You Aged Now GTFO

When The Elder Scrolls Morrowind came out I got back into video games. I spent hours creating characters, roaming around the open world and getting into every nook and cranny to discover something new. I fell in love with the mythology surrounding the series, I read every little book they had in the game just to learn a little bit more about Tamriel. My husband played as well, hell in a lot of ways we played together. We would discuss the game constantly with each other and when we played individually were helping the other one or finding something new that could be shared later. Then Oblivion came along. They removed the Houses, the game no longer had short sword, long sword, etc separated. It felt a bit more shallow. The NPCS had spoken dialogue now, but didn't have nearly the amount of dialogue they had before. It hurt my heart a little bit. The land I loved was different, little changes has been made that made the game not super familiar territory. I did play it, I even fell in love with it. The Dark Brotherhood's storyline is killer. My favorite is Shivering Isles. An expansion pack that absolutely took my breath away. The rules were different there in comparison to the rest of the game. It's a land of madness and the divided land, Sheogorath's voice actor, everything is on point. My favorite is a level you do for the King of Mania. You have to take this 'drug' to get in to the level. As it wears off your character gets weaker and weaker and you will die, you are in a dungeon. Thankfully some of the creatures in it drop the drug. So you kill them, eat the drug. At certain parts you wait a good long while for the drug to drop. You find yourself going 'come on, drop it, drop it, YES!!' throughout the dungeon. It simulates drug use. This to me shows what video games could be if people would do things that are truly unique and not recycle the same thing over and over again. Then Skyrim happened. I hate it. I know lots of people love it but it feels plastic to me. The aesthetic is so different from the other games. It's taking place 200 years after the events of Oblivion so I felt an instant disconnect to the actual story. No more character classes, no more houses, guilds are gone, you level up any skill you level up, the User interface is terrible. Little changes like the Daedra walking around and randomly being bumped into break my immersion because I know and understand the lore of Tamriel. Is it beautiful to look at? Yeah but there's not much more to it than that. I could live with the changes in Oblivion because storyline and level design wise they raised the bar. Skyrim was the end of playing the Elder Scrolls series for me, I aged out of their demographic. I have friends who tout Skyrim as the best RPG of all time. They tell me that I am missing out. This has made me try the game on several occasions and quit after a fee hours wondering what they see that I don't. The franchise that is the reason I play video games today and I am now at the second sequel that I can't tolerate (what the Elder Scrolls is not is an MMO). The people who love it have some things in common. They're male, they're younger than me, they are, at best, what people call 'bro gamers.' That's who the Elder Scrolls franchise appeals to now, the people, like me, who loved Morrowind because they grew up on shit like D and D were passed by in favor of cool graphics, new shinies and the like. The same issue has occurred with The Sims. The first one came out 14 years ago. I have aged out of the demographic they are targeting. Every advertisement for The Sims 4 feels trite to me, the taking selife thing makes me die a little inside, the absence of toddlers, pools and over 90+ game features at last count is upsetting, the art style does not appeal to me, the people that are cheering the game on appear like children to me. I get it, it's their time, it's not mine. I am not the intended demographic for this game. Someone who plays as a toddler, finds the family relationships, legacies, endearing and what should be the focus of the game are being pushed aside for people that want a glamorous life simulation. Even the careers are abnormal careers now. I have my versions of The Sims. I started with 3, but due to the love of family relationships in the game prefer 2. That's my game, I don't get a reboot that combines the best of 2 and 3 to make a killer installment in the Sims series. Instead I am no longer the target for this new game. So it feels childish, stupid and trite to me when I see the gameplay videos and such for The Sims 4. The are doing nothing different, in fact they are targeting the same exact demographic they always have. I am no longer a part of that. Sim on Simmers.

The Tutorial

I am in a love/hate relationship with video games. My entire life has been filled with the joy and frustration that comes with falling in love with something that really doesn't give a shit about you. I have screamed in frustration, cried tears of joy and sorrow, laughed, felt utter joy at beating the unbeatable area. I say this so that you, the reader understands where I am coming from. I have certain dos and don'ts today. I refuse to support certain practices that occur in the video game industry for one reason or another. This blog is to collect my scattered thoughts on gaming and nerd culture in general in a single place instead of them being scattered everywhere, ranted at friends or just shared on FaceBook and the like.

1. I will not review video games without female protagonists or the option to play them. I refuse to support the sexism that occurs in the video game industry and I don't relate to male protagonists.

2. I will not review GTA EVER. I simply can't offer any support for that franchise.

3. I don't play MMOs much. I may play one for a month or two but I wind up getting tired of some aspect of them every time and move on.

4. I love RPGS. You will see a lot of posts about them here.

5. I am a huge Wonder Woman fan, prepare yourself now.

6. I am a Simmer. This will not be a blog about The Sims franchise but you will see posts about the games sometimes.

7. Saints Row is one of the best franchises I have ever played.

8. I only PC game and will call out a shitty PC port in a heartbeat. I am not a fan of consoles, this generation in particular.

9. I am a woman, deal with it.

There you go, remember the list.