StaceyPowers

@LadyDay @SpaceExplorer I can't recall J'Zargo's abilities, but I loved his comments about sneaking.

Such a dramatic moment to have glitch, lol.

I only have a PS3, so I haven't. I've played Fallout 3 and New Vegas. Honestly though, I've heard most folks say that Fallout 3 and NV are superior games.

Exactly what I meant :)

@LadyDay "A lot of people are against the use of ECT, without actually knowing what it is these days. “ I can’t stand when people assume—and it happens a lot with psychology-related topics. When you mentioned it, I was surprised, so I thought, “Time to learn about something new and interesting.” “ I've been trying to "be a good person" in Skyrim, just like I try to e a good person in reality.” I do that too =D It just breaks my immersion to not try to be at my best as an in-game person. Plus, I derive most of my satisfaction from the catharsis that comes with being able to do something right in a game and sometimes get some sort of in-game justice. I mean, that almost never happens IRL. “Though I'm sure I would still enjoy playing as a thieving assassin with a power complex. Haha. “ Being “good” hasn’t stopped me from doing the thieves/assassins quests. I justify the thieves guild more or less by recognizing that as a group, they are oddly functional and pretty decent to one another, and I only take jobs that entail stealing from people I have an issue with. My wife Mjoll, lovely, accepting woman that she is, doesn’t seem bothered by it =D I’m an assassin as one character who is essentially furious that Markarth got traded to the Stormcloaks during negotiations (as that is horrible for the populace), and is out for revenge against the emperor. That is more like being a well-intentioned extremist than actually "evil" =D “You're much further away from the screen than when you play on a PC yes? Or do you pull a chair up close to the TV? What is the advantage of choosing a console instead of a PC? “ Laziness … honestly. And lack of space. I have a laptop, no room for a desktop, and no time to spend re-developing the computer knowledge to care for and upgrade a desktop. Plus, running games on a console = less stress on my computer. I am not far from the TV on my couch, and the screen is large. It’s perfect.

Yes, yes, and yes, lol. I also am not a fan of escort missions for similar reasons—I also hate chasing down the escorted person if they decide to run off (or worse, attack something). Timed missions are my most hated type of mission. Like you, I get performance anxiety when I see the timer. Worse, I feel like I can’t pause and look around, explore, enjoy the ambiance, etc. By the time I leave the area, I feel like I wasn’t really there at all. There was just rushing frantically and no room for other thought or experience.

@LadyDay Reviving this thread to ask who your favorite followers are in Skyrim :)

@LadyDay Reviving this thread to see if you have any amusing glitch stories to share from Skyrim.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions. I have been intrigued by Child of Light, largely because of the art style.

On PC, I play Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament 2004.

The only company I ever complained to was Iron Realms Entertainment--but I wouldn't say I "wrote" them so much as participated in an ongoing "conversation" with them. It was an unusual situation, as the admins also played characters in the game. Almost all complaints were ignored, though they did eventually fire one admin for cheating in the game, long, long after me and my friends complained that it was happening.

What JRPGs do you recommend? I'm quite unfamiliar with the genre.

Busy doesn't necessarily equal not bored. Think about boring but busy classes in school ... Anyway, I used to live among a population of ex-cons in a trailer park. Boredom played a big role in the drama they'd stir up. Mind you, it might have been that particular population that behaved in that fashion, but it was easy to imagine how they had behaved in the cell block with even less to stimulate their brains.

Exactly. The best part is that the gaming gets my mind detached from my own life a bit, and I go to bed at a time when I am more tired. That means that I end up falling asleep earlier on average than I would if I had gone to bed earlier and laid there being anxious. It’s a win-win.

To my understanding, the Bioshock 1 DLCs are all “Challenge Rooms.” I hate puzzles (usually), but I love Bioshock. Is it worth it for me to buy them?

Who here is old enough to remember the olden days of gaming back before we could just look up playthrough videos on YouTube when we hit a wall in a game? I remember when devs would make you pay for official walkthrough guides if you needed help, lol. I’m really glad those days are over, but I admit I sometimes get nostalgic for such inconveniences … if you actually managed to beat a puzzle in a game that was plaguing all of your friends, you felt really accomplished.

@LadyDay Thanks for sharing your experiences with electroconvulsive therapy. I didn't even know that there was a modern version of it, so I was fascinated to read about it. As you said, I visualized One Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest, but I figured that must be out of date =D "Do you feel the same connection with your character in third person (like in Dragon Age) as you feel in first person games?" Interesting question. Actually ... yes. I feel third person is less immersive--I feel less like I am "there," and am periodically snapped out of the action by an annoyance like not being able to walk right up to something small and look right at it in the scenery. But does it make me feel less attached emotionally to my character? Not at all--even when I am playing a character that is pre-created with his own story (i.e. Joel in The Last of Us) rather than one made from scratch by me (i.e. Skyrim). TLOU manages third person much better than other games though, kind of keeping Joel out of the middle of the frame when you're shooting. I sometimes forget I'm in third person at all in that game. I heard someone mention once that they think third person is sometimes chosen for games where you are playing a set person, to seperate you from that person's motivations, so that you can play through decisions they make which you wouldn't. I thought that was an interesting analysis. That being said, when I played Bioshock Infinite, that's a game where you play a specific person (Booker DeWitt), but in first person. I was really glad that they didn't put it in third. I didn't want a sense of separation. I related to him fine anyway, and it was like having a dream where I was him. "It's somewhat old too, it's from 2012, so the system requirements are low enough for my current PC components " Lol, my computer runs almost nothing. Laptop, so no real graphics card. The only games I play on it are Quake III Arena and UT 2004.

lol, good answer.

I believe depriving a person of their freedom is already a harsh punishment, and that the main purpose for doing so should be for the safety of others, not for punishment or justice. Ideally, I'd prefer a system geared toward rehabilitation. I see no reason not to give prisoners video games, especially if they behave. In all frankness, a lot of the crap that goes on in prisons probably could be reduced if prisoners were not so bored to begin with.

I never heard of either of those. They look interesting.

Are there any video games that you got so frustrated or bored with that you quit in the middle and never came back?

In this thread, @kingpotato and I were talking about things we would like to see improved on in the next Elder Scrolls game, and we got to talking about how in Skyrim, you can't fight effectively on horseback, and your "warhorse" doesn't fight unless you dismount. How the devs didn't think to make your horse ... useful ... in combat, is beyond me. What are some stupidly obvious things developers have neglected in your favorite games?

I play a couple hours a night during a time when my brain isn't really good for work tasks, but refuses to go to sleep. It works out :)

I've actually found gaming is literally the best treatment for my OCD/anxiety :) If I play for 1-2 hours before bed, it's much easier to avoid racing thoughts and fall asleep. I'm curious to hear about your electroconvulsive therapy. What does it do, and what is it like? Dragon Age is in third person, but I've learned to live with that. The writing and character acting in the games is great. I've never heard of The Kingdoms of Amalur. Tell me more about it?

I have OCD and am likely on the spectrum as well, both of which feed into my executive function challenges. I picked up Oblivion, but haven't started it yet. I'll update you when I do. I've heard many people say they like it more than Skyrim. Other games I'm playing right now are the Dragon Age series, Red Dead Redemption, and Bioshock. Dragon Age is sort of a "mix" in this regard. The menus are ludicrously complicated ... but you can pause combat. And if you play it on casual, you can pretty much gloss over the technical details of tactics. Bioshock is entirely in real time, but when you die, you actually get some health and salts/eve back, so you almost are rewarded for dying, lol. This makes it low pressure. I love The Last of Us, but it can be a challenge when crafting during combat. So far, RDR is challenging to me too with respect to this stuff, but I'm enjoying it.