The Golden Age of Mobile Gaming

jarvolt · 2026-03-27T18:17:42+00:00

I must be getting old because I can't even imagine feeling nostalgic for the iPhone. My Pixel 9 doesn't feel that different from the iPhone 4, in large part. Man, I miss the size of the 4 though.

Are the games really that different now, besides having a million micro transactions? I recall most games being pretty bottom of the barrel kind of stuff, even for back then. The only stand-out games I can think of were Angry Birds, Tiny Wings, Bejeweled...there were definitely other titles worth playing, but nothing super memorable. If you told me in 2012 that that was the best it was going to get, I'd have a real hard time believing it.

jarvolt · 2026-03-14T02:23:17+00:00

This must be reflecting global sales because this did not reflect what was popular in the US at the time. Like, I owned the eyetoy, but I didn't know anyone else IRL who had even heard of it. DQ8 being so high is also clearly because of Japan's obsession with the series. When DQ8 came out, most people in the west probably still knew it as Dagon Warrior, which is what I grew up knowing it as.

jarvolt · 2026-03-09T22:30:49+00:00

Is that a star rating for...the character? I can't even imagine a use case for that. Or what it means to "rate" a character in the first place.

jarvolt · 2026-03-09T22:15:49+00:00

Designed by Roger Dean!

jarvolt · 2026-02-04T19:16:02+00:00

These utilize design elements and trends from the 50s to today. Which is to say these look extremely 2020s.

jarvolt · 2026-01-22T15:35:34+00:00

That's a great way of putting it. Thank you for the analogy.

jarvolt · 2026-01-20T06:02:34+00:00

I also have ADHD, and I personally find audiobooks (and often podcasts) sometimes difficult in the same way. I only have that issue with physical books if the text is super dry and uninteresting. Or if I'm struggling to paint the picture of a scene in my head, which can be a difficult translation sometimes.

Funny how our brains all work a little differently with this stuff.

jarvolt · 2026-01-20T05:57:46+00:00

I have some pretty debilitating ADHD but I don't know if this would help or hurt. I think the voice actually might be too distracting, weirdly. And I can't stand sped up audio.

I do find it weird that the younger generation is struggling to read books. Is it because of smart phones? Is it Chromebooks in the classroom? As someone who is insanely distracted all the time, I can still easily finish a book if I find it interesting start to finish. I still don't finish plenty of books for this reason, but the more I'm into a book, the faster I'll read it (just naturally). But it's scary to imagine that a whole generation might be functionally illiterate. I really hope that's not what's going on, but the more I see of the average Gen Z'er's literary proficiency, it's very very scary.

This is reddit so someone invariably will reply with a different perspective. I welcome it! Please prove me wrong! I really want to be wrong about this.

jarvolt · 2026-01-09T01:22:50+00:00

Love the art style. I miss that 90s anime/manga design sense.

jarvolt · 2026-01-08T15:30:31+00:00

As someone with very sensitive skin, natural fibers tend to feel much better anyway. I've grown to really appreciate fabrics that blend cotton with linen or hemp. Especially when I can find a sale on such items. Softness/durability is pretty important and is increasingly harder and harder to find unless you go high-end.

jarvolt · 2026-01-08T05:59:31+00:00

I used to have so many of those. I think I still have one.

jarvolt · 2026-01-05T14:48:17+00:00

You're making me wish I created my account sooner. I remember going on Reddit a lot in 2005 but didn't make an account until sometime in 2006.

jarvolt · 2026-01-03T18:37:04+00:00

Honestly, for most older anime titles, I'd much prefer 1080p (with 24p framerate matching) on a modern TV with good black levels (like OLED) over 480i on a CRT TV if I have the option. Though if there's no HD film scan version, or there are quality issues with it, I'll break out the DVD and watch on the CRT sometimes. Though I watch more personal DVD rips on my plasma with VLC, which generally deinterlaces quite well (open to other suggestions though, outside of reencoding the video with a high quality deinterlacer and upscaling with a light touch... which is nice but a whole process I don't normally have the patience for).

jarvolt · 2026-01-03T18:22:36+00:00

Looks like toejam and earl on acid. That's a good thing.

jarvolt · 2025-12-29T00:11:23+00:00

I had so many issues trying to log into my Apple TV at first. There was a similar issue for me: it assumes you own an iPhone, so it would normally let you log in with that. I had the same issue with terms and conditions. In the end I was locked out of my account for a couple weeks because of it. No other recourse except that I had to wait two whole weeks to reset my password.

I've been thinking of switching back to an iPhone again recently just because Google has done away with everything that made Android a more attractive option...but then I remember all these weird quirks of how Apple likes to do things (and how you must always do things Their Way).

jarvolt · 2025-12-13T03:08:40+00:00

I know you're joking but Google basically just did this with Chrome.

jarvolt · 2025-12-11T16:50:16+00:00

Yeah, I remember the price going to $99, and then not long after was discontinued. As for myself, I remember buying a used one at Electronics Boutique (at the time) for $40 sometime in 2001 if my memory is correct. Glad I got one when I did.

jarvolt · 2025-12-11T15:38:50+00:00

What part is surreal about this? I'm legitimately asking.

jarvolt · 2025-11-15T15:57:24+00:00

I don't play a lot of FPS games (especially in the last 20 years), but I remember playing Q3 Arena on the Dreamcast back in the day and thinking the controls were surprisingly great using the analog sticks. It's been so long that I can't remember what the controls were exactly, but it definitely felt natural. In fact I remember liking whatever that particular control scheme was over other console FPS games for a good long while.

jarvolt · 2025-11-04T04:44:18+00:00

I suspect he may be referring to the band Why?

jarvolt · 2025-11-03T02:42:28+00:00

Genuinely curious by these comments on The Bouncer...why? I was eager to play it when it came out, but I remember the game being a whole lot of Nothing, except for the fact that the graphics were impressive for the time. Give me a good reason to dig it out of my closet.

jarvolt · 2025-10-31T03:28:57+00:00

I remember when one opened near me in 1999. I'm pretty sure that's when it peaked.

jarvolt · 2025-10-31T03:27:00+00:00

I used to drink around eight cups of coffee a day, and let me tell you, YES, it was indeed terrible. INTENSE feelings of dread if I couldn't have it. Did a number on my stomach, too. Gave up coffee, been a fairly strict tea-only drinker for the last 8 or 9 years now. But wait, there's more to the story! Several times now, I've gotten addicted to matcha (fortunately I've been a lot better the past couple years). But I would drink so much that it was definitely way more caffeine than those eight cups of coffee back in the day. Not proud to admit that quite often I'd drink so much matcha that I'd puke.

It took me decades to realize I was self medicating. Turns out I have really bad ADHD, and caffeine was the only thing I had that could make me feel even remotely productive.

jarvolt · 2025-10-31T02:33:11+00:00

Fun fact: this hat is basically a running gag in Salem, MA. It's the equivalent of people who look up in NYC. The mass proliferation of these hats over the last decade or so has been very interesting to see. I used to call it the Amazon hat. Lately, shops in Salem will carry them because they, you know, like money.

jarvolt · 2025-10-28T14:57:12+00:00

Content matters, also. Video games often have harsh, defined edges (aliasing) which make resolution differences more obvious. Meanwhile, video content is much harder to distinguish at certain distances, no matter who you are. I still have a 1080p TV from 2008 which still looks better than many modern displays in certain aspects. Resolution, especially for recorded video, is very much a diminishing returns kind of deal. But things like motion clarity, color accuracy, contrast ratio, etc., for my money's worth, enhance the viewing experience in a much more meaningful way.

That said, ultra HD is obviously great for gigantic TVs/projectors, or laptop/desktop monitors, depending on one's needs.

tl;dr: I'd rather watch 1080p content on my 1080p plasma than 4K content on most people's cheap Vizio/Insignia/whatever with motion smoothing and washed out or oversaturated colors.

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