3 ms·

> why it is hated then and today? because it is a grinding game that only managed to exist today because of online iterations. it is single player World of wa

by gcb0 11y ago

> why it is hated then and today? because it is a grinding game that only managed to exist today because of online iterations. it is single player World of warcraft.

jonathankoren 11y ago
As a proud owner of this game since my grandmother shelled out god knows how much for what was bound to be the hottest video game for christmas 1982, it's not the grind. Seriously, since when did grinding ever doom a video game? It's that it's completely random. The map is randomly generated, and whenever you transition between screens, there's a very real chance that you will immediately fall down a well, and thus lose power, and thus become that much closer to death. On levels higher than the first (which is relatively easy, if not long.) The speed and frequency of the scientist and FBI agent carrying you back to town makes it unplayable. Seriously. It's unplayable. I thought so when I was 5, and I still thought so when I was 35. Best title screen for the 2600 bar none.
- gcb0 11y ago
  going from one screen to another over and over to get candy = grinding
  - jonathankoren 11y ago
    I don't understand your comment on multiple levels. First, I didn't say there wasn't grinding, my points were: 1) The mechanics of the game wasn't the problem, it was the implementation of them. 2) Grinding has never doomed a game. It may be annoying, but many popular games -- including ALL RPGs -- feature grinding at their core. Second, with respect to E.T., if you're spending your time eating Reese's Pieces, you're doing it wrong. The candy has nothing to do with completing the game. Furthermore, the game can be completed without going out of your way to collect these at all. Third, eating RPs isn't not grinding. Grinding is when the game effectively pauses because the player can't advance past some point because the player is underpowered for the new enemies, and overpowered when compared to the old enemies. It's a balance issue, that gets passed off as "fun". See Pokemon. See Final Fantasy. See every RPG ever made. Repetitive game mechanics doesn't doom games. Every party based RPG since Bard's Tale has features the same Fight-Fight-Fight-Parry-Parry-Parry verb. 90% of all attack turns in these games comes down to that same attack plan. Hell, these games even configure their controls so that this is accomplished by just hitting the default button six times in a row. And yet, these games are beloved by millions.

by gcb0 11y ago

> why it is hated then and today? because it is a grinding game that only managed to exist today because of online iterations. it is single player World of warcraft.

jonathankoren 11y ago

As a proud owner of this game since my grandmother shelled out god knows how much for what was bound to be the hottest video game for christmas 1982, it's not the grind. Seriously, since when did grinding ever doom a video game? It's that it's completely random. The map is randomly generated, and whenever you transition between screens, there's a very real chance that you will immediately fall down a well, and thus lose power, and thus become that much closer to death. On levels higher than the first (which is relatively easy, if not long.) The speed and frequency of the scientist and FBI agent carrying you back to town makes it unplayable. Seriously. It's unplayable. I thought so when I was 5, and I still thought so when I was 35. Best title screen for the 2600 bar none.

gcb0 11y ago
going from one screen to another over and over to get candy = grinding
- jonathankoren 11y ago
  I don't understand your comment on multiple levels. First, I didn't say there wasn't grinding, my points were: 1) The mechanics of the game wasn't the problem, it was the implementation of them. 2) Grinding has never doomed a game. It may be annoying, but many popular games -- including ALL RPGs -- feature grinding at their core. Second, with respect to E.T., if you're spending your time eating Reese's Pieces, you're doing it wrong. The candy has nothing to do with completing the game. Furthermore, the game can be completed without going out of your way to collect these at all. Third, eating RPs isn't not grinding. Grinding is when the game effectively pauses because the player can't advance past some point because the player is underpowered for the new enemies, and overpowered when compared to the old enemies. It's a balance issue, that gets passed off as "fun". See Pokemon. See Final Fantasy. See every RPG ever made. Repetitive game mechanics doesn't doom games. Every party based RPG since Bard's Tale has features the same Fight-Fight-Fight-Parry-Parry-Parry verb. 90% of all attack turns in these games comes down to that same attack plan. Hell, these games even configure their controls so that this is accomplished by just hitting the default button six times in a row. And yet, these games are beloved by millions.