Are you a "classically trained" gamer?

You guys know how they have classically trained actors, and classically trained musicians? If you grew up on retro consoles, like the NES, SNES, Genesis, etc, do you consider yourself a classically trained gamer?

Do you think your experiences in retro games help out when you're playing modern games?

I will say that I been gaming ever since Atari 2600 but I only had one game but when SNES was release, I been hardcore gaming ever since so yes, I consider myself a gamer trainer and I happen to teach my youngest sister to play games like on N64 years ago.

I guess, but I don't think my skills are better because I started playing 25+ whatever years ago. I attribute those power level increases to only certain games, such as MUSHA, Mega Man 2 (hard mode), Halo CE on legendary, etc. With modern games, it's more about just not being an idiot, because skill isn't so much of a requirement outside of multiplayer.

I grew up on NES. It's hard to say that those experiences then have helped how I play games now since the games are so different. But back when you had no saves or passcodes and had to play a game in a single runthrough to complete it... that's hardcore. Granted I could probably beat Super Mario in about 30 minutes nowadays, but back then. Forget it.

Ever since I grew up and played video games on the NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis, I think they helped brush and polish my gaming skills to where they are right now.
And yes, I would see myself as a classically trained gamer.

I grew up playing NES, SNES and Genesis. Games on those systems were hard. A bunch of those games had no continues, checkpoints, and were frustrating as hell.

I missed the NES/SNES etc era completely, highscool tenager years ---> arcade, by 18 I was in college so I played games no more, didn't begin gaming again until purchased my PS1, by that time I was already 35 years old so I'm not classically trained.

I don't think I understand the question.

If anything, I feel that modern games have wiped out my "classic gaming training". For the most part, you approach them in wildly different ways.

Do you think your experiences in retro games help out when you're playing modern games?

Sure, if the controls and gameplay concepts are similar.

I love the term "classically trained" as applied to videogames :P

Yeah, I think it's reaching a bit. Too each their own though :)

I think what the moniker is referring to is the level of focus and that feeling of not playing while you are playing. Very few games are designed this way today.

To answer the question, most people that grew up in that era that really played games(i'm not sure how to phrase what I mean) were already speedrunning before it was a term. It is just what kids would do--we'd all try to better the other gamers around us.

I guess I sort of am, though for games I feel classically trained isn't really an appropriate term - I started off with Commodore/DOS, but the NES (and later SNES) soon became the main system to me prior to sony (and later microsoft) jumping in, and I think double dragon 3: the sacred stones being one of my 1st NES games has definitely affected my perception when it comes to game difficulty, alongside other games that I played in later years that some people now consider to be the hardest of NES games. Games like SMB and LoZ back then probably also influenced my genre preferences - I still play many 2D platformers and dungeon crawlers even today, as well as playing a fair few 3D platformer games over time.

On the otherhand, despite playing several DOS games back then, I don't think I ever played the original doom (at least not until a long long time after it was released) - and I'm still not much into shooters today, though I did have great fun with the timesplitters series - if I had played the original doom back when it came out perhaps I'd be more into FPS games than I currently am, rather than being mainly into beat 'em up/fighting games, platformers and dungeon crawlers (often in the form of so-called roguelikes these days, though rogue played quite differently to most modern roguelikes to say the least). Later eras and even modern games have similar influence mind, although to nowhere near the same extent as the NES era did for me.

Well, since my first console was the SNES, I guess you can say I'm one of them.

Mattel Intellivision was my first console. Well it was my dad's, but I adopted it :) I cut my teeth on Astrosmash and Silent Service. I really haven't looked back since. I took a break during high school and college due to playing football, but I've been gaming as my main hobby the majority of my life.

Yes and Yes, they were harder faster paced and less mercyfull, giving you 3 lives to start with and if you lost them all you could start over again, even the race games have a rewind button now!

i am now fast, precise and i learn from my mistakes

Classic trained gamer, Yes if the official definition is NES, SNES and Genesis. But I was trained in the coin-op arcades of old. The 1980's when "Quarter up" was a term. When people battled for high scores. The arcade owners cranked the games setting to high, So you had to get good you became a champion when you "clocked the game" Max score of 9999990 or reached a "kill screen" caused the game to crash.

My best Genre was "Shoot them ups" or Shumps. or "shoot down the spaceships" SDTS. way back when videogames required twitch reflexes and insane hand eye co-ordination. And practice day after day.

Back when the NES and master system were the lesser games than the arcade games.

Still enjoy videogames of PS4 and Xbox one. era, Glad I was able to enjoy the arcade era.

lol i may have played back in those days but i am by far not one. I didnt have much of an attention span for 2d platformers. I was mostly a sports guy when i was younger.

It has definitely colored my tastes and expectations from video games.

I still prefer 2d games over 3d. Growing up on NES games I have a lot of patients when it comes to hard games. I've beat a lot of the hardest games ever made for the system. With Konami Tecmo Capcom Nintendo my main choice of game developers back in the day I still prefer Japanese games over western games. The only game I've been playing for the past year is Dark Souls 2. I can't stand EA Activision or Ubisoft their games seem so generic.

@davillain-

I'm kinda getting addicted to this new retro arcade type of game, its pretty underground at the moment but I just feel like there's this mad hype, or new wave coming along! has anyone played Jumpanzi on iPhone yet?????

I'm not sure it has benefitted my gaming in any tangible way (in terms of skills or anything), but it has given me perspective.

For example all the hooplah over graphics... I know what a fun game is like when you need to use your imagination to fill in the lines between the huge pixels. I also know that the nostalgia about how games "weren't about graphics back then" is also untrue... people first argued about how many colors were on the screen (heck, we didn't even HAVE colors at one point!), "slowdown" (frame rate, e.g. Sonic 2), and then resolution more when it became a thing that actually came in different appreciable flavors...

At any rate, I think my experiences have helped me appreciate simple games and games without visual flare, and have also helped instill a sense of healthy awe at how GOOD some games are now! Nothing for granted, and I'm a more easygoing gamer for it :-)

Of course as I played games since Atari and NES, and since I'm improving a lot it does help me with modern games as with dedication I finish them better too!!!

@Allicrombie: Pfft! You punk kids and your NES. Back in my day, we had the Atari 2600 and we were plenty happy.

Like the description of the Old School emblem, I've been gaming since I was a twinkle in my mama's eyes.

Yes, i am a old school gamer, and i believe it makes a difference. I have helped out with certain parts of games that my son has played. I can't remember exactly what game, but for example, i am good at finding secrets. Like on certain games by checking areas that my son would never think of, i find secrets hidden in walls and stuff. Or how to defeat a boss. Old school gaming sure does bring more to the table. That's my opinion.

classically trained? I'd say yes. The funny thing is that it really does help with new games. Probably because most of the developers today were trained on those same games that I played.

Definitely classically trained. My issue in these days is I don't have anywhere near the same patience level as I did as a kid. So I could beat a game on the hardest difficulty, sure. Do I feel it's necessary, unless I'm playing with my friends cooperatively, no.

There's a few games I'll play until there's no secret left, and the game is 100%, but now it's more or less, finish the game, enjoy the experience.

The days of me being godly at Super Mario Bros. 3, or Megaman 1, are over.

Yes, classically trained. Also learned to drive a car that had a clutch and a carburetor.