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Vague Patch Notes: Nostalgia isn’t the problem with pining for your MMO past
- People get defensive when someone suggests nostalgia is driving their interest in something. But nostalgia is not inherently bad and it factors into everything, including gaming. A sense of nostalgia is not irrational, nor is it always a bad thing to enjoy something based on nostalgia. However, when nostalgia becomes so strong that one’s critical and capability to evaluate the quality of a game is overridden, then it becomes a problem. Nostalgia is therefore not a problem, but nostalgia-driven decision making is.
- Nostalgia gives people a starting point to like a game, but it must not override critical thinking. For instance, someone may have loved EverQuest when it first came out, but their memory of it is not the best version of the game. This is where a person should be willing to re-examine a favourite game rather than allow nostalgia to obscure their judgment.
- A degree of one's affection for their favourite games may be based on nostalgia, and this is not a bad thing. It only becomes problematic if a person's judgment is too strongly tinged by their positive childhood memories of a game, and they overlook its flaws and quality when replaying it later in life.
- One must be honest about what aspects of older games hold up and the part nostalgia plays in this. Nostalgia driven decision making is the problem, not nostalgia itself. A person needs to be able to see the good and bad parts of a game rather than allow nostalgia to completely dictate their opinion.
- Ultimately, nostalgia is a part of one’s psychological makeup, shaping a person's memories and the emotions that person associates with those memories. Though it could be said that a degree of nostalgia could be present in how someone remembers and enjoys a game, this feeling must not be so strong that it prevents a person from evaluating the game objectively.
- When one can see a game objectively, they can identify both the good and bad parts of it. And though nostalgia may play a role in why someone enjoys many games it should never be given too much weight when it comes to making decisions regarding playing a game.
- Nostalgia also factors into food choices as for many people, their memories of eating a certain dish growing up is tied up with their emotions towards that food. However, it is important to examine these sorts of feelings to ensure they are not causing one to make poor dietary choices.
- Nostalgia is just a part of everyone’s life and psychological makeup. It is something that should be acknowledged as a part of oneself even though it may not necessarily reflect reality. However, at the same time, one should ensure that it does not completely control one’s decision-making process.
- People must be willing to examine the things they are nostalgic for to see them objectively. Though in hindsight, something they loved a child may not hold up today; it is important not to let it affect their judgment too much.
- Ultimately, nostalgia is a part of the human experience that should be acknowledged, but it should not completely control a person’s decision-making process. It needs to be in balance to make an informed decision about whether it is a good idea to re-experience a childhood game or any other nostalgic product.
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