They are aged 65 and over. They have been lucky enough to discover and play the very first video games in history, first of all on computers, then on consoles. They have seen the video game industry evolve and become more professionalised, and they have been able to place their hands on games which have become increasingly complex, rich, profound and graphically developed. A meeting with Michel Genette, one of these gaming pioneers.

Seated at his computer screen, with one hand on the keyboard and the other on the mouse, Michel plays ‘Titanfall 2‘, one of the games he has downloaded from Microsoft’s game pass.

At the age of 70, this is absolutely not his first go at being a ‘first person shooter’ – which is to say playing a game in which you see only your hands and you have to shoot at the enemies which confront you. If truth be told, he has already completed hundreds of video games in his ‘career’ as a gamer.

And it was he himself who coded the very first one of them: ‘When I left university at the end of the 1970s, I had a TRS 80  on loan. I very quickly got the idea of wanting to programme a game myself, and I had my first try-out on BASIC language, a very simple code tool. The game had an elementary principle: I commanded a canon with the arrows on the keyboard and shot at aeroplanes which appeared on both sides of the screen.’

This wish to construct a game himself can be explained by several factors. ‘At the time, I didn’t know other existing games, and that’s the reason for me manufacturing my game myself. But what pleased me even more was being able to programme it. As an engineer, it was an interesting challenge because the computer languages of this type were still new.’

Multi-genres and ‘solo gamer’

At the beginning of the 1990s, Michel received his first computer for his work – he was then a civil engineer and in charge of developing intelligent networks for a leading telecommunications brand. But this machine, an 80386 SX25, served first and foremost to play the first video games which were being released at the time.

These games were already reasonably developed, which piqued not only his interest, but also that of his sons (Editor’s note: one of whom is none other than myself!): ‘My two sons very quickly became hooked, and they immediately started playing a lot. We therefore had to find a balance at home. I decided to establish a system whereby each of them took it in turns to play for one hour a day. That meant both that they avoided being on the computer for too long and, as far as I was concerned, I still had some screen time to be able to play.’

At that time, the games he liked were ‘point and click’ based, such as ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’. Games which, as their name indicates, require you to use the mouse in order to discover the world and resolve the very numerous puzzles found within them.

But he was also a fan of other types of game. ‘Management games such as ‘Civilisation’,  for example, were very entertaining and quite different in terms of gameplay. There were also games called RTS (real-time strategy) where you had to manage your army on the fly, such as ‘Warcraft’, and then later ‘Age of Empire’. I liked them a lot, but the only problem was when I played with my sons. They would make mincemeat of me because they went quicker than I did, both in terms of the game itself and the strategic decisions taken. That put me off the multi-player format. That’s why, ever since, I have remained a solo gamer, in other words a player who plays alone against the game.’

Active spectator of the exponential development of video games

The more the years went by, the more Michel had the opportunity to play games which were more complex and more profound, and to which were added more beautiful and detailed graphics. And this development only increased the appeal the media had for him: ‘In the 2000s, 3D emerged, the games became a lot larger and denser. For me it was a very interesting innovation because it emphasised the exploration and stories which were increasingly more advanced. To give you an example, I loved ‘Baldur’s Gate’ and ‘Baldur’s Gate 2’, on which I spent numerous hours.’

Another development which particularly struck him was the integration of realistic physical motors: ‘When you throw an object, you see that it will bounce realistically, and I find that very enjoyable. What’s more, I absolutely love the fact that the developers have integrated that into their gameplay mechanics. That means that you can be confronted with a mass of conundrums and very different situations, which are often very cleverly put together.’

Adapting to market development

Today, the number of games being released is a huge one. And they take an enormous amount of time. This has led Michel to switch tactics in terms of the way he gets to grips with the games he plays. ‘Previously, I always completed the games I started. If the game was bad, I all the same wanted to see just where it was going to take me. But today, there are so many different offers that I no longer spend that length of time on it. I give each game a few hours to convince me. But if one of them doesn’t appeal to me after that given time, then I stop and move onto the next one.’

Another aspect he considers important is the difficulty of the game: ‘I am a player who habitually plays in ‘Normal’ mode. But if in this mode the challenges are too difficult, I will tend to abandon it. For example, I was recently playing a game called ‘Dying Light’. Right at the very end of it, you have to face up to a boss who is extremely difficult. But the problem is that if you die against him, you lose all the objects you have used during the last battle. So it’s even more difficult the next time. I therefore stopped, even if I was almost at the end of the game.’

At any rate, even if he considers current video games to be often impressive, Michel has been noticing a certain redundancy. ‘When you look into it more closely, the games always return to well -known formulas. For example, in terms of the scenario, you regularly come across post-apocalyptic worlds following a disease, zombies or nuclear disasters. In terms of gameplay, it’s often the same mechanics which come back again and again, even if a lot of developers manage to provide something extra which make their game interesting. Last of Us 1 and Last of Us 2 are perfect examples of this.’

Les plaisirs d’un senior gamer

What Michel is happiest about today is the inventiveness demonstrated by the studios which create video games and the worlds they manage to create. ‘Today, what I love the most, is the very beginning of the games I play. When you enter a new world and you discover everything that the developers have set up. Ever more realistic and lively different regions. During these first moments of discovery, I take my time, I will explore little by little all the corners of the map to see what is waiting for me. These first moments of exploration are a joy for me.’

Finally, it is time and again the scenarios which accompany the games which Michel takes pleasure in, including the main characters, of whatever type they might be: ‘I have never had any problems with the gender or the origins of a main character. What is most important for me is that he or she is well written and that I feel a connection with them. For that matter, amongst my favourite games there are ‘Horizon New Dawn’ and the sequel ‘Horizon Forbidden West’, in which the main character is a heroine called Aloy. I totally loved these games, whether it be in terms of its story, the characters or the exploration they offered.’

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