Tangentially, I feel that the technical pursuit of hyper realism and novelty in various media over methods that require active participation of your imagination and intellect are a part of why many of us feel so disappointed and underwhelmed today.

I look at today’s sci-fi blockbuster or television show where unbelievable sums of money and effort were spent on highly detailed, elaborate CGI sequences and, more often than not, I’m not very moved and forget about it almost instantly. However, I watch an old Star Trek episode that has hilariously bad effects thrown together as cheaply as possible and I can _feel_ parts of my curiosity, imagination, and so on shift into motion. In order to make that embarrassing sound stage with a guy in a rubber suit work, I actually have to participate in it, provided the crew was skilled enough to provide a fertile playing field and a compelling scenario. It’s no different for games.

Being shoved through bigger, louder, and more audacious carnival rides where you just kinda walk from point A to point B becomes disappointing after a while. The disparity between the scope and ambition of the presentation and your actual engagement greatly amplifies any sensations of being underwhelmed and disappointed.