Alpha Cenauri + Life

[Frankychan]

I play SMAC cause its fun and its a form of escapism. I also play it because it is probably one of the only games that includes different types of ideals that either repulse me, or parallel my own.

SMAC, IMHO, is also a well put game. There's not many games out there that I have found withstand the tests of time. This game surprises you at almost every turn...just when you think you've found the "perfect" strategy, the AI or someone disproves it.

But then again, I also do stuff IRL too. I'm a jack-of-all-trades.

[Commy]

The nice thing about SMAC, compared to other strategy games, is that it is in the future, and not only is it in the future, it is on another planet, so it is much easier to create concepts within the game SMAC because they cannot be compared to anything around us, and are harder to say "that's impossible", because there is nothing real to compare it too.

Basically, take civ 3 for an example. It is based from the past to the present, so 10 years from now, no one will like (except for maybe a few at this site) it, because it is out of date, where as SMAC is in the future, so even 50 years from now, people will still like it because it is still way into the future in another world.

[Livid_Imp]

Originally posted by HongHu
Gaming is the opium of one's mind.

**Livid Imp slaps up a vein**

Video games are entertainment medium no different than movies, music, TV, message boards and even books. A "medium" makes guaranties of quality. Those people that say video games are a waste of time are the same people think Britteny Spears is good music and "Fast n Furious" was high cinema.

[Commy]

Livid_Imp, I have to agree with you. Video games, at least the ones I play, require more thinking than I do at school...

[Impaler[WrG]]

I belive the term is Opiate as in "Religon is the Opiate of the Masses", "Revolution is the Opiate of the Intilectual"

Oh and dont forget Profecional Sports which serve for most pople the purpose SMAC serves for most of us, a near infinatly deep, highly complex, easy to grasp, emotionaly ethralling, never ending, vicariously experienced game...

[#endgame]

I remember reading an article in a newspaper about (apparently) using knowledge from the HGP to allow brainscans that would determine if people were predisposed towards, say, racism. I recall thinking "Knowledge from biogenetics is leading toward SotHB".

Back on topic: I play for fun, even though I can't yet beat the AI on Transcend.

[Snowflake]

Originally posted by Livid_Imp
Video games are entertainment medium no different than movies, music, TV, message boards and even books.

Games are certainly entertainment medium as movies and books. One thing that makes it a little different is that it can be highly addictive. Of course I often can't put down a good book until I finish the last page, and I wouldn't mind watching a good movie again and again. But I bet you won't read the same book or watch the same movie everyday for years.

SMAC is a good game because if offers so many rich aspects that attract different people. One may like it because it is about a different planet, one may like it because it happens in the future, one may like its capability for human interactions, one may like it because one can be in control of building an empire, or destroying the world... That said, there still are other good games out there, that offer yet different aspects that attract yet different people. civ3 may be about the past, but history will never get outdated. There are people who are fantacized by the future, still there are people who like to look at the history, and ponder what the world would be like, if only certain things happened ...

[Santiago_Claus]

"Revolution is the opiate of the intellectual."

That's hilarious! Who said it?

[gwillybj]

What do you REALLY think about SMAC when looking in the broader scheme of things?
"Alpha Centauri + Life" is an unsolvable equation. SMAC is life.

Do you think a lot of people play it to 'escape'?


Do you think that computer games in general have this tendency and therefore lack any real... whats the word... maybe- substance?
imho, the vast majority of computer games are insubstantial. SMAC is in a very small minority.

Do you think that its that people who play the game simply haven't got anything else to do?
Nothing better, for sure.

Do you think that SMAC is 'cutting edge' game that pushes the limits of human intellect and matches wits of those who truly like to explore their own intellect against others?? (REALLY --- Do YOU really think this??)
Helluva lot more cutting-edge, limitless, intellectual, and witty than chess.

Do you think that computer games in general have this capacity and that smac is just something that interests you??
Nope. SMAC is da bomb.

Thanks
You're welcome

I originally bought SMAC because it had everything I wanted:
* Turn-Based (I came to computer games from the war boardgames - Avalon Hill, etc.)
* Science Fiction (with a touch of Fantasy, and some humor)
* user-customizable (I had no idea how far this actually went!)
After cracking open the shell and chewing on the soft gooey center, I was firmly hooked. As of late, my neural functions are breaking down (the doctors haven't figured out why), so I have the added benefit of SMAC helping keep my mind sharp - that is, when I'm not unconscious or playing Gin with my mother-in-law, which is almost as engaging as SMAC.

[Frankychan]

What the guy above said.

Another insightful post by gwillybj.

[Enigma_Nova]

And another eventful spam from Franky.

[Frankychan]

Wisea**.

[Enigma_Nova]

O_O
There he goes again! Somebody stop this madman!

[Illuminatus]

Franky, you really do love the word Wisea**, don`t you?

[jtsisyoda]

Originally posted by Zeiter
I can't think of any other game with the real philosophical gravitas of SMAC.

I definitely agree with that. This game has a depth to it's stories, characters, and themes that I usually only associate with good books or great movies.