Why do many steam profiles have the aesthetic of 90's web pages?

[loppantorkel]

Didn't they experience the 90's? is it a nostalgia thing? is it meme? or is it just modern again?

[Pierce Dalton]

Originally posted by Tito Shivan:

Originally posted by Pierce Dalton:

I'd say many people on Steam were born during the 90's (or shortly before) so it may have something to do with that nostalgia, yes.

People born in the 90's would most probably be nostalgic about the eary 2000s trends. Just like in reality many things the ones born in the 80's have nostalgia about is mostly 90's stuff.
You don't get nostalgia about the things you had around when being 5.

If I had to find a culprit I'd look at the media released in the last decade. There's been a sizeable ammount of recent media made to appeal to that 80-90's aesthetic nostalgia which has captured the younger generations.

Just like tabletop RPG is lifting off again after decades because of TV-shows like 'Stranger Things' (I've know quite cases of people born well into the 2000's who have started tabletop RPG because of Stranger Things)

Originally posted by AustrAlien2010:

I do not know what the aesthetics of the 90's is. I didn't even knew the 90's had an aesthetic.
The 70's has an aesthetic, the 80's had one. But the 90's? The 90's had nothing.

90's had lots of aesthetics (like the former decades in reality) It was the supermodels decade, which already tells a lot in regard fashion and aesthetics.

But it also brought stuff like the rave aesthetic, Neon colored fabrics (Acid) leg warmers and sportswear were a very 90's stuff (TBF late 80's first 90's)

You also can't talk about 90's aesthetic without mentioning grunge, hip-hop or goths.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990s_in_fashion

They weren't as dull of a decade than it's usually believed. It was too recent as to evocate yet a 'general 90's vibe' as way older decades did in it's time (Neither the 70's nor the 60'5 or 50's were so homogeneous in their aesthetic either)

Yes, that's why I said "or shortly before". Also, some people can feel quite nostalgic about their childhood, I mean not 5 but around 10yo.

[eichiban]

Originally posted by AustrAlien2010:

I do not know what the aesthetics of the 90's is. I didn't even knew the 90's had an aesthetic.

The 70's has an aesthetic, which was the disco ball.
The 80's had an aesthetic, which was the neon-sign and the tape recorder.
But the 90's? The 90's had nothing. The 90's only had the fresh prince of bel air.

Smilies, cds (and discmans), goths & ravers (and most of the best electronic music), 16-bit aesthetics, all free internet downloading & the first Windows (3.1, 95, 98), anime getting worldwide, key cellulars (nokias, mottos, etc)... Yeah, nothing at all

[loppantorkel]

Originally posted by Dxpress:

You may be referring to all that "Clorthax" stuff from the last summer sale. The sale itself was '90s internet themed and had various profile items related to it.

This is probably partly the cause, but I think there's a general 'adding moving stuff and fill the page'-enthusiasm that adds to the feeling too.

The restriction of Steam profiles and the Points Store addition might contribute to a resembling trend of the 90's web pages - flashy and moving. I think it may have been the 'Clothax' thing that made me wonder though. Just a curiosity in the end.

[Serendipity]

Originally posted by loppantorkel:

Originally posted by Pscht:

MY issues? You made a thread with "many assumptions" but when someone questions your motives you get all cranky.

I asked questions in the OP - where were the assumptions?

What right do you have to question my motives and what I'm doing 'looking at lots of profiles'? Wtf is wrong with you? I've seen some profiles and ask a few questions on a public forum and you question my motives and tell me to mind my own business?

Maybe it is because people may be suspicious of some-one who likes to trawl through profiles,this is why some people have their profile private.

[Aachen]

The Clorthax items feel more fit to an eighties aesthetic than nineties.

[loppantorkel]

Originally posted by Serendipity:

Originally posted by loppantorkel:

I asked questions in the OP - where were the assumptions?

What right do you have to question my motives and what I'm doing 'looking at lots of profiles'? Wtf is wrong with you? I've seen some profiles and ask a few questions on a public forum and you question my motives and tell me to mind my own business?

Maybe it is because people may be suspicious of some-one who likes to trawl through profiles,this is why some people have their profile private.

Again, why the assumptions? If you're not intelligent enough to draw the right conclusions - don't assume things.

[Callahan420]

Originally posted by Aachen:

The Clorthax items feel more fit to an eighties aesthetic than nineties.

I think the same thing. Gives more of an 80's vibe to me.

[eichiban]

Not like it happens with the 80's and all the rest of the decades, isn't it?

[Mars]

Originally posted by BJWyler:

Because most people don't care about their Steam level, or badges, or showcases, or anything about their profiles. They actually spend their time doing more worthwhile things.

because the few people who care about their profile spend their unused money since they are already doing worthwhile stuff and have extra money to spend?

[davidb11]

I have never seen a single profile on Steam dressed up like a 90's Webpage.

I'm not sure how it would even be done.

[minsect]

Originally posted by eichiban:

Smilies, cds (and discmans), goths & ravers (and most of the best electronic music), 16-bit aesthetics, all free internet downloading & the first Windows (3.1, 95, 98), anime getting worldwide, key cellulars (nokias, mottos, etc)... Yeah, nothing at all

Yeah, for modern technology 90's was the decade that changed the most.
- Electronic music losing all the limits, like full power bass for the mass audience.
- MP3 format made music accessible to everyone.
- Internet and computers going from niche enthusiast/academic thing to common.
- Mobile phones, going from wired to wireless anywhere was huge change, now changing to a faster smartphone is not so impressive.
- PCs, building them from parts, while the hardware was improving at a crazy pace.
- Hardware 3D acceleration and first games using it... nostalgia thing :)

90's web pages were actually small and neat. That was so they could download on connection with speed counted in kbit/s, and run on computer with speed in MHz and RAM in MBytes. Also processor with one core - that would choke on today's web pages, like animated steam profile.

[Kargor]

Also, Steam in general isn't "flashy" -- which makes it one of the best UIs for me. "Profiles" don't really change anything; they just let you select a background and the type and order of "showcases". But the overall look is the same for all profiles.

[Tito Shivan]

Originally posted by davidb11:

I have never seen a single profile on Steam dressed up like a 90's Webpage.

I'm not sure how it would even be done.

Yellow text over pink backgrounds, lots of gifs, frames, frames within frames, tables used for layout (Cue the new 'spacer.gif' emote)...

Also several dozen advertisements popups for that genuine 'Browsing the internets in the 90's' vibe.

[davidb11]

Ah. Okay.
I see.
I haven't run into those myself.

[Tito Shivan]

I was joking. OP means the proliferation of retrowave/arcade/neon profiles around. Like mine for example, or the special profile theme of this last Steam Sale.
https://store.steampowered.com/points/shop/app/1239690