StaceyPowers

Pickpocketing is the hardest skill for me to develop in Skyrim. I have a hard time understanding what factors modify the percentage chances. Like there’s this diamond I’m supposed to steal, and it said 1% chance at first. I have levelled up picpocketing a number of times, and the chance was as high as 17% at one point, but now it’s back down to 4%. Anyone have any light to shed or tips to share?

Thanks! More to check out :)

Yeah, I have no idea how I missed this on my first playthrough. I'm guessing now that I'm on the lookout for it, I'll probably notice it everywhere, lol.

Humor in a lot of video games falls flat for me, and some video games have almost no sense of humor at all. In fact, for me, nothing has really equaled the odd sense of humor featured in the Zork games (old text-based PC games with a few graphical games that followed, for those who weren't around back in the dark ages). What games do you think have the best sense of humor?

What was your worst-ever experience of losing progress in a game because of corruption, bugs, a lack of backup saves, etc? For me, it was playing Return to Zork on PC back in the 90s. Somehow, I managed to lose an item irrevocably which was absolutely critical to progressing the plot, and only discovered this after weeks of play. I had no earlier save points, so I literally had to start over again from the beginning. Modern games tend to avoid walking players inadvertently into traps like this thankfully, but I've still run into some catastrophic glitches. Thankfully, I learned my lesson about saves with RTZ =D Any stories to share?

It does! Thank you! :)

Are there any games that you play more or less continuously? For example, I've literally been playing Skyrim since I got it over two years ago, and not because I haven't completed most of the quests. I just find it so relaxing each night that I don't want to stop playing it for any real length of time. So I have two play-throughs going on right now and will soon start a third.

I still play UT 2004 too :)

On a playthrough I did catch a couple of them eating a corpse, so yes--I can confirm that they are eating the dead.

I think video games are a great lens through which to ask challenging moral questions—especially those which put the player in a position of needing to make a complex moral choice (sometimes where there is no clear “right” answer). For me, so far I’ve gotten the most out of Dragon Age: Origins in this respect. Oftentimes the “right” choice seemed simple enough to me, but the hard part was following through knowing that my party members would be angry with me. What games have challenged your moral assumptions, or helped you gain perspective on moral choices in some way?

Quick and simple question. Does anyone here play Quake III Arena? It’s still my favorite FPS.

A huge part of most survival games is budgeting resources. I’m curious, is this something most people here enjoy, or find stressful? For me, it seems to range a great deal. I found it anxiety-inducing in The Last of Us, but it was also a big part of what I found appealing in the game, because it pushed me to be creative. I also liked it in the Dead Money DLC I played recently in Fallout NV. But I never bring myself to turn on survival mode in NV for some reason—I guess because I usually play that game to relax, and budgeting resources would force me to hurry around when I want to take my time.

When you play a video game, by default, what do you tend to end up picking as far as skills/fighting style/weapons? For me, it depends largely on the mechanics. Generally speaking though, I openly admit to being a terrible aim, so I generally avoid ranged combat and opt for close-range shooting or melee fighting. I tend to avoid mage classes too because I find them annoyingly complex on first glance, and then end up regretting it later when I realize they look like fun. The only exception on the ranged fighting thing is Fallout games. The VATS system makes sniping ridiculously efficient.

I have actually played like zero party games ever, but some of my friends talk about them (or co-op games which might work as party gams) a lot. Anyone have any favorites?

I'm rather sad/embarrassed to say I know next to nothing about the world of indie games and developers. Does anyone here have any cool indie games that they recommend? I'm on PS3, but I'm curious about all your recommendations for any system.

I mentioned before in another post it's been ages since I've played an MMO, but it seems like most of what is big right now doesn't really fit my bill. Anyway, it made me curious what most of you look for in an MMO? What is most important to you? The skill/guild/class system? RP elements? The world design? The player base? How the game is run by the administration? The economy?

What games do you think were most revolutionary when they came out, changing the way that developers made games in the future? Half-Life springs to mind immediately for me. When I played that game, I was really blown away by the fact that the game play and the narrative were so well woven together. I don’t remember that really being a common feature of FPS games before that.

When I play games, I like that they pull me out of my own head and make me question my assumptions. But usually it is in small ways. But I do remember that Myst on PC back in the day was pretty much what got me interested as a kid in physics and metaphysics (the concept of multiple worlds blew my young mind). It also was in large part what got me into writing. Have ever played any games that really changed your life in some way?

What is the best MMO you have ever played, past or present? And what is your favorite current MMO? The best for me was an old MUD (which still exists, I believe) called Aetolia. It had a lot of problems, but at the time, the community was quite tight-knit. I haven’t gotten into today’s big MMOs because I’ve heard the level of actual RP in them is typically lacking (and interaction in general). Anyway, I’m curious to hear what you all look for in MMOs and which are your favorites.

What’s the best deal you ever got on one or more games, whether it was from a store or you got it directly from another person? In my case, it was $60 for a used PS3 and like a dozen random games. I really miss that neighbour =D

I often have trouble in games where I’m not allowed to save at will. When I know I have to do everything right to make it through a prolonged fight, it is more likely I will screw it up and have to start all over. I mess up because of performance anxiety. Anyone have tips for beating this? So far all I’ve come up with is to tell myself to be super patient, take it slow (when applicable), and pretend that it’s real life.

Who are some of your favourite voice actors in video games? I could name a lot of people here, but most recently I've enjoyed Claudia Black as Morrigan in Dragon Age.

I'm currently playing The Pitt DLC for Fallout 3 for the first time, and I really like it. The ambiance of the city is awesome, and I am in love with the Steelyard area. Aside from the cool atmosphere, I've realized it's because it features so much vertical space, and there is a general lack of that in a lot of Bethesda dungeons. It makes for a nice change--and in general, I really like vertical play in other games as well, like many of the maps for UT 2004 (yes, I play very old games). Do you enjoy maps with a strong vertical component? Any games to suggest which feature a lot of that?

Nice choice! I don't know why I didn't think of Whiterun :)

I recently wrapped up my first playthrough of Dragon Age: Origins. I’m about to start on the expansion pack. I’ve seen a lot of critics say that Origins is the best title, but I know people who love 2 and 3 as well. Which Dragon Age game is your favourite, and why? Please try and keep spoilers to a minimum since I’ve obviously not played most of them.