Teens find interest in retro video games

Twenty-eight years after Nintendo released the first Mario Bros., students are hitting the restart button on old video games.

Retro gaming is “old school” gaming, a trend common among students and young adults looking to play games from older generations.

Annie Spirpos, owner and operator of the Minneapolis arcade Rusty Quarters, said she opened the arcade to connect people through retro games, which are primarily from the 1980s.

Spirpos said retro gaming encourages social interaction because the gamers are playing with their friends in person, not on a computer, the way most modern games are played.

“Retro gaming is coming back,” Spirpos said. “People are breaking out of the basement and talking to each other face-to-face.”

At Rusty Quarters, Spirpos said she attempted to create the nostalgic social vibe of a classic arcade.

“People starting new families want their children to experience the games they loved from their childhood,” Spirpos said.

The creation of home consoles gave birth to a generation of gamers the world had not seen before.

Computer science teacher David Engelhart said those interested in retro gaming appreciate the need to be together in order to play a game.

“There’s a certain aspect of socialization that is healthy when games are played together,” Engelhart, said. “I think we do best with the actual physical presence of others.”

Engelhart said he has seen a resurgence of retro gaming lately.

“People take what is old and make it cool again,” he said. “A lot of my students find older systems in their house.”

Even with the trend of retro gaming, sophomore Jon Chatman said he enjoys the more developed, complex characters and story lines, instead of the old, straightforward one.

“With newer games, the characters grow along with the progress of the game,” Chatman said.

However, senior Duncan Weisbrod said he plays older games because he prefers their style.

“The big producers games are getting repetitive,” Weisbrod said. “People are looking for a more unique experience that may have been created earlier.”

When it comes to retro gaming, Spirpos said she believes older games are much more appreciated than that of the newer ones, because they are more challenging and engaging.

“The graphics and movements are more limited, if you fall an inch down the screen you die,” Spirpos said.

Something that cannot be improved with technology, is the feeling the game creates.“The older games are told through the gameplay,” Weisbrod said. “Nowadays the story is told through cutscenes and you don’t experience the story firsthand.”

Senior Maggie O’Brien said she grew up playing Pokémon and Zelda. Although she still plays these games, O’Brien said she also believes in the importance of playing games with others and appreciates the online capabilities of newer consoles.

“It’s cool to be able to play games with your friends across the world, even in your own home,” O’Brien said.

On the contrary, Spirpos said she believes the transition to online gaming is not necessarily a good one.

“With Xbox you can play with people across the world, but you miss the social interaction of being with other people,” Spirpos said.