by The REAL Real Man » Sun Jan 22, 2023 9:24 pm
A while back -- probably like twenty years -- I got back into IF a little. I think it was about the time Jonsey wrote Chicks Dig Jerks. (BTW, I still haven't played Necrotic Drift very much, which shows you what a fekking useless "friend" I am.) Anyway, I checked out some IF competition or another (I think the one that CDJ lost big-time) and played some of the winners.
What struck me was that there didn't seem to be much puzzle-solving. It was more like a novel where you followed along. That turned me off a bit.
This besides the fact that the puzzles in Infocom games generally make me feel stupid and inferior. Reading Jim Maher's Infocom history (which I am doing right now -- I mean, not right now, obviously; if i was smart enough to be able to type and read, Infocom would pose no troubles for me) and it never occurred to me, until now, that maybe some of the puzzles were just too hard, and maybe I'm not hte only person who resorted to Invisiclues.
But the problem is that I am still letting IF do this to me. While reading the chapter about Infocom's Hitchhiker, I just had to try the babel fish dispensing machine puzzle, supposedly one of the toughest. I was on the right track. I got the first two things pretty easily (hand the thing on the thing, put the thing on the thing -- I'm trying not to post any spoiler). I knew I had to put something in front of the thing to block the one cleaning robot; I'm sure I would have figured it out, but I still used Invisiclues to tell me what thing that was. I would have figured it out, I'm sure. But I took the easy way out and let myself feel stupid.
And then I came to the final bit of the puzzle. I was close. I knew what I needed (what I picked up earlier in the game) -- I knew it was garbage and the other cleaning robot would get it. I knew I had to put it on something. I couldn't figure out quite what, but I was on the right track. I just hadn't figured out what to put it on. And... I couldn't help myself. I peeked.
And then I saw what it was. Obvious? I'm not sure. I might have gotten it. I would have run out of things and eventually tried it. If that was the case, it would mean I am smart enough to solve the tough puzzles. (Which I ought to fekking be; these games were made by 25-year-olds for 12-year-olds, and you can add those two together and I'm still older.)
But... was I, am I? I don't know because I looked at the fekking Invisiclues.
So.... back to my original point. I say I want IF games that are not just walk-through novels... but do I? Is that what I really want? Because those types of IF games never make me feel like an idiot.
Discuss.
A while back -- probably like twenty years -- I got back into IF a little. I think it was about the time Jonsey wrote Chicks Dig Jerks. (BTW, I still haven't played Necrotic Drift very much, which shows you what a fekking useless "friend" I am.) Anyway, I checked out some IF competition or another (I think the one that CDJ lost big-time) and played some of the winners.
What struck me was that there didn't seem to be much puzzle-solving. It was more like a novel where you followed along. That turned me off a bit.
This besides the fact that the puzzles in Infocom games generally make me feel stupid and inferior. Reading Jim Maher's Infocom history (which I am doing right now -- I mean, not [i]right[/i] now, obviously; if i was smart enough to be able to type [i]and[/i] read, Infocom would pose no troubles for me) and it never occurred to me, until now, that maybe some of the puzzles were [i]just too hard[/i], and maybe I'm not hte only person who resorted to Invisiclues.
But the problem is that [i]I am still letting IF do this to me[/i]. While reading the chapter about Infocom's Hitchhiker, I just had to try the babel fish dispensing machine puzzle, supposedly one of the toughest. I was on the right track. I got the first two things pretty easily (hand the thing on the thing, put the thing on the thing -- I'm trying not to post any spoiler). I knew I had to put something in front of the thing to block the one cleaning robot; I'm sure I would have figured it out, but I still used Invisiclues to tell me what thing that was. I would have figured it out, I'm sure. But I took the easy way out and let myself feel stupid.
And then I came to the final bit of the puzzle. I was close. I knew what I needed (what I picked up earlier in the game) -- I knew it was garbage and the other cleaning robot would get it. I knew I had to put it [i]on[/i] something. I couldn't figure out quite what, but I was on the right track. I just hadn't figured out what to put it on. And... I couldn't help myself. [i]I peeked[/i].
And then I saw what it was. Obvious? I'm not sure. I might have gotten it. I would have run out of things and eventually tried it. If that was the case, it would mean [i]I am smart enough to solve the tough puzzles[/i]. (Which I ought to fekking be; these games were made by 25-year-olds for 12-year-olds, and you can add those two together and I'm still older.)
But... was I, am I? I don't know because [i]I looked at the fekking Invisiclues[/i].
So.... back to my original point. I say I want IF games that are not just walk-through novels... but do I? Is that what I really want? Because those types of IF games never make me feel like an idiot.
Discuss.