StaceyPowers

Have you ever played a game that changed your life in a dramatic fashion, whether directly or indirectly? I can say that a couple of video games changed my life permanently. The first was Myst, which changed how I looked at the world and what might be possible. It also steered me toward becoming a writer. The second was an MMO I used to play. None of the friendships I made there lasted, but I took so many lasting life lessons away from the experience which have impacted everything from how I build personal relationships to how I conduct my business with respect to customer service. Playing that game was one of the defining events in my life, however silly that sounds. What about you? Has a video game changed your life?

Yes, that won't work in a video game =D I can only bluff via betting patterns, i.e. by creating a false trail based in logic. Though you'd be correct in ascertaining I'd be interested in your bluffing lessons IRL :)

I was reminiscing with someone recently over an MMO we used to play like a decade ago, and I laughed when I found out that in some respects, the essential conflict is still the same. Basically, most of the players kill villager NPCs to level up, which then re-spawn. But if one is trying to RP logically, the villagers must be treated like real people. Thus, one might feel compelled to wage a war over the villagers (if playing “good”). But then, all the other players complain that one is being unreasonable by protecting them. This sort of thing drove me crazy back when I played. I just couldn’t get over how illogical and inconsistent it was to throw a fit in an RPG when someone (like me) behaves in an IC way by protecting the villagers. Yes, it makes leveling harder, but that’s an OOC complaint. But somehow, I could never get these people to grok that. Does anyone else get annoyed when they see inconsistencies in how other players RP in MMOs?

I can relate to that. Nothing more annoying than an escort mission with a useless NPC that does nothing but drive a person crazy until they are delivered to their destination. What really sucks is when the game doesn’t allow you to kill them later.

I think I could go for a game that takes place in Rapture before the fall, just so we could see a bit more of what it was like than we did in Burial at Sea. But I also would prefer a new city. It's a big multiverse, after all. Not sure how I'd feel about an MMO ...

For some reason, passive abilities always confuse me, and I tend to forget to set them up to use in games where they exist. It’s almost like I see them as an administrative hassle =D

The moment I read the title of this post, I thought "zombies and skeletons." I'll also add spiders to the bunch.

Alas, money, and not logic, rule the day … Or, to paraphrase what I heard Marston say last night in RDR, “So long as there is money and guns, there will never be freedom.”

For years it has seemed (to me at least) as if console companies have done their best to push gamers forward, always encouraging us to buy new games, and to do that, they have encouraged us to stop playing our old games by not supporting a lot in the way of backwards compatibility. I’ve never thought that this was a great business model, and neglects the fact that most of us are going to continue to try to find ways to play our old games if possible while still purchasing new games. I know that Microsoft has been better in this respect than Sony for a while. I never upgraded to a PS4 because of the lack of backwards compatibility with PS3 games. But I have noticed a change in tone lately from Sony and Microsoft both (particularly Sony). Both companies seem to be moving more and more in the direction of increasing backwards compatibility, and they seem less “grudging” about it. But I could be wrong in all this, and it might just be my perception. Do you all think that backwards compatibility is going to become a bigger deal going forward, and that it will be more available? Or do you think that Sony and Microsoft will continue hoping that we’ll lose interest in our old platform games?

BioShock Infinite features a number of cool song covers, including this memorable cover of God Only Knows by the Beach Boys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7ogV49WGco What other video games feature song covers that you have enjoyed? Anyone have any videos to share?

Does anyone have any useful tips for bluffing the AI opponents in RDR when you are playing poker? So far, I have been getting away with the continuation bet from time to time, but I still have a hard time executing a successful bluff. Does anyone know if there are, for example, bet thresholds where AIs are more likely to be successfully fooled? Or specific scenarios where the bluffing is most likely to be effective (i.e. like my continuation bets)?

What is an obscure classic PC game that you really love which most people don’t seem familiar with? One I miss a lot is Heaven and Earth, a puzzle game that ran in DOS. I’ve never run into anyone who knows it. In fact, every time a puzzle makes me angry in another game, I lament the loss of a game that made me actually enjoy puzzles, and wish there were a way to play it again. I’m curious if anyone here played Heaven and Earth. What obscure old PC games do you miss?

Sometimes I am tempted by deals on PS4 games, even though I do not have a PS4. I reason that I should be able to play them later on PS5. But I usually talk myself out of making the purchases. Do you buy games for platforms you don’t possess when you spot them cheap, just so you have them?

My friend recently was telling me how he ended up spending most of his time in Skyrim at one point protecting orcs from dragons as well as looking after Vigilance. I also tend to be obsessive about looking after NPCs, often to the point of ludicrous inconvenience. The worst for me is returning to my house and re-doing it repeatedly in Skyrim so that I can manage to prevent the giants or bandits or wolves from killing any of my chickens (I will never buy chickens for my future houses again). Does anybody else do this?

When you are playing open world games and are crossing the map on foot or horseback (not fast travelling), do you have a preferred time of day in-game to do it? I like all the details I can pick up in the daytime, but sometimes it is too bright for me (I have migraines), so night is better. But I miss so many details at night. So, usually I try to start a journey on foot right before sunrise or right before sunset. That way the light is beautiful and atmospheric and also not too bright or dim. What about you? What time of day (in game) do you prefer to travel in open world games?

So, I missed this a couple of months back. 2K is apparently getting into developing the next BioShock game. I feel both excited and nervous about this. It is hard picturing BioShock without Ken Levine (I’m assuming he won’t be involved), but he wasn’t there for BioShock 2, and that game was excellent IMO (and criminally underrated). It seemed to have plenty of his creative influence in it, and was a surprisingly close thematic match for BioShock Infinite after it. It is hard for me to know where to go after Infinite—that game felt so “ultimate” to me. But to be honest, Burial at Sea seemed like such a mixed bag philosophically, and almost seemed to undo some of the awesome stuff Infinite did regarding the redemption arcs of its characters. I think if I were making a BioShock game, I’d start there—not necessarily doing anything else with Booker or Elizabeth, but addressing some of the questions and loose ends philosophically that Burial at Sea left hanging. What about you? Are you excited for a future BioShock game? Nervous? Where would you go with it? @skyfire Tagging you because I know you're a big fan of the series and I'd like your thoughts.

Dragon Age. I have a hard time pulling myself out of the world of Thedas, even to go to bed. I always want to see what happens next in the story or an interaction with a character.

Precisely. Yet these are the people who somehow are treated as if they are indispensable.

I'll probably get the Collection eventually anyway when I upgrade to a system where I can play the remasters. Usually I am the sort of completionist you mention, but … puzzles. Some things frustrate me even more than the “but it isn’t finished” I have in the back of my head.

Quake II Arena is a mainstay for me with regard to this, particularly with the “blowing off steam” component. But I de-stress best with a chill open world game, i.e. Skyrim or Fallout.

Getting a game and finding it can't run would be incredibly frustrating. Almost as frustrating as trying to beat Dark Souls 2.

That does sound like it is ridiculously out of place. Are the timed missions avoidable, or are you forced to play them?

What has kept you from progressing (aside from it being a punishing game)?

That counts. I have some clothing items that in some way remind me of the video games I like. Who did you sneak up on IRL? I feel like there is a story here.

I have focus difficulties as a result of OCD and poor executive function. I can definitely affirm that gaming is helpful with my focus issues. It helps to “re-hijack” the attention that OCD likes to grab and reroute, which probably works so well because gaming is goal-oriented and also gives my OCD completionist activities to fixate on. Thanks for sharing what you’ve learned about video games and the brain. Do you have any personal stories to share about how gaming has helped you?