[…] of entertainment and fun to me. But as I got older and experienced more games, both good and bad, my tastes have become more refined. I honestly don’t think you can call yourself an enthusiast of any entertainment domain or […]

I have a gameboy emulator and I have to admit that I am loving the old turn based rpgs like Final Fantasy Tactics and even the old Pokemon games. They are fun but don’t require a ton of computer resources or excellent reflexes.

@ karthik:

Oops.. So sorry. I guess I assumed most people either finished the game, watched a lets play or read some analysis that spoils the plot twists by now. This is what happens when you assume. :P If this is any consolation, I didn’t spoil the other, bigger twist. So you will still have at least big WTF moment at the end of the game that I didn’t and will not mention here.

Good point that the developers are getting older, but I’m not sure if this is as significant of a trend as the aging of the gamers themselves. People who work in the mainstream dev studios will eventually retire and be replaced by youngsters. The big studios have a high turnaround typically. So chances are that their workforce as a whole more or less will stay the same average age for foreseeable future.

Indie scene is different of course. A lot of people get out of the big grind-houses and launch their own mini studios producing smaller fun games. And those are indeed getting progressively more mature.

Luke, I’m still reading the article, but you just spoilt Bioshock Infinite for me so I had to stop. :(

I’m a wee bit cross, so I’m going to go on a tangent and say that following games writing and its attendant discussions is really hard these days for someone who’s behind the curve in playing games. There are now so many articles on Gone Home online that I’m afraid it will be casually mentioned in a piece not explicitly about the game and I will spoil it before I have the chance to play it.

As for what I read before I stopped: It’s not just core gamers who are aging, developers are too. The more experienced lead developer types have families and children now, so its not surprising that they’re seeking out themes in their games different from what used to pass for narratives a decade ago.