I can't into modern 3D

[V_K]

There's just. Too. Fucking. Much. Clutter. I get lost in it
2D games don't have this problem - the viewport is small and usually easy to read.
Earlier 3D games don't have the problem either - they just couldn't afford clutter because of hardware limitations.
But I've been trying to get into Prey and Seven - both games ostensibly right up my alley - and I can't. I just can't discern what the fuck I'm looking at - what's important, what's interactable, what's fluff and where can I go from there. It's like pixel hunting in early Adventures just cranked up to eleven. They're basically unplayable for me.
What do I do? Codex halp!

 

[janior]

get glasses

 

[Lord Commissar Alexer]

How the hell do you even function in real life then?

 

[Humanophage]

I somewhat prefer it to older 3D, which was just horrifying ugly, but I agree that it's a bother. It's sad that all seriously beautiful parts in recent games are 2D (e.g., POE2 or Stasis), but we are still generally getting 3D games even when 3D serves no function at all. E.g., what is the point of 3D environments in Pathfinder: Kingmaker? Some people didn't even get the memo about portraits and pretend their 3D trash heads work just fine (DOS2).

We could have had such gorgeous 2D with modern resolutions. Even mid-2000s non-AAA stuff like Knights of Honor looks great*. I'm guessing it's cheaper to make 3D and easier to mod it, so it's fair enough and I don't want to throw up a tantrum over something looking ugly if the underlying thing is good. But very often it even interferes with functionality because they insist on making it impossible to speed up their precious animations in turn-based games. I sometimes look at browser strategies with envy.

*

Spoiler

Such unity of style:

 

[Wyatt_Derp]

You're just getting old, buddy. As the brain ages, it wants to distract itself with less and less clutter - as the mind itself is prioritizing its shelf-space, in order to help one be as close to whole as possible before the end comes.

 

[octavius]

With old games you have to fill in the blanks. With modern game you just have to blank out the filler.

 

[V_K]

How the hell do you even function in real life then?

With routines, google maps and avoiding situations that require immediate reaction. I still get panic attacks in big crowds or heavy traffic. But while stress is a necessary part of everyday life, I'd rather not have it in my entertainment, whose whole purpose is stress relief.

You're just getting old, buddy.

I don't think it was terribly different for me in my 20s though.

 

[Jokzore]

You'd have a heart attack if you ever played D:OS 2

 

[J1M]

This just keeps getting worse. To the point where anything interactive in the environment these days gets a neon color treatment and a fully-voiced HUD tooltip.

 

[Melcar]

It's all shit.

 

[V_K]

You'd have a heart attack if you ever played D:OS 2

Oh yes. I did. For about 40 minutes.

 

[NJClaw]

How the hell do you even function in real life then?

That another fellow codexer is able to function in real life is a pretty big assumption.

Also, usually IRL rules to interact with external objects are coherent and consistent, while that's not true for most games: you can grab that shining cup, but God forbid you actually try to touch the slightly less shining glass that's nearby.

 

[Trash Player]

Yes, I have a hard time figuring out how streamers can find stuffs amid a cluttered screen in a blink. Likely I am just really bad at multitasking.

 

[†††]

Spoiler

The worst thing is that this image was done years ago, now that example would be a minimalist HUD today

 

[Arryosha]

I had the same problem with Prey. Visual overload made it hard to figure out what is going on. Gave me a headache. Could be partly due to the shiny futurist interior design.

Spoiler

 

[Burning Bridges]

Or the piss filter

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[JDR13]

 

[RNGsus]

Neither can most devs.

 

[V_K]

mm6 was quite cluttered...

See, in this screenshot it's very easy to figure out what's important (the skellies going to make short work of you) and what's not (everything else); what you can interact with, a what not (and - surprise! - it's the same distinction).
Even a later game like Morrowind doesn't have you squint too hard to figure out what's going on, with the important parts of the scene clearly standing out:

And then there's this - what the fuck I'm even looking at here?

Or here:

 

[Tehdagah]

Turn the shadows off

 

[DraQ]

Even a later game like Morrowind doesn't have you squint too hard to figure out what's going on, with the important parts of the scene clearly standing out:

In this picture there is 1 daedric cuirasses, none of which can be seen.

Also git gud. Practice until your visual processing is developed enough to allow you to take in images that have not been pre-tokenized, so that you can be let outside without being a threat to yourself and the others.

Failing that, augment your vision with yellow outlines.

Spoiler

Also, take up mushroom picking as hobby, it really helps you train your visual cortex for fast and robust pattern matching.

 

[DraQ]

Spoiler

The worst thing is that this image was done years ago, now that example would be a minimalist HUD today

Now, modern HUDs *are* a cancer.
Modern HUDs and DoF (with sole exception of Oldrim and some games using iron sights).

 

[Gerrard]

There's just. Too. Fucking. Much. Clutter. I get lost in it
2D games don't have this problem - the viewport is small and usually easy to read.
Earlier 3D games don't have the problem either - they just couldn't afford clutter because of hardware limitations.
But I've been trying to get into Prey and Seven - both games ostensibly right up my alley - and I can't. I just can't discern what the fuck I'm looking at - what's important, what's interactable, what's fluff and where can I go from there. It's like pixel hunting in early Adventures just cranked up to eleven. They're basically unplayable for me.
What do I do? Codex halp!

I have JUST the thing for you!

 

[NJClaw]

And then there's this - what the fuck I'm even looking at here?

You are clearly looking for Nectar vials around Peh, duh.