Life and NetHack

I guess that likening living to NetHack is what people call the "ultimate-geekery" think to do. But this philosophical thought came to me as while I was lying on my bed, motor skills clumsy as an infant, desire to move that of an elderly, arm over a pillow over my face in an attempt to shield my fragile eyes and even more delicate, groggy mind from the washed-out colors of the morning. That ain't exactly compelling. Enough of my physical state of being then.

Now, as to my mental state of being, I was doing what I loved best when unable to move. Making weird connections. Y'know, some scientists (psychologists? Behaviorists?) theorize that when people dream, they are making connections between their experiences, running through the branching film roll of scenarios that we call our intellect. Cool, then. But weirdly, I was thinking about how I really wanted some sincere friends who were constantly available. I was feeling bitter.

On to NetHack. In life, you start off an infant, unfamiliar with the world; in NetHack, it's the same; you start off knowing the ? button; you later discover the yubnhjkl, q for quaff, the #force and #loot, ^D for kick, e for eat, put, wear, pay shopkeeper, wield, &c.

You start off with nothing. Not even the knowledge of now to navigate your world, let along survive the obstacles and denizens lurking within. All you have are your friends to teach you the controls, or the in-game manual that will be able to teach you the basics of the game; the advanced stuff you'll still have to learn yourself or through discussion. Think parents.

As you progress, you come across items that you may benefit you, or that may harm you. Each item has a special method of effect, that may be good in some situations, bad in others and without effect in still more. Think of your opportunities in life. You can try them out blindly, but that will lead you to disaster. You can wait till some time later to try them, but your limited luggage means that you will have to leave some of them behind.

As you descend, the creatures get stronger. You can stay behind and venture slowly, but your character's Hunger dictates that you try to kill as many monsters as possible. Curiosity leads you out to try new things, but you notice that what curiosity leads you to do ultimately benefits you.

As you play the game, and die several times, you learn new paradigms, and you hear of paradigms in discussions. In this way, the knowledge you acquire is like the knowledge and advice around you in. Some are useful, some are malicious, some are dumb. But in NetHack you can learn through repetition, while in life you can only learn from the failed attempts of others.

And, what differentiates NetHack from contemporary games is that hoarding is not good in NetHack. Crises come fast and brutal, and that is when your best items will save you. Crises aren't epic or anything. Usually, a crisis is a dumb accident that would have been prevented if you were more careful, or did your research. And sometimes, they can't be prevented at all. And usually, they take either your soul, or some of the most ingenious thinking you've ever done, along with some of your most precious items. There is hardly a way to solve a crisis simply by waiting it out or just using your sword. There's nothing epic to anything to be proud about it. Your precious items are useless without an accident that requires their use. But without preparation, you are dead.

Dead.