StaceyPowers

Are there any game soundtracks you enjoy so much that you play them even when you are doing something else, despite having heard them over and over while playing? For me, the Skyrim and Oblivion soundtracks are some of the best work and study music out there. They are not obtrusive, and they also immediately put me into a “task completion” mindset, so they are work-conducive by default. And I never get sick of them, so I listen to them a lot when I am working. I also listen to the bard songs from DA: Inquisition pretty often lately. DA seems to be one of the best series for reducing my anxiety, so just putting on the bard music can make me feel more calm and relaxed.

I have this problem too. And the world starts breaking as your save file gets larger. No clue how to fix it.

Myst.

So, this could be seen as an apples to oranges question, but to me, Elder Scrolls and Fallout are similar franchises with games that play almost identically in many respects. For those who enjoy both, do you have a preference overall for one series or the other, and if so, which and why? For me, it is a pretty tough call, as I really like both. But I think that Fallout appeals to me most by a narrow margin, despite the fact that Elder Scrolls is arguably a prettier world (I mean, it has trees, come on). If I were to try and figure out why Fallout seems to have more of a pull on me, I can come up with a few factors: -Sense of humor. Skyrim and Oblivion seem to lack a sense of humor in many respects (I can’t speak for Morrowind, haven’t played it). Not entirely, but the black humour that is all over Fallout is appealing to me. -Better “dungeons.” One cave in Skyrim is much the same as another for the most part. But the Vaults in Fallout tell stories about their histories that you can follow as you explore, which really adds to the experience to me (despite them being built like mazes). I love how each feels like a mystery you are “solving” as you go. -Better companions (in NV at least). The companions in NV all have stories and quests and feel more individual to me. -Art design elements. This is totally subjective, but I love retro design, and Fallout is filled with it. -More varied quests. I think that the overall variety of quests in Fallout is a bit more broad-ranging than those in the ES games I have played. -Cool DLCs. Skyrim has awesome DLCs too, but I just like the way that Fallout’s function as experimental mini-games in some respects. -Fallout NV is my overall favorite of these Bethesda-published games. That does tend to sway my overall outlook on Fallout in a positive way. What about you? Do you prefer Fallout or Elder Scrolls, or do they rank the same for you?

That sounds similar to the terminal hacking puzzles in Fallout (which I actually like).

Thank you! If you ever run into the reference in the future, please let me know :)

You just explained your systematic method in my other thread.

I do remember taking that approach with Myst on PC back in the day. I guess that I had the patience with that because it was literally a puzzle game, and thus I would just keep working on the puzzles at school and such.

We’ve posted on here about our favorite game soundtracks. But what about least favorite game soundtracks? Are there any game soundtracks which just get on your nerves? Or are there some you have mixed feelings about? Or even just specific tracks? I can’t think of any game soundtracks which I outright hate. But there are some that I sometimes find tedious. For example, Tetris has a classic soundtrack, and I can’t say I “dislike” it—but I sure dislike it getting stuck in my head. I’m playing Mass Effect right now, and that’s another soundtrack on which I have mixed feelings. It adds to the atmosphere of the game, and in some respects I find it kind of fun, but the song that plays continuously when you are on the Normandy irritates me for some reason (possibly also by getting stuck in my head, and by being so unvaried and repetitious). I wish sometimes that game options included complicated breakdowns on music, so you could be like “play music when on missions, but not on ship.” What game soundtracks or specific songs annoy you?

Puzzle solving! It’s not my favorite thing ever. I am hoping that someone can help me become a better puzzle-solver. I have noticed that my problem is that puzzles seem to involve two stages in most games, and it is the first stage I can’t seem to figure out how to deal with. The two stages seem to be: 1-Figuring out the rules/underlying principle of the puzzle. 2-Working through the puzzle based on the rules/underlying principle. If I know the rules for a puzzle and understand more or less what I am supposed to be doing, I usually am patient and methodical enough to follow through and solve the puzzle. But if I do not understand the basic underlying principle governing a puzzle, I feel totally lost, and have no idea what to do or how to begin systematically determining what the underlying rules are. I usually cannot even make sense of what I am looking at. Worse, even after I look up the solution, sometimes I still don’t grok the puzzle. If anyone here excels at this first stage, what is your basic process? How do you go from looking at a puzzle you have never encountered before to figuring out what you have to do to solve it?

I was supremely and ridiculously proud of myself this past week because I managed to solve TWO puzzles in a row in TWO games without looking up any hints. To anyone here who is good at solving puzzles, this probably sounds quite silly. But I truly am that pathetic at them. The puzzles I solved were really simple too. But hey, at least I didn’t have to cheat for once. One of the puzzles just involved stepping in a correct pattern across a floor so as not to die. The other had to do with trying to get a meter up to a certain amount of “full,” and I had to figure out which buttons to press to fill up the meter at the appropriate amounts added together. I am sure that many here excel at solving much harder puzzles. What puzzles are you particularly proud that you managed to solve either by yourself or with only a minimal amount of assistance?

I am pretty sure right now I am not the only person who is dealing with a lot of extra anxiety. I use gaming on a nightly basis to help me deal with my OCD and sleep, and it usually works pretty well. But with coronavirus rampaging around, I have quite a bit of breakthrough anxiety. And I am betting that even those of you who don’t have anxiety disorders may be feeling more tense and uncertain than usual. So, what games are the best to soothe anxiety and help us relax during this difficult time? For me, I think the best games in this respect fall into several categories: -Games that force me to be in the moment. For example, this would include first person shooters, or intense stealth games like TLOU. Because they demand so much intense concentration and focus, they help to disrupt anxious thoughts. -Games that take me into a different world/story. Other games that help me to cope with my anxiety are those which pull me outside of my own head and place me firmly in someone else’s. Well-developed worlds paired with well-developed characters help here. The games that seem to do the best in this regard for me are those like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. There is a lot of rich lore to dive into, a solid story, and richly developed characters who feel very lifelike and real. -Super relaxing chill games. Finally, games like Elder Scrolls and Fallout are awesome for coping with anxiety. First of all, the very task-based nature of them makes it easy to get into a flow, and hijacks my obsessive-compulsive circuits and puts them to better use than fretting about my problems. Secondly, the peaceful music and serene landscapes get me into a really chill state of mind. I find that Oblivion in particular is amazing in this respect with its lovely compositions and lush landscapes. What about you? What games are you playing right now to keep anxiety at bay?

Thank you, @Crazycrab, @The Blackangel, @Shagger, @kingpotato. I nominate everyone previously nominated plus @kingpotato and @Juneberry.

@Juneberry was mentioning a game called Littlewood with a gender-neutral hero in another thread I posted about LGBTQA+ representations. Off the top of my head, I am not sure I have played any games which feature player characters that are anything other than male or female. The only game I can think of that I have played which features anything outside that binary for NPCs might be Mass Effect, where you have the mono-gendered (or genderless?) Asari. Can anyone else recommend any other games which feature gender-neutral or genderless characters? I’m also interested in games that feature characters that are genderfluid or fall outside the gender binary in any other way.

Lots of references nowadays to Ataris what with all the 80s nostalgia which is big right now. When I was a kid, we had an original NES, but I never had a chance to play an Atari. For those who have had a chance to play on both systems (and/or others) from that era, how do they compare? @The Blackangel I expect you probably have some thoughts here.

Every time I play Left Behind, I am struck by how similar Riley’s features are to Marlene’s. In fact, they look so similar to me that I actually have to remind myself that there is zero evidence (that I am aware of) that Riley is Marlene’s daughter. That impression of a possible familial relationship also is helped along for me by Marlene’s attempts to separate Riley and Ellie, though I think her only real motivation for that was to protect Ellie as per her promise to Anna. Does anyone else here ever have the thought that they could be related? Also, does anyone know whether this possibility is dis-proven by anything concrete in any offshoot materials, i.e. American Dreams?

I heard that Jeremy Soule who scored Skyrim, Oblivion and Morrowind is “currently not involved” in Elder Scrolls VI. Now, being as Elder Scrolls VI must be at a super early development stage, I’m not sure I’d read into that the idea that Bethesda is passing him over as composer, but it is possible. I read that this guy has a lot of issues involving undelivered purchases through his own company, which is kind of sad to hear. But just based purely on his capabilities as a composer, I think he’s amazing. I love how you can hear some of the same themes used from game to game and location to location, but he reworks them, giving a sense of “same universe, filtered through a different place/time.” I was looking forward to hearing his work for Elder Scrolls VI, and will be disappointed if he doesn’t do the soundtrack. If Soule doesn’t do ES VI, who do you think would do justice to the next game as well as his previous work? What composers would be able to build best off of what he has already created?

I have to post about this weird Twitch ad I just saw, because it made me laugh. It showed an image from an FPS game, and then the text said something like, “If your idea of camping doesn’t involve sleeping bags or tents, you are already one of us. Join now.” I get that it is a cute pun or whatever, but on the whole, most gamers’ attitudes toward camping in FPS games are quite negative. It seems almost like the person who designed this ad was unaware of that, and just thought, “Okay, here’s some lingo I can reference.” Does anyone else think this ad text is something of a misfire/mistake?

That expulsion story makes me angry 😞 My chronic conditions kicked in after school luckily, but I know what it's like to be discriminated against because of them. And no online GED ... what a rotten state. I also play games to treat my anxiety.

Hahah, I was going to mention that, not as a positive exactly. Just as something hilarious to me. Everyone in Skyrim is gay for the Dragonborn, but otherwise straight. The land of heteroflexible people =D I mean, I appreciate the flexibility, but it's not all that realistic. Very good point. He developed even greater courage and pride in himself through his struggles, and used them to become even more awesome :) Also, I have a female char on my first playthrough, so I didn't get to romance him, but I've found the friendship with him very satisfying. Incidentally, I chose Sera to romance, and thus far she hasn't even really mentioned her sexuality, it just is. So it's a nice contrast between them. Wonderful point, I didn't even think of that. Then again, I grew up with parents who didn't honestly understand that type of unconditional love for their children. In that way, this game is also a great demonstration of what that should look like without even talking about it really. You just experience it if you're an empathetic gamer. I wonder if that is why a lot of players who do get annoyed at other LGBTQA+ representations in gaming often seem to make an exception for Ellie; they can't help but love her as she is.

Some of you may be aware that there was an exclusive event called The Last of Us One Night Live. You can watch most of this event on YouTube. But there was an epilogue scene which was acted out set a few weeks after the end of the events in TLOU between Ellie and Joel. Does anyone know where I can watch or listen to this? I am pretty sure no public recordings exist, bootlegged or otherwise, but I am always looking. IF anyone here is unfamiliar with the epilogue and is curious, you can read a description of the scene here: https://thelastofus.fandom.com/wiki/The_Last_of_Us:_One_Night_Live I highly recommend doing so as it offers some nice closure.

I finished my second playthrough of The Last of Us last night (about to start Left Behind again). On my first playthrough, I leaned toward supporting Joel’s decision at the end of the game, but I was still very divided on it. On a second playthrough, not as much. Marlene’s voice recording and journal entry were very emotional and self-centered. She even mentioned that she was going to leave (the Fireflies, presumably, not just that location) because she couldn’t bear the way the others were looking at her after her repeated failures. She sounded quite desperate for something to grab onto to reboot her organization and her role in it, so her decision-making process to me seemed more emotional than logical. What do you all think of Marlene? Regardless of whether you felt Joel’s decision was right or wrong, do you think Marlene was being logical when she made her choice at the end of the game? Do you think she was motivated by the greater good or by selfish emotion (not so different from Joel, in a way)?

On a thread about the TLOU HBO show, @Crazycrab and I were talking about Ellie’s orientation (because another member brought it up). We both think that Ellie is a great LGBTQA+ portrayal because the matter is treated as entirely irrelevant in the game. There are so many actually important things for the characters to be hung up about (like infected and assholes everywhere) to bother getting hung up over something as irrelevant as Ellie’s orientation. Which is as it should be in an ideal world. Of course, we don’t live in an ideal world where people expend their anger and intolerance on things that are actually a threat to their lives, so I think stories that reflect that also are important. So, a contrasting LGBTQA+ portrayal which I also like is Dorian in Dragon Age: Inquisition. DA always seems to feature a diverse set of characters, which I really appreciate. Dorian’s orientation caused him issues back in Tevinter, and those are front and central in his mind. Being as that is a familiar experience for a lot of LGBTQA+ people, exploring it seemed worthy to me. Beyond that, Dorian is just awesome all around. A lot of characters in DA are LGBTQA+. Some, like Dorian, have struggled because of it. Others don’t even bring it up. They’re just available or they’re not, depending on whether your character is male or female. What LGBTQA+ portrayals have you liked most in games, and why?

On a thread concerning the appeal of violence in video games, @The Blackangel asked @Juneberry for a subjective interpretation of what constitutes violence in video games. I thought that was an interesting question deserving its own thread. I'd love to hear others weigh in on this. On another thread where we discussed whether video game violence promotes IRL violence, I asserted that video games are not actually violent, but rather feature simulated violence, and I hold to that. That being said, what is my definition of simulated violence? I guess anything where there is simulated physical damage to my character or any other character in the game. This also includes “nonentities” such as reanimated corpses though, or even objects in my environment. So my definition is super broad. Good thing I enjoy simulated violence :)

Can you rephrase this? My literal brain can't interpret the question. Probably, during my school days.