Woes of the older gamer

Guys, it doesn't matter what we do, does it...

The money in the industry lies with the new blood, not the old gamer like us. For every 1 of us there's 100 new kids just getting into gaming. We won't be listened to...not ever. We're the elders of the society, shunned off into our own little corner of the world and largely ignored. Sure, we got this industry moving and supported it through all the rough times, but now we've been disposed of. The younger generations hold all of the power now, they determine what direction gaming goes, not us, not the people who were there from the beginning.

Logically, do developers try to appease the 1 old gamer, or the 1,000 new gamers that want new things and are willing to push the industry forward? Old gamers want what made them happy before in gaming, and it's been done before. Old style games generally don't do well, and only carry a small fanbase of old gamers. They aren't smart investments for any company, and we're going to see less and less of them.

What can we do besides watch as our beloved industry crumbles around us, all what we held dear is destroyed and changed into something new, shiny, and ultimately shallow and disgusting? Our cries are not heard, they are swatted away like annoying flies while developers drop a knee and beg for direction from their new gamer generation.

We're destined for sadness, gentlemen. There's nothing we can do, nothing we can say that will change this inevitable cascade. We're done, used up, old news. This is our life.

What are you considering "older"? I hate to burst your bubble here, but, we have a pretty diverse population of gamers that we try to accommodate as much as we can. I assure you that no one is "swatted away like annoying flies" nor are we dropping a knee and begging for direction. This is opinion and conjecture and while your post is somewhat poetic, I'd prefer we didn't make this into a discussion based on age. We believe that every voice matters here both within the company and beyond. Age doesn't even factor into it. The ideas are what matters.

A gamer is a gamer is a gamer no matter their age. I'm not exactly in the "younger crowd" anymore (nor a gentleman despite being around for the "beginning" of home gaming), and I certainly don't see the golden age of gaming being behind us. The future continues to become brighter as we gain more people to our beloved hobby from all walks of life. I assure you, no one has been "disposed of" either. We recognize and value all of the individuals in the community. We also have to recognize though that there are limitations to how much we can do or how happy we can make all of the people we'd like to make happy.

Everyone has different opinions and experiences that shape their perceptions and there's only so much we can do. But to say that we don't recognize or appreciate them is false.

I find that' I'm being pushed out of gaming against my will. It's like the industry is an entity that is slowly purging anything old. I don't think it's age, but I do think most of the industry is no longer directed at me, I'm no longer the target demographic. Just makes me sad is all, the golden age of gaming for me is over.

Perhaps it's not gaming that has changed, it may just be that you've changed or your expectations have changed, which is perfectly alright. I enjoy things differently now than I did when I was "younger". It's OK to let go if you're just not getting the joy out of something you used to, and it's OK to mourn that loss if it makes you feel better.

I'm starting to feel like we just need a group hug here. Maybe it's just me. ;)

I think the responses here show that people do care and do want to listen even if perhaps they aren't the people you were hoping to reach. It may be simply a matter of burnout or you need a fresh perspective, or you need to reevaluate what it is you enjoy most, then do it. Everyone goes through these moments of, "Is it for me?" The answer is completely up to you in the end.

05/24/2012 10:54 AMPosted by Bergoan

Maybe you already said and I missed it, but what specifically are you wishing would not have changed in gaming, Bergoan?

I kind of hit on it earlier I think, but mostly the gaming community, especially in WoW has changed. More in favor for the silent runs through dungeons, just so they can get their next 150 justice points. No communication is made except to argue or berate other players. Yes, I can run with certain people and avoid this mostly, but I'm talking in generalities here. And it seems developers are catering to this behavior, making it easier to be silent and do fine. I just miss the communication gamers used to have on a whole, everyone was excited to be where they were, what they were doing, and were happy to have others along...now, not so much--many people would be happy with 4 other bots perfectly capable of doing their jobs rather than deal with the general playerbase.

We're with you in that the game is just more fun when you have friends and guildmates to run with. The issue we run into is, "what happens when they're not available but you want to do things?" So the most we can do is facilitate the means to get with others easily. We can connect you to other players, but we can't force people to talk or be social. It's going to take effort from the community itself to make it a more social experience by being social. I don't think what you're referring to is a design issue. And if you think it is, I'd love to hear your thoughts on how it could be improved. Just keep in mind, if you share some thoughts, they should keep in mind the current structure of the game. Without taking anything away or putting new restrictions out there, how would you go about doing it? Because as it is right now, it's easier than ever to be put into contact with other people. It's just a matter of then getting those people interested in interacting socially.

05/24/2012 11:24 AMPosted by Davvy

Why is it required to have dead times between xpacs, and then wholesale change with yet more leveling up in a new xpac, over and over without end, the same formula every time?

It takes a lot of time and dedicated effort and resources to create an expansion pack. While we can develop both current and future content at the same time to an extent, there has to be a spot in which we put focus on future content so that we don't get in our own way. As I've said in the past, World of Warcraft has many layers of complexity. Changes that seem innocuous may end up impacting larger systems causing further issues if they aren't segregated in some way during development.

Why not have more content patches, leave off new leveling up, and focus on having a steady stream of content without so much change?

I'm not sure I get where you're coming from here other than if you're asking why we choose to make larger changes during expansions than in patches. For the answer, we go back to the first answer. It's far easier for us to make larger system changes and additions in an expansion. Some of this is due to technological limitations and some is about being cautious about breaking that which was not broken before.

Not saying no changes, I am saying fewer changes.

Not saying no new content, I am saying do it via patches.

We do patches when we can, but those patches generally occur after we've put in the framework for them. Without that framework, it's more difficult and more can go wrong. Expansions give us the opportunity to make those larger changes that we want to make and we keep the "smaller" ones to patches when we can. It's understandable that some may feel the changes are "too much" and we try to maintain a balance where we can, but we like taking opportunities to make those larger changes where we can so long as we think it will benefit the overall health of the game and community.

Right now raiding is dead unless you are one of the chosen 10, and even a die hard raider like myself is now tired of no new content for a long time, and none to come until the xpac, however long that may yet be.

A valid concern, but I have seen people setting up PUG raids or still spending time in the Raid Finder. It may not be ideal, but the best thing you can do is use the realm forums or the in game chat to see if you can locate others interested in running the content you are. It's understandable though that there are lulls when a lot of people have seen or experienced the content already. We're doing what we can to keep the "downtime" limited, but we aren't making any specific guarantees on timing for the expansion.

Seems like Blizzard is married to a formula that is outdated.

We're not "married" to it, but it does work. We have adapted how we do things over the years and I'm sure we'll continue to adapt as technology and need allows.

Just to correct the OP really quickly, he is actually she. ;)