For too long now there has been an idea spreading, and this idea is that games age out, and become no longer awesome. It's one thing to say a game's old graphics make it unplayable (you know who you are, you sonsofbitches) but it's another thing entirely to insult the integrity of its design. Facts aren't a nebulous concept that applies to half of this thing and half of that thing, no - a fact is what it is, and that's that (aka it is what it is). The concept of "holding up" (not at gunpoint) when used in regards to games, or movies, or music, etc. is only used by so-called educated folk who claim to be making some sort of historical-analysis survey of the subject (I guess), and yet... it is an incredibly uneducated mistake to make!

The first problem is that instantly assumes more = better. Big games are complex today. Heck, even "small games" are complicated. Well sorta, but that's for another blog. If you want to know how and why more isn't always better, go play Assassin's Creed 3. It's not a bad game by any sane standards but holy shit is it a boring, tepid experience. There are many other games that exhibit the qualities AC3 does but it is truly the crown jewel of the crown on the king of unfortunate games' head. You can compare AC3 to any old game you want, from any era you want. All the visual and technical feats in the world don't make a game fun. And then there's the level design. Ahhh yes.

Personally, I remember far more levels from the past than I do of the present though of course there are exceptions. Maybe it's the rise of open worlds that take place in one place that's all kinda the same place all over. 3D level design is something else. Often it exists moreso to delight visually than to be an actually fun place to run around/murder stuff in. The flipside is there of course. Call of Duty is a really excellent example. The multiplayer is an example of great relatively modern level design that puts player movement and firing lanes first, and aesthetic second. The single player is an example of how level design can put you to sleep by way of the world's tiredest checkpoint system. But! *That* is some really modern shit. Good multiplayer shooting maps go back to the 90s, but games that sneakily hold your hand (and sometimes not so sneakily) is one of the modern marvels of games, as sarcastic as that may sound. Ok, so there were some easy games back in the day... But you know what I'm saying, right?

TBC..