I think I see where you're coming from with the 'content' angle. Centipede didn't have a lot of content/bloat because it was distilled gameplay - art assets and the mechanics. I've always tended to favor 'plot' over 'story' in games. I guess that's why I didn't mind earlier JRPGs that were limited by how much text they could squeeze onto the NES and SNES. It was when they started doing all the things that fans wanted, like more backstory (key point, more 'story'), that game dialogue became so bloated and trivial that I haven't been able to stand many RPGs since probably the PS2 era because it all just feels like wasted time when I could be fighting monsters and seeing some of the level and puzzle designs.
I think I see where you're coming from with the 'content' angle. Centipede didn't have a lot of content/bloat because it was distilled gameplay - art assets and the mechanics. I've always tended to favor 'plot' over 'story' in games. I guess that's why I didn't mind earlier JRPGs that were limited by how much text they could squeeze onto the NES and SNES. It was when they started doing all the things that fans wanted, like more backstory (key point, more 'story'), that game dialogue became so bloated and trivial that I haven't been able to stand many RPGs since probably the PS2 era because it all just feels like wasted time when I could be fighting monsters and seeing some of the level and puzzle designs.
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