Why are so many games set in the year 1995?

I seem to remember it as being a pretty awful

year. There is even a group called 1995!

I started school that year, it was awful.

I graduated high school that year...

I guess that's a good thing as high school was one of the worst times of my life. Seriously, kids in high school now, do NOT believe people when they tell you this should be the best time of your life.

I always think they either had a really great high school or a really crap life.

1995 was a pretty decent year for me. I was going into my second year at the 'ol university. Moved into my first apartment. Did a lot of partying. Not too bad.

Which games are being set in the year 1995?

Gone Home, Kathy Rain, My Summer Car and the one that prompted this new thread Husk. It appears to be a trend.

Ah, okay. I've never heard of those games (I only play roleplaying games). Thank you.

Well, we're reaching the point where the 90's is a historical time-period that works can be set in to cash in on some cultural nostalgia. 1995 is a good way of hedging your bets on "something set in the 90's" as it is literally the middle of that period.

Also the people who were born around that time are growing up, graduating college, getting jobs in videogames, etc and the people who were kids during that period are getting to the positions in developer org charts that they can call some shots.

I was working for DEC at the time and watching it die a slow and painful death. Other than that, it was the middle of The Grey Decade, so meh.

I was already married with kids in 1995. Youngsters here. Get off of my lawn!

I'm going to guess that the writers for those games are somewhere between 35 and 45 years old.

Eh, you're right. Probably has more to do with marketing than writers writing about their own experiences. Silly me forgetting the profitability angle.

Wasn't San Andreas set in like 1992? And that game only came out in 2003.

Wikipedia suggests it was the year that the internet entered the public consciousness.

Nostalgia is not a good as it use to be in good old days.

I grew up in the late seventies and early eighties, I am always slightly appalled by people who have fond memories of that time.

I actually got my divorce in 1995

That's about right.

1993...

Me: Mom, I'm going over to Mike's house. We're going to screw around with his dad's Internet connection.

Mom: His what-'net?'

Me: Internet. His dad works at Fermilab, and has access to a fancy global computer network.

Mom: What do you use that for? Don't have have that at home?

Me: No, you're thinking of BBS's.

Mom: You kids and your computer things.

1996...

Mom: We have e-mail now, so we can e-mail you at school!

Me: That's...great.

Mom: I was telling the neighbors about it and they said they heard about it on the news. They're thinking about getting on it too.

Me: That's...great.

2006...

Me: Dad, stop forwarding me ads you get in your e-mail. I get them too. I get way too many of them. You have to stop.

Dad: Look at this e-mail from Microsoft...

Me: Dad, that's a phishing scam.

Dad: You haven't even looked at it!

Me: I'm psychic.

This happens with every generation in media/art.

The 1990s have become a more popular time setting for a few reasons.


- They are far enough back that they feel different than today, while still retaining many of the same issues/ideals, etc. This makes the time period flexible for storytelling.

- Enough time has passed that people will have nostalgia for the clothing, music, vernacular, etc.

- People who grew up in the 90s are advlts. (Theses people are now making games)

- Why not? Would you prefer every game continued borrowing from the 80s


Just because some people don't fondly remember the 90s, or 80s, 70s, etc. is irrelevant. Culturally, it is normal for art/media to reflect on the generations that have recently ended.