On Optimization

[doctorconquest]

I have a confession to make. It's something that sets me apart from my peers; something that makes me feel as though I don't belong among my co-workers, sometimes even among my friends. It's a hidden shame that I've seldom spoken of before now.

You see, I don't really enjoy optimization.

There, I said it.

Comments

[davemeister]

Screw Draftstravaganza reports--write more stuff like this! You are now officially absolved of Yokohama report failings (although I would still like to hear some about the more recent event

[doctorconquest]

I considered bringing T/J/S into this, explaining that whatever I may be in regards to Magic, I'm pure Timmy toward almost all other games. Ultimately I decided it wasn't quite worth the trouble, but maybe it was.

For non-Magic players, Timmy plays to experience something (that is, to have fun), Johnny plays to express something (that is, to be innovative), and Spike plays to prove something (that is, to win). In Magic, as measured by a test on our web site, I'm the rare triple hybrid. For everything else, I'm pretty close to pure Timmy.

There, that wasn't so hard.

[anonymous]

One MMORPG that removes your ability to measure your fun by the numbers is Puzzle Pirates. It is the second best MMO in the world, after WoW, and way way way cuter. Anyway, the designers deliberately left out numbers so you couldn't do that sort of thing. You get a ranking, but it's described by word rather than numbers. Your sword doesn't do +20 damage, it just has a more evil drop pattern. A really talented player with a stick can defeat a mediocre one with a sabre. I like that about it too--imagine if WoW required the player to actually be good at the game? Or at least allowed noticeable advancement based on skill alone, instead of the number of hours you've played it. Battlegrounds and Arenas make a start on doing that, but Puzzle Pirates is still cuter...

On an unrelated note: yay, I'm over halfway done with my qualifying exams! And I'm moving to Urbana in two months!

--Jane

[daghain]

It absolutely is okay. If the process of optimizing is difficult, time-consuming, and un-fun, then optimizing isn't optimal. The only way to win is not to play, especially if you're competing against people who *do* enjoy endlessly tweaking their game (such people will take you well beyond your limits without a second thought). The code word in decision theory is "contemplation costs," but it's really just common sense. Getting things right takes time and effort. The reward may not be worth that time and effort to you, so it may not be in your best interest to make sure you get things right

[doctorconquest]

Right with you on the drafting. Optimization can be fun, but some people, I think, enjoy optimization in and of itself. This was lampooned wonderfully in Progress Quest, a download that will run in the background on your desktop and give you running totals of the monsters you've killed, the loot you've attained, and the level you've reached, all with zero input from you.

I suspect that enjoyment of optimization is a continuum rather than a yes/no proposition. I wonder how to express, determine, or measure where one draws that line... but that's because I enjoy optimization more in analysis than I do in game play.

[astridsdream]

See, I don't usually go for endless repetition to complete a task. If a particular level in a game is continually kicking my ass, I'm going to try to find another way around. But I think the way Peggle is set up lends itself to that "completionist" style of play. I mean, if I'm going to be shooting a ball at pegs and watching it bounce around anyway, I might as well be trying to advance in the levels, right?

[hydingjekyll]

Have I mentioned that I've played maybe two hours' worth of the unused copy of Final Fantasy VII that I bought four years ago, and instead devote all of my video game time to either my SNES or the NES emulator on my computer?

I can understand optimization in D&D and such things; seeing a good design come together effectively is almost as much fun as playing the character as a character. I like detail-oriented tasks, treating games like puzzles or sculptures or chess matches with myself. But it really is just a game. When it stops being fun, what's the point? Sometimes I'd rather skip the side quests for the ultimate weapons and just play the game without a walkthrough.

I say, bravo for being a casual gamer. Anything else is missing the point completely.