I will admit, there was a time when I doubted. A time when I wanted the best, before I understood that I was ruining gaming for myself.
A time before I realized that technology is destroying the hobby I hold so dear.
You see, my old desktop computer was a Pentium 3. By today's standards, that's like a phone that isn't Smart. It could play most of the games I liked, though, including one of my all-time favorites, Fallout 3. Damn, I had a blast with that game.
But then something bad happened. I got my tax refund and decided to get a new PC. In retrospect, it was one of the worst decisions of my life. I ended up with a quad-core AMD with 8GB of RAM and a 782340QZ flange with a blood-cooled overdrive plancha. I thought this was a good thing--that is, until I installed Fallout 3.
Sure, it looked better, and of course it ran a lot better; however, something was missing. It just didn't feel right. It didn't have the depth, it didn't have the same gameplay, it didn't have the same SOUL. Suddenly the story was about killing and blood, where before it had been about adventure and saving lives. The scorpions used to love me but now they wanted me dead. I even found myself killing my companions for no reason beyond technological-driven blood-lust.
With a growing sense of panic, I loaded up other games. It was all the same. AudioSurf had lost its magic. World of Goo didn't have the same vibe. Even Scrabble, even Scrabble had withered.
All because of technology.
If anyone wants a quad-core PC, it might still be sitting in the dumpster. As for my P3, it's right back where it belongs.
Friends, if you remember anything, remember that technology ruins gaming. It's not possible to have a good game on anything with more than a single core. It just isn't.
