Disable GC entirely

[H. S. Teoh]

On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 02:39:01AM -0400, Nick Sabalausky wrote:
> 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.

OK, now I'm not so sure what I meant anymore, because I find this tedium
and bore really tiring, whereas something like, say, the ancient Lode
Runner with its incredibly complicated time-sensitive maneuvres is
actually stimulating and, paradoxically enough, relaxing. OTOH, things
like Quake and other FPSes I find exhausting, even if they're no more
than mindless shoot-everything-that-moves deals.  Maybe the difference
lies in the simplicity of rules in the older 2D games -- yes they can be
challenging but the mechanics are easy to grasp, whereas in 3D
environments, the complexity of movement possibilities can be
overwhelming.

Big-budget hold-your-hand "games", OTOH, are tiring in another way, in a
click-through ads kinda way. I have very little patience for anything
with video clips, 'cos I rather be doing stuff instead of watching a
video (I might as well watch youtube instead, etc.), yet I feel like I
can't really get "into" the game if I don't endure through all those
clips, 'cos I might miss some interesting game-world exposition or
important story twist, etc.. So the result is that it's very tiring.

But maybe this all just reflects my personal biases, and has nothing to
do with what is "objectively" tiring / difficult / etc..


> 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.

Hmm. I beat nethack. Several times. I don't know of any other game that
is as difficult to beat! But OTOH, its difficulty comes not from
hand-eye coordination, but from the block-shuffling-puzzle type of
inherent difficulty -- you have all the time in the world to think
before making your next move, but your decision could mean the
difference between life and death (i.e. the loss of the last 40 hours of
gameplay, due to permadeath). I guess personally I prefer that kind of
challenge to the how-fast-can-you-react kind.


> 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.

But you see, that's precisely the kind of thing that wears me out. I
feel like I'm not getting the max out of the game if I don't watch all
the cutscenes / read all the dialogs, but then I have to endure through
the whole thing when it's poorly written and then it's not enjoyable
anymore. This is one of the things I really liked about the older
Ultimas: the technology was such that dialogs were minimal, but that
meant that they got the point across without needing to sit through long
cutscenes / sift through convoluted dialogues. The trigger keywords were
more-or-less obvious, so you just hit town, chat up the few
obviously-important NPCs using the obviously important keywords, get the
info you need, and move out and do stuff.

The free-exploration style of the old Ultimas was also something I liked
very much. I find sequence-breakers in many modern games very
mimesis-breaking, especially when it's something trivial like exploring
and beating an area before talking to the NPC who was supposed to tell
you to go there, thereby breaking some poorly-written script that
assumes you haven't been there yet. Forcefully railroaded games I also
find annoying (why is that gigantic boulder sitting there on the road
blocking my way for no good reason other than that the game devs don't
want me to go there yet? how does talking to an NPC magically make that
boulder vanish into thin air?). I much prefer open-exploration games
where you have to actively search out stuff and discover what you have
to do, rather than just being strung along by the arbitrary sequence the
game devs decided must be how the story will pan out.

What *really* cinches it for me is when a well-written storyline is made
to unfold *while* allowing free exploration (and multiple possible
solution paths) at the same time. This gives me the freedom to plan
ahead -- take advantage of the open exploration to prepare for what I
anticipate is coming, so that I can beat the boss monster my way. Hidden
secret bonuses that can only be found via free exploration is also
something I really enjoy.

I guess I just like active entertainment over passive entertainment (I
don't even own a TV!).


T

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