StaceyPowers

At what age did you discover goth?

Find out what he's like now and decide if I like him back, I guess.

Wow, that's terrible. My effective tax rate seems to be somewhere between 25-30%, I make a reasonable amount of money, and I still struggle to get by in the US. I can't imagine how you pay the bills.

Interesting you list the last one, considering I actually think tactical combat in games like TLOU could be classified as a kind of melding of puzzle and fighting.

The context by which each person here defines "heroic" was what I was looking for. Subjective definitions, not a global one.

What is it like there in the present?

I have noticed many gamers are very adverse to not having choices in video games. I can imagine scenarios where that might irk me, but on the whole, I often don’t care. Times I don’t mind not having choices: -When playing a specific character and it is their story and decision, not mine (i.e. TLOU, BioShock Infinite). -When choices are removed to make a point/demonstrate our limitations (i.e. in Spec Ops: The Line). -When we wouldn't realistically be able to do or stop something for lack of information/etc. (i.e. DA 2). Are there situations where you also don’t mind not having choices/control?

Where are you from?

Do you have an all-time favorite gaming memory? I think mine was a moment while playing BioShock Infinite that I realized that Columbia was similar to “place” I’d glimpsed inside my head when younger and wanted to write a story about, but never figured out much about. In that moment, it felt like Columbia was that place, and someone else had written it instead.

I often wish I could play games “for the first time” repeatedly. It is hard to recapture the magic on a repeat playthrough. So far, aside from taking long breaks between playthroughs, I have not really found any good techniques. Has anyone else?

What ingredients go into good puzzle design?

What video game adversary or threat would you be most horrified to have to face IRL?

Do you ever experience moments in games where everything—music, ambient noise, visuals, maybe events—are just perfect, generating an ideal moment, even though it is a coincidence? I.e. in open world games, this happens to me sometimes.

What is a time in a video game you achieved an amazing kill, but it was a complete accident?

In another thread, @m76 mentioned some of his criteria for heroic characters. It made me curious about what everyone here looks for in heroes in video games. I think for me, a heroic character is one who does what they feel is right, but is also willing to face devastating truths.

What is the worst experience you’ve had because of an autosave? For example, a game with no manual saves autosaving in a glitchy location or after you blew all your supplies.

If you are playing a game with limited supplies and you run through a lot of them winning a fight, do you typically go back and retry to save the supplies, even if the fight is pretty hard? I usually do, if I’m not assured of more supplies coming up soon.

A lot of us spend hundreds of hours playing games. Do you feel like the time you invest in gaming takes you away from RL, or connects you to it in different ways?

Have gaming experiences impacted how you relate to other people? For example, playing MUDs helped me figure out what I value in friendships.

What games have you played past or present that you feel offer rewarding social experiences?

Has anyone played this? Reading about it, I have a hard time even grasping what exactly it is, but I am intrigued.

What are some game characters that you feel exemplify good ways to live or interact? Like for example, I admire Thane in Mass Effect 2/3, because of the grace and kindness he brings even to battlefields.

Some games are open regarding factions. I.e. in Skyrim, you could be a Stormcloak, an Imperial, or neither, so nobody is your enemy by default--but there is a conflict with different sides.

What is your favorite menu? Mine is BioShock Infinite. It instantly immerses you in the atmosphere of the game, and the song becomes especially haunting once you understand why they picked it.

Are there any game characters you find well and poorly written? For example, I think for the most part, Morrigan in DA is well written (and beautifully acted), but she frequently disagrees with entirely pragmatic decisions because the writers didn’t understand why they those options were pragmatic.