> I do feel like programmers are a bit of a masochistic lot when it comes to AoC, though.
Maybe. But for some it's really just the enjoyment of a good challenge that lets them explore and try out things. I personally love hardware like the DS simply for its accessibility. Modern PCs and consoles are way too complex, while the DS allows you to poke at its guts with no OS or virtualization in the way. It's fun to approach problems like those in AoC in completely novel ways on systems that require and allow you to do things differently.
It's not for everyone, sure, but it's certainly not torture for those who do it.
Maybe. But for some it's really just the enjoyment of a good challenge that lets them explore and try out things. I personally love hardware like the DS simply for its accessibility. Modern PCs and consoles are way too complex, while the DS allows you to poke at its guts with no OS or virtualization in the way. It's fun to approach problems like those in AoC in completely novel ways on systems that require and allow you to do things differently.
It's not for everyone, sure, but it's certainly not torture for those who do it.