Let’s get one thing straight right out of the gate here: I’m only 25 years old.  So with an article titled “Games For Old People” you’re probably wondering where my perspective is coming from, which is definitely a valid observation.  Well in this case I am definitely referring to myself and to the aging demographic that represents “gamers” in general.  As an art form in general games are growing up, becoming more mature, emotionally engaging experiences that have the ability to truly qualify as masterpieces.  Part of this evolution is the inevitable “shortening” and “simplification” of games, something I am learning to appreciate.  A good video game used to have the ability to pull me in and hold my attention for absurd amounts of time and some still do (ahem, 120 hours clocked in Final Fantasy XIII… Is that embarrassing?), but there has been a marked shift game design focus from quantity to quality in the past few years.

One of the most stunning and entertaining games in the past five years was definitely the absolutely brilliant Portal.  Brought to us from the masterminds at Valve, Portal proved you could pull out all the filler and make an amazing game out of sheer puzzle solving fun that lasts two hours and leaves you feeling completely satisfied.  Part of the appeal of video games has always been the notion of escapism.  Kids and young adults have been using games to escape for a generation now (myself included) and the longer and more involved a game, the better it served this purpose.  However as my generation grows up and moves beyond the need to escape, so, too, have games moved passed the need to provide us with these hours of distraction, instead moving towards actual fun as the main objective.  There is also a case to be made for the time constraints present in any functional adults life.  Only the most lazy of my layabout friends has the time to pour 40+ hours into multiple games these days.  My favourite titles of late have been the RPGs that take maybe 8 to 12 hours of my life, like Mass Effect or Fable 3, as this is a time investment I can happily fit into my gainfully-employed life.  Games that bank on a player spending 40+ hours playing are asking for time I simply don’t have anymore, a sentiment I’m sure is shared by many adults these days.

Another lesson being learned and applied rapidly to game design is “simplification”.  Take the example mentioned above of Mass Effect and it’s sequels Mass Effect 2 and 3.  The first game, while certainly incorporating elements of first-person-shooters, skewed hard towards RPGs in it’s inventory management and character development, elements which drew criticism from the current group of game reviewers in an otherwise stellar game.  In response to these criticisms developer BioWare stripped away many of the offending elements, by including very simplified inventory and leveling systems, in Mass Effect 2.  These adjustments were met with praise because they took the micro-management out of the player’s way and let them go straight down the rabbit-hole without being forced to pause in every hallway and consider what they could throw away in favour of better loot.  While Mass Effect 2 still boasted the daunting and massive “Codex” menu, I felt myself less inclined to visit the screen and read about the various races and creatures I was encountering, as the game felt much more immersive in general; this was a world I could live in without having to study it first.  This immersiveness can be attributed to the scaling back of menus and time-intensive activities like grinding and looting, allowing the player to become involved in the world in much less time.

Fable 3 took the excellent formula set out by Fable 2 and eliminated menus almost entirely, relegating them to options and saving only, a truly inspired move that keeps the pace of the game always moving forward.  The elimination of menus makes the game so much more accessible and eliminates those moments of dread associated with the thought of filtering through an inventory full of garbage to find that one item, instead choosing to engage the player and set things out in an organized way that is fairly easy to navigate and understand within the context of the game.  This approach is not without its flaws–the world map hovered dangerously close to a boring menu that took forever to load–but it takes a huge step in the right direction, eliminating much of the work associated with managing an inventory in an RPG.  Fable 3 still fell into some of the typical RPG trappings of grinding and looting, however the main story requires very little investment in these activities to enjoy, something that is becoming very popular among developers and gamers.  A short, enjoyable story that requires a modest time investment is padded out with the obligatory side missions and quests that games have always had, but are now strictly optional.

Ironically the antithesis of this sentiment comes from the same developer as Mass Effect in the form of Dragon Age Origins.  Dragon Age eschews all the lessons learned in Mass Effect in favour of a massively complex and sprawling RPG that is currently overwhelming me with details every time I turn it on.  The impetus behind this article has actually been my experience with Dragon Age and its endless customization and massive, messy inventory screens full of poisons, poultices, lyrium and crossbows.  In another world this game would have been my heaven, and a part of me really wants to believe that it still is, but in reality every time I sit down I feel like I need to study this game to really enjoy it, and I inevitably feel like my time could be better spent doing something more productive (like writing articles about video games).  Much of my time in Dragon Age is spent reading and rereading the tutorials in order to better understand the game, something that would have delighted the 15-year-old version of myself, but annoys the 25-year-old version of me.  Having to spend so much time pondering what to sell and what to keep, how to tactically level my characters for maximum performance and how to approach every enemy encounter is exhausting.  Part of the reason it is so exhausting is because I want to do things right, and if I allocate a talent point incorrectly I won’t be able to continue.  This complete refusal to acknowledge the prevailing winds of game development is bold, but ultimately lost on me for now, I do pray that the game will sweep me up into it’s epic story eventually, but for now I’ll take Dead Space with it’s flashing paths straight to objectives.

Gamers are growing up.  My generation now has to think about things like rent, families and working full-time, all things which fill the time previously occupied by video games.  This is forcing games to evolve into more fun-oriented experiences that can offer the huge time-investments of yore, but realize that their audience is growing up and so should they.  I am fully aware that an article like this is likely to incite a chorus of outrage from gamers who feel that games are becoming “too easy” or “dumbed down” in hopes of reaching a wider audience, but I have already conceded to being capable of shameless indulgence in a game so lets not shoot the messenger here.  My obsession with Final Fantasy XII was so intense that I learned how to fix the dreaded PS3 “yellow light of death” simply so that I could continue on a 14-hour gaming marathon on my day off.  However, I hope that those out there who enjoyed or are enjoying Dragon Age can admit to themselves that these games are becoming less common as gamers grow up and get lives.  Any comments to the contrary will be assumed to be coming from shut-ins and 14-year old kids (who don’t count).