One cannot assume that Game Design is merely an artform. The fact that there are those who treat it from the scientific perspective means that there is critical reasoning and not only intuition involved. For instance...

Nostalgia is, from one possible perspective, merely a form of Classical Conditioning. By repeatedly gaining pleasurable experiences over a considerable amount of time, from a single source (which is, in this case, a specific game), one learns to associate such experiences in general with the game. The resulting feeling, one can say, is nostalgia.

Letsay you played Zelda and found it to be one of the greatest experiences you've ever had. Whether you like it or not, you will be conditioned to find parts of Zelda in whatever form nostalgically pleasing. My point is that it is not only the rekindled past memory (of enjoyment) of the previous installment that makes the sequel so appealing, but we are hardwired to seek out more of what it is that pleases us. Perhaps, the subconscious behavioral conditioning is stronger than the conscious memory.

Just some thoughts.

Next: The Easiest Way to Describe Game Design to an Average Person - Culinary Arts
Note to Self: don't forget to discuss "levels of game interpretation"

I don't get it.  So if I enjoyed an older Zelda game I should like the newer ones too cos that ain't right at all.

I think its more like, if you enjoyed the older Zelda games, you should find something in the newer ones that brings back some memories, even if its a small factor.

The only thing I don't like about nostalgia is that sometimes people place games on a pedestal despite the fact that there are better games out there, simply because they remember said game being better than it actually is.

Recently i played Animanics on the SNES only because i remembered playing and enjoying it when i was younger. About 5 minutes ago i realized i used to play the Sega version, which is a very different game.

Nostalgia? or a crappy memory?

'cept I loved Zelda on SNES and GB but couldn't find even one thing I liked about the N64 games.  Even the familiar theme tune failed to interest me.

Oh yeah, the freeware title Guardian of Paradise brought back good memories of playing SNES Zelda (and other similar SNES games such as Illusion of Gaia/Time and Terranigma and to a lesser extent Secret of Mana).  Perhaps the chibi-ish characters and the simply shaded colorful graphics and fun appealing gameplay.  Satisfying sounds when hitting enemies too.

Of course, it ain't right. Nostalgia leads you to crave a replay of the original or a new Zelda title. However, in most cases, this very same nostalgia will cause you to be disappointed. Sequels that are different from the original title obviously do not offer the same experience that you are conditioned to expect. Thus, disappointment. Sequels that do not deviate from the original still does not offer the same experience, because of the fact that the "feeling of originality" experienced during the first (or earlier) title is gone (as a result of reusing the same elements). Thus, diappointment. In other words, more often than not, I believe, nostalgia makes a sequel less enjoyable.

More of the same, but different? That's what most sequels are - a paradox in itself. This is because absolutely the same can never be achieved. Even if you played the same game twice, you are not going through the "process of discovery" the second time 'round.

What nostalgia does, however, as I've mentioned, is lead you to buy the sequel. And it's pretty powerful, considering that most of us here probably bought a sequel sometime before. It's used as a marketing strategy because they can sell, even though satisfaction afterwards is not necessarily fulfilled.

Now, with expansions of computer games though, that's a different story. More content added to the same game? This way, I believe, nostalgia is able to be satisfied to a much greater extent. That's one reason why constantly updated online RPGs such as World of Warcraft is so popular. There is no need to replay to experience the game through a longer length of time than it offers, because that length is being extended indefinitely.

Just some thoughts.

I don't think nostalgia really works that way. I feel nostalgic about very specific things, most of them relating to the hazy state of wonder that was my early childhood. The only games I feel nostalgic about other than the ones I played as a child (or some time a while ago; I believe that nostalgia is what happens to the memory of a strong good feeling in your life when allowed to age, because when you feel nostalgic, I don't think you're feeling the same way you felt originally, otherwise it's just happiness) are the ones that closely resemble them stylistically, like the way the graphics look, or in little, quirky but very strong ways, like the tune or tone of a certain piece of music. I think buying a sequel is just acting on a recommendation, albeit one of your own, because nostalgia is a feeling of longing for a place/time past, brought on by an object or event that resembles that past place/time, not just a good feeling.