StaceyPowers

Girl gamer, checking in :) I don't know what the actual stats are. I've never felt outnumbered, but that might have something to do with the specific games I grew up playing. In any case, please feel welcome here. It's a friendly and inclusive forum.

Has anyone noticed a tendency for puzzles in video games which do not revolve around puzzles to be really poorly explained in terms of in-game instructions? Like take those Fallout hack puzzles. I got the basic idea reading the in-game instructions, but it was completely lost on me that it wasn’t just showing me the characters I had right, but the characters I had right in their correct placements. It’s been so long I can’t say for sure if the directions were at fault, but I remember I had to look online to figure out why I wasn’t succeeding. I’m playing Bioshock 1 for the first time right now, and those hack puzzles included really sparse instructions too. I couldn’t for the life of me understand them until I looked online and found out that the little square in the lower left was a “storage” area for the shape I clicked on last. Is figuring out the basic rules of puzzles supposed to be part of their appeal in games, or are the directions just really badly written? I’d understand in a puzzle game, but when they’re just little mini-games in a shooter or RPG, it seems ridiculous to expect me to puzzle out what the puzzle actually is when all I want is to get through a door and get back to shooting.

What games did you regret the most, both in terms of money spent, and also the hours you might have poured into them?

Everywhere I go, I see people talking about whether BioWare is seeing its final days or not. I’m somewhat aware of the context of the discussions, but I don’t’ know the details as well as I could. Does anyone here have any light to shed, or any opinions as to BioWare’s likely future?

Does anyone here play co-op games or game modes? I have to admit I have almost no experience with them. I feel like they could be fun in theory, but I can’t help thinking I’d find them kind of anxiety-inducing (i.e. “I have to perform well, or I’ll let down my partner!”).

I have no idea. My theory of mind skills aren't strong enough to hazard a guess. I'm pretty good at understanding thoughts and assumptions of people in a professional setting (i.e. customers shopping for a product), but less good at the subtle nuances of how people in personal relationships view me.

If there were a video game you could play again as if it were the first time, with everything being new and surprising again, which game would you pick?

I’ve never played a visual novel before, and don’t even entirely know what the genre is. Does anyone here play visual novels, and if so, which do you recommend on any system?

Who else is excited about The Outer Worlds? I’m probably looking forward to that more than a future Fallout or Elder Scrolls game. I loved Obsidian’s work on NV, and I can’t wait to see what they do with creating a new world to explore.

What makes someone a good team player in an FPS game? I think it’s more a list of things they don’t do than things they do (i.e. don’t steal everyone’s kills, don’t run around ignoring the objective, don’t pass by without reviving if in a support role, etc.)

What are your strategies for finding your way through dungeons? At a junction, I usually attempt to identify the pathway which looks most likely to terminate in a dead-end, and follow it through to that end before backtracking to the junction. If I can’t make a determination, I usually just go left. I also tend to hug the left wall as I make my way around a large room with a lot of branching rooms or corridors. This helps me 1-not miss any loot, 2-not lose track of where I’ve been and where I haven’t. What are your techniques?

If somebody asks you which control does what while playing a game you also play, are you able to tell them the answer? Or do you rely almost entirely on muscle memory to operate the controls? Whenever anyone is playing a game and asks me what key to press to pull up a menu, jump, etc., most of the time I can’t for the life of me give them an answer—even though I could perform those actions easily with the controller in my hand.

For those who are interested in topics like philosophy, metaphysics, and so forth, what video games have you found most fascinating? I was blown away by Bioshock Infinite in pretty much every regard, but the topics which it touched upon like free choice, free will, personal responsibility, and so forth really struck a chord with me. I'm also pretty much obsessed with the multiverse, so there was that too.

What video game sequel was the most disappointing you ever played? Not necessarily the worst even—just the biggest letdown versus your original expectations and hopes.

Thank you! Nominating you right back, @DylanC for being a consistently amazing contributor.

Sometimes I hear people complain about endless side quests in games. What’s weird is that I usually seem to enjoy side quests more than main quest lines in many cases. I’m not sure why. Maybe they just have a “slice of life” quality in some cases that makes the world feel more real and lived-in. In any case, I’m not sure why folks complain about them as they can usually be skipped. Do you like side quests?

Kinetic. That's a good word for it. You nailed it.

I am currently on my first playthrough of DA II. On the whole, I like it. There are some changes that annoy me, but others that I feel are improvements. Anyway, one thing that annoys me—and I don’t understand—is the approval system. I swear it is completely illogical. I felt it was reasonably easy in many cases to predict how companions would react to things in Origins after I got to know them, but that doesn’t seem to be the case in DA II. Like for example, a lot of interactions will go like … Aveline: “We should deal with this situation in a lawful manner.” Me: -deals with the situation in a lawful manner- Aveline: +5 rivalry Me: ??? Can anybody shed any light on this issue?

Assuming you’re not playing a game mode which supports a zillion players, and you just have like 5-20 people on a server, how do you feel about massive maps in FPS games? Personally, I can’t stand them. I find them endlessly frustrating. It’s extremely annoying to run and run halfway across a huge map with the flag for example only to get killed and have to run all the way back to get it. And getting lost on a large map is a nightmare.

What FPS game modes do you enjoy the most? Aside from basic team death match, I really like the freeze tag and clan arena modes added with the Excessive mod in Q3A. You can tell how behind the times I am, lol.

What video games have you played with the most anticlimactic/disappointing endings?

There are a lot of conversations about RPG-style games and FPS games on here, but not a lot about sports games. Does anyone here play them, and if so, which ones are your favorites?

I thought I’d start the customary thread to discuss the portrayal of women in video games, since I don’t think anyone has. How do you feel about how women are portrayed in games? Does it bother you, or are you largely okay with it? Why or why not?

What video game have you replayed the most number of times? Not necessarily the game you have sunk the most hours into—just the one with the highest number of complete playthroughs.

What's a moment in a video game that struck you as profound?