Hi, like another poster here I was inspired by the Arcade culture
article to try 1ccing shmups. The result is that I am now enjoying
gaming again after years of virtually no activity on that front. I
used to play fairly frequently but got turned off by the perception
that game development was increasingly based on values that didn't
really appeal to me. So let me add my voice to the choir reassuring
the author that the article was constructive and helpful, provided one
doesn't read too deeply into the apparent elitism and doesn't mind
reading a long and detailed article, despite the harsh criticism it
received on some internet forums. The issues explained in the article
were certainly not obvious to an arcade newbie like me, as some
experienced gamers complained.
I decided to start my 1cc attempts with Elemental master at home since
it was recommended as a relatively easy game on these forums. So far
my impression of this gaming discipline is generally favorable but
there's one problem: it's possible to end up in a situation where you
get completely stuck at one point in the game and yet are so fluent at
the parts that come before it that those parts don't offer any
challenge. So you end up dying over and over again at that same
point, and in order to try again you have to absent-mindedly wade
through the preceding parts first. This is a little disconcerting
when you get stuck near the end of the game, since almost all of your
play time is spent on the easy bits.
With the assumption that even experienced arcade gamers sometimes
encounter this problem, how do they deal with it? Do they enjoy the
graphics and music so much that they gladly play through the easy bits
over and over again? Does having spectators watching them play in a
real arcade make it worthwhile, or the recognition from beating a high
score no matter how much repetitive practice is required? Are they
willing to tolerate a less thrilling gaming experience in order to
save money at a real arcade, since you can play an easy game longer
than a hard one for the same amount of money? Is it the hard-working
and disciplined mentality depicted in Western stereotypes of Eastern
people? Is the progression of difficulty in Elemental master
generally flawed or designed for a different player aptitude than
mine, with the contrast between the easy and hard spots much less
noticeable in other games? Or something else entirely?
I'm thinking of the guy "going through Ketsui's second loop seemingly
absent-mindedly" as depicted in the article. To be honest, I don't
really understand why someone would want to do that. There's got to
be another game around where that guy can find more of a challenge
than in a game that he plays through "absent-mindedly". But people
tend to have a reason for everything they do. Experienced arcade
gamers, please enlighten me in my ignorance.