Comeback after reading this here: http://kotaku.com/5127816/developers-respond-to-nintendos-hint-system-patent

It seems that people are reacting very poorly to just one of the myriad of possibilities this patent could mean to gaming. I may agree with the hardcore street cred reaction, since, in a way i avoid strategy guides for this very reason; TO KEEP MY CRED. Yet, i’ve got a feeling it is a small, knee-jerk reaction, that makes me feel ill against this type of functionality/” new paradigm”.

It’s no surprise that very few people react negatively to the fact that Nintendo is going to patent something that might be as unnecesary to patent as Amazon’s one-click. It looks to be one of those patents that more than anything, seek to restrict others from a simple implementation; nesting on patents to sue the first person that does the idea. I strongly disagree with patents being used litigiously. Given how many patents Nintendo has violated (1, 2, 3), and how many other companies’ ideas from which they’ve benefited (atari, sony, SGI), it seems contradictory that a patent would be awarded to those who violate other’s patents. It’s like Apple accusing Microsoft of stealing from them, when they stole everything from Xerox, makes their case easily disregarded by people other than mac zealots – though i love macs

Outside of the legal ramifications of patents, people do not remember under which legacy concepts or other historical trends they part from or follow when growing their industry. And boy, is it apparent when talking with younger people; not because of a youthfull arrogance on their part (I should note), but actually because of a lack of recorded history on our side. Videogame history is going to suffer from the same blunders that plagues film history; bad archiving due to bad vaults, recreating wheels all over the place and just being plain forgetful.

You may remember – back in the day – Nintendo had their hint line, which if you wanted to, you could have a nintendo game assistant help you through the game… for a PRICE (something like 25c per minute). This was also before the days of tutorials and the net. And as a matter of fact, it still exists. Today, I’m willing to bet a paycheck that the majority (over 80%) of players have looked up a walkthrough or a gamefaq at one point of their lives. It’s ok if people wont admit it… i can hear their Machismo yell, “NOOOO, I have never, EVER, bought a strategy guide or read through a walkthrough, or used a game genie, etc., that’s for sissies!”

Right!

I’LL ADMIT IT! I called Nintendo’s Powerline for a rented Super Metroid cartridge without instructions just to find out where to place that damn megabomb; i’m SO ashamed… really 8-|

 

Now, I’m not saying that cheating is ok. In competitive leagues, where people look to set standards and raise the performance bar year after year, cheating is always and should be always frowned upon. This is mostly because cheating seeks an to gain an advantage that wasn’t appropriated through simple self improvement AKA PRACTICE. It could be said that steroids and drugs form a part of this lack of standard ideals in the sports world. Tying the two together, for example, it would  be considered cheating to use Ritalin or Adderall when playing a game such as an FPS or RTS against someone or against a group. So in that case, having a player that plays better than you beat the game FOR you, when your score (achievements, Trophies, or the like) ranks you higher against others in terms of ability; cheating, guides, etc. sets up an unfair and untruthful environment for the years that record may govern. It also artificially raises the competition level and makes people distrust the medium, thus neutralizing the scoring body of officials.

 

HOWEVER, i dont opine that, when used for personal recreation, these aids are bad for anyone, nor that they hinder the medium in any way; especially when implemented as equalizers such as assistants for the handicapped, elderly or casual players, etc. People tend to forget all the advantages they have today compared to the arcade heyday. Back then, the pressure to get good at a machine was both a social showcase and financial limitation. Today we have: guides, the net, in-game hints, easy-med-hard modes, in-game tutorials, practice mode, AUTOAIM, etc. which should remind people to be careful when using any of these for emasculating accusations (cause it seems that mostly males complain about other males, gaming hasnt matured out of this primitive behavior).

Lots of these behaviors come from school. Kids in highschool (and many adults) still think that even after graduating highschool cliff’s notes are a bad thing; that audiobooks deduct IQ points from your license IQ stats as if someone were keeping track.

Complainers should understand that the benefit of reading through the entirety of the experience is still palpable even to those who have already “skimped” through some pages. In other words, seeing the Romeo & Juliet before reading the play should not impair the experience of learning to read Shakespeare, and moreover, reading it would allow the reader an extended understanding, not a reduced one. I believe that if they made a Cliff’s note that was better than the book, then teachers would assign those too, just as if they made a movie that was better than a book. As a matter of fact, books that sumarize Don Quijote as interpreted by a character reading the book have gained fame and are even accepted as their own literature. Moreover, some movies serve as good enticers or companions to the books they’re based on… these opportunities add to the subject matter, why couldnt the Autopilot Patent add as well? why do people think it automatically subtracts? I understand that mediums have certain requisites, like vision for movies; hearing for music, but seeing a game vs playing a game isn’t so extreeme as the previously mentioned.

The self oppressed are indeed a loud bunch. And by self-oppressed i mean those who use other’s standards too close when forming an opinion of themselves. Shortcuts (such as Cliff’s notes, autopilot, etc) that harm no one might actually indicate the player’s intent on being selective of what you want to enjoy. One of my colleagues insists on playing games with cheats for this reason, “i want to play the game how IIII want to play the game, without restrictions or limitations by the designers”. It’s usually kids that think that they can see all the movies that exist, play all the games that come out… then, when they reach adulthood, they learn to become selective and picky about their choices, so they can have time to enjoy other things like dating, etc. This pickiness is a part of what shapes their personality; what they’re into. When being too picky, pickiness leads to snobbery. But aren’t all enthusiasts battling this? the choice between being a snob or not? In truth, people eventually realize they don’t have the time to read all the books in the world. They have to form generalized opinions about what it is they KNOW they like; you wish you could, but you dont have enought time to stop and smell all the flowers…

my suggestions about welcoming this patent whenever someone implements it:

• It can be monetized, just as guides are bought: you could buy and download the autopilot. After all, it will cost development time to craft the autopilot system. It would be like buying a Cliff’s Notes plugin.
• This could be used to help the handicapped; it will be a gameplay equalizer. I dont buy a game for the challenge, i buy it for the entertainment; otherwise, people would buy I wanna be the guy for $50. If you dont believe me, go here and beat this game. The difficulty in some games makes people of VARYING abilities
• This could make a rental of a bad game a bit better.
• This feature could be unlocked after an achievement is attained, making the autopilot initially unavailable; perhaps available only after the game is finished.
• This could increase value to a game that has multiple characters, where it would take lots of time to play the game as every single character.
• Consumer demand will make or brake this feature. Not all games in the PS3, which has waggle, utilize this because of the Wii’s popularity. XBOX refuses to allow mouse support in their console, which would arguably make lots of the simultaneously developed PC-XBOX games easier to produce, more unified, and easier to play. I Disagree with M$’s insistance, but their success isn’t dictated by this peculiarity.

The talking heads freak out first. I’m not initially an optimist on most days, but this really made me look into it with a bit more study. I hope you can see benefits where there are some and potentially avoid the pitfalls wherever they are; on this patent too.

Purum

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