Eurogamer are reporting that reporting that Draugen – a new ‘fjord noir mystery’ set in 1920’s Norway is due out next week on Steam, with consoles later in the year. It looks great from the trailer – slightly reminiscent of Firewatch but much darker. Check it out:
This looks like a must buy for me – can’t wait to give it a go. Look out for a review soon.
In the early days of the PS4 and Xbox One, I was full of optimism for almost every new big game releases, just like I had been with the 360 and before that. But as these machines matured, my enthusiasm waned – beaten down by all the titles that over-promised and under-delivered. Nowadays, unless a release has been showered in awards and has a lot of positive sentiment around it, I ignore it. Even if the reviews are good, I will still look for reasons not to buy.
Have I really changed that much? Or are there other reasons? Firstly, it’s certain that I’ve changed. There is no doubt that I have less time available. And after decades of internet use, my attention span could be better (although it is improving – more on that in another article)! I have more non-gaming interests too, so in the short chunks of spare time I have, I’m more likely to spend it on things like watching YouTube videos about cameras, old tech and other nerdy forms of procrastination.
Even so, I don’t think I’m alone in feeling underwhelmed by modern gaming. And it’s not so much that I’m getting left behind, it’s that there’s a number of trends that have had a negative effect on the pure fun of gaming.
Continue reading “What’s wrong with today’s gaming industry?”
Welcome to oldgamer.co.uk! My name is Dorian and I run this new site. Yes, that’s me sat in a Space Harrier machine in the vintage photo above. I’m in my mid-forties and currently own a PS4, an OG Xbox One and a gaming PC. I live in the North West of the United Kingdom, and make a living as a front end web developer.
If you’re a gamer who finds their play time tailing off because of other commitments, or even just fatigue or boredom, this is the site for you. As well as covering what is going wrong with gaming, my aim is to broaden my horizons beyond gaming, and perhaps yours at the same time. I’m something of a serial hobbyist, who tends to try lots of different things out to varying degrees, rather than diving deep into a single subject. That should keep the articles coming for you guys and gals!
There will definitely be articles on gaming (old and new), but I’m keen on culture and technology in a broader sense, including retro tech. It can be fascinating to look back at the stories behind old tech. A younger version of me dismissed anything old as clearly inferior and not worth my time, but now that we live in an era where we can no longer fly supersonic from London to New York, and we haven’t set foot on the moon in nearly 50 years, it seems there’s a bit more of a story to tell.
My first personal site was blitterandtwisted.com, which covered technology, gaming, culture and politics. While the site had its highlights – an interview with a mobile game developer, and a post that appeared to influence a bigger publication, it’s been close to death for years. A hosting environment problem decimated the traffic and SEO ranking, and after that it was hard to stay motivated to write for an audience of almost nobody.
This site is a fresh start with a new domain, look and feel (coming soon!), and a few tech improvements like HTTPS and a mobile-friendly design. Initially, it’s going to be me publishing articles. I’d very much appreciate comments and constructive feedback, but once the site had a clear identity and audience, my hope is that guest writers will want to get involved as well.
