StaceyPowers

Has playing video games ever made you feel like something in your life is missing IRL? For example, I seem to play a lot of video games where I am either responsible for a kid as part of the plot, or choose to adopt them (i.e. in open world games). I have never had any inclination to have children IRL, and I still do not—but I realize it makes me sad that economically, I would not have the option IRL if I wanted it.

What types of weather do you think video games on the whole tend to portray with the greatest degree of realism? What types of weather do they more often struggle with?

The world is changing fast, and in alarming ways. Do you think that themes in video games will reflect those changes more and more? Which ones do you think they will focus on the most?

Are there video games you find too scary to play, or found too scary to play when you were young?

Just saw that HBO plans to spend around 200 million per season on its Last of Us show: https://uproxx.com/edge/hbo-the-last-of-us-200-million-8-seasons/

As a school kid, did you form or maintain friendships around video games? This happened a lot with me. There were even kids I only knew in school/in person because we ran in the same online gaming circles.

Probably an ignorant question, but seriously, what stops kids in schools these days from literally just gaming on their phones all day while pretending to be taking notes?

Sadly, I have never played System Shock or System Shock 2. Who here has played them? What are your thoughts about them?

When an enemy flees in a video game, do you find that frustrating or beneficial? Like, I find it odd when some weapons in games make enemies flee as some kind of “bonus.” Chasing after them is a pain.

What are some games that make meta commentary about gaming itself? For example, Spec Ops: The Line and BioShock.

If you had admin privileges in your favorite MMO, what sweeping changes might you make?

Did you ever back a game through Kickstarter? Did you have a good experience or a bad one?

Some video games feature really stilted/awkward dialogue. For example, ES: Oblivion—great game, but the dialogue seems very unnatural to me. What are some others in this list?

I thought it might be handy to have a thread where we share full scripts of video games as we find them. Here’s the script for BioShock Infinite and Burial at Sea: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/605053-bioshock-infinite/faqs/69191

In Skyrim, you can join almost every guild/faction/etc., and nobody cares, even if they seem like they should conflict. But in Oblivion, you can get thrown out of factions in some situations. While that can be inconvenient, to me it makes the world feel more real, and makes choices in an open world environment feel more real as well. Thoughts?

I had already used all the trainers that were available. I have no idea why this was so hard for me. Maybe I just needed to be able to repair a magical item sooner than organically the game thought I would?

How would you describe your alignment IRL? I would say I am either lawful good or chaotic neutral, depending on point of view and definitions (i.e. someone who shares my ethics would see me as lawful good, but the world at large would likely slot me as chaotic neutral, which is fine by me).

What typical game class or specialization do you feel matches your personality or skills in real life? I would say I am a thief/rogue character. I am less likely to charge into a problem swinging a sword than I am to look toward artifice for solutions.

When does a developer go too far in the name of immersion? For example, it quite irritates me in BioShock when I get stuck with “helmet view” while wearing a Big Daddy helmet (there was no way to turn this off in the brief part of the first BioShock game in the remaster where it shows up).

Have you read any really good academic essays about video games? If so, please provide a link.

If you could run an academic study on video games, what would you choose to study?

What video game’s underlying philosophy or message is the closest match for your own? For me, it is BioShock Infinite.

Realism and beauty are not necessarily interchangeable. If you were forced to choose, would you rather game only in realistic but aesthetically ugly game environments for the rest of your life, or aesthetically pleasing but unrealistic game environments?

Is there a book universe you think would work well as an open world game environment? I would enjoy seeing the world of Dinotopia as an open world to explore.

If you were forced to pick just one system to game on for the rest of your life, which system would you go with?