I remember being a kid in the age of the NES and Super NES, what feels like forever ago.  Some of my fondest memories were of spending hours and hours playing Zelda or Dragon Warrior or whatever RPG or action-adventure game I could get my hands on.  Many of those times, I'd have the volume turned on, the boom box turned up to an AM radio station, listening to a football game or a particularly important news broadcast, or even something on CBS (the local CBS affiliate at the time put their broadcasts on radio as well as TV).  It was one of the ways I kept in touch with the world while still playing my beloved games.
 
Now, here I am, what seems like forever later.  I'm sitting here, playing 3D Dot Game Heroes with the volume turned down, while I watch the World Cup on ESPN's online streaming service, ESPN3.  I realized how crazy this was, going back to something I haven't really felt able to do since the start of the PS2 era, when games became fully voiced and required more and more audio-visual focus to enjoy.  I rather missed those halcyon days, and I got to wondering when gaming, as a hobby, became so all-encompassing that even listening to the news of the day while getting a session in became such a hindrance to the experience.
 
Now I'm fully aware that this makes me sound like an old maid, but I kind of miss having games that can be enjoyed without cutting oneself off from the rest of the world.  These games, however, seem to become more and more rare as time goes by.  Of course, 3D Dot Game Heroes exists mainly as an homage to old school of Japanese game design, so it seems to be more the exception than the rule.  Even XBLA and PSN games are becoming less about the game and more about the spectacle.  Then, of course, we have the new wave of motion controls, where one has to have a rumpus room with nothing else even in it to use the damned things.  Even TV and film don't demand that level of dedication.
 
Of course, I'm glad to have the complex games, the games that challenge the notion of what is possible with gaming.  However, I can't help but wonder if it is simply trading one extreme for another.
 
Well, I guess we all have to grow old some time.

I remember being a kid in the age of the NES and Super NES, what feels like forever ago.  Some of my fondest memories were of spending hours and hours playing Zelda or Dragon Warrior or whatever RPG or action-adventure game I could get my hands on.  Many of those times, I'd have the volume turned on, the boom box turned up to an AM radio station, listening to a football game or a particularly important news broadcast, or even something on CBS (the local CBS affiliate at the time put their broadcasts on radio as well as TV).  It was one of the ways I kept in touch with the world while still playing my beloved games.
 
Now, here I am, what seems like forever later.  I'm sitting here, playing 3D Dot Game Heroes with the volume turned down, while I watch the World Cup on ESPN's online streaming service, ESPN3.  I realized how crazy this was, going back to something I haven't really felt able to do since the start of the PS2 era, when games became fully voiced and required more and more audio-visual focus to enjoy.  I rather missed those halcyon days, and I got to wondering when gaming, as a hobby, became so all-encompassing that even listening to the news of the day while getting a session in became such a hindrance to the experience.
 
Now I'm fully aware that this makes me sound like an old maid, but I kind of miss having games that can be enjoyed without cutting oneself off from the rest of the world.  These games, however, seem to become more and more rare as time goes by.  Of course, 3D Dot Game Heroes exists mainly as an homage to old school of Japanese game design, so it seems to be more the exception than the rule.  Even XBLA and PSN games are becoming less about the game and more about the spectacle.  Then, of course, we have the new wave of motion controls, where one has to have a rumpus room with nothing else even in it to use the damned things.  Even TV and film don't demand that level of dedication.
 
Of course, I'm glad to have the complex games, the games that challenge the notion of what is possible with gaming.  However, I can't help but wonder if it is simply trading one extreme for another.
 
Well, I guess we all have to grow old some time.