Niahak's Place

So now I’m all graduated.  Doesn’t feel a whole lot different yet, but I’m guessing it will once I start working.

So, I’m going to reflect a bit on my illustrious alma mater in the nerdiest way possible (therefore, in true tribute).

First off, Rose-Hulman is obscure but still a good school.  I love obscure things (particularly if they are also good); it’s like the game you see in the corner of the store, unloved.  You buy it, take it home, and thoroughly enjoy it.  You feel like you experienced something few have.  Obscurity alone isn’t a good reason to love a game, but it does add some charm.  More entertaining is the look people give you when you say Rose has been top-ranked for several years.  Still, nobody knows about it.  It’s the game everyone enjoys, but never got many sales.

Second, Rose is utilitarian.  It’s no-nonsense, no unnecessarily fluffy graphics or amazing new features that don’t pan out.  It makes the most of recent technology, but doesn’t go into the experimental stuff.  It’s like a game that is stylized, but it’s clear more attention was paid to gameplay (learning) than graphics (campus looking nice).  The math department is the most extreme example: a solid brick building with no windows at all.  Sturdy, but not pleasant to look at (or be in, really).  I wish I had been there when the power went out and a professor nonchalantly went back to his office, grabbed a flashlight, and resumed teaching.

It it also hardcore.  I can’t help but smile at writing that, but Rose is an engineering school.  Sophomore year there were several weeks where we didn’t get nearly enough sleep – a trend that would continue.  I recall one day where we woke up at 5:00 AM to start video recording of a presentation for class, and skipping the last half of our first class to edit and subtitle it, managing to turn it in an hour late.  After that year, there was always at least one class that would keep me up late doing homework, studying, or in a panic about the next exam or some proof I needed to finish.  Sometimes two.  And I wasn’t even an engineering student; they’re the ones that had to work hard.   I see this as being a game that is properly challenging; there is a winning strategy but that you have to work to get there!  Something like Persona.   I love a challenge, so I can’t easily pass that kind of thing up.

Finally, Rose has variety.  The humanities department is great for an engineering school,  and I picked up two minors just for the enjoyment of taking the classes involved.  It’s not nearly as crazy variety as Mario Party, but something like the difference between Suikoden and its strategic sub-games.  The strategy battles keep you entertained and refresh you for the regular fights.

Oh yeah, and in the (sometimes brief) time between homework, meals, and sleeping, I got to enjoy playing games with several fellow students who have the same tastes as I do.