An Updated Word On RPG’S
I briefly thought about the comedic value of typing just one short thought in here and leaving it at that: “I hate them.” And as much as I would have enjoyed that in regards to my own twisted sense of humor, it wouldn’t be fair, and I dare say I would probably get a few disgusted comments. Plus, I was plenty scathing to my gentle readers in the last post, so why pile it on? The fact is every person that has taken the time to comment on here has meant well, and has given some great advice, and that means a lot to me. Especially to the regulars who have commented on so many of my entries, trust me when I say you guys are awesome. I would absolutely buy you all a beer if we just happened to have, like, an SGD meeting at some neutral location. Wow, I’m arrogant. But we all know some of you would show up. Maybe.
I’ll get to the point. Planescape is hurting me, bad. It’s just as I feared before I started this game. I can barely stand to play it, and then writing about it afterwards is like picking at the freshly inflicted wounds with the blunt instrument I had to jab in my eye a few days ago, only it’s rusty this time and infects the wounds and gives me some sort of horrible disease that guarantees death, a sweet release of sorts that would at least free me from the shackles this infernal game has me in! Let me stop to catch my breath; that was a long sentence. Have I reminded everyone that I love you all? I feel bad I’m not tackling this game with as much effort as I did Fallout 2, and I do fear losing the audience bit by bit. I’ll do my best to battle through this at a steady pace until I enjoy the game more, and I’ll continue to work on a writing style that isn’t hated by all some.
Today, for instance, I played. I swear I played. I have it all on video for later reference. I utilized the map key for the first time and holy shit did it ever make me feel better about finding my way around The Hive. I found a very crucial area and had some very meaningful interactions. But enough about the upcoming blog entry (shameless tease). Overall, I must say, my new interest in the RPG genre is not wilting. I am somewhat put off by PS:T, but I understand that it doesn’t mean I won’t get into it yet, and I understand even if I never like the game, there could still be tons of future games to play that I’ll love as much as (or more than) FO2. The fantasy aspects do tend to make my eyes glaze over just a little, but if the story were hooking me in the way it’s supposed to be, I don’t really think that would matter. I know I can get through this, because my faith in RPG’s has not been damaged. I’m struggling big time, but as I’ve said repeatedly, I’m not giving up, and I still believe the best is yet to come, even for this game.
Some final thoughts, in no particular order… I don’t like to reply in the comments section. I think of it as a pure space for reader thoughts only, just as this space is for my thoughts only. Sorry, it’s just a firm belief I have and would sooner die than stray from. Secondly, if anyone was curious about my name, you may refer to me as Sprayahen, Mr. Sprayahen, or Spencer, which is my actual name, and certainly likely to show up on a Google search associated with “sprayahen” if you somehow decided you wanted to look me up. Again, my ego reveals itself. Since we’re all getting to be so close here, I’m fine with the whole first name thing. Let’s see, where there any other oft-asked questions I felt the need to address? Oh, yeah. I don’t write these instead of writing game updates; I write these because I have no game updates to write, so anyone concerned about the general update days taking away from game progress need not worry; it’s either these or nothing. Lastly, yes, I’m sure I’m short-changing a very quality game and offending some people in the process, but don’t take my complaints too seriously. I’m still having a good time overall. Again, when that is no longer true, the link you have saved for this page will no longer take you anywhere but the abyss TNO is so familiar (and yet unfamiliar) with.
Sprayahen Gaming Diary 
So, how exactly does PS:T hurt you?
Maybe I can be of help.
Good job on finding the map key! That’s a lot of work for today, I’m sure you need some rest now.
Behold, the famed codexian sarcasm!
I’d say it’s well deserved this time. It took the guy how many play sessions to find the map key (which he didn’t find, I told him about it)?
I think I’ve gained a lot of insight into a “modern” gamer’s mentality when it comes to playing old RPGs. This blog had helped a lot in shaping my design decisions for my own RPG project, and I must thank both sprayahen and you, bruticis for this unexpected gain.
What. I’m a “modern” gamer myself at 22. I can find the fucking map key on my own.
No, this is not a symptom of a generation but just a fucking group of people, who call tech support when they accidentally nudge their wireless button and can’t figure out why Google.com isn’t loading. It has nothing to do with generations but with just the gradual growing of this group over time, who are too lazy to figure things out themselves and need information handed to them.
I just started a tech support job (my first job!) and my supervisors are genuinely surprised I’m sitting there quietly poring over the manual, trying to figure things out on my own instead of asking stupid questions. Surprised. C’mon, this should be expected.
It’s interesting to me because I am required to design retard-proof user interfaces in my line of work, and I’ve been dealing with clients who can’t tell the difference between a radio button and a checkbox. You can bitch all you want about retarded console generation not knowing how to navigate your “old-school” UI layout but the fact remains that it is YOUR duty to study how different people approach your software/game and is there a possible way to improve your UI layout so that even the most technophobic user (like grandmothers) can find their way around your software with little to no guidance.
You can’t stay an elitist when you’re trying to sell your indie game – you gotta understand both sides of the spectrum, from the ‘tards to the ’tists, and figure out what’s the best “middle ground”.
Well, to be frank, not being able to find map in PS:T *is* fucking retarded.
True, but in catering to “non-elitists” you are promoting their way of thinking. 10 years down the road and the same group of people won’t be able to figure out the retard-proof interface you just designed today.
Besides, it has nothing to do with “old school” or “elitism” but simply having a problem-solving attitude. It has to do with making the effort to learn instead of making no effort at all.
Maybe one way to be morally responsible and thinking about long term consequences is to have a “retard-friendly” interface at the start but scale the complexity gradually as much as possible.
Put it this way, mangoose. If I were to design a game for the elitist, I don’t even need to write a manual. You guys would strip my game down and find every features before I can say read the fucking manual, no matter how complex (and bitch about how unergonomic the map button is located in the codex after that). So that’s why I always start my UI design from the perspective of the ‘tard, and then work towards providing the flexibility and convenience required by the ’tist.
i remember a thread on the codex with that one guy that didnt understand the barter system in fallout and gave all his stuff away for free…i called im stupit but apologised..well now i dont really know why..maybe it was a bit harsh…but the same fuckin thing applies to finding a map key..goddammit!
IT IS PURE FUCKIN LOGIC!!!
since AEONS the map key is mostly just fuckin…”m” !!!!
if that wont work..one should just go through the tedious and mindboggling work of actually checking out the ui…and guess what…the symbol for the map is the completely elusive compass rose…
and if god forbid even that is too difficult…there is still a “key bindings” feature in the options screen…
this cant be some fuckin stupid generations or group of people thing…
its pure fuckin laziness godfuckindammit! or if you want to go that far..stupidity!
seriously..how hard is it to just read everything that is on the screen?
and first and foremost this has nothing to do wether you belong to the so called elite or not…
as i said in the fallout barter thread..THIS IS NOT FUCKIN ROCKET SCIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reminds me of my funny tendencies of playing the game first, getting my ass kicked and then looking at the keybindings before realizing that my gun has an alt fire mode. LOL
It’s not as funny as playing a game, complaining about not being to find your way around, and then THREE DAYS LATER finding out that there’s a mouse key. A chimpanzee has better problem solving skills.
map key*
At least in case with barter one can excused somewhat, if playing hastily, but if you have a nice, conspicuous button staring at you all the time for three days and can’t find it, then you have to man up and just face the possibility that you might be a moron after all.
What’s wrong with people, BTW?
When I play a game, the first thing I do, always, and has always done ever since I got my first PC (as c64 mostly used joystick), is setting up my own key bindings, followed by “ooh, what does *this* button do?” phase when I learn the interface. The fact that someone can rush into the game without paying any attention to the interface, then complain, is just completely incomprehensible to me.
Lovecraftian aliens incomprehensible.
heh my bro used to not read any key bindings/manuals and almost finished Desperados with only 6 bullets in a gun for a map/mission (didn’t know about reload) back in 2001…yes it’s stupid, but from other hand hardcore haha
If you didn’t know about the map, it explains a lot of your problems in the mortuary. I suggest you go back in there and find the ghost of Deionarra, and talk to her. She’s located on the first floor, to the left side of the map, and she’s a fairly important part of the storyline.
Don’t let it discourage you that people are calling it retarded (both here and on the codex) to not realize there’s an automap, and keep up the good work 🙂
But they do have a point, you should check stuff like this out during your first play session, to save yourself some pain 😉
Another thing you probably don’t know is that you can add notes to the map. If you meet an important questgiver, just add a note on the map(with his name), so you can find him later.
Was there any particular reason why you chose not to give the manual a cursory glance? It’s only about 30 pages and probably would have saved you a lot of frustration by giving you an idea of what to expect. Trying to wing it through “common sense” when you have almost no experience is just asking for failure.
“It’s only 30 pages”
There, see the problem now?
Huh? 30 pages is a lot? I just played HOMM3 for the first time the other day, but before I launched the game I looked through the manual – 144 pages.
You’re an old man trapped in a young body, mangoose. 😛
Sometimes I have a problem playing an RPG right after an RPG. I gotta take a break in between or I get burnt out. First few times I did this I thought I hated the games, tried them again later and was fine with them.
“I don’t like to reply in the comments section. I think of it as a pure space for reader thoughts only, just as this space is for my thoughts only. Sorry, it’s just a firm belief I have and would sooner die than stray from.”
-this is one of the stupidest things i ever heard.
i would love to test it with some pliers.