StaceyPowers

Which model of PlayStation is your favorite and why?

For you, is virtual reality more immersive than gaming without it, or less immersive (i.e. by being distracting)? Or does it depend on what game you are playing or other factors that are impacting your experience? (sorry, this was supposed to go under "VR" - posted in wrong area)

@GeppyX I had no freezes on TLOU 2, but my PS5 freezes so often on the save/load screens of Skyrim and The Outer Worlds. Have you had save/load freeze issues on any games on PS5?

I get so irritated when devs rely on making their enemies into bullet sponges to make them more difficult. What are some better ways to make enemies more challenging?

I have a rotating schedule where I play a game for about a week, then move to another, then another, and then back to the first. But each time I do, I feel like I need to be at a logical break point in the game, i.e. just finished a mission, have gone back to in-game home, and have tidied up my inventory. If I just quit in the middle of a dungeon, I feel weird about it for days. Does anyone else also feel you need everything to be in its right place before taking a short break from a game?

Do you think there are any personality traits that have the potential to increase a person’s immersion in gaming? For example, I suspect the personality trait called “absorption” might make it easier for someone to experience deep immersion in a game world.

One useful application of VR I can imagine would be to create educational video games that teach a person certain life skills, i.e. how to work on an automobile or such. What do you think of this idea?

Would you work in a VR office wearing a headset all day? Personally, I don’t get how this is a thing. I’d feel so (literally) weighted down by the headset and distracted by the layered environments that there’s no way I could concentrate on work. But I am curious if anyone here feels differently.

Ah, I think maybe my thread topic was unclear. I meant politics internal to MMO game worlds, like ... players trying to gain in-game political power or use it to create in-game change.

Plot threads that are unresolved, but not necessarily cliff-hangers. More like things devs either are taking forever to circle back to or outright forgot. Like the Architect in Dragon Age. Assuming his survival is canon, his failure to reappear in DA II or Inquisition is a huge dropped plot threat.

Are there people you miss from your gaming past? Who do you miss? I still miss an admin in a MUD I played who died 14 years go. I also often wonder what happened to a girl I knew in a related game when I was a few years younger, who disappeared after she was harassed. I’m not sure I miss anyone else—maybe more the times we had than the players themselves.

I’ve never played a large, modern MMO—just MUDs. In MUDs, politics was often a huge deal. In fact, in the games I played, it was the thing to be involved in. It created and broke relationships, and consumed endless hours of players’ time. Most players who were famous got that way through political clout. I seldom seem to hear anyone talking about politics in major MMOs. Is it just not a thing in games like WoW?

What are some character designs that worked conceptually, but not visually? For example, I am replaying Dragon Age: Awakening, and keep thinking that Justice running around translucent looks odd, since his weapon is still solid, and always looks like it is in front of him, not on his back where it really is.

I have read that more and more schools are getting their own esports teams. There was nothing like that around when I was a kid. Has anyone here ever participated in a school esports team?

To those who wager on esports, what are some of your biggest wins and losses to date?

I am self-centered, in the sense of literally being focused on myself and my life experiences most of the time. If someone tells me a story, the first thing I do is think if I have any relevant experience through which I can understand it. This isn't the same as being selfish though. I just am the literal center of my own universe. It doesn't mean I think I'm the center of anyone else's.

What do you think makes for a rewarding and engaging community in an MMO? I really only have experience with MUDs, but I would generally just say that when people talk to each other and show an active interest in each other, that makes for a great experience, even if they do not all get along.

I think playing MMOs can provide a lot of insight into who we are and how we function, especially in games where there is a tight-knit community. What, if anything, have you learned about yourself by playing MMOs?

What are the biggest dropped plot threads and unresolved loose ends in video game series (or, alternately, what are the most interesting ones)?

Is gaming the best source of stress relief for you, or are there some things that are equally good or better? It is definitely number 1 for me.

I’ve made a weird discovery that I have an easier time being responsible in games in some ways (i.e. for followers, items, etc.) than I do IRL. I think it’s because IRL, I am always distracted by the need to earn a living, which consumes all my spoons and leaves little for juggling the rest of my responsibilities. In video games, we don’t have those challenges, so it is easier to put more care into things. Can anyone relate?

Congrats, @Withywarlock! You deserve it! Also, a belated congrats to @Yaramaki 🙂

Have you ever gambled while playing a video game? I don’t mean the casino mini-games in RDR or such—I mean staking in-game money in multiplayer games with real economies. I played roulette in a MUD when I was younger. But I only did it once. After that, I learned about the Gambler’s Fallacy =D

Does anyone else find it difficult to remember the context for minor quests and characters in RPGs? What games do a good job helping to keep this context clear and readily available? Which do not?

What are some games that are almost universally claimed to be super relaxing and chill, but they just feel massively stressful for you?