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Philosophical question: Do games become "obsolete"?
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<blockquote data-quote="Vindicator" data-source="post: 2693050" data-attributes="member: 18922"><p>Took this from a thread at RPGnet:</p><p></p><p><span style="color: DarkOrange">The sad fact is that for some people, it *does* make a difference. There's a whole group of gamers who are obsessed with having the KEWL NEW GAME1! and who immediately describe the out-of-print game as "obsolete", as if it were an 8-track tape player or something. </span></p><p><span style="color: DarkOrange"></span></p><p><span style="color: DarkOrange">Hint: Games do not become obsolete. Games are not a technology.</span></p><p></p><p>Interesting point. You hear gamers talk a lot about how if a new edition of their favorite game comes out they'll be worried because it will make their old stuff "obsolete." Yet as this poster indicates, games are not technologies. An 8-track tape player is obsolete because it is no longer used by anyone (well, almost anyone <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> ) in the music field and has been replaced by newer technology that has a higher degree of sophistication. </p><p></p><p>But when we talk about *games* being obsolete, we're speaking figuratively, as games are not a technology (of course the technology used to *play* a game may become obsolete, such as an RPG played on an Apple // computer, but that's a different issue).</p><p></p><p>Some folks then respond by saying, "But the *mechanics* have improved! The game is *evolving*!" But that's another metaphor. Games do not literally evolve; they change over time. Change alone is not evolution; evolution implies progress. But whereas we can *objectively* measure the change in, say, audio or computer technology, there are no such measures for game mechanics. Sure, a person can say, "Game X has a unified mechanic, thus it is superior to Game Y with its multiple mechanics." But this is really a presupposition, a value judgment. It is not an objective fact, unlike saying, "Computer X has a faster processor than Computer Y. Thus it is superior." </p><p></p><p>So why *do* we talk about games becoming "obsolete"? Is it just because we are so brainwashed by our infatuation with technology? Or is it just clever marketing?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Vindicator, post: 2693050, member: 18922"] Took this from a thread at RPGnet: [COLOR=DarkOrange]The sad fact is that for some people, it *does* make a difference. There's a whole group of gamers who are obsessed with having the KEWL NEW GAME1! and who immediately describe the out-of-print game as "obsolete", as if it were an 8-track tape player or something. Hint: Games do not become obsolete. Games are not a technology.[/COLOR] Interesting point. You hear gamers talk a lot about how if a new edition of their favorite game comes out they'll be worried because it will make their old stuff "obsolete." Yet as this poster indicates, games are not technologies. An 8-track tape player is obsolete because it is no longer used by anyone (well, almost anyone ;) ) in the music field and has been replaced by newer technology that has a higher degree of sophistication. But when we talk about *games* being obsolete, we're speaking figuratively, as games are not a technology (of course the technology used to *play* a game may become obsolete, such as an RPG played on an Apple // computer, but that's a different issue). Some folks then respond by saying, "But the *mechanics* have improved! The game is *evolving*!" But that's another metaphor. Games do not literally evolve; they change over time. Change alone is not evolution; evolution implies progress. But whereas we can *objectively* measure the change in, say, audio or computer technology, there are no such measures for game mechanics. Sure, a person can say, "Game X has a unified mechanic, thus it is superior to Game Y with its multiple mechanics." But this is really a presupposition, a value judgment. It is not an objective fact, unlike saying, "Computer X has a faster processor than Computer Y. Thus it is superior." So why *do* we talk about games becoming "obsolete"? Is it just because we are so brainwashed by our infatuation with technology? Or is it just clever marketing? [/QUOTE]
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