Regarding arcade games specifically, I think a lot of people have forgotten (or never learned) how to actually play these. The joy really came from the slow path to mastery, putting countless coins in and learning every facet of the game until you could clear (at least part of it) without dying.

Nowadays, I feel like a lot of people load arcade games up on an emulator, add a bunch of continues, and clear a game in an hour (while dying countless times) and then move on to the next game. I don't really see the fun in that. It seems more like a compulsion to just beat as many games as possible.

I see the same thing when it comes to retro PC gaming videos on YouTube. A lot of YouTubers have no clue what they're doing. They start up a game without reading the instructions, struggle through it for an hour, and move on to the next thing. These are games we used to spend months playing for hours per day. The payoff only comes after putting that effort in (usually... of course there are bad games).

We need a "slow gaming" movement. For me, it's not about beating as many games as quickly as possible. It's about enjoying a few games at a deep level.

I've learned to 1CC a few arcade games. I even no-missed two irem games. it's an exhilirating journey to defeat that "all arcade games are rigged to steal money" myth, which only really apply to western games (especially sports that make you put in $2 for a full single game for one player)

We need a "slow gaming" movement

THIS ! I 100% agree especially as an avid player of classic adventures. I feel it is almost impossible these days to even convey the idea of how an adventure game needs to be played. The concept of deliberately taking weeks or month for a task you can achieve within an hour (using a walkthrough) seem an almost impossible sell. And yet, doing it fast, the magic simply does not unfold...

Aui wrote on 2026-10-15, 03:11:

We need a "slow gaming" movement

THIS ! I 100% agree especially as an avid player of classic adventures. I feel it is almost impossible these days to even convey the idea of how an adventure game needs to be played. The concept of deliberately taking weeks or month for a task you can achieve within an hour (using a walkthrough) seem an almost impossible sell. And yet, doing it fast, the magic simply does not unfold...

You can blame society moving to a dopamine addled one, where everything needs to provide that hit as quickly as possible, where attention spans are measured in seconds rather than hours you cant really expect slow games to sell.

Yes I dislike current dopamine society as much as you likely do.

Online multiplayer is a HUGE contributor to the "forever" factor: starting with MMORPGs, where one really could invest a significant part of real life living a virtual life within silicon, then picking up in the new millennium with the inherent addiction of MMOFPSs which formed virtual communities rivaling those of actual military units.

Perhaps I was blessed growing up a loner with no internet connection, which has kept my interest focused on single-player gaming ever since.

jh80 wrote on 2026-10-15, 00:56:

Nowadays, I feel like a lot of people load arcade games up on an emulator, add a bunch of continues, and clear a game in an hour (while dying countless times) and then move on to the next game

This is the best!

Have to agree there is so much in progression loops, XP gains, new content drops, collectables etc that pad out games in the wrong ways.

I always dislike when people talk about how many hours are in a game a tout how they can spend 100s of hours on it. That's fine for certain games but I find an equal amount of satisfaction in completing a game in a reasonable amount of time if its of good quality.

Quality is the key, the game could be 10 hours or 100 hours, a breeze or a grind but if the quality isn't there it's not worth it.

I had great fun playing the re-release of Myst I had a few spare days up my sleeve and I sat down with no internet. Just me, the game, and a journal I wrote in recounting details of the game as I played as daily journal entries of course!

Was a blast, but that cursed clock tower puzzle had me stumped for a bit, who would have thought I was supposed to "cheat".

Want to add as well micro transactions are a curse on modern gaming and heavily detract from a game IMO. Last thing I want is gambling and ads blasted at my face while gaming.

in general i think scarcity is a big part of this and that emulation, massive steam/gog libraries and so on have removed the sense of investing in limited options, the knock on effect is choice overload (just having too much to choose from, so the choosing process itself becomes more difficult, and sometimes we choose nothing!), there's also a kind of novelty seeking, distraction, switching in which staying with one game doesn't happen as much and end up never appreciating the game fully.

not just games, also streaming entertainment, online shopping, even people themselves 🙁

jh80 wrote on 2026-10-15, 00:56:

Regarding arcade games specifically, I think a lot of people have forgotten (or never learned) how to actually play these. The joy really came from the slow path to mastery, putting countless coins in and learning every facet of the game until you could clear (at least part of it) without dying.

Nowadays, I feel like a lot of people load arcade games up on an emulator, add a bunch of continues, and clear a game in an hour (while dying countless times) and then move on to the next game.

from memory i learned a few arcade games well enough to be able to clear in one one coin, that was the goal. some people were great at that. it was a learned skill, with a real downside to not learning it (lose money or play less). I myself have done the add coins emulation and can confirm that after the buzz of "i could never do this back in the day" the game itself no longer has that resource challenge, and it mean the motivation to focus and learn has to come from somewhere else.

Dan9550 wrote on 2026-10-16, 04:59:

Have to agree there is so much in progression loops, XP gains, new content drops, collectables etc that pad out games in the wrong ways.

definitely, though its been a core concept for year, perhaps most associated in the past with RPG grinding. as you say later, quality is the key. loops are ok if there is enough variation and interest in the loop itself.