We don’t feel fear. And we absolutely will not stop. Ever
In the early 1980s, owners of Sinclair’s ZX81 microcomputer had the opportunity to expand the machine’s memory to a horizons-shattering 16K. Unfortunately, plugging in the RAM pack sometimes resulted in the hardware overheating and shutting down. One solution involved placing a refrigerated carton of milk on top of the computer, cooling everything down to allow the taut, dinosaur-evading action of 3D Monster Maze to commence once more. A carton of milk. On top of your computer. To play a game.
In the 1990s, UK-based owners of Nintendo’s SNES hardware were given a proper treat, though, by having to wait six months for the hottest games from the US and Japan to appear on domestic shop shelves, and then getting the opportunity to play them at a speed reduction of 17 per cent and with fat black borders taunting them from across the top and bottom of their screens.
Then, in 2001, the entire world was blessed with the arrival of Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance, a take-anywhere device whose screen was all but useless in any situation other than under the direct glare of an electric lamp. Thank goodness we’ve travelled so far since those crazy days, right? Except summer game droughts still exist. But at least we can keep ourselves diverted with some graphics card driver issues. Or a tide of online abuse over Xbox Live. Some DLC nonsense, perhaps. DRM frustration. Exploitative microtransactions. Lame free-to-play monetisation schemes. On it goes.
Seriously, just how awesome must videogames be that we put up with such a steamingly relentless stream of utter bullshit? Perhaps this is why we can overcome anything Hidetaka Miyazaki throws at us. It’s in our blood now.
It’s what helps us get over our frustrations with Destiny. Its loot-drop system may be stingy. Its story may feel undercooked and over told. And, when you get down to it, there’s not an incredible amount of things to do in the game. But still we keep coming back, every day. What is its magic? And how, in
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