Teh ebil internetz killed my immersion

Drithius

Magic & Loss
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I was reading through the latest Pool of Radiance troubleshooting installment from Pessimeister, and I was reminded again of this feeling I've had for a while: the ability to alt-tab out of a game and search for the answer to a game's puzzle or quest has really diminished the magic in many a game. Disclaimer: this post is not a criticism against Pessimeister - having never played the original PoR, I was actually intrigued by many of his posts :)

I remember playing Stonekeep for the first time and, despite being completely lost much of the time, I was immersed in the world. Although the 1-900-tip-line phone numbers at the back of manuals still operated, there were truly no easy/cheap go-to locations for outside help. The internet was in its infancy, there were few messageboards simply devoted to gaming, and navigating web pages on a 26,400 bit connection was tiresome at best anyway.

Lack of abundant internet content is why, in my opinion, I became so enraptured with Everquest when it initially launched. The game's content changed so often that it was impossible to get the lowdown on how to beat a boss or solve a quest if they were not already several months old. Instead, you had to work together with your friends trying out different strategies and/or talking to different NPCs. It built camaraderie.

Overall, gaming mental challenges of days' past seem to be gone these days. Even if a developer takes the time, effort, and resources to implement something truly challenging, it will never have the same impact as it did before our lives became saturated with the internet. Could this be why fewer developers don't even bother with such attempts now? Instead relying on more personal, twitch-based mechanics?
 
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Overall, gaming mental challenges of days' past seem to be gone these days. Even if a developer takes the time, effort, and resources to implement something truly challenging, it will never have the same impact as it did before our lives became saturated with the internet. Could this be why fewer developers don't even bother with such attempts now? Instead relying on more personal, twitch-based mechanics?

I would agree with this post 97%. I think that the twitch mechanics come more from a "It's cheaper to just make this guy a little faster and stack on some extra hitpoints, rather than try to vary the tactics or battlespace." It's probably more of a financial decision than a cynical one.

Other than that, now I'm nostalgic for the experiences that I had when I was younger. There's definitely something to be said for not having the ability to read a walkthrough whenever you want to.
 
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I feel like the most time I got to use a wiki type of site to find out a secret is due to poor implementation from the developers.. For exemple I spent hours looking for a library in Risen because I was supposed to click on a iron ring by some books.. the game so far had everytime there was a usable object showed a name tag on them.. the exception had to be those rings of course. Another example you re doing the salamandra investigation on the witcher my game got in such a mess due to poor implementation that forced me to use these walkthroughs.. the solution ended up being kill Ramsmeat (after having proved him innocent..).

There is the oppose as well, just finished Dragon Age 2 and the game babies the player with a bunch of checkpoints and crap.

I also feel that without those sort of sites is impossible to get a clue about the game's mechanics as developers seem to stop caring about making proper descriptions or having a decent manual...
 
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Funny, I was just thinking the other day about how we actually used to have those numbers you would call to get help when you were stuck in games. I actually did use them a few times but that was an absolute last resort. Nowadays it's kind of like 'Oh I can't figure this out in 2 seconds? Time to hit Google!' I don't even have to hit alt tab anymore, I can just look stuff up on my phone even.

Of course most games now I have to go out of my way to mod them or turn options off so that they don't hold my hand the entirely way, but you do get the odd game with some obscure or oddly arranged quest.
 
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Glad to know someone's reading in on my quasi-let's play trouble-shooting hybrid reports! ;)

I hear what you're saying also and definitely empathise. I went through the same thing with Stonekeep as well. That's an underrated game in some respects - though nostalgia could be interferring with my better judgment there. ;)

On a similar note, I also remember playing Lands of Lore for the first time and having to map/navigate through most of the button/floor puzzles in one particular gruelling dungeon, just learning it by trial and error. This was before I'd even heard of the internet, a FAQ or games message board. There was a powerful rewarding joy about working things out for yourself. To some extent this still exists obviously, but admittedly it takes more willpower in the light of the convenience of modern gaming.

Some of this boils down to players not wanting to "try", but simply wanting to "succeed". (Hit 'x' to win, as the cynics say...)

P.S:
Just a minor correction: I'm not playing the original goldbox PoR (though I have beaten that brilliant game on multiple platforms), this is the very badly received and much derided "rebirth" that came out on the coat-tails of Baldur's Gate. (Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor)
 
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I totally agree, but I'm still grateful the web is there when I need it. It's up to the individual to resist the temptation of using a walkthrough too soon.

Also, it's not like the old days, where you would sometimes only get 1 or 2 decent games every 6 months. With so many games to play now, I don't want to be stuck on the same puzzle for an entire day.
 
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Also, it's not like the old days, where you would sometimes only get 1 or 2 decent games every 6 months. With so many games to play now, I don't want to be stuck on the same puzzle for an entire day.

I hear you. It's even more relevant when you have a child, and you don't have an entire day to figure a puzzle out. Only 2-3 hours, maybe.
 
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I find few puzzles that I need to cheat on. I'll have to say only a few of the codewords in World of Xeen were almost impossible to guess, but they weren't critical to game progression.
 
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On a similar note, I also remember playing Lands of Lore for the first time and having to map/navigate through most of the button/floor puzzles in one particular gruelling dungeon, just learning it by trial and error.
This is actually something that I'm glad that they are moving away from. I do enjoy logical puzzles, but trial & error is something that I have a very low tolerance for. Heck, if all the puzzles in a game are logical, I don't mind getting stuck, but if I face a trial & error situation, I tend to cheat.
If anyone has played Schizm: Mysterious journey, you will know how hard logical puzzles can be in certain games, yet I finished it without a walkthrough (it did take me 2½months to finish the game, but I did it). During a recent playthrough of sam & max I cheated quite a lot, because of the very twisted logic that had to be applied to some puzzles.
 
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There was a trial and error mystery path through a chessboard-like trap room at the end of WoX. I wasn't impressed, but didn't cheat either (except to reload) since it transported you away...
 
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