Games Workshop Make Games For Kids.

[CoffeeGrunt]

Oh yeah, it's almost guaranteed that you're older than me if you actually remember the Red Period. Judging by the dates thrown around, it occurred shortly after my birth...hmmm...

"And lo, did the thunder roll in the abyss of the Warp, as child heathen was brought into this world, all was turned to green gravel and garish primary colours."

[Erik Setzer]

Blimey, I feel old again. Bad enough I can say "I have dice in this bag older than you... never mind my minis" to a guy I game with (and go to a cigar bar with, even). But yeah, I remember the early days of GW. It's why I'm okay with basic paint jobs, models that aren't covered to every last mm with "detail," etc. I'm used to that stuff, and it was considered pretty good back then. It's amazing that stuff that 15-20 years ago was considered good is now barely acceptable. And we'll not talk about older than that...

[CoffeeGrunt]

It's amazing that stuff that 15-20 years ago was considered good is now barely acceptable. And we'll not talk about older than that...

Same applies to video games, and most movies/tv shows. :P

[Wolfshade]

I feel old

[Denzark]

You're one of THEM Wolfy - profile picture of you younger...

[Erik Setzer]

Same applies to video games, and most movies/tv shows. :P

Oh, I know... and I feel like smacking people with my cane when they say I'm wrong for enjoying classic games or classic figures. When I remember to set the money aside for it, I plan on getting an NES and Super NES, or maybe just one of the Retro-N systems that plays both, and making a trek to the local retro game store.

As for movies getting better, well... I beg forgiveness in advance for uttering these words: Fantastic Four.

[CoffeeGrunt]

As for movies getting better, well... I beg forgiveness in advance for uttering these words: Fantastic Four.

You're remembering the few classics and comparing them to the tripe of today. It's easy to pick up F4 and claim all movies today are worse, but cast your mind back and you'll find there's some shoddy movies released every year.

Not to mention that many TV shows these days have far more compelling stories and much better execution than back in the day. Game of Thrones is the stand-out example, nothing came close to that level of quality outside of cinema. The 80s and 90s was mostly a flood of cheap sitcoms, no-one committed the cash needed to fund a decent fantasy TV show, and sci-fi ones were a bit ropey, though classics like Battlestar, V, and Star Trek exist.

For example, stuff for kids is leagues ahead of where it was 30 years ago, not to mention video games being more capable of having a complex narrative and rich world to pull you into.

[Mr Mystery]

Space: Above and Beyond.

I think you'll find I win the thread.

Well, I would if we were discussing brilliant sci-fi nobody remembers

[grimmas]

I remember it.

Actually I thought the 80s fantasy/SciFi was pretty good (I remember one about a Stellar War or something) TV wise Robin of Sherwood springs to mind immediately and Doctor Who. Because they couldn't hide behind CGI they actually need decent plot lines which was nice.

[Erik Setzer]

You're remembering the few classics and comparing them to the tripe of today. It's easy to pick up F4 and claim all movies today are worse, but cast your mind back and you'll find there's some shoddy movies released every year.

Not to mention that many TV shows these days have far more compelling stories and much better execution than back in the day. Game of Thrones is the stand-out example, nothing came close to that level of quality outside of cinema. The 80s and 90s was mostly a flood of cheap sitcoms, no-one committed the cash needed to fund a decent fantasy TV show, and sci-fi ones were a bit ropey, though classics like Battlestar, V, and Star Trek exist.

For example, stuff for kids is leagues ahead of where it was 30 years ago, not to mention video games being more capable of having a complex narrative and rich world to pull you into.

I wasn't saying "old movies are better," just reminding that even today, some utter garbage can be churned out by a major motion picture company. Even some of the stuff I enjoy will be hammered by critics, at least a bit (like Jurassic World, which had issues but was still fun). The funny thing is, who's going to actually remember a lot of today's movies in 20-30 years? I don't really know the quality of stuff that far back because the "classics" are all that remain over time. Audiences do tend to want more story now and fewer spoilers (though that still doesn't stop some of the trailer makers), so for a movie to grip people today it has to be good, or it has to be tailored to the LCD (see practically everything Adam Sandler makes, or, for an example that isn't as brain-rotting, the Transformers movies).

Game of Thrones isn't fair to us with TV shows, it's adapting a book series and that usually goes well if they're even partially faithful.

I think a good example to contrast TV is with Doctor Who, which still isn't a massively funded program, but objectively is so much better with visual effects and story and all. I remember the episodes I grew up with fondly (and have a POP vinyl of the Fourth Doctor on my desk as he's "my" Doctor), but if you took and remade those episodes with the same quality (not exact same methods, just the same quality) today, people would lose their mind.

Shows I like to look to are ones like Jericho and Firefly, but then those are bad examples because both were great shows the networks canceled. Babylon 5 was great for sci-fi, and Deep Space 9 was, IMO, much better than the original Star Treks.

But again, there's a lot of junk that just sticks around forever. Lots of sitcoms that don't even really make an effort, and we have multiple versions of CSI, Law & Order, NCIS, or really any show that becomes popular these days on a basic network. That's another point with GoT... it's made on a more independent channel that doesn't have to deal with the same kind of stuff basic channels do. HBO can afford to take more chances, as can Starz and Showtime, so we get shows like The Tudors and The Borgias and Deadwood, which would never work if we had to rely on CBS, NBC, ABC, etc. (BBC actually churns out some good stuff, though). To that end, we can see also how competition has improved things. "Back in the day," there weren't as many networks to choose from, so you couldn't just find something better to watch. Same with major movie studios. There's a lot more competition now. Heck, Netflix is jumping into the fray, and have a score or more shows lined up already, and some of them are pretty darn good... before you even get into the coup of them getting exclusive deals to do Marvel and Star Wars series. You want someone's attention and their dollars or the dollars of advertisers? Better put out some quality stuff.