The kind of devices I'm talking about are mainly the ones from old PC games. If they weren't annoying in how they were applied then they were annoying in how they were designed. (Hey I kinda rhymed there) Here's a small list of the ones I remembered:
Police Quest 3: This one came with a "police manual" that explained the proper procedures for various encounters an officer may find on the job. Basically they were hints as to what to do in that point of the game. The annoying thing was on the inside cover, your locker combination. Without this, you couldn't even get 5 minutes into the game because you couldn't get you gear. Granted it was a 3 digit code so I guess you could try until you got it right but...
Police Quest 2: This game came with a series of mugshots and names. When the game started, you would have to match the face the game showed you to the name. Annoying because you could lose the paper and if you got the name wrong, the game just ended. *BLIP* Just like that.
Leisure Suit Larry series: I'm talking about the early ones. None of this Magna Cum Laude crap. The game didn't come with any "proof of purchase" documentation, but it made it fairly easy to weed out the kids by asking questions only adults at the time would know. Again, you could always try to force your way in by guessing randomly (answers were multiple choice) but the game would end right there if you got too many wrong.
King's Quest Series: The worst of the lot. The copyright devices in these games ranged from strange symbols and puzzles to quoting words from the manual right down to the page, line and word. The worst I think was King's Quest 3. You need to escape from the wizard holding you as a slave by working magic against him while he is away on a journey. There are several spells you will need to do in order to complete the game, but only 1 that will get rid of the wizard. The game came with the spells listed, as well as directions and recipes. The big thing was the incantation. You had to type it out EXACTLY. Every capitalization, punctuation, space, etc. Got one thing wrong? The spell backfires and you die.
I realize these are mainly Sierra games, but those are mainly the ones I played and from my experience the largest offenders. Thankfully we don't have to deal with that stuff anymore. Any other you all remember?
Police Quest 3: This one came with a "police manual" that explained the proper procedures for various encounters an officer may find on the job. Basically they were hints as to what to do in that point of the game. The annoying thing was on the inside cover, your locker combination. Without this, you couldn't even get 5 minutes into the game because you couldn't get you gear. Granted it was a 3 digit code so I guess you could try until you got it right but...
Police Quest 2: This game came with a series of mugshots and names. When the game started, you would have to match the face the game showed you to the name. Annoying because you could lose the paper and if you got the name wrong, the game just ended. *BLIP* Just like that.
Leisure Suit Larry series: I'm talking about the early ones. None of this Magna Cum Laude crap. The game didn't come with any "proof of purchase" documentation, but it made it fairly easy to weed out the kids by asking questions only adults at the time would know. Again, you could always try to force your way in by guessing randomly (answers were multiple choice) but the game would end right there if you got too many wrong.
King's Quest Series: The worst of the lot. The copyright devices in these games ranged from strange symbols and puzzles to quoting words from the manual right down to the page, line and word. The worst I think was King's Quest 3. You need to escape from the wizard holding you as a slave by working magic against him while he is away on a journey. There are several spells you will need to do in order to complete the game, but only 1 that will get rid of the wizard. The game came with the spells listed, as well as directions and recipes. The big thing was the incantation. You had to type it out EXACTLY. Every capitalization, punctuation, space, etc. Got one thing wrong? The spell backfires and you die.
I realize these are mainly Sierra games, but those are mainly the ones I played and from my experience the largest offenders. Thankfully we don't have to deal with that stuff anymore. Any other you all remember?
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