StaceyPowers

Do you get into the “roleplay” aspect of single player RPGs like Skyrim, Dragon Age, etc? I see so many people on forums with elaborate character concepts, and they often make vastly different choices on their playthroughs based on how their characters would think and react. I think that is really cool, but for my part, I always find the only choices I can make in games are the ones I would actually make myself. Anything else makes me lose immersion.

I'd like to visit Costa Rica.

lol. I know there are more factors than just the exploding corpses, but perhaps not taking that perk next time will be enough ... Never again, lol.

Watch it be with PS4 only. I could so see that happening to me.

We’ve all encountered quests we’ve really hated, but in my experience, these fall into two categories. 1-Quests we hate for personal reasons (which might not matter to the average gamer). 2-Quests which are flat-out badly designed. Of course, design is a somewhat subjective issue in and of itself. So what do you think makes for a poorly designed quest? And what are some examples that stick out to you?

That would be amazing. I hope you get to do it!

I have more than enough games to catch up on to be happy with it for another 1-2 years. I'm kind of banking on PS5 being backwards compatible with all my games so I can replace it with that and not have to have two consoles sitting around in my very tiny house.

I think it's more than that though. I mean, I don't feel a lack of immersion in real life (lol), but I often feel like my actions do not matter to anyone/anything outside myself and my immediate home/family/workplace. Video games are like "significance simulators," designed to make you feel as if you can change the world--even if it is a virtual one.

Are there any quests in any games you have played which were so frustrating that you just gave up on them and flat-out refused to ever come back and finish them? On a related note, are there quests you finished but hated so much that you never replayed them again on future playthroughs?

Indeed, this is the issue. I'm on a PS3. Like, apparently picking the exploding corpses perk was a huge mistake. All those little bits to keep track of.

What countries have you visited?

Ironically, it's sometimes easier to feel like your actions matter more in a video game than in real life--pretty much what they are designed for in some respects, I think.

Do you ever find yourself surprised by how differently you process moral decisions in video games than other people? Like the other day, I finished Dragon Age: Awakening for the first time, and got curious what other players did in a situation where I thought a moral choice was easy and straightforward. I was surprised that my decision was actually the minority choice. On the other hand, there are sometimes moral decisions which I’ve struggled over in games which probably seemed clear-cut to others. Anyone else ever surprised by this sort of thing? I think it’s really cool how you can find out more about the different ways people process their decisions by examining what they do in games.

When I get frustrated by something in a game which I find illogical or poorly designed, my reaction is usually to attack the problem (i.e. solve a puzzle, finish clearing an area) as quickly as possibly and move on. I can get kind of manic about it. I just want it out of my way so I can get back to enjoying the rest of the game. On the other hand, my friend who I game with has the exact opposite reaction. He rage-quits, sometimes not just for the night, but forever with that particular game. It made me wonder which of our reactions are more “typical.” How do you react when a game really frustrates you?

What is the worst game-destroying glitch or bug you have ever had to deal with? For me, it’s definitely the bug in Fallout New Vegas which causes areas to freeze the more you play the game, to the point where I can’t even finish my current playthrough (this doesn’t affect everyone, but it isn’t just me). A runner-up might be the mysterious “corruption” of my profile data in Dragon Age: Origins (which happened last night). At least I finished Awakening before it happened ….

So I finished my first playthrough of Dragon Age: Origins as well as Awakening, and last night I decided to download one of the other DLCs (I got Awakening on a disc) to play it. The download and install seemed to go fine, but then when I loaded Origins, I got a message that said something like this: “Your profile has been corrupted, and default settings have been restored.” I’m not sure what this means, but it seems to imply that it has managed to lose or misplace all my progress—not cool. Anyone know how to fix this? I’m on PS3. Thanks!

Do most people not like Tetris? I always thought it was a beloved classic. I figured I'm the odd one for not getting into it.

I have to confess I never got into Tetris. It doesn't frustrate me or anything--it just fails to captivate me. It presents an interesting optimization problem though, and I suspect I'd find a technical discussion on it fascinating.

What book or story have you re-read the most?

In general, I am not a huge fan of puzzles in video games, but there are exceptions. I really enjoyed Myst back in the day on PC. While it could be frustrating, most of the puzzles were fairly interesting, and the settings/story were fantastic. What are some awesome puzzle games (new or old) on any platform which y’all can recommend?

Who is your favorite character featured in a DLC in any game? So far, my vote goes to Joshua Graham in Honest Hearts in Fallout: New Vegas.

Totally agreed on Left Behind! That one blew my mind. I was finally about to play Old World Blues for the first time the other week, but the freezing/glitching problem NV is giving me made it impossible. It'll be a priority on my next playthrough! I did manage to play Honest Hearts and Dead Money on this playthrough, and really liked both of those.

At what age did you realize you are transgender?

For those here who play or have played MMOs, what are your worst horror stories about terrible administrators?

What is the best DLC you ever played for any game ever? On a related note, what would you say was the best value DLC you ever played (i.e. quality added to the game in relation to cost)?