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StaceyPowers

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Posts posted by StaceyPowers

  1. When you play a new game, do you have an “adjustment” phase?

     

    I don’t just mean learning the new controls, but also an overall adaptation to how the game world looks, feels and behaves. For me, it’s almost like a form of culture shock, but it’s more like “universe shock.” Like I’ve landed on a new planet and feel discombobulated for a while. I even will have dreams for the first night or two where my brain is trying to adjust to the new “reality” it has been interacting with.

    It’s kind of weird and annoying … but kind of cool too.

    Like when I started Bioshock Infinite, for the first couple nights, I was dizzy from everything moving up and down, and overwhelmed by the crowds in the starting area. But after a few nights, being in Columbia felt totally natural and normal.

    I imagine adjustment phases like this are even more dramatic with VR, and have always wondered if that is so.

  2. How many games are you currently playing, and how do you distribute your play time?

    Right now, I am playing four games. I play each one for about a week, then rotate to the next, and so on. If I play more than that, I lose track of the flow of events in each, which reduces immersion/involvement for me. At the same time, if I were to rotate through them more quickly, I’d have the same issue, just in a different way. I need enough time to get immersed in each game world, but not so much time between visits to those worlds that I forget what I’m doing.

  3. Are video games a form of art? To me this is an obvious "yes," but I have very broad definitions of what constitutes art, and have noticed a lot of people take video games less seriously than they do books or movies, all because they are, ... well, games. But I don't see why that makes them less significant. Bringing interactivity into a story can make it even more compelling than the passive act of watching a film or reading a book.

  4. What are some of the best games to play in terms of being driven by a solid narrative and compelling characters?

    I really love The Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite in this regard, and am looking for other games to match them in terms of quality of story. In the case of The Last of Us, the story is surprisingly simplistic when you think about it, but it is just so well told and the characters are so great that the entire thing blows you away. Bioshock Infinite is obviously a great deal more complex, but once again, beautifully told. I walked away from these games feeling like I’d had these whole other lifetimes.

  5. Did you ever play any games which you actually thought were helped along by their technical limitations, especially classic games?

    A lot of people here probably have figured out by now that I recall Myst with great fondness. That game was decidedly one of the creepiest games atmospherically I ever played, despite the fact that one was utterly safe through the entire game and totally alone. In hindsight, I think part of what made it creepy was that it was made in the days before you could fluidly walk around in a game world. You couldn’t really look behind you in real-time … so you always thought something might be there. Even though you knew better, it was hard to shake the feeling.

  6. 1 hour ago, DylanC said:

    Personally, I find first-person style games are the most immersive gaming experiences mainly because that viewpoint feels like it puts me more into the protagonist's shoes. Not knocking third-person and other perspective style games, of course. Just find first-person games a wee bit more immersive.

    More than a wee bit, for me.

  7. How do you feel about turn-based combat in video games?

    Initially, I hated it, because I played nothing but shooters for a really long time, and couldn't see the appeal of being pulled out of real time in any way, shape or form.

    But after playing some games with turn-based combat for some time now, I've come to appreciate the tactical side of playing in that way, and realize it just offers a different type of challenge. So now I enjoy turn-based combat as well.

    Where do you weigh in?

  8. What types of games do you find most immersive to play? For me, among graphical games, I would say that shooter and stealth games seem to keep me most immersed in the moment.

    But in general, the most immersive gaming experiences I can remember ever were still MUDs.

  9. When I first started playing Fallout games, I found the VATS system annoying because it disengaged me from the present. But by now I am so used to using it that it doesn't feel disruptive at all. While it takes away the need to aim accurately, it does help me think tactically. And I'm a dreadful shot, so I don't mind leaning on it. 

    Do you like VATS?

  10. I often am not really overtly aware of how repetitious most games are until I really think about it, but they do for the most part entail doing the same actions on repeat, more or less. 

    That being the case, do you think games are annoyingly repetitious and wish there were more variation in what you can do in them? Or do you find the repetitious nature of games soothing and relaxing?

    I think I lean more toward the latter, but sometimes I do wish for more variety.

  11. Do any of you have pets that do funny or annoying things when you game? I have this cat that seems to get jealous of the console. Whenever she senses that I’m hyper-focused on a tough fight in a game, suddenly she shows up and jumps up on my lap and blocks my view of the screen. Many a boss fight has been lost to her antics.

  12. For a long, long time I was a PC gamer, and couldn't fathom how anyone could use a gamepad effectively. This was because the only gamepad I'd ever used was the original NES one, and I would be willing to wager I'd still be atrocious with it. 

    I've been gaming almost exclusively on my PS3 for a couple years now though, and I've gotten used to the Dualshock. And what's funny is that every time I try and game on my PC with my mouse again, now I am totally uncoordinated and play abominably. 

    What works better for you? A gamepad or a mouse and keyboard?

  13. I run into a lot of folks who downright loathe open world games. I’m obviously not one of them, but I do understand some of their complaints. In particular, I agree that it’s easier to tell a story with a strong narrative and get a player emotionally invested in a linear game with a set storyline and character.

    But I don’t think open world games are necessarily impossible to do that with. It seems like even if you let the player create a character, it’s just a matter of having strong narratives tied to followers to create that emotional connection and context in the game.

    Thoughts?

  14. I'm playing RDR for the first time, and one thing I've enjoyed so far about it is some of the silly, random stuff I'm able to do, like play horseshoes or watch a movie. I'd love to see more stuff like this in open world games. I know GTA is good for this too. Anyone else have any other suggested games that offer this sort of thing?

  15. 16 hours ago, killamch89 said:

    I'll have to look it up again but it was a former guildmate who also loves elder scrolls games that showed me a couple years ago. Wait I think I found it, he shared this link with it me. It has everything on the Elder Scroll series and the wiki pages also have quite a bit of information.

    Awesome, thank you!

  16. 5 hours ago, DylanC said:

    I've played both the first season and the short 3-part 'Before The Storm' prequel series. The first season in particular is excellent with some fantastic writing, some super impactful emotional highs and some great voice-work. The prequel series is solid stuff but doesn't quite reach the level of the first season. That said, if you're a fan of the first season, you'll enjoy the prequel series. Not played the latest season yet, though, so can't weigh in on it. If you're a fan of narrative-focused adventure games, you're likely to really enjoy it. Hope that helps!

    Yes, I love narrative-focused games. That's insightful, thank you!

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