The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
When I was so high, I was addicted to Farthing Wood... Fox, Badger, Pheasant... I loved them all, until one day a woman told me a story.
"I was in my garden watering my plants fairly late at night" She began.. "Everything was great, the stars were out, the moon was bright, and the spice-coloured light from the lounge, lit up the front flower-bed perfectly... But it was shortly after I noticed this that I heard the most terrifying sound ever..... I approached the shed which was in the middle of my garden at the back, and round the other side I saw the most horrific thing ever! A Badger had managed to turn a hedgehog upside down, and was eating it alive!"
I went cold... stone cold. I thought badgers were 'cute' and clumsy, a bit like Baloo in The Jungle Book, but not so... these savage monsters turned my affection for them into hatred. Now whenever I see a badger I shoot it... mentally - I mean, have you seen the size of the things?!
But what does this have to do with gaming?
Well, as you all know, information about games is released way before the games themselves are released. We've got information about Zelda, Mario and Metroid, yet for us, these games are a way, way off. So for now, all we have to go on is hype!
Now, while this isn't a 'Hype' post, it might crop up now and again, so forgive me.
What I like about hype, is the 'buzz' it generates. Until people have actually played a game and know for real what it's like, they can imagine the game to play however they want. Granted, rubbing all the old lamps in your Nan's retirement flat and flicking a grands-worth of pennies into a well won't make the game play any closer to how you imagined it than it would if you didn't spank all your money and create loads of blisters on your hands... but regardless, you've gotta admit it's a hell of a lot of fun thinking up ideas for the game and imagining what features the developers will include.
You get some people in the world who 'live for today'. They want everything now, and demand immediate pleasure. I think all of us bear this characteristic, even if it isn't so prominent in some of our characters as it is in that of others. So, to quench this thirst of immediate satisfaction, we have this 'hype'. Just thinking and talking about a game can get you mentally excited... and there you have it - immediate satisfaction. You're satisfied, because you've been excited by the hype. And just to clear things up, this hype is the 'Perception' - how you imagine the game to be, and what you think it'll bring.
On the other hand, we have the Knowledge. This knowledge is only obtained after having played the game. Which, in most cases proves to be more satisfying than the hype. Interacting with the finshed product and actually living the game instead of imagining it, is overall, a much more enthralling experience. Sure, some games get over-hyped and turn out to be pants, but the best bit of that game IS the hype. imagining how cool the game will be a what will be in it.
When I first played GTA 3 I was amazed... I didn't really know about it, to be honest. it sort of came up from nowhere. One minute I was playing Mario 64, and the next, Goaty and Snuggly were ranting about Fire-trucks. The hype of this game didn't affect my opinion of the game, because there was no hype to compare the game too. I went into the Sawbridgeworth shop to buy a PS2, and got GTA 3 because it was there. Perception played no part in my enjoyment, only Knowledge did. Use that story for Jak and Daxter, reverse it, and you have an example for how Hype played the biggest part.
There are pros and cons for both Perception and Knowledge. I like to imagine what a game will be like, and even if it turns out crap, i'll still have enjoyed thinking and talkling about the game to other people during the months before release. Should the game turn out to be the best ever, then the hype won't mean as much as playing the actual game - a la MGS 2! Most games have an equal balance of Hype and Quality... there are plenty of average games, and to say Perception is better than Knowledge is daft, and vice-versa.
There's nothing like playing Mario 64, MGS2 or GTA3 for the first time - they're pure magic. But then again, think of the amount of smiles the thoughts of Mario Sunshine and Metroid Prime will have cracked, and you've got some serious competition.
Both are good. Both are essential.
Your thoughts about a game BEFORE you've played it Vs your throughts about the same game AFTER you've played it.
Perception Vs Knowledge.
Game
(Sorry if you didn't understand all that. It was quite a hard topic to get your head round.... It basically goes on to compare feelings towards a game before and after you've played it. Now you know that, try reading it through again, and replying!)
"I was in my garden watering my plants fairly late at night" She began.. "Everything was great, the stars were out, the moon was bright, and the spice-coloured light from the lounge, lit up the front flower-bed perfectly... But it was shortly after I noticed this that I heard the most terrifying sound ever..... I approached the shed which was in the middle of my garden at the back, and round the other side I saw the most horrific thing ever! A Badger had managed to turn a hedgehog upside down, and was eating it alive!"
I went cold... stone cold. I thought badgers were 'cute' and clumsy, a bit like Baloo in The Jungle Book, but not so... these savage monsters turned my affection for them into hatred. Now whenever I see a badger I shoot it... mentally - I mean, have you seen the size of the things?!
But what does this have to do with gaming?
Well, as you all know, information about games is released way before the games themselves are released. We've got information about Zelda, Mario and Metroid, yet for us, these games are a way, way off. So for now, all we have to go on is hype!
Now, while this isn't a 'Hype' post, it might crop up now and again, so forgive me.
What I like about hype, is the 'buzz' it generates. Until people have actually played a game and know for real what it's like, they can imagine the game to play however they want. Granted, rubbing all the old lamps in your Nan's retirement flat and flicking a grands-worth of pennies into a well won't make the game play any closer to how you imagined it than it would if you didn't spank all your money and create loads of blisters on your hands... but regardless, you've gotta admit it's a hell of a lot of fun thinking up ideas for the game and imagining what features the developers will include.
You get some people in the world who 'live for today'. They want everything now, and demand immediate pleasure. I think all of us bear this characteristic, even if it isn't so prominent in some of our characters as it is in that of others. So, to quench this thirst of immediate satisfaction, we have this 'hype'. Just thinking and talking about a game can get you mentally excited... and there you have it - immediate satisfaction. You're satisfied, because you've been excited by the hype. And just to clear things up, this hype is the 'Perception' - how you imagine the game to be, and what you think it'll bring.
On the other hand, we have the Knowledge. This knowledge is only obtained after having played the game. Which, in most cases proves to be more satisfying than the hype. Interacting with the finshed product and actually living the game instead of imagining it, is overall, a much more enthralling experience. Sure, some games get over-hyped and turn out to be pants, but the best bit of that game IS the hype. imagining how cool the game will be a what will be in it.
When I first played GTA 3 I was amazed... I didn't really know about it, to be honest. it sort of came up from nowhere. One minute I was playing Mario 64, and the next, Goaty and Snuggly were ranting about Fire-trucks. The hype of this game didn't affect my opinion of the game, because there was no hype to compare the game too. I went into the Sawbridgeworth shop to buy a PS2, and got GTA 3 because it was there. Perception played no part in my enjoyment, only Knowledge did. Use that story for Jak and Daxter, reverse it, and you have an example for how Hype played the biggest part.
There are pros and cons for both Perception and Knowledge. I like to imagine what a game will be like, and even if it turns out crap, i'll still have enjoyed thinking and talkling about the game to other people during the months before release. Should the game turn out to be the best ever, then the hype won't mean as much as playing the actual game - a la MGS 2! Most games have an equal balance of Hype and Quality... there are plenty of average games, and to say Perception is better than Knowledge is daft, and vice-versa.
There's nothing like playing Mario 64, MGS2 or GTA3 for the first time - they're pure magic. But then again, think of the amount of smiles the thoughts of Mario Sunshine and Metroid Prime will have cracked, and you've got some serious competition.
Both are good. Both are essential.
Your thoughts about a game BEFORE you've played it Vs your throughts about the same game AFTER you've played it.
Perception Vs Knowledge.
Game
(Sorry if you didn't understand all that. It was quite a hard topic to get your head round.... It basically goes on to compare feelings towards a game before and after you've played it. Now you know that, try reading it through again, and replying!)
V.V.V.V.V wrote:
> Well you've certainly changed my perception of badgers forever.....
> poor hedgehog - eaten alive.
>
> Anyway, in the past I used to let my "Perception" of a game
> run riot. I used to imagine how brilliant it was going to be, etc, etc
> - and when I finally got my hands on the game it almost always didn't
> live up to my expectations.
Much like Return to Castle Wolfenstien.
Many games now are far too short too, I like epic games like Zelda and Half-life. MOH:AA was superb but I had done it on hard within a week.
> Well you've certainly changed my perception of badgers forever.....
> poor hedgehog - eaten alive.
>
> Anyway, in the past I used to let my "Perception" of a game
> run riot. I used to imagine how brilliant it was going to be, etc, etc
> - and when I finally got my hands on the game it almost always didn't
> live up to my expectations.
Much like Return to Castle Wolfenstien.
Many games now are far too short too, I like epic games like Zelda and Half-life. MOH:AA was superb but I had done it on hard within a week.
Well you've certainly changed my perception of badgers forever..... poor hedgehog - eaten alive.
Anyway, in the past I used to let my "Perception" of a game run riot. I used to imagine how brilliant it was going to be, etc, etc - and when I finally got my hands on the game it almost always didn't live up to my expectations.
So now I hardly ever read about a forthcoming game in detail. I have to keep my expectations low, or I know that when I get the "Knowledge" of the game I'll probably be slightly disappointed.
The games I've enjoyed most over the years have always been the ones that I have just stumbled upon - games which I had no preconceptions about, and which I wasn't really expecting to like that much.
Anyway, in the past I used to let my "Perception" of a game run riot. I used to imagine how brilliant it was going to be, etc, etc - and when I finally got my hands on the game it almost always didn't live up to my expectations.
So now I hardly ever read about a forthcoming game in detail. I have to keep my expectations low, or I know that when I get the "Knowledge" of the game I'll probably be slightly disappointed.
The games I've enjoyed most over the years have always been the ones that I have just stumbled upon - games which I had no preconceptions about, and which I wasn't really expecting to like that much.
When I was so high, I was addicted to Farthing Wood... Fox, Badger, Pheasant... I loved them all, until one day a woman told me a story.
"I was in my garden watering my plants fairly late at night" She began.. "Everything was great, the stars were out, the moon was bright, and the spice-coloured light from the lounge, lit up the front flower-bed perfectly... But it was shortly after I noticed this that I heard the most terrifying sound ever..... I approached the shed which was in the middle of my garden at the back, and round the other side I saw the most horrific thing ever! A Badger had managed to turn a hedgehog upside down, and was eating it alive!"
I went cold... stone cold. I thought badgers were 'cute' and clumsy, a bit like Baloo in The Jungle Book, but not so... these savage monsters turned my affection for them into hatred. Now whenever I see a badger I shoot it... mentally - I mean, have you seen the size of the things?!
But what does this have to do with gaming?
Well, as you all know, information about games is released way before the games themselves are released. We've got information about Zelda, Mario and Metroid, yet for us, these games are a way, way off. So for now, all we have to go on is hype!
Now, while this isn't a 'Hype' post, it might crop up now and again, so forgive me.
What I like about hype, is the 'buzz' it generates. Until people have actually played a game and know for real what it's like, they can imagine the game to play however they want. Granted, rubbing all the old lamps in your Nan's retirement flat and flicking a grands-worth of pennies into a well won't make the game play any closer to how you imagined it than it would if you didn't spank all your money and create loads of blisters on your hands... but regardless, you've gotta admit it's a hell of a lot of fun thinking up ideas for the game and imagining what features the developers will include.
You get some people in the world who 'live for today'. They want everything now, and demand immediate pleasure. I think all of us bear this characteristic, even if it isn't so prominent in some of our characters as it is in that of others. So, to quench this thirst of immediate satisfaction, we have this 'hype'. Just thinking and talking about a game can get you mentally excited... and there you have it - immediate satisfaction. You're satisfied, because you've been excited by the hype. And just to clear things up, this hype is the 'Perception' - how you imagine the game to be, and what you think it'll bring.
On the other hand, we have the Knowledge. This knowledge is only obtained after having played the game. Which, in most cases proves to be more satisfying than the hype. Interacting with the finshed product and actually living the game instead of imagining it, is overall, a much more enthralling experience. Sure, some games get over-hyped and turn out to be pants, but the best bit of that game IS the hype. imagining how cool the game will be a what will be in it.
When I first played GTA 3 I was amazed... I didn't really know about it, to be honest. it sort of came up from nowhere. One minute I was playing Mario 64, and the next, Goaty and Snuggly were ranting about Fire-trucks. The hype of this game didn't affect my opinion of the game, because there was no hype to compare the game too. I went into the Sawbridgeworth shop to buy a PS2, and got GTA 3 because it was there. Perception played no part in my enjoyment, only Knowledge did. Use that story for Jak and Daxter, reverse it, and you have an example for how Hype played the biggest part.
There are pros and cons for both Perception and Knowledge. I like to imagine what a game will be like, and even if it turns out crap, i'll still have enjoyed thinking and talkling about the game to other people during the months before release. Should the game turn out to be the best ever, then the hype won't mean as much as playing the actual game - a la MGS 2! Most games have an equal balance of Hype and Quality... there are plenty of average games, and to say Perception is better than Knowledge is daft, and vice-versa.
There's nothing like playing Mario 64, MGS2 or GTA3 for the first time - they're pure magic. But then again, think of the amount of smiles the thoughts of Mario Sunshine and Metroid Prime will have cracked, and you've got some serious competition.
Both are good. Both are essential.
Your thoughts about a game BEFORE you've played it Vs your throughts about the same game AFTER you've played it.
Perception Vs Knowledge.
Game
(Sorry if you didn't understand all that. It was quite a hard topic to get your head round.... It basically goes on to compare feelings towards a game before and after you've played it. Now you know that, try reading it through again, and replying!)
"I was in my garden watering my plants fairly late at night" She began.. "Everything was great, the stars were out, the moon was bright, and the spice-coloured light from the lounge, lit up the front flower-bed perfectly... But it was shortly after I noticed this that I heard the most terrifying sound ever..... I approached the shed which was in the middle of my garden at the back, and round the other side I saw the most horrific thing ever! A Badger had managed to turn a hedgehog upside down, and was eating it alive!"
I went cold... stone cold. I thought badgers were 'cute' and clumsy, a bit like Baloo in The Jungle Book, but not so... these savage monsters turned my affection for them into hatred. Now whenever I see a badger I shoot it... mentally - I mean, have you seen the size of the things?!
But what does this have to do with gaming?
Well, as you all know, information about games is released way before the games themselves are released. We've got information about Zelda, Mario and Metroid, yet for us, these games are a way, way off. So for now, all we have to go on is hype!
Now, while this isn't a 'Hype' post, it might crop up now and again, so forgive me.
What I like about hype, is the 'buzz' it generates. Until people have actually played a game and know for real what it's like, they can imagine the game to play however they want. Granted, rubbing all the old lamps in your Nan's retirement flat and flicking a grands-worth of pennies into a well won't make the game play any closer to how you imagined it than it would if you didn't spank all your money and create loads of blisters on your hands... but regardless, you've gotta admit it's a hell of a lot of fun thinking up ideas for the game and imagining what features the developers will include.
You get some people in the world who 'live for today'. They want everything now, and demand immediate pleasure. I think all of us bear this characteristic, even if it isn't so prominent in some of our characters as it is in that of others. So, to quench this thirst of immediate satisfaction, we have this 'hype'. Just thinking and talking about a game can get you mentally excited... and there you have it - immediate satisfaction. You're satisfied, because you've been excited by the hype. And just to clear things up, this hype is the 'Perception' - how you imagine the game to be, and what you think it'll bring.
On the other hand, we have the Knowledge. This knowledge is only obtained after having played the game. Which, in most cases proves to be more satisfying than the hype. Interacting with the finshed product and actually living the game instead of imagining it, is overall, a much more enthralling experience. Sure, some games get over-hyped and turn out to be pants, but the best bit of that game IS the hype. imagining how cool the game will be a what will be in it.
When I first played GTA 3 I was amazed... I didn't really know about it, to be honest. it sort of came up from nowhere. One minute I was playing Mario 64, and the next, Goaty and Snuggly were ranting about Fire-trucks. The hype of this game didn't affect my opinion of the game, because there was no hype to compare the game too. I went into the Sawbridgeworth shop to buy a PS2, and got GTA 3 because it was there. Perception played no part in my enjoyment, only Knowledge did. Use that story for Jak and Daxter, reverse it, and you have an example for how Hype played the biggest part.
There are pros and cons for both Perception and Knowledge. I like to imagine what a game will be like, and even if it turns out crap, i'll still have enjoyed thinking and talkling about the game to other people during the months before release. Should the game turn out to be the best ever, then the hype won't mean as much as playing the actual game - a la MGS 2! Most games have an equal balance of Hype and Quality... there are plenty of average games, and to say Perception is better than Knowledge is daft, and vice-versa.
There's nothing like playing Mario 64, MGS2 or GTA3 for the first time - they're pure magic. But then again, think of the amount of smiles the thoughts of Mario Sunshine and Metroid Prime will have cracked, and you've got some serious competition.
Both are good. Both are essential.
Your thoughts about a game BEFORE you've played it Vs your throughts about the same game AFTER you've played it.
Perception Vs Knowledge.
Game
(Sorry if you didn't understand all that. It was quite a hard topic to get your head round.... It basically goes on to compare feelings towards a game before and after you've played it. Now you know that, try reading it through again, and replying!)