StaceyPowers

What video game have you gotten most involved with/immersed in to the point where you thought about it constantly when you weren't playing it? Ignoring MMOs, for me the answer is Bioshock Infinite. Outside of work, that game was pretty much life for me for the couple weeks I was playing it. It's hard to stop myself from just jumping back in.

I’ve seen some people suggest recently that Fallout 76 has been such a letdown commercially that the Fallout series should just be abandoned outright. I think that’d be a ridiculous mistake. Fallout is fertile ground for many great adventures to come, and I’d be crushed if they quit making Fallout games. Are there gaming franchises you also hope will get new games until the end of time?

What old/abandoned gaming franchises would you like to see rebooted either with remakes or more sequels?

I first suspected this the very first time Comstock talked directly to Booker and referenced so much about his life as if he had been there. And then I kept thinking as the game moved forward, "Wow, this place sure does seem to oddly revolve around Booker's past sins. It's like it all exists just to torment him." And by the end, it all made sense. Yeah, I got really emotionally invested in the story and characters.

What is the worst experience you've ever had playing a "freemium" type game? For me, it was an MMO I used to play which was free, but you could spend RL cash on a range of items and benefits. Unfortunately, a lot of them were genuinely useful. So those who were rich in real life could just buy power in-game.

If there is one type of game that can become a huge money drain, it is MMOs. I used to know a guy who spent hundreds of dollars--we thought it might have been thousands, even--on the text-based games we played. He had the admins pretty much in his pocket. What is the most money you've ever sunk into any one game?

Have you ever reached the end of a game and been like, “Wow. That was so incredible I’d gladly have paid more for it?” If so, what game?

I just wrapped up my initial playthrough of Bioshock Infinite, and have thought about it pretty much nonstop ever since. SPOILERS below. Just a few reasons this game blew my mind: -A logical, well-reasoned story about the multiverse (I feel most people get the concept wrong) -A different take on the nature and value of choice than you usually see in arguments about choice v. determinism. -An unbelievably atmospheric setting. Columbia feels “real” to me still, like it’s hidden somewhere, just on the other side of a portal to another world. -Amazing character development and some of the most brilliant “show-don’t-tell” writing I’ve ever seen. By the end of the game, you know that in a pretty literal way, Booker has been battling his own demons in his own personal hell through the entire game. The setting tells the story of the man. -Seriously inspirational. The ending ripped my heart out, but at the same time, I loved it as an achievement of ultimate redemption. If you’ve played the game, please share your thoughts!

Please note: SPOILERS below. I just wrapped up my first playthrough of Bioshock Infinite. I am pretty sure there are no solid answers to these questions, but if anyone has anything they’d like to chime in, please do. Here are some things I’m unclear about: 1-Why did Booker only lose his memory while crossing between universes at the start of the game? Why not on other crosses? 2-What is the significance of his nosebleed? I get that he is dead in other realities … but we all are. 3-What are the implications of the after-credits scene? All I can come up with is that this is a surviving Booker and Anna (or a series of them) who splintered off before the baptism event (in other words, he never went there). 4-Was he drowned before or after he made the actual “decision” about the baptism? (I don’t think there is really any way to confirm when in time the “decision point” occurred) In other words, did this kill Comstock and Booker, or just Comstock?

A most excellent choice for a man crush 😉 I really related to Mulder. I liked that he found hope in frightening possibilities, and built his faith around it.

Opening doors in time and space. You?

I didn't even know it existed. That is awesome! I keep wishing someone would adapt Hyperion. For me: BSG, Firefly, Star Trek (most of them), Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Expanse, Fringe, X-Files, and plenty more in the more generally speculative realm.

Sum up the essential challenge of your life in one word?

Good grief. How could I forget to mention Firefly? I never stop holding out hope that there will be a reboot/Season 2 someday. Genesis P-Orridge, for living a totally honest, unconventional life, and for being kind. I also admire Rogue from the Cruxshadows and David Eugene Edwards of Wovenhand for their honesty in art as well. What celebrities do you admire?

Favorite Star Wars film?

That's about the only use of a smartphone that's ever sounded exciting to me. Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Prison Break, Doctor Who, Torchwood, pretty much anything Bryan Fuller has worked on, Once Upon a Time, Star Trek (most of them), The Expanse, Cobra Kai, Fringe, I can go on and on. What are yours? Society needs to give up bigotry in all of its forms.

Nice answer! That's amazing.

Next question: Favorite sci-fi TV series?

What games would you be most excited to play in virtual reality? I would really love to try Bioshock Infinite in 3D. What’s funny is that when I started the game originally, I felt really overwhelmed by the environment (kind of a combination of motion sickness and agoraphobia, heh). I remember thinking in 3D it would be too much. But now that I’ve adjusted, I would love to be even more immersed in the game’s amazing atmosphere.

What are your favorite clothing items or armor in video games, whether for aesthetic or functional reasons? Visually, I love the Daedric armor in Skyrim.

I’m way behind the times when it come to shooters (sadly). So my experience with vehicles in shooters really is confined to where they show up in some UT 2004 game modes, lol. Anyway, I never liked them. I find them unwieldy. I’m curious if vehicles in shooters have evolved into being more usable over the years, or is this just a subjective hang-up I have?

Nice answer. I don't know why I didn't think of "practical" for myself. Driving (if that counts). Yours? Sounds cute :)

That's a contender for me for sure, as well as Aliens. Also: The Martian, Gravity, Rogue One, Forbidden Planet, The Wrath of Khan, The Abyss, Star Trek: First Contact, all Riddick movies.

What's the best compliment you've been paid?

Those were the days ... I really miss when I could do the same thing. Compassionate, defiant rulebreaker. Your turn :) Ocean's 11 and Collateral. You? I have a cat. What about you?