StaceyPowers

What games do you feel have the most uplifting messages? I think I could say most games I have played have been at least somewhat uplifting (linear games especially), but the ones that stand out the most to me in this area are the Mass Effect series.

If you are playing an open world game, do you usually try to methodically do a bunch of quests in a small geographic area before proceeding to the next, or do you instead distribute quests in specific areas evenly across time and do more running back and forth? I notice I bunch the quests together, almost like I am playing a linear game. I think I do this sometimes because it makes more logical sense to me from an immersion standpoint. I also believe it just helps me keep track of what I am doing. It’s ironic though.

Do you closely follow news about gaming conventions and events?

In another thread, @Reality vs Adventure mentioned that collecting items can break immersion. I've noticed this too, but it is not the only reason item collection annoys me. It also plays to my OCD, and can result in annoying completionist episodes where I want to move forward, but feel stuck until I finish collecting. Sometimes I am relieved to end up in areas or situations where item collection is impossible. Does anyone else think games simply feature too much item collection?

I haven't played it!

Wow. Nothing came up when I searched the phrasing on Google. But that's messed up.

"Kill on sight" has so long been taken for granted in games. After I played Spec Ops: The Line, I can never feel the same way about that again. Watch Dogs Legion is one of the only other games I have seen find a way to call out this assumption/behavioural training.

Have you ever encountered a game-breaking bug that you could not work around on that playthrough? What did you do? Did you shelve the game forever? Wait for a patch and try again later? Replay on a different platform?

What are some games that end with more questions than answers, whether because those answers were not given or because you simply could not make sense of them?

What are some games that feature boss fights that are more like puzzles than fights? I would say the boss fight at the end of A Plague Tale: Innocence is more like a kind of adaptive, moving maze than a “fight.”

Did a video game character ever make you see yourself in a different way? After I played through Max’s quest in The Outer Worlds, I realized that he and I are kindred spirits. For some reason after watching him come to terms with his existential life experiences, I’ve felt better acknowledging how mine have shaped me.

What are some games that seem to have a light tone on the surface, but underneath are quite dark? The Outer Worlds, for instance, is humorous and fun, but it is also incredibly bleak. And the longer you explore the world, the more horrifying you realize the situation is.

I"ve noted the same thing as you though about valuing them all. I even feel more sympathy toward the Albion people when shooting at them since some of them are recruitable. The game's philosophy as expressed through its mechanics essentially seems to be that people are fundamentally OK if one can find a way to reduce their suffering and get through to them about the suffering of others. Alas, IRL, this is more challenging. But I like the message.

I feel a sense of irony reading this post after watching my friend run over about 50 NPCs yesterday while struggling with a mission =D But yes, I agree--this game has given us a new way to empathize with NPCs.

You response is also delightfully meta!

I agree with everyone here who has expressed concerns that Discord could siphon traffic off-site. I kind of like the idea of an on-site chat, but I don't know if it can implemented or if it would really solve the issue.

TLOU, TLOU 2, BioShock, and BioShock Infinite. I adore BioShock 2, but it mostly just built on what BioShock did, so I don't feel I can give it the same status (though I also feel it is severely underrated).

What are some of your favorite war cries by companions/followers in games? My favorites are Thane’s “Go now to the sea” in Mass Effect 2 and Max’s “Your life was merely an illusion anyway!” in The Outer Worlds.

So many times when I am playing big open world games, I find that I don’t have a clue who gave me the miscellaneous little side quests or why by the time I do them. Do others fare better at remembering this stuff?

What are your all-time favourite companion quests in any games?

I skipped from PS3 to PS5, so I don’t know if PS4 has this, but I love that PS5 shows me the percentage I have completed of each chapter of a game when possible. It makes it so much easier to pace myself as I am closing in on the end of something. It even offers time estimates. As a result, it is much less likely to wind up in the middle of a final boss fight way past when I want to be sleeping.

What are some NPCs in games you wish could have been companions? I wish I could have recruited Huxley in The Outer Worlds.

I suppose that is a benefit of long couches in general. But I’d say that the nice thing about this product is that it can add more comfort and versatility to any seating situation, so long as it fits. Superb! I am sure his son will love it. So, did you get it yet? How is it? Or are you still waiting on it to arrive?

Why is it better on a long couch than a short one? I feel that it works well on a couch of any shape or size. I am curious to hear your opinion. That is a good point. You would just need sufficient back support to go with it. But it is certainly better than just sitting there in bed with a basic lap desk. You never know how fast things can change. I've said "I am not a PC gamer" for so many years, then randomly my friend gives me a gaming laptop. So, who knows what the future will bring.

Oooh even your reply is immersive. Thank you for making my thread more meta 🙂