StaceyPowers

Quite a few games have addressed trauma and PTSD, and at least one of them helped me start processing my own traumas (Spec Ops: The Line). Are there other specific mental health issues you’d like to see a game address?

Is there a specific setting you would love to see in a video game and never have before? Where/when would it be?

If you have a pile of games waiting for you that are all going to take many months to complete and you have one open slot in your gaming schedule, how do you pick which game to play next?

What are your favorite story-driven games? Mine include TLOU, BioShock series, Mass Effect series, Dragon Age series, and Spec Ops: The Line.

What are some games where the main quest line is so compelling that it is hard for you not to rush forward just to find out what happens next? Mass Effect was like this for me.

Does anything while gaming ever give you eye strain? I don’t really have this problem unless I am trying to read something in a difficult font.

Is there an easy way to figure out if a game includes levelled loot without happening to look it up or see it somewhere at random?

Do you sometimes spin around searching the walls around a room so much in a game for loot that you make yourself dizzy?

Do you ever have a weird out-of-body moment when gaming? It’s hard to explain what I mean. Like, you might be playing in third person, and momentarily, forget that the body on the screen is not your real body, and then have a fleeting sense you are outside of yourself.

I didn't agree with his actions either, but I don't think we were meant to. Did you disagree with the overarching message you took from the game? I came away with "our choices are restricted until we know what is driving us," which made sense to me.

There can never be too many BioShock series playthroughs.

Surely that is part of where teens learn it from 😉

Here is an essay on the concept of “ludonarrative dissonance” in games that I found very interesting: http://www.fredericseraphine.com/index.php/2016/09/02/ludonarrative-dissonance-is-storytelling-about-reaching-harmony/ I guess this really bothers a lot of people. Ironically, I feel most of the games that have really impacted me have deliberately featured this dissonance and made it part of the experience, rather than trying to avoid it. In some ways though, I don’t even get why this bothers people. A gap between what I am trying/want to do and what I can/must do IRL pretty much is the essence of my normal human experience. Life, at its core, features this “dissonance.” When it features in games, to me it actually makes them more lifelike.

Do you prefer games that tell you a story about a character who is not "you," or do you prefer games where you tell/create your own story through an open world or branching choices that lead to very different endings?

In another thread, @Syntax mentioned thinking that gamers do not focus much on the ground in a game while playing. I seem to look at it plenty, especially if I am gathering herbs or such in a game. Do you pay a lot of attention to the ground, or not?

Do you run into problems because you don’t have enough space on your hard drive for all the games you want to play?

I love first person, but not on horseback. Do you think there is a way to program horseback riding in first person so it feels natural?

Do you ever find yourself rushing while gaming for whatever reason? Sometimes this happens to me after a long, tedious quest, or if I am eager to get to another game, and I have to remind myself to slow down.

A lot of the time, gamers with a particular mindset think a game is “bad” if it features a message that they do not personally agree with. But not everyone reacts this way when a game espouses a different belief. Are there any games that feature messages that clash with your beliefs, but which you still respect as quality games?

If you only have 10-20 minutes to game, what games are best for sessions that short?

There are a lot of reasons I prefer gaming at night, but one of them is because having less visual distraction around the screen increases my immersion. Darkness keeps me focused. In fact, some games I won’t even play at all during the day, ever. Does anyone else do this?

Do you like games with permadeath at all? If so, which, and why?

Which games feature the best in-game radio stations?

Are there any games you did not enjoy the first time you played, but on giving them a second chance, you found you did?

If you have a pile of unplayed games waiting for you, do you ever sometimes get ridiculously impatient to play them?