TMK Stuff > Site Discussion

Sigh... where is everyone?

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Suffix:

--- Quote from: Koopaslaya on December 02, 2014, 08:32:10 AM ---They're a plague to the internet and a bane of our intelligence. Articles like "The Top 20 Mario Moments You Won't BELIEVE," are attention grabbers, sure. But there is really a paucity of any real content in such articles.
--- End quote ---

Yes, the "Top (N)" and all Upwordy/Buzzkill/etc clickbait articles are the absolute scum of the internet, but whether or not the articles are "real" content or not is beside the point. At least there's something new to talk about-- that's why forums pop up around Youtuber communities. Even if there's not a new title or console around the corner, there's always the topics the personalities bring up to discuss.

As a game designer/programmer, I have my doubts about any significant retro resurgence. The indies 8~16 bit throwbacks are largely to save on design costs and send people our ages and above on nostalgia trips. It's not like people claim in earnest that older games "feel better" as people claim vinyl, as an analogue medium, "sounds better." I'd go further into it, but I don't feel like generating too much animosity uninvited.

Anyway, I agree that TMK has a great feel to it, that's why I called it a living tribute to the internet we grew up on.

ShadowBrain:

--- Quote from: Suffix on December 02, 2014, 06:02:42 AM ---I kind of feel like TMK is a living tribute to the turn-of-the-millenium "if you build it they will come" magazine-style sites, such as Zelda Legends. TMK was late to the crowdsourced Web 2.0 thingymabob (I think that's what they called it), and trusted volunteer staff can only dedicate so much of their time before they are burdened with other responsibilities, or simply grow tired. These days we have blogs with writers who make their living off attention-grabbing articles about games and other things. Perhaps Web 2.0 has replaced "posters" with "commenters."

--- End quote ---
This man knows what's up. Granted, nostalgia's practically currency these days, but this site means a lot to me for that, if only because it represents things that meant a lot to me growing up. I still remember the chain of events that led me from searching for info on Shiguru Miyamoto for an elementary school class project to finding the ClassicGaming network, to checking out all the trivia and fan stuff in the TMK archives over several years, to finally joining the forums in 2007 after my old haunt "Nintendomain" tanked. I've seen a lot of fellow forums and favorite sites come, go, and get retooled in those years--for better or worse--so whether the Fungi Forums keeps attracting new blood or just becomes a ramshackle pub for aging Millenials to wax nostalgic, you can guarantee I'll be popping in on the daily until somebody brings the Super Mario Bros. 3-inspired curtain down on the stage.

Koopaslaya:

--- Quote from: Suffix on December 02, 2014, 09:32:55 AM ---As a game designer/programmer, I have my doubts about any significant retro resurgence. The indies 8~16 bit throwbacks are largely to save on design costs and send people our ages and above on nostalgia trips. It's not like people claim in earnest that older games "feel better" as people claim vinyl, as an analogue medium, "sounds better." I'd go further into it, but I don't feel like generating too much animosity uninvited.

--- End quote ---

No animosity here, I think this is a worthy discussion, anyhow. I did not look to any statistics (if there even are any on this topic) to defend my claim that retro gaming might be making a resurgence. I did however use my experience of going to the local record shop which also happens to sell NES, SNES, Atari, Sega, and N64 games. I'm always amazed by the young people who are drawn to the classic consoles and games. I overhear a lot of conversations of teens who realize that they have indeed stumbled upon a goldmine. You're probably right that indy developers go for the 8~16 bit "feel" for nostalgia's sake. But there is still something to the old games. A few of my friends have younger brothers who have either discovered their brothers' old systems or who have gone out to buy a NES. And they're ecited about these games as if they were brand new. I really do think that there is something there.

As a vinyl collector myself, I'd like to explain my comparison. Some people say vinyl "sounds better." That's up to debate. A lossless digital file is pretty good. Sound quality also depends much more on recording techniques than whether the sounds are pressed onto vinyl or not. (There are, of course, exceptions to this. Some bands have recorded their music directly onto wax as opposed to magnetic tape... but I digress). A good speaker setup and free Pandora sounds better than a crappy turntable and a cheap preamp, even if hipsters insists that the vinyl sounds better. To me, the vinyl resurgence plays a little on nostalgia, yes. But more to it, people want something physical when they buy. CDs don't really offer an investment. Rip it to the computer and it's done. They're not worth much. But with vinyl, the packaging, the liner notes, the art, these all go into the sale of the album. There's something satisfying about the tactile nature of vinyl listening. Search for your album on the shelf, pull it out of the dust jacket, admire the art, place the needle, listen to half the album and follow along with the liner notes, get up, turn it over, replace the needle, pick up the album, place it in its sleeve, and put it back on the shelf. A wholly different experience than click iTunes and listen. I wonder if there isn't something similar going on with old games. The cartridge experience is similar, maybe?

This is me thinking as I type: not usually a good thing. I'm probably wrong. But I certainly didn't mean any animosity, Suffix. We've all had conversations here a lot more hard-hitting than this one.

But I like to think that TMK of the future might be a hub for those with memories of Mario games and an archive of those games all but lost to the contemporary gaming scene.

The Chef:
I think another big issue is the fact that people used to come to TMK for information, but now keep going to Mario Wiki instead (even though people with brains can tell Wikis are actually really stupid in practice!).

I've been trying to convince Deezer to give the Mariopedia a bit of an overhaul for this reason. I feel like it can and should be able to stand toe-to-toe with Mario Wiki at the very least. I really do want people to come here for Mario info again. There's gotta be a way to propel ourselves back into the average Internet surfer's eye, right?

Weegee:
Now that so much information has been consolidated into sites like the Mario Wiki, people have less reason to scour every Google result in search of information. As such, fewer curious fans to discover this forum. Had TMK been founded in 2007 rather than 1997, it would probably just be a Facebook group or Twitter feed.

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