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What is a "Retro Game"?


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4 hours ago, CasualCart said:

If you refuse to allow words to have their meaning vary by context, especially where slang terminology is concerned, you'll have to stop calling CIBs "mint" unless you go around licking cardboard boxes to test their flavor.

Everytime I lick my games, they taste like mold, with a hint of stale bugs.

Edited by fcgamer
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4 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

It got added earlier this year, it was pretty big news. My girlfriend told me to brace myself before she told me about it.

The prefix IRRE- is a negation but the suffix -LESS is also a negation so you're negating the word "regard" twice. You're basically saying, "Not without regard."

fcgamer is correct that words can be added to the English language if enough people say them, like in this instance with irregardless, even though it isn't a real word. So I am fully correct with the laws of English but fcgamer is also correct with evolving linguistics and humans simply accepting a definition if enough people use it.

Even though I'm totally correct, I know I can't win. I don't want to take over the thread neither.

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24 minutes ago, Code Monkey said:

It got added earlier this year, it was pretty big news. My girlfriend told me to brace myself before she told me about it.

The prefix IRRE- is a negation but the suffix -LESS is also a negation so you're negating the word "regard" twice. You're basically saying, "Not without regard."

fcgamer is correct that words can be added to the English language if enough people say them, like in this instance with irregardless, even though it isn't a real word. So I am fully correct with the laws of English but fcgamer is also correct with evolving linguistics and humans simply accepting a definition if enough people use it.

Even though I'm totally correct, I know I can't win. I don't want to take over the thread neither.

The crux of the problem, in my mind, is that the English language needs purified. William the Conqueror really ruined our mother tongue, and I've often felt that we should look towards modern Iceland to derive new words as replacements for the Latin/French nonsense that we now use in English.

What does this have to do with the regardless / irregardless situation though? Simple, the prefix irr- is of Latin originate, the word regards is of French origin (and French from Latin), and the suffix is from English / Germanic stock.

So the word "regardless", to me, feels wrong, since we are trying to shoehorn a French / Latin word and add a Germanic suffix. That being said, a much better choice would be this one:

"irregards"

As both pieces of the puzzle fit properly, i.e. Romance language prefix added to a Romance language word.

Anyone want to join me on this word crusade?

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Events Team · Posted
3 hours ago, Ferris Bueller said:

believe I said it in the debate video, but Retro has become a misnomer like Repro.

I tend to agree.  Both have contextualized meanings in the realm of video games that don't really carry over to other matters. 

Retro seems to refer to anything classic.  Roughly refereing to the cart based era.  If it's new but uses the pixel art aesthetic, I would say it's in the retro style.

Repro also has a timeframe context it seems.  It's a pirate or bootleg made after the life of the system.  Any period productions are strictly pirates.  Probably more of a turn to paint pirate carts in more "legitimate" light.

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I also would like to chime in on some further viewpoints. “Retro” is simply a gaming community slang word without any concrete definition behind it. It’s pretty much the same vagueness as the words “rare” and “near mint”. We all roughly know what they mean but none of us have a clue what the exact standards are. 

Having said that, it is roughly meant to imply “something that’s old”, in gaming speak. There are several other ways we can define it, but unless we do an official gaming community poll for the entire world, I doubt we will ever reach a consensus. Some perspectives that come to mind regarding “retro”:

- defined by a certain age of its existence eg. 10, 15, 20 years etc.

- defined by it no longer being produced or sold in the shops.

- defined by a particular gaming style (eg. 2D) and simpler gaming features (eg. 2-4 buttons use)

- defined by maximum number of bits of standard hardware (eg. pre-8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit etc.)

- defined by market values rising for pre-owned games.

And so on...

So my final answer to the OP question: “something that’s old”.

 

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27 minutes ago, GPX said:

Ok guys, I just want to remind you that this is a gaming forum for geeks to discuss all things games (and maybe comics). This ain’t tertiary English studies yo!

No way, it’s Videogamesage. Not videogamescomicsage. Comics are ruining the hobby. 
Therefore I say retro refers to old styles, not video games. 
Pew pew pew!

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1 hour ago, Richardhead said:

No way, it’s Videogamesage. Not videogamescomicsage. Comics are ruining the hobby. 
Therefore I say retro refers to old styles, not video games. 
Pew pew pew!

Umm..is it too late to rename the forum videogamescomicage?

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