Why old video games, kinda PS1 aesthetics, feel so much more magic and fun, and modern games feel like dystopia depression?
It has to do with child memories? I think there is something more to that. E.g. Colin mcrae 2.0 although has worst physics compared to later titles like Need For Speed, is so much more fun to play and get hooked to it (if example does not work for you, replace it accordingly).
I think there is something to do with the lower quality graphics that trigger imagination, but i am not sure. What is your opinion ?

Maybe the lack of detail gives your brain more room to fantasize. Maybe the lack of detail is also just calmer for your mind. I rarely hear someone saying that he plays a game for the graphics. Grahpics is an extra in many cases i guess. I'm not a gamer myself but nothing beats:

- transport typcoon

- worms 2

- mario

- medabots (GBA)

- super hot VR (Quest 2 (Should've never bought it))

- simcopter

- GTA vice city

- Need for Speed underground 1

- Call of Duty (united offensive) (2) (And especially the map building, it was a serious skill. With CODRadiant)

@retoor never new about the meta quest title you said, but i remembered also that VR Toll (flight sim) which has more fake graphics is more fun than dcs. The same thing i got playing iracing vs asseto corsa. I refer those examples to show that it is not something related to nostalgia only.

Spyro the dragon reignited is another case of the same game with other graphics.

On the other hand i want graphics in cases like Skyrim which is something like virtual hiking for me.

But as i said initially, i want to trigger thoughts if it is something more than graphics.

it's done on purpose to make the populace depressed

depressed people are easier to control

that's also why they discount the 90s were so much better. gaslighting

the world is run by narcissists and if they make you doubt your eyes, doubt yourself, and make everyone a clone of each other with no uniqueness, everybody becomes easy to... "nudge" as they call it (it's manipulate)

problem with uniqueness and happiness is then everything is too differently motivated and everyone thinks for themselves too much. this causes "resistance". can't have that. you must go along to get along, or starve to death (tm)

It's just because you're old and you're used to it. Try a PS1 game you're not familiar with at all and compare it to a new game.

Well, it's also possible that older games had to be really responsive because they couldn't hide bad responsiveness behind looks.

I know on r/godot that there seems to be quite a few posts showing "PS1 style" graphics. I also see artwork sold in that style as well. Which is kind of fascinating to me.

@electrineer i referred to some modern examples to not fall on the trap of nostalgia

@jestdotty very generic, you think that the game industry has such guidelines ?

Nostalgic stuff might feel better because we were young and naive and had more fun, but @retoor has a good point about abstraction and minimalism triggering our fantasy, much like reading a book compared to watching a movie.

I remember old video games, not PS1, but long ago on Commodore 64 in the 1980s, restricted to a video resolution of 320 x 200 pixels and 16 colors, but the gameplay was quick and immediate, and the surreal futuristic electro sound was the best!

- Street Surfer

- Paradroid

- Gyruss