Nostalgia in the geeky/nerdy world is a wonderful thing. It satisfies us all with happy memories of where we’ve been and flavors what we look for in future. It has the potential to keep us young at heart and pass on to new generations anything they find works for them. Explore some examples of geeky/nerdy nostalgia of various denizens of the internet and the positive impacts of their occasional trips down memory lane!
Comparison between Old School RuneScape (OSRS) and RuneScape 3 (RS3); the original and the current models! Picture credit to gamersdecide.com
A Discord user who for the purpose of this article goes by the ID “RogueScorpio” shared their nostalgic love is the game RuneScape. They cite that their fun memories include what they call the “normal stuff” (leveling, dungeons, etc.) to the “more fun bizarre things” like people hosting rare drop parties in the game’s party room, putting on outfits and dancing in the town squares, and meeting new friends in the guilds.
“Every so often I log back in just to see how the world’s changed!” said RogueScorpio. “[It] holds a lot of nostalgia for me because of the community aspect like most MMOS I loved the experience of logging in and seeing where your friends were and finding loads of things to adventure and go do.”
A “Garfield” comic strip from 1995! Picture credit to pt.jikos.cz
Geek News Now reader Clifton Moser claimed his nostalgic go-tos include old Science Fiction and older Disney movies (Snow White, The Fox and the Hound), T.V. shows (MacGyver, Firefly), books (“Garfield”, “Calvin and Hobbes”), or music (Primus). Family is what connects these nostalgic memories for Moser. Aliens (1986) being something Moser and family quote. Members like Moser’s great grandmother, grandmother, and mother each read “Garfield” to him in his childhood; this spurred on his love of reading works like “Animorphs” or authors like Stephen King.
As for music, Moser shared his big inspiration from rock band Primus’ 1991 song “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver” and memories of his mother encouraging his love of practicing guitar by yelling “TURN IT UP!” These things instilled his love of musical storytelling beyond the “normal” or status quo; to this day looking to experimental musicians such as Petr Válek.
Two games from The Legend of Zelda series: Ocarina of Time (left) and Breath of the Wild (right)! Picture credit to screenrant.com
Another Discord user who chooses to go by the ID “Kristasaur” shared that one of her favorite pieces of geeky gaming nostalgia is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It comes to her mind easily years later when she remembers her earliest experiences in gaming.
“I also enjoyed the act of playing itself because it meant I was spending time with family as I didn’t own an N64 myself.” said Kristasaur. “We got to go through the rollercoaster of excitement when we would progress on the story, and some of the frustration when we’d get stuck on puzzles in-between. That was all part of the fun of it though. It’s funny because even though the series has changed a lot visually, stuff like Breath of the Wild feels like how my child brain saw Ocarina of Time back then.”
Turrican on the Commodore 64; packing amazing graphics and a wonderful score by Chris Hülsbeck! Picture credit to retrogamer.net
For some, music and classic video gaming combined into something memorable. Discord user “Rbp70oz” cited their love of any game on the Commodore 64 — that ’80s-to-early ’90s console — and most especially the music of the games: “The Commodore’s finest composers created soaring anthems rather than 15 or so seconds of forgettable looped filler. I recall from my childhood’s memories listening in rapture to title screen music, almost completely oblivious to the actual game that was waiting to be played. It was as if it was the music, not the game, that was the payoff for the long loading times.”
“Music is such a quick way to get nostalgia for me!” Kristasaur added. “Games with a good soundtrack are great for that reason!”
There are so many geeky/nerdy things of the past which shaped us all in some capacity. Whether it’s from your past, someone else’s past, five-to-thirty-plus years back… It’s a treasure-trove of possibilities. This in moderation, of course; and not clinging immovably to the past. Celebrate the geeky/nerdy past and share in the memories!
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