StaceyPowers

This. There needs to be solid motivation, or nothing will happen. And if there is truly compelling motivation, it can't not happen. It's like pulling a thread out of an old sweater. It will keep unraveling.

I'd really never thought of it that way before. I guess people who are used to having attention on them all the time as a group will complain not so much because they actually feel oppressed as that they just want to find a reason to draw attention back to themselves. Although, I expect in some cases this may be a covert motive, and they may not even be fully aware that this is their intention.

Thank you; that is a very clear and thorough explanation! And sorry--I am pretty sure you've had to tell me about the mods thread twice 😞 Thank you for the merge/reminder!

Imagine that whatever you spend most of your time doing in video games is your RL job. What do you do for a living? I guess I would be in pest control, for example, since these days I am mostly clearing dungeons.

I was reading this post about whether video games encourage narcissism: https://sites.psu.edu/passionblogrmoussa/2015/09/17/do-video-games-encourage-narcissism/ I do see plenty of narcissistic behaviour among gamers, but I'm not sure gaming seems inherently narcissistic to me. Actually, if anything, playing in a world that exists "just for me" In the moment I am playing feels oddly humbling, and makes me want to interact with every small detail to appreciate others' hard work. Do you see a link between gaming and narcissism?

I notice there are literally hundreds of MMOs that I’ve never heard of. Given their massive volume, I have a hard time expecting they are high in quality. What are they like, on average?

Does anyone have any interest in Amazon’s MMO?

What is the highest position you ever held in an MMO? Mine was "Clan Speaker and Representative." Not great 😕

If money were no object, what would your ultimate gaming setup be?

In open world RPGs, I often feel I am just wandering aimlessly until I discover in-game motivation—i.e. a follower I want to protect, or a political conflict I want to influence. But it always happens by accident. Do you go looking for motivation, or find yours the same way?

I am totally new to mods. If I install a mod, and then I decide I don’t like it, and I uninstall it, will I have to revert back to the last save I made before it was installed? Or will the game somehow update my most recent save with the new, un-modded game state, and I can just go on with my life?

Did you ever deliberately quit a game somewhere in the middle? What made you quit?

There seems to be a pretty even split between games that set the default trigger buttons as R/L 1 and those that set it as R/L 2. Do you have a preference between them?

I just started Skyrim on PS5! This is my first time playing it on a platform other than PS3. I am hoping it will be a lot less buggy. I will update to let you all know how it goes.

What is the most photorealistic game you have played?

Is there a quest in any video game where you consistently take the opposing side from your own? As an example, in Skyrim, I always rescue the Stormcloak soldier from the Thalmor, even though I am always an Imperial (my reason is that I figure the Thalmor are mutual enemies).

For mods that aren’t designed to be overtly humorous or surreal, do you get annoyed if they do not fit in some way with the internal consistency of the game world as you see it?

Just started playing remastered Skyrim for the first time. Everything is nice and crisp, but the lighting actually bothers me—it feels like it is full of “glare.” Can anyone recommend a mod to improve it (for PS4/PS5)?

She's avoiding spoilers partly for my benefit, and I appreciate it.

Brilliant, I think you are spot on.

Isn't that what life is, though? I realize there are many approaches to happiness, but i don't mind finding it in things external to me. It makes me more vulnerable, but not necessarily more fragile--if anything, it is the extra kick in the pants I need to fight for what I love to last--or go find something new to love if it doesn't. So, anti-fragile 🙂

What are some tedious situations you’ve gotten into in open world games? For example, in Oblivion, I got kicked out of the mages’ guild, then had to get vampire dust to get back in. I then caught vampirism, and had to talk to the mages’ guild person about finding a cure. But he would not talk to me until I got all the dust.

A lot of video games include themes that promote more awareness of prejudice. But do you think that people can learn to be more tolerant from playing games? I think in some cases, some people probably do question their assumptions and beliefs when exposed to different ideas in games. But other people are not going to open their minds regardless of what they play.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54954622 From the article: “Prof Andrew Przybylski, who led the study, said he was surprised by the results. "If you play Animal Crossing for four hours a day, every single day, you're likely to say you feel significantly happier than someone who doesn't," he said.”

https://www.studyfinds.org/video-games-career-success/ “A new survey polled 2,000 Americans about the biggest lessons they’ve learned from video games and discovered 47 percent say gaming prepared them for success.” I can confirm that gaming did help prepare me for my career, mostly by helping me learn how to work well with others. Also, I learned to type fast since I played MUDs growing up. Did gaming help prepare you for your career?