StaceyPowers

Are there any dull/repetitious/grind-y types of tasks in video games you particularly enjoy, despite the fact that they are probably considered “boring” by most gamers?

I prefer first person too--we have a lot in common with our preferences. With my own executive function problems, if I can't pause combat, there are so many situations where I die simply because I hit the wrong button (often it's muscle memory from a different game taking over). The option to pause combat prevents most of those episodes. Don't forget there are other Elder Scrolls games you can check out as well, btw, like Oblivion, etc.

Saw a reference to The Oregon trail on TV the other day, and all those memories came flooding back. Namely dying … and dying … and dying. That seriously was one of the hardest games ever, lol. Who here is old enough to remember playing that as a kid? Did you enjoy it, or did it also drive you crazy with frustration? It’s occurred to me that in its way, it actually laid quite a bit of important groundwork far beyond the educational sphere. I recall resource management being part of the game in a more elaborate fashion than was typical in those days. I imagine that a lot of devs called on that as inspiration while creating other games later.

So far I haven't found the bees nearly as effective as the crows. But this may be because there was an upgrade with the crows where you could turn dead bodies into crow traps, and no equivalent that I'm aware of with the bees. The bees also aren't sufficient to kill the splicers, but I remember the crows could often do in an enemy in Infinite by themselves.

Nice list. I agree it would be cool if there could be a combat system that goes beyond pointing and pushing a button over and over. And boss diversity (and enemy diversity in general) would be a big help. I can’t believe I didn’t think of mentioning that thing about fighting on horseback … it is beyond ridiculous that your horse won’t fight unless you’re off of its back, lol. It’s supposed to be a warhorse.

I recommend Fallout games for a couple of reasons. First of all, you said you love Skyrim, and playing Fallout is more or less the same overall experience, just in a different setting with a different mythology. Secondly, Fallout has a system for combat called "VATS." It's a little hard to describe, but basically, when you spot an enemy, you click on the VATS button (I think it's R2?), and combat pauses, and the game zooms in on your enemy. You can then select a body part to target, and you see the percentage likelihood of a hit. You select what you want, give your OK, and the game does the shooting for you. Since there is nothing "real time" about this, it's a great workaround for slow reaction times (and/or bad aim). In general, any game where you can pause combat (like Skyrim or Fallout) is a good option if you struggle with reaction times and multi-tasking. I have poor executive function skills myself, and these games are great for me. My favorite Fallout game is New Vegas. Obsidian developed it, and did an excellent job with the characters and factions.

I think the longest time it took me so far was like four hours for TLOU.

If I am enjoying the game, as long as possible. I'm one of those people who literally attempts to explore every square inch of any room I'm in. I don't like to rush through a good game. I like to stop and smell the roses.

What are some of your favorite lines which NPCs in videos say again and again? Here are some of mine: The guards in Skyrim: “Let me guess … someone stole your sweet roll!” Also, “All of that … shouting … is making people nervous!” Bioshock Infinite vending machines: “I appreciate a lady who appreciates VALUE!” One of the Bioshock 1 enemies upon killing the player: “He’s DEAD. Now will you SHUT … UP!” Please share some of your favorites!

What are some of your favorite games in terms of graphic design, typography, etc.? For example, I love looking at the advertisements in-game in Fallout and Bioshock. In fact, I literally spend a lot of time in these games just standing around and analyzing the details which make the design work so compelling to me. I’ve even looked up some of the real-world retro designs which inspired some of the designs in these games, and I’ve gotten to the point where I can identify and name a lot of the typefaces used in Bioshock. What graphic design and typography in games impresses you?

I was so excited when my kid brought home the mudcrab as his random pet.

I thought I would start a thread where you can ask other gamers if they remember the name of a game you recall playing, but don’t know the name of.

If you are a PlayStation gamer, what is the one feature which you are hoping for the most from the PS5? In my case, it is definitely backwards compatibility. I live in a very small house, and I don’t have room to pile up a bunch of old consoles. I refuse to give up my PS3 games, so I really kind of need the PS5 to let me play them in order to justify buying it. I just don’t have the space for both (which is why I never got a PS4).

If you have a significant backlog, what is the oldest game in it that you have been waiting to play for the longest time, but just haven’t gotten around to? Have you ever waited so long to play a game that by the time you could get to it, you no longer had a compatible system?

Are there any game series you wish would be resurrected? If I were to pick one series to get new instalments which has been gone for a long time, it would probably be Zork. I suspect though that Zork’s sense of humor might not translate to current times.

Has anyone been playing The Division 2? If so, how is it, and how does it compare to the original if you played that as well?

aww, not the mudcrabs. They're too cute to kill.

If you had the chance to spend a day in any location in any video game world, where would you pick, and why? Note that this may not be the same as you would answer in terms of where you would live in a video game world. You could have other reasons to visit. Like I would pick Columbia to visit because I find the place and the person who made it fascinating, and because I would like to meet the Luteces. But I sure as heck wouldn’t want to live there.

What is the single longest span of consecutive time you spent playing a video game without taking breaks for more than food/water/bathroom trips? What game?

Are there any specific games that you wish had been made by another developer? If so, which developer, and why? Personally, I wish Obsidian had made the other Fallout and Elder Scrolls games, because they did such an amazing job on New Vegas. They put a lot of nuance into the characters and factions, and I also liked how they handled skill distribution.

To anyone here who has participated in a professional esports competition, what was the experience like?

Has anyone here ever been a gaming addict? I’m using the term specifically, not generally, like … your dedication to gaming being so intense that it overwhelmed other aspects of your life. Like, I knew a person who wouldn’t get up from his couch to shop for supplies in a brief window during a natural disaster because he really, really wanted to achieve some objective in an online game. I’m looking for stories like that.

Does anyone fondly recollect educational games from their childhoods? I recall as a little kid being hooked on a series of games called “Math Blasters” on PC. There were some cool science games as well, but I have no idea anymore what they were called. I think one could argue that almost any game can be educational in one respect or another. But in this case, I am referring specifically to games which were designed with education as their key purpose.

How many games are in your backlog right now? What’s the oldest game that is still in your backlog?

Do you play games on one or more platforms? How many, and which ones?