Disable GC entirely

[Nick Sabalausky]

On Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:29:25 -0700
"H. S. Teoh" <hsteoh at quickfur.ath.cx> wrote:
> 
> I wonder if this is why I enjoy retro games more -- they require less
> concentration and lots of fun can be had for not too much effort. I
> find that a lot of modern games seem to require a lot of
> concentration -- keeping track of a convoluted storyline, keeping
> track of one's 3D surroundings, being on one's toes to react quickly
> at surprise enemy attacks, etc.. After a full day's worth of coding,
> that's the last thing I want to be doing. Much better to relax with
> something that can be played in a more relaxed/casual way.
> 

Strange, I find the exact opposite to true. I always felt this summed it
up perfectly:

http://semitwist.com/download/img/funny/digitalunrest-2008-09-29.jpg

(That said, I never thought MM9 was *as* hard as people made it out
to be. At first it seemed the same as all the older megaman's, and
then it wasn't long before I could get through the whole thing in about
an hour. Still one of the best games ever made, though. But if you want
a *really* hard MegaMan, try "MegaMan & Bass". I'm totally stuck in
that.)

The last 10 or so years, big-budget games have tended to be designed
specifically so that anyone can get to the end without much effort.
The lack of challenge makes them tedious and boring.

For example, the Mario and Zelda games have done nothing but get
progressively easier sine the 80's (compare the battle system in the
original zelda to *any* 3D zelda - the former is an addictive
challenge, the latter is mindless button-mashing/waggle and
*vastly* easier.) New Mario is fun, but notably easier than Mario
1/2/3/64. And then there's the old Kid Icarus. *Phew!* - that's not for
the faint of heart. Most people don't even know that it has
zelda/Metroid-like dungeons or horizontal levels because they never got
past level 3.

As far as "keeping track of a convoluted storyline", I rarely pay
attention to the stories/dialog/characters/etc anyway. There are
exceptions (like 2D JRPGs or Disgaea), but most games I just skip
through the dialog (9 times out of 10 it's both uninteresting and
irrelevant to the gameplay), and when a game doesn't let me skip a
cutscene or scripted event I'll just grab a drink or snack or hit the
can if I need to, or otherwise just hit "Switch Inputs" and find
something not-too-horrible on TV while I wait for the tell-tale sound
of a level being loaded off disc.