Nothing Compares to You

I love Prince, but he is not a "modern day Mozart" as he claimed in the Cream video. He's Prince, he writes short 2-6 minute pop songs. Hardly comparable. Not worse, but not the same.

My first posts in the F:AT community were in the TI:3 vs. Nexus Ops thread. I can't remember what game won but I do remember I was pro TI:3 and Weeks attacked me immediately. I didn't know who he was but I found him offensive. Within a couple of weeks I liked the guy and found myself defending him on several occasions.
But the argument never went away. The argument was about streamlining, it was about long geeky games vs. short cool games, it was about game design and what the goals should be.

The argument never goes away, in fact it returned with a vengeance this year when Eclipse came out. Barnes, amongst others, proclaimed it a TI:3 killer. Well, that made me immediately defensive; "What the fuck does he know anyway, there is no way a three hour game can replace TI:3. It is simply not possible to do what TI:3 does in that time frame.

Now, I've noticed something. When I was younger, childless and occasionally single I would have no problems with time frame. The longer the better, no doubt in my mind. But as time became more of a concern I had to worry about it. A game that did roughly the same stuff in a managable time frame was definitely a bonus. Not better, because I remembered those care free days and the games we played and nothing can compare to that. Nothing. But I was suddenly willing to make exceptions; "Well, she's not as hot and her effort in the sack is really lacking, but man I need it and she’s is more the willing, I just wish it lasted longer." That's how I was looking at shorter games.

Sure, technically maybe Eclipse really does do everything TI:3 does in half the time except politics (easy part of the game to let go of). Sounds cool right? But, you see, it can't. The games we play are not just the game, it's the time and the time spent with people.

I've read a few times that people who are being held captive together, once they're free, very rarely want to see each other again. The time spent together is more than enough and they get sick of one another.

To me, that means that short term diplomacy is much easier. You might agree to buddy up with me for an hour or two... come hour 5 you’re not so sure anymore, the potential for an epic backstab gets higher all the time. Backstabbing a buddy at hour 5 in a 6.5 hour game is fucking brutal. You've built up all this trust and then you just chuck it out the window. You've built up a connect to the game in a way that is different than what is possible in a shorter game.

I used to compare it to a cup of tea, you need time for the game experience to steep, but who lets their tea steep for 6 hours! It's usually just a couple of minutes. What is the correct amount of time for a theme to steep, can 3 hours do it?

Sure it can. But if Risk was only three hours long then I wouldn't have all those crazy epic memories of it as a child. The time is a big part of it. Most of the designs these days seem to want to speed you up, it pisses me off sometimes.

When I buy groceries I always have my knapsack, and it always takes me some time to fill it up. I feel like the cashier gets antsy and a little pissed with me. I can sense the; "get the fuck out of here can't you see there's another customer behind you" gaze penetrating my soul. It drives me crazy and reminds me how much time has changed since I was a little kid in Manitouwadge Ontario. Everything is faster. But is it better?

I feel like that when I play Nexus Ops too, even Puerto Rico. Both of those games (just to show it's not an AT or Euro bias) gave me the same feeling after the first play through: "That's it?". It was over so quick. I feel like the design of these types of games is like that cashier in the supermarket. Hurry up and finish dude, there's another rule set we all really want to see and if you take too long we won't get to play 8 games tonight. The design rushes me through the process never giving me time to contemplate, chat, or just enjoy the moment. Everything is a fucking rush to the finish line. To quote Deep Purple in one of their lamest periods, "It's not the kill, it's the thrill of the chase". I need time. Although I enjoy the kill too.

I don’t always want to play 8 fucking games in one night. I enjoy the slow pace and the calm of not setting up and taking down game after the game. I enjoy the slow burn of everyone sitting around taking it easy, I enjoy not explaining 8 sets of rules one after the other. One game for one group with the time. The conversation is more natural, it's not all game focused, the game blends into the world around me and the theme and setting steep into my being.
For a reviewer I can see how short games would be a bonus. How many games like TI:3 can you realistically review in one year? It's a pain in the ass. But you could assess and review dozens of fillers with much less effort, your review numbers still go up. But for the average hobbyist what's the big deal? Why not spend time with just a couple games. My group is back into Chaos in the Old World, not a long game I know but the point is when we hook up the idea now is to just play the one game again and again. They love TI:3 and Nexus Ops never had anywhere near the same impact. It just can't do it. They're not comparable at all.

Look, Bach's Mass in B Minor is 2 CD's long and I wouldn't have it any other way. No fucking 3 minute punk tune, regardless of how clever the lyrics are, can ever replace that.

That said, I have Eclipse on pre-order and I'm pumped to try it out. I'm just not comparing it to TI:3 and I'm trying to get the comparison out of my mind. I know I will not tell my game group about the comparison. It will be hard not to notice though.