They're definitely not magic, but they're also not just friction on top of regular procedures. They have use cases and used correctly they make a game mechanics into composable and configurable puzzle pieces that are easy to move around. Things that are much more difficult when you write all your game code into a classic run loop.
I think the debate here came down to whether a person who is inexperienced with either strategy for making a game is much more efficient with one thing or another, and I can't say that for sure. But I can say that in my experience the ECS pattern has had benefits for quick prototyping and experimentation, and shouldn't be dismissed out of hand in such a scenario.
I think the debate here came down to whether a person who is inexperienced with either strategy for making a game is much more efficient with one thing or another, and I can't say that for sure. But I can say that in my experience the ECS pattern has had benefits for quick prototyping and experimentation, and shouldn't be dismissed out of hand in such a scenario.