Game Over: The Generational Divide on Computer Games

I grew up playing Game and Watch.  Very simple games compared to today's games.  Left, Right, Up Down, A and B Buttons, that's about it.  In several Game and Watch Games it it just Left and Right and the A button, so pretty straightforward.

Whether it is Egg, Octopus, or Parachute you played, Game Over means 3 lives.  If one of the Octopus's tentacles clawed you, or if you missed catching a parachute with your boat, that is one life lost.  The goal is to reach 999 points.  So if you have 980 points, but lost your third life you will have to start all over again.  Mistakes are fatal, so we gamers are well-concentrated on the game.  There is a need to be very focused.

Nintendo Game and Watch Parachute

 Today, not only are games more sophisticated in terms of visuals, they are ultra interactive as well.  With touch screen technology, gamers are able to extend the slingshot and angle the birds, or quickly touch the sun coming from above or from the sunflowers.

But the two more glaring differences between the games of the past and the games of the newer generation are 1. modularity and 2. the definition of Game Over.

Computer games of today tend to be longer and tied to stories of longer quests or missions.  But they are more modular.  So missions are divided into stages, phases, levels, even sub-levels.  So Angry Birds would have the Poached Eggs Stage which are further divided into Levels and Sub-levels.  You would have Poached Eggs 1-1...up to 1-15 or 20 depends on the gadget you are using. 

There is Game Over in Angry Birds and in Plants vs. Zombies.  But since the games are modular, you start on the level you ended.   If a Zombie ate your brain at level 3-3, then you will restart at level 3-3 not at 1-1.  In any Game and Watch game, Game Over means going back to 0, regardless of whether you have 100 points or 988 points.

Is there a correlation between the attitude of older generations and newer generations as manifestations of the computer games they play?

I am no psychologist nor a sociology expert, but I do notice that the younger generation are more impatient, restless and more risk-takers.  And these are not necessarily negative traits.  At work, I have spoken with several Generation Y's who want to become managers right away, without undergoing the usual career progression.  These are individuals who cannot and would not wait to take on more responsibilities whether they are prepared for it or not.  Gen Y's also take more risks compared to the more calculating albeit more conservative Gen X's.  And Gen Y's frown on the concept of "if you fail, you are out".     

Computer games are not just games.  Especially when billions of people all over the world regularly play.  Maybe, the nature of the games have influenced how people treat school, work, socials and life.