StaceyPowers

Do you ever find yourself just standing around waiting to die in video games for practical reasons (or actively trying to die)? If so, in what games, and to what end? In BioShocks 1 and 2, sometimes dying to get the free salts/health refills was the most cost-effective resource management strategy for me (yes, this says nothing flattering about my skills), so I would just wait to die if I was near death. Somewhat embarrassingly, there were a couple of fights that I pretty much fought from The Vita Chambers. If I lose a follower or a pet (like my horse in RDR), I just die and reload to get them back. I used to get myself killed in a MUD I played on a regular basis because it included an underworld/afterlife zone that was super cool to explore and hang out in, and my RP involved my character's obsession with the place and with the god of death.

@killamch89 mentioned RDR2 Online not catching his interest because of quality issues. It made me curious what single player games have the best online modes available and which ones are a waste of time.

@kingpotato was mentioning he can't afford a PS Plus subscription, and I started to wonder how many people here do and don't have gaming subscriptions. For those of you who do pay for them, which ones do you have, and which do you feel give you the best bang for your buck? For those who don't, what stops you aside from simply not having the money to subscribe? I’ve never had a gaming service subscription, but I think in my case it probably just doesn’t make a lot of sense—and not just because I’m a generation behind. I tend to play mostly large open world games, and it just makes more sense to spend a few bucks to buy them used and own them than to pay for a subscription service I won’t get that much use from.

I was reading @Alyxx, @The Blackangel and @skyfire chatting about what they look for and don't in relationships, and it got me thinking about gaming and relationships of all kinds. For those of you who live with someone else, whether it be a partner or spouse, a family member, or a friend or roommate, how does gaming impact your relationship, if at all, and how does your relationship impact your gaming? Do you game together? Did you meet your partner gaming? Does the person you live with support and understand your gaming, or do they complain you game too much and/or you need to use a silent keyboard to play without waking them up at night?

Really late response, I used to have some version of this as a kid. I wouldn't eat food with holes in it, or would like, break a bagel in half before I ate it, to eliminate the worst of the offending holes. But then for some reason, in my mind-teens, I had some kind of aesthetic preference develop for things that look organic/biological, so stuff with holes in it became appealing. Still kind of troubling, but like appealing while also being unsettling. I really like things with holes now. But in an "acquired taste" way. Like loving insects, even though they still make me squeamish. I can still relate to sensory issues though. But I don't know what one can do about them other than avoid the triggering things :/

@The Blackangel Someone I've had similar thoughts about myself :)

Never had an interest in it, and even if I did, can't afford one.

A smart, stylish person who shares my love for old-school FPS.

Thank you too. Coming from you, it means a lot to me.

I can't reasonably claim to really know you, but from what I see of you in glimpses here, I see someone I respect who has inner power that a lot of people couldn't imagine, because most people can't truly empathize with the daily challenge you face just waking up and living your life.

PE was the challenge heheh. But when they sent us into those walleyball courts, that was the time to curl up in a corner!

Did anyone here ever game at work? Did your bosses know you were gaming, or did you hide it? Did you game on the work computer or your mobile device? I had a cushy office job once upon a time long, long ago where most of the staff enjoyed FPS games. So, sometimes we would take half an hour or an hour and game instead of work, especially if a number of us had worked through our lunches and were ahead on our tasks. It was pretty fun, since we had about the ideal number of people. @killamch89 @kingpotato @Alyxx @Executor Akamia @Jayson @The Blackangel @skyfire @DylanC

An obvious big part of the appeal of video games is that they offer us a chance to do things we can never do in real life. This can include some obvious and unobvious things. For me, these are the things that I love being able to do in games that I can’t do in real life: Shoot and blow people up without harming anyone (let’s just get that out of the way =D) Travel! I do not have the health or the money or time to do this in real life. While gaming is not a replacement for RL travel, the process and experience of exploration is very real, and that does make it a sort of travel. Do stuff without worrying about my pain levels too much (I usually feel better at night when I play, and if I have to stop, it's as simple as putting away the controller--that's much easier than coming back home from some activity I had to travel to). Make easy, reliable cash. It is so great not worrying about where money will come from in Skyrim or Fallout. I don’t have to loot every body and container, but I usually do, because I can. It isn’t that easy IRL, so it feels cathartic and reassuring in-game. Create a customized house/land. I spend a lot of time arranging things in my houses in Skyrim and Fallout. Take care of people. In Skyrim and Fallout, I can move people into my house and be their provider. I am a provider IRL too, but in the video games, I can do it with more confidence and less uncertainty. Enjoy a sense of family. While I have family/friends IRL, there are relationship gaps, especially where having a sense of “community” is concerned. I can enjoy that sense of community in some video games. Find new places to call home. “Home” for me has never been just one place IRL. But I get a sense of “home” in some games too, so virtual locations to add where I feel safe and surrounded by a supportive environment. Watch endless sunsets and northern lights. Thank you, Skyrim. Feel like I can change the world. I feel like I can hardly dent the injustices in the real world, but in video games, I get the satisfaction of making peoples’ lives better. What about you? What do you love doing in video games that you can’t do in real life? @kingpotato @killamch89 @kingpotato @Alyxx @The Blackangel @Jayson @skyfire

It's not pathetic at all. Video game characters are often like stand-in family for me too, especially in Dragon Age. It's the same for me with some TV characters as well. There are some things one looks for that are hard to come by in real life.

In this thread regarding loyalty to video game companies, @killamch89 pointed out that "things can change with those companies in the blink of an eye." This is a very good point. It’s easy to forget that the version of a company that exists today may be radically different from the version that existed ten years ago or even just five—or the version that may exist five or ten years from now. What in your opinion were the best and worst eras for various video game companies—especially those like EA that get a lot of flak? What made them good or bad during those time periods? What could they do today to improve?

In this thread, @skyfire, @Alyxx and @The Blackangel mentioned that it may make more sense to be loyal to video games than to video game companies. I’m not sure I’d really say I am “loyal” per say to a particular franchise, because like a company, it may be subject to very large changes. But, perhaps I can relate in some way, as I may be more likely to try and look past flaws and appreciate bright spots in weaker games in a series if I love the series overall. What video games/series are you loyal to?

That was what math class was for =D

While reading this thread by @Jayson, I was thinking about how even though I buy most of my games used to save money, i still end up shelling out a ton of cash on DLCs. In fact, I am willing to wager 70% or more of the money I have spent on video games has been spent on DLCs. It isn’t uncommon for me to get a game for $5, and then wind up spending $40 or $50 on its DLCs and expansion packs. I try to avoid this by grabbing GOTY editions whenever possible, but obviously, this isn’t always an option (or I just miss the opportunity). I usually buy DLCs piecemeal whenever possible, i.e. one $5 DLC here and another there, and then when I’m at the grocery store, I just think, “Okay, what $5 grocery item do I not really need this week.” So, for any one game, how much money are you willing to spend on the DLCs? I seem to lose my patience after around $40 (for whatever arbitrary reason), but then, thankfully I usually have bought all the DLCs I want by that point.

I buy mostly used ... of course, I then buy all the DLC, soooo they still get a lot of my cash =D

Paper or plastic?

Are there video game characters you “miss” like old friends you haven’t seen when you don’t play the games they are featured in? I tend to collect followers, so I think I could say that this happens with anything I haven’t played in a while. But the characters I miss the most when not playing their game are: Ellie and Joel in TLOU, pretty much every character I like in DA games, and Booker and Elizabeth in BioShock Infinite. Sometimes I even miss “being” certain characters. Like when I’m not playing Infinite, I miss looking at the world through Booker’s eyes and the lens of his experiences. For some reason I have a hard time identifying, I feel that way about Hawke in DA II as well. What about you? What game characters do you miss when you’re not hanging out with them in video game land? @killamch89 @kingpotato @Alyxx @The Blackangel @skyfire @DylanC

Over here, @The Blackangel mentions a dislike of online gaming. I too currently do not play any online games. I was wondering who else here avoids multiplayer gaming, and if so, why? Sometimes I play Q3A or UT2004, but it's almost exclusively on the LAN. I used to be a very dedicated player on a MUD, but that was back in high school. Since then, I simply never found one I liked. It was like it had to be just the right community for me to be compelled by it. Plus, playing MUDs is too time-consuming with my adult responsibilities. So why don’t I play any other types of online games? Well, I play single player games at night to unwind in a zero-pressure environment that feels safe and controlled to me. That means dealing with other people is not something I want to do. Therefore, even though I’m sure I’d find some online games fun, I just don’t play them. If you avoid online games, why do you do so?

I was reading @The Blackangel talking here about not having many options for entertainment anymore owing to being stuck in a wheelchair. While there is a lot of conversation about gaming taking people away from physical exercise, not everybody has the option of leading an "active lifestyle." I can relate to the limited-entertainment-options issue, though to a lesser extent. In my case, my chronic pain doesn’t stop me from going out or doing mild to moderate exercise, but it does stop me from pursuing a lot of activities I used to enjoy, prime among them being travel. It is very difficult to plan a trip when I know there is a likely chance that the entire experience will be blotted out by pain issues. Instead, I find that gaming is the closest thing to filling that particular life void. Nighttime when I game is when my body feels best, and in games, I can travel to other locations in a way that feels more “real” to me than physically travelling but being separated from experiences by my pain. I wish that benefits like this would receive more attention in media coverage. Gaming does not take all of us away from physical activities. For some of us, it simply is our “next best thing.” Can anyone else relate to this? If your health limits your physical capabilities and activities, do you find that gaming offers you experiences that help to fill some of the gaps?

I was reading @Jayson's thread about "too much gaming," and some of the ridiculously long gaming sessions some people have pulled around the world (and sometimes died from). When I was a teenager though, I would often start gaming when I got home from school and continue until after midnight. That meant I was regularly gaming for like 9+ hours a day. But I stopped for dinner, and during that I was usually multi-tasking (switching between playing an MMO and working on homework), so I’m not sure that really counts as a single “session.” I doubt that even while hyperfocused, I have ever sat in one place for more than an hour or two at the outside without getting up to walk around. What about you? What is the longest you have gamed, with or without breaks? @skyfire @Alyxx @The Blackangel @DylanC @kingpotato @killamch89 @Executor Akamia @Jayson

Continuing off of the discussion here, a review cannot possibly cover everything, at least not in-depth. So do you usually prefer: 1. A review which tries to cover everything, but can only do so with a small amount of detail. 2. A review which is focused primarily on elements like gameplay, graphic quality, mechanics, etc. 3. A review which is focused primarily on elements involving story, characters, and themes. Or, does it depend on the type of game you are playing? In my case, I think it depends on what type of game it is and what makes me interested in it. If a game interests me because of its gameplay mechanics, that’s probably what I want to read about. But if it is a game’s story that sounds interesting, then I am more interested in hearing about its themes and writing quality. In both cases, I prefer in-depth reviews that focus on just a few things. @Alyxx @The Blackangel @kingpotato @killamch89 @DylanC @skyfire