perfectly content with leaving them in my head and moving on. I accept change as a positive thing. The gaming landscape shifts, new techniques are discovered, and things, in general, improve.
Memories are vital. They are to be cherished. Clinging onto them in the foolhardy hope that things stay the same so as to relive those memories instead of embracing the creation of new ones, however, does nothing but harm both the medium of gaming and your enjoyment of it on a personal level.
That said, as glad as I am that we have gotten past some of the unfortunate design trends from the early days of gaming, there was a benefit to the stifling technological limitations that created so many of that era’s annoying quirks. Most creative minds will tell you that restrictions are great for the imagination. They’re annoying, sure, but they force you to be your best and to think outside the box.
Well, the technology of gaming’s past was nothing if not restrictive. There’s an almost magical simplicity to the best the retro generations have to offer that modern games just can’t match.
The culprit is indulgence.