Weekend Confirmed Episode 38

On the subject of why memorization is so much less excusable in shooters, I think Garnett started to make a very good point, and I'd like to finish it for him.

The only FPS that I really played with any real amount of dedication was the SNES version of Doom, which was all I had access to at the time. I played the hell out of it (mind the pun), and before long, I had - at least in the early stages of each episode - the locations of all the monsters memorized. Once you know where the enemies are, it becomes really easy to get the jump on them, and to plan out your attack strategy in advance, and the game ceases to be challenging. Playing on the harder difficulties, the enemies themselves become much more dangerous and you can't afford to be reckless, but at the same time, you still know when and where each one is going to pop up, and after a while the whole thing ends up being completely rote.

Stand here, strafe to the right, fire three shots, move to the other side of the hall, strafe to the left, fire three shots, wait a second, fire three more, walk up to the door, as the door opens, fire about four shots while walking backwards, backtrack to the previous hallway, lay and wait, and so on... (I'm sure most hardcore Doom players probably probably remember the steps needed to get 100% on the first stage of Knee Deep in the Dead off the top of their heads.)

Now, this might not be the case with modern shooters, though I'm willing to bet that it is, but the thrill of a game like Doom came from the possibility of something threatening being around that next corner, and needing to constantly be alert to that threat and aware of your environment such that you have cover and/or an escape route in the event that things get hectic. When you know the placement of every enemy on the map, this ceases to be the case, as you have advance knowledge of the upcoming threats and are therefore much more in control of the situation. This is a big part of the draw of multiplayer, as other players are inherently more skilled and less predictable than AI that you ultimately do need to remain steadfast the whole time.

In a game like Super Mario Bros, on the other hand, knowing in advance what lies up ahead gives you much less of a strategic advantage. Maybe you can get through a level faster once you know the layout, but even without that edge, you always have enough advance warning of any incoming obstacle that you can deal with it by the time it reaches you. (the exception being those maze castles, but that's a whole 'nother)

That said, I think there are examples in other genres of games that rely on rote memorization in ways that are detrimental to the experience. Going back to the NES again, Battletoads made you memorize instant death traps, and sometimes entire levels to a degree that was inexcusable. And repeatedly dying so as to locate all the secret death traps is practically the stock and trade of so-called "platform hell" games like I Wanna be the Guy or Syobon Action.

Any game where you need to execute a very specific set of actions with little margin for error will eventually lead to repetition and rote memorization. This is the main reason why I still haven't tried Super Meat Boy, because I know it's going to be one of *those* games.