Introducing your kids to retro games

[cheesyboy]

Anyone tried it?

I spent a couple of hours playing C64 games with my 8-year-old today. Just a few I had ready access to in my collection and that I played when I was around his age.

He loved Ghostbusters (my favourite, nowadays , of the old C64 titles), enjoyed Kickstart (Mastertronic), didn't think much of Gauntlet (he really enjoys the modern iteration, as do I: the old one doesn't hold up), and liked watching me play Kane but found it too difficult to be enjoyable himself.

He also was interested in hearing about the way gaming used to be, and what my favourites were.

Was a successful time, on the whole. Would be interested in hearing other's experiences.

 

[stopper]

I tried it a couple years ago.
My son was 10 then and was used to playing COD, BF3, LBP, and a load of other well polished titles.
I put on Streets of Rage 2, started a game, and shouted him to join me and have a laugh with his dad. The little **** took 1 look and said "naah, it's too pixelated" then walked out.
My youngest daughter though, only 7, she enjoyed Super Mario World and Mario Paint when I got the SNES out a few months ago, I'll have to try some more with her.

 

[cheesyboy]

Yeah, I could see the initial shock of seeing something quite primitive could be a barrier.

As he's only 8, I've so far been able to curate my boy's gaming for the most part. So he plays Minecraft (basically looks like an 8-bit game transferred into 3d), as well as stuff like Trine, Gauntlet (2014), and FTL which looks almost like it could be on the SNES anyway. So not too much of a culture shock. Also, he doesn't get given all that much gaming time, so he's always jonesing for some more, even if it's old crap

Streets of Rage is a good shout - I've been thinking about a brawler. Will probably go for TMNT arcade, as I've already told him how much cash me and my friends used to pump into that bad boy, and he's at least heard of Ninja Turtles!

 

[Dsteviedee]

I would think nowadays, with all the indie stuff around, it would be easier to introduce kids to retro gaming.
Because of the indies, like Deer God, Minecraft, Night in the Woods etc, it is far less of a culture shock, than it would have been a few years ago.

 

[Scania]

I’ve got a BBC Computer emulator on my pc as I had a Beeb back in the day and love playing my old games on it and indeed many others I never tried first time around.

My 12 year old just thinks it’s “pants” and isn’t interested whatsoever.

It’s a shame really, He will often sit at my PC and despite the hundreds of games I have available via Steam, Origin or just installed directly he often complains he’s got “nothing to play” and then proceeds to watch videos of games he’s got on YouTube!

Back in the day we bought a game and had little option but to persevere with it as you couldn’t just go to Steam and get something else or you bought a title blind effectively because unless you bought your computers respective supporting magazines (Acorn User and The Micro User for the BBC) there were no reviews - even if you did buy the magazine you’d often wait months for them to get around to a review of a specific game if they ever did!

Kids today have no concept of waiting or indeed going in depth into something before they get bored and move along to something else, a loss to them really but alas they don’t see it.

 

[Ninco!]

My Nephew of slightly older age is exactly the same as Scania describes. Only nephew suffers zero patience on top!

Last Christmas when I introduced my nephew to retro SNES games, to be fair my nephew really enjoyed the old games, only his desire to win all the time - I find tiring. If you win he gets a sulk.

I usually remind said nephew that if he's going to get all wound up - it goes off. He tends to get the message and gaming tends to be a more chilled afterwards and to be fair, enjoyable!

I have tried to show some older PC games, mixed interest, one being the original Operation Flashpoint; his response was a bit meh. I was gutted as it is one of the best retro co-op games ever!

 

[sja360]

I have tried to show some older PC games, mixed interest, one being the original Operation Flashpoint; his response was a bit meh. I was gutted as it is one of the best retro co-op games ever!

I would agree it's great co-op but having played it on the Xbox 360 with mates it's seriously hard.

Best times I have had is quake on PlayStation 1, quake 3 arena on PC, timesplitters on PS2, Goldeneye on N64. All the good times were playing together! Split screen or local Lan (halo on original Xbox was great). I think it's a downward spiral of lonely/solo gaming now.

Even back in the day going to a mates in the evening and helping out with playing resident evil 2 by reading through the guide and taking turns playing. I bet that NEVER happens now.

 

[Zefan]

despite the hundreds of games I have available via Steam, Origin or just installed directly he often complains he’s got “nothing to play” and then proceeds to watch videos of games he’s got on YouTube!

This is perfectly normal. Many adults do exactly this, it's a form of analysis/decision paralysis that wasn't even possible for us to experience when we were younger/earlier in the industry and had access to at most a handful of games at a time, as well as those games being less open ended/open world.

 

[montymint]

This is perfectly normal. Many adults do exactly this, it's a form of analysis/decision paralysis that wasn't even possible for us to experience when we were younger/earlier in the industry and had access to at most a handful of games at a time, as well as those games being less open ended/open world.

I suffer from this badly. I can sit down ready to play something and my mind can't settle on what I want - then I end up watching looper videos for an hour or two then come away from my pc.

For my nephew I build a pi0 gameboy a year or two back which he used for a few months, however being in his early teens it's now all Fortnite or bust.

 

[bigmike20vt]

Anyone tried it?

I spent a couple of hours playing C64 games with my 8-year-old today. Just a few I had ready access to in my collection and that I played when I was around his age.

He loved Ghostbusters (my favourite, nowadays , of the old C64 titles), enjoyed Kickstart (Mastertronic), didn't think much of Gauntlet (he really enjoys the modern iteration, as do I: the old one doesn't hold up), and liked watching me play Kane but found it too difficult to be enjoyable himself.

He also was interested in hearing about the way gaming used to be, and what my favourites were.

Was a successful time, on the whole. Would be interested in hearing other's experiences.

in the summer i had a friend come to visit with their 2 kids, about 7 and 9 years old. I should have taken a picture.

standing next to each other one was playing luckys tale in VR, and the other was playing donkeykong and pacmania on my arcade. whilst both went down well, it was the arcade which they were fighting over.

it was cool to see the 2 extremes in videogaming at the same time.

btw a good selection of games you picked... esp kickstart.
there are heaps of games from yesteryear however which i still enjoy today. there is a lot to be said for their "simplicity" (I use the " " because actually they are hard as nails!!!!)