[Is there a way to maintain a sense of urgency in open world games?]

6 hours ago, Yaramaki said:

To get back to @StaceyPowers question if they add in a sense of urgency in open world games imo it would add a lot more realism into the game knowing that world isen't build around the main character and side characters go on about their ways or could have done things completly different, needless to say it would encourage a second or multiple playtroughs knowing you have missed a bunch stuff into the game, i also feel like you could add in morale system more effective this way like if you fail a bunch of quests you're no longer welcome in a certain town or village or maybe even better if you fail to reach a town in a certain time frame that's been plagued by sickness all people could die and the entire town could be a ghost town because you diden't make it in time, leaving you out of a bunch of side quests that way. 

These are great ideas, and more what I was looking for. "Urgency" may not have been the right word, but I don't know what is. I detest time limits in games, but the linear games that give me a sense of "urgency" do not have time limits or rush the gamer either. It's more just a sense that something important is going on, the stakes are high, and I desire to resolve a situation for the sake of the characters. Even with no time limits, things feel very present, focused, in the moment. That is what is often missing for me in open worlds. 

[Do you play old editions of sports games?]

I don’t play sports games, so I have always wondered something. If you buy new editions of sports games every year, what happens to the old ones? Are you just done with them? Or do you return to old editions now and again to relive past seasons or because some of them were especially good?

[Quests or DLCs others think are tedious that you like]

What are some quests or DLCs that you have heard other people complain are tedious or repetitious, but which you nonetheless enjoy?

 

[Open world game ideas?]

What do you want to experience as an open world game?

I want a game set in a highly researched/realistic prehistoric time where I can play as a dinosaur.

[Reasons why games are unfinished unless you get a DLC?]

You know how sometimes developers release a game that is essentially unfinished until you get the DLC that wraps up the story?

What are the most common reasons this happens? I am assuming developers/publishers do not plan for this situation.

[Why is joystick sensitivity so bad?]

I recently learned how to connect my DualSense with my laptop to play games. But there is absolutely no way to get the sensitivity and precision with the joysticks on the gamepad that I get out of a mouse, which makes shooters hard to play. Is this a limitation inherent to joysticks, or are PlayStation controllers just crappy with sensitivity and precision?

Before you ask, I am not using the mouse for ergonomic/pain reasons.

 

[What open world games have the best voice acting?]

What open world games have the best voice acting? I have been pretty impressed with some of the acting in The Outer Worlds, especially Ashly Burch (Parvati).

[Games where empathy isn’t always easy]

What are some games where you had to work at empathizing with/understanding the characters? It took me a while to empathize with a lot of the characters in The Outer Worlds (more the NPCs at large—shipmates were pretty easy) due to how indoctrinated they are.

 

[Stray]

3 hours ago, Heatman said:

No!!! You're wrong about the right word for what you were trying to say. It's not molding but MODDING. It's video games modding not molding. There's even a thread for it here in The Gaming Mod Thread. 

Phew. For a moment there, I was wondering if "molding" was a word for "modding" and I was out of the loop.

[Is there a way to maintain a sense of urgency in open world games?]

I love open worlds, but I feel one of the things that is usually lost when playing them is a sense of “urgency”. Linear games keep us moving forward; there is often a rising sense of urgency built into the pacing. But open world games seem to lack this. Is there a way to embed that sense of dire importance/urgency into an open world format?

[Do you try to avoid a high civilian death toll?]

When you play a game with civilians running around everywhere (i.e. open worlds especially), do you go out of your way to try not to accidentally kill civilians, or do you just not care if they get friendly fired?

 

[Games you found more fun after you knew you could beat them?]

Do you ever have “what if I cannot beat this game” anxiety the first time you play a game? If so, does the loss of that anxiety after successfully beating the game make it more relaxing and fun on a replay for you?

[Series you have abandoned]

Are there any series you used to loyally play, but have now abandoned? Why did you jump ship? Did you get burned out by it, or did you just get distracted and forget about it?

[Silly completionist things you did as a gaming newbie]

When you were new to gaming (or a particular type of game), were there any silly, weird things you did as a completionist because you just didn’t know any better?

For instance, when I first started playing open world RPGs, I tried to loot everything. Every single item.

 

[What aspects of storytelling do video games do best as a medium?]

I do not think there is one “best” medium for storytelling, but that each has strengths and weaknesses. But what I think video games do better than other mediums is create fast empathy between the player and the character they play. What aspects of storytelling do you think games do best?

[Do you get disoriented visiting new versions of familiar places in games?]

Sometimes in games, one visits an area, then something happens that changes that area a bit (i.e. destruction), and then the game brings you back there. It is the same, yet different. I seem to find these situations more disorienting than visiting brand new locations. It is like there are two conflicting maps in my head at all times. Does anyone else experience the same?

[What games are the hardest to learn/get into as a newbie?]

What games are the hardest to learn/get into as a newbie? I seem to have the most trouble with games that involve building, i.e. Minecraft or No Man’s Sky.

[Games missing key ending slides]

While watching the Dragon Age: Origins end slides again the other night, I realized how weird it is that there is not a slide for every companion—or even most of them! Only two companions got slides.

What other games are missing key ending slides?

[Games forgetting to address key plot points]

I was laughing last night when I realized a DA: Origins DLC I replayed forgot completely to conclude the stories of the temporary party members.

What are some other games that drop major plot points and provide no resolution?

[What game would be the worst to live in if you're not a main character?]

TLOU, since you'd likely end up infected.

[Stray]

Anyone know the pricing?

[Audio balancing in games]

How do you feel about the default audio balancing in most games you have played? Either I have really outdated speakers, am really bad at hearing dialogue, or I think default balancing is really bad. I am not sure which is the case.

[What (real) cities would be coolest settings for open world games?]

What real life cities do you want to be featured as open world settings in video games? Why those particular cities? What features would make them compelling to explore?

[What game do you struggle with that everyone claims is easy?]

Is there a game that mot people swear is pretty easy, but which you personally find to be hard?

[How do you feel about paying full price for new versions of games you already bought?]

The Last of Us: Part 1 remake is retailing at $70, with no discount for owners of previous versions of the game.

How do you feel about this sort of thing? Even a nominal discount in situations like this would be nice, I think, to say thank-you to fans who have already long supported games.