StaceyPowers

I recently talked to a guy who had real-life experience working a crunch time schedule to release a game, and hearing him recount it, it sounded flat-out insane. He literally slept about as much as I do in two nights across an entire week, and was “awake” and working the rest of the time. It got me to wondering if anyone here has worked a crunch time schedule, and if so, what was it like?

In the latest VGR podcast (below), Matt Morgans and Jacob Smith discuss a bill which has just been introduced in an attempt to ban loot boxes and microtransactions. The idea is to protect kids from what can be considered a gambling-related product. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmrlSCX1oh0 What does everyone here think about this issue? Should loot boxes and microtransactions be banned? @UleTheVee @DylanC @Matt Morgans @The Blackangel @LadyDay @skyfire @xXInfectedXx @SpaceExplorer @Executor Akamia

@TheSteelyardDweller The Anchorage one is pretty great! But I prefer The Pitt. I'm surprised you didn't pick that one, given your username? @DylanC I had mixed feelings about Point Lookout. I loved the map and the ambiance, just like you did. The plot didn't really give me anything/anyone to emotionally connect to though. So in general, I think it was great, but it was lacking in that area to me. My playthrough of NV crashed before I could play Old World Blues. I'm on my second playthrough now with my priority to actually finish the main quest line, but my top priority after that is to play Old World Blues.

In Skyrim, Expert (I think?) seems to be the sweet spot most of the time for me, but sometimes it is a bit too easy. But Master is quite a jump up from that. The worst difficulty settings for me in any series are in Dragon Age. The difference between “Casual” and “Normal” is insane. I always think that the “true” settings are like … Casual, Hardcore, Nightmare, Rage-Quit.

oh, hahah, it's weird I couldn't figure that out on my own. In any case, attaching more weight to my face doesn't sound palatable with my neck problems.

I'm not an expert on this, since I failed utterly to get into the series, but my understanding is that Demon's Souls is considered the first installment in the series, even though the first Dark Souls game is called a "spiritual successor to it." So it goes Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls 2, etc.

I always think the kids are so funny too, the way they say “thanks” in such an ambivalent and awkward tone when you give them a gift. You only get a really grateful, exuberant reaction if one of them asks for an allowance and you give them like a thousand gold.

Is anyone else here into old text adventures, i.e. the original Zork games? If so, what are some of your favourites?

What video games have you played that totally blew your mind, but which are so obscure that hardly anyone seems to have heard of them? @DylanC @The Blackangel @UleTheVee @Executor Akamia @xXInfectedXx @kingpotato

What would you say was the most challenging or simply the most tedious puzzle you ever had to solve to progress in a video game? For me it, was a maze in Myst where you had to navigate using sounds. Even once I grasped the concept, it was simply a major pain.

Don't forget there's also Demon's Souls.

It peeves me. On the same token, it kind of annoys me when games are remastered and then re-released at full price, rather than simply offering us backwards compatibility with our old games ... especially since I've heard that a lot of remasters really aren't all that amazing, and don't justify charging full price.

That sounds boring. What would be the point with the tiny screen? :/

Aww, i have to admit I actually find Lydia's whininess endearing. Though it is rather weird when I'm specifically giving her a present like really nice armor. I'm like "this isn't my burdens, this is a gift! I forged it myself!"

@kingpotato and I were talking about difficulty settings on Skyrim in another thread, and how we both felt compelled at one point to play the game on the Legendary setting. It got me to wondering how folks usually select a difficulty level at the start of a game, or what leads one to raising or lowering it in the middle of a playthrough. I would say that my goal is usually to have the difficulty setting so that the harder fights in a game are just at the edge of my capabilities. That way, I'm challenged to improve my abilities, but in a way which isn't overly frustrating. How do you decide on your difficulty level? Do you want to be challenged only with the harder fights, or with all of your fights? Do you want a game to be extremely hard, or just hard enough to keep you growing your skills? Or would you rather a game be relatively easy? @kingpotato @Alyxx @The Blackangel @DylanC @Executor Akamia @xXInfectedXx @SpaceExplorer @skyfire @UleTheVee @LadyDay

@kingpotato Lol, I played Skyrim for a while on Legendary mode, because I'm stubborn and felt like I just had to prove to myself I could do it. I remember some of the dragon fights taking me like half an hour, largely consisting of hiding behind trees or pillars and dodging around and around them to stay out of the line of fire. Needless to say, I dropped it back down to Expert or whatever eventually, and haven't budged the setting since.

I often avoid logging into PSN for weeks even when I have the funds set aside to make some purchases, because it seems like the site is just a major hassle. I have two-step verification set up, and it often takes several minutes to send me my key. And then I seem to have to jump through hoops to upload funds and pay for things. And if I ever have to change anything with my login/security, it’s like I have to log in again on every page I try to reach (which entails waiting on those phone codes). Who else can’t stand PSN? Does anyone have tips for minimizing the hassles when paying for things or changing security settings?

For those who have tried VR, what is the best gaming experience you’ve had so far? What made it amazing?

I can’t actually think of such a game off the top of my head. But I get where you’re coming from with New Vegas. I probably liked that game off the bat because I love that region in real life, and it was like going back virtually. I also find the big emptiness of it kind of relaxing. But the game does indeed become a lot more fun and interesting after you’ve finished up with the newbie stuff. It gets much better from Nipton onward.

@Alyxx Good point, I'd forgotten that games sometimes are totally free! @SpaceExplorer @Moony Burbage I haven't seen those sites, I'll check them out, thanks! @kingpotato Our strategies are very much the same. @The Blackangel You've played 20-25 games in a week? Wow. I know you play a lot, but even if I were playing all day every day, I'd probably still only play a handful of titles. My brain seems to only be able to hold focus on about 4-5 games at a time. If I play more than that in a short period, I lose focus and immersion. Which kind of sucks, since I can't start a new game that's sitting around waiting to be played until I wrap up another and open up a spot in my rotation.

I'm kind of in the same boat, since Sony is usually one of the main things I pay attention to.

I don't currently have any videogame merchandise. If I had more wall space, I'd probably have some posters. Aside from that, I'd love to collect pretty much every Bioshock-related item ... ever. I just haven't really started yet =D

Probably with some old PC games, but I doubt I've managed it with anything I've played on console in recent times.

Are you looking forward to E3 next month? What are you most excited to see/hoping to hear about?

I’ve heard a lot about No Man’s Sky since its release. I remember that it got so much flak when it first came out, but now a lot of people say that it’s really good, and that the devs did a great job ironing out its problems. I suspect that at least a part of the game’s recovery has to do with perception. The initial disappointment after the absurdly high hype had a chance to die down, and the game’s staying power became clear since it did have quality, even when it came out. People were just overlooking it because of its faults. But I’m assuming that there have been some solid objective improvements made as well. But I’ve never heard what they actually are. I am hoping someone can tell me how the game has gotten better over time. @SpaceExplorer