StaceyPowers

I have just been reading up on the loot box debate, or should I say "surprise mechanics" debate. I am curious what everyone here thinks of it? Are loot boxes the same thing as gambling? Does it make a difference if they are paid or free? @Alyxx @killamch89

I didn't know EA had called loot boxes "Surprise Mechanics" until I saw @Alyxx and @killamch89 talking about it, and now I can't stop laughing. So I thought I'd start a thread where you can list the most hilarious/outrageous/ridiculous/infuriating things you've heard game companies say over the years.

I was noting @DylanC talking about finding Control tedious. It occurs to me that one person’s tedious could be another person’s relaxing—or that a feature that feels tedious one day could feel relaxing the next, even for a single gamer. So how tedious is too tedious? What makes something feel tedious to you? When do you cross the threshold from “mindless fun” to “frustrating?” Are there games other people find tedious that you enjoy, or vice versa? I have noticed that a lot of it for me comes down to my mood and mental resources as much as anything, especially when something is right on the edge of being too tedious, but isn’t necessarily there. Context changes things too. For example: -Grinding in an MMO by myself usually is tedious. But grinding with a fun party can be relaxing. -Most of the time, I find Skyrim’s repetitious dungeons relaxing and enjoyable, along with its short little uninvolved side quests. But sometimes, my brain seems to find them tedious, I think usually when a silly desire to “get the next thing accomplished, and the next, and the next!” sets in. Usually the things I find tedious 100% of the time involve needing to be very precise with something involving timing or placement of objects, or both. Or solving a puzzle which requires a lot of steps and patience, but which doesn’t have any obvious underlying “logic” or “cleverness” to it—just trying every possible combination of things methodically until it is done.

I figure most people here have gamed on a computer and/or mobile device plus at least one console. But I know some folks here have multiple consoles across different brands, or regularly switch between Microsoft, PlayStation and Nintendo when they buy (I know somebody here mentioned that, but I can’t recall who it was). For those who have tried multiple platforms, which do you prefer? I used to favour the computer greatly over the one console I’d tried (an NES when I was a kid) because I found the mouse/keyboard easier to use than the old controller. But now I favour the PS3 because I prefer the DualShock over the mouse/keyboard. It is more intuitive and ergonomic to me.

@kingpotato mentioned recently that while he’s a fan of Skyrim, he didn’t get into Morrowind or Oblivion. I am wondering what everyone’s favorite Elder Scrolls games are and why? So far, I have only played Skyrim and Oblivion, and I haven’t gotten very far into Oblivion yet. I’m enjoying it a lot, but so far I do like Skyrim better, mostly because the controls seem more intuitive, and the NPCs seem a bit more “interactive” in some way than those in Oblivion. I still haven’t played Morrowind.

Are there any games you have made use of in a manner not necessarily intended? Like, a friend of a friend plays Fallout 4, but reportedly spends the majority of his time simply building and doing nothing else. As another example which is weird and was completely non-intentional, recently I made a new character on a MUD I played many many years ago. I didn’t get far with it before I had other things to do, but then I started dreaming about a fictitious version of the game. Figuring that is more fun in all likelihood than the actual game, I keep logging in so they don’t delete my character, but then logging right out. This jogs my brain into continuing its nighttime “playing” of the game. Anyone else play a game in a way that was not intended by its creators?

Does anybody else have a difficult time getting into crafting systems in video games, even if you really want to? Almost without exception, I seem to experience total overwhelm when first trying to make sense of a crafting system in a game. I really appreciate elaborate systems that let me fine-tune crafting … but the more elaborate the system, the harder it is for me to know where to dive in.bI’ve never figured out a good approach to getting started or exploring a crafting system in a methodical way. The result is that it will often take me multiple play-throughs on a game to even try any sort of crafting.Like the first time I played Skyrim, I 100% ignored any sort of crafting—and that system isn’t even that complicated. The second time through, I ended up levelling smithing to 100. Right now I’m playing DA: Inquisition, and the crafting system has me completely frozen/ignoring it, even though I want to use it. Does anyone have the same problem I do? And does anyone have any tips for overcoming crafting system overwhelm and methodically learning the ropes for a complicated system?

I think so? "Power Given Flesh."

Thank you! I also nominate @kingpotato and @skyfire.

I want to know how and why the stone spheres (bolas) of Costa Rica were constructed. Awesome question! What mystery would you pick? TV! = depth of books + the joy of film in one delicious package.

Good choice :)

Like velociratpors =D

I was revisiting this thread from @Keranov today, and thinking about gaming rage. While re-reading it I was thinking, what is the best way to avoid raging at video games? So far, I have found that the best thing for me is simply to know what I am getting into, and to be patient with it. If I am very clear with myself from the off that it may take me a whole week to get through a single room in a game, I usually don’t get too frustrated by the repeat attempts and uncertainty. It’s only when I’m caught off guard that I get really angry—or when I don’t remind myself to be patient. Patience seems to stave off most bad episodes of rage. How do you prevent video game rage?

As we move toward the trailing end of the year, I am wondering what the best indie games are from 2019? Please share your recommendations.

What is the single most damaging abuse of a glitch or bug or exploit you ever saw in a game? The worst for me was in a MUD I played where I noticed that everything in the game cost an insane amount of gold. I could not wrap my head around it for a long time. Not all the quests or mobs in the game had been updated to drop more gold, either, so it could be difficult to buy things. Eventually, someone explained to me that massive inflation had taken place. And the entire reason for it was because some quest had glitched at some point in the past, and a player discovered he could basically get endless gold from it. So he abused the glitch to get an insane amount of money, and then it flooded out into the game economy before the admins could catch onto what had happened. As a result, the value of the in-game currency watered down to almost nothing. Does anyone else have any dramatic stories to share of this type of abuse?

@Alyxx posed the question of whether leveling services (i.e. paying another person to log into your account and grind for you) are cheating. I remember debates about that in the MUDs I used to play. I don’t personally think there is an obvious yes or no answer. It is certainly in the “spirit” of cheating—although technically, someone is still doing the work required—it just isn’t the same person who is doing everything else with the account. So I wouldn’t call it cheating the same way I would say abusing an exploit would be cheating, or hacking a game … but it’s cheating in the sense that the person themselves will always know they took a shortcut to level. Another one I thought was in a gray area was bribery. A lot of people in a game I played accused a rich guy of cheating by bribing other players with in-game currency. In my opinion, he was playing the game the way it was designed, particularly given that nobody else needed to take his bribes. But I could still see the “spirit of cheating” argument here, but if so, to me, the cheat was buying so much in-game currency to begin with using RL money. In a way, all “play to win” games seem like cheats to me for the wealthy. Kind of sucks, being as RL is already pay-to-win, which is exactly what I like to get away from when playing a game. What are your thoughts?

Seems like a gray area to me.

Has there ever been something in a video game that you initially found obnoxious, but later grew to like? For example, when I first started playing Dragon Age: Origins, I could not stand the character voice I had picked (I believe it is the one which is the “aggressive” female voice). The character was constantly shouting this tedious line in combat: “Let me get you a ladder so you can get off my back!” I was so peeved I almost went back and started over just to replace the voice, and was so confused when my friend told me she loves all the character voices. But I was able to tune it out after a while, and blessedly, the character stopped saying the line 40 times a minute after a while for whatever reason. Anyway, I got used to it, and now, I actually miss it sometimes =D And I still say “Let me get you a ladder” whenever someone is nagging me about something IRL. What stuff that once annoyed you in video games became something you liked?

@killamch89 and @Alyxx were talking here about how important character customization is to their experience of a game. I am wondering how important character customization is to everyone here, and what aspects of it you care about the most. I used to not care much about character customization. And if I have to live without it, I’m usually fine with that. But I definitely prefer a system which gives me as much control as possible. Mostly I like being able to make all kinds of little micro-adjustments to my character’s face and hair. I just like designing someone who will be pretty to look at over the course of the game. If I were playing a game where character customization was driven by microtransactions though, I probably wouldn’t bother with it. I’d just focus on playing the game and not worry about cosmetics. One thing I do really like is being able to choose my character’s voice, if the character is going to be talking at all. The more voice options there are, the better. If the voice actor’s delivery feels “off,” the entire character feels “off” to me, and harder to connect to.

In this thread, @Alyxx , @killamch89 and @skyfire were talking about monetizing character customization, and whether or not it is an acceptable idea. In terms of microtransactions, I sure don’t like the idea of having to pay for character customization, but I definitely know that I would far prefer cosmetic microtransactions rather than those which impact game play. There is nothing worse to me than pay-to-win. I was in a pay-to-win game once where a rich player pretty much “bought” the game in many respects. No one could stand up to him, because he was able to buy so many upgrades. What types of microtransactions are you okay with, if any? And which do you despise the most?

@kingpotato mentioned that a lot of developers these days are focusing on a retro look and feel to games. What is everyone’s feeling on retro style graphics and gameplay? Is it something you like? Something you dislike? I don’t have any games with retro style graphics, and it isn’t my preference, but I definitely don’t mind it.

@Alyxx was mentioning to me that nothing in BioShock Infinite made any sense to her. I'm a big fan of BioShock Infinite--it is my favorite game--but I can still see why someone might come away with that impression. I figure that must happen a lot with popular games. Can anyone else here think of a game that you played which was very well-received, but which just didn't make sense to you personally?

As many of you probably know by now, I only have a PS3. But I do plan to buy a PS5, which means I’ll be able to play PS4 games. Sometimes I see BioShock: The Collection with the remastered games go on sale for a good price. I was wondering who here has played the remasters as well as the originals, and how they compare? Is it worth it for me to grab this, keeping in mind I am a massive fan of the originals? @DylanC @skyfire Tagging you both since I know you're both fans of the series.

Okay then. Who trains your dogs?

Good call. I too would like to see this. There have been a few games where I was just fine with not making decisions. TLOU was a story about very clearly written characters, for example, and I wanted to know about their decisions, not replace them with mine. And BioShock Infinite to me would’ve made no sense philosophically if there’d been real player choice. I also did not mind Anders stealing the scene in Dragon Age II—because some things are out of one’s control. But I guess outside of specific contexts/justifications, I too would prefer player choice and real, world-altering consequences to be the norm as much as possible.