StaceyPowers

What are some of the most cowardly things you feel that video game characters have done? I think my example would be Captain Martin Walker for pretty much the entirety of Spec Ops: The Line, for reasons that are clear at the end of the game.

In another thread, @Shole mentioned that a game called Nightmare Creatures initially seemed really creepy, but years later, seems more funny than creepy. What are some other games you have played that after aging a bit lost their original effect on you and now feel more funny than effective?

I think I'd say overall he was a brave person, but the lie was certainly cowardly. I think there must be solid examples of lawful vs chaotic good, but I will have to think on that! Most I can come up with are more like various versions of chaotic good fighting each other.

I can't disagree with you there. I didn't lose all respect for him, but it was a rotten thing to do.

Overall, I do think this is a correct description of him. But I feel there was more to the ending than that, and it took me a second playthrough to be sure I felt that way (and a couple of playthroughs of Left Behind). The imagery at the start of the game and the imagery at the end of it are close mirrors, and it seems to me that protecting what is innocent was a motive alongside survival. The soldier who shot Sarah was doing something pragmatic and logical, but also unnecessary. I got the impression what the Fireflies wanted to do with Ellie was potentially likewise. Plus, Riley seemed a clear source of virtue, and her words at the end of Left Behind were also similar to Joel's at the end of TLOU. I kind of felt like they reached the same decision point in different ways. Selfishness may not be heroic, but a character being selfish doesn't necessarily make him un-heroic either. Note: I haven't played TLOU II yet. For all I know, all of the above is wrong. In terms of being effective against that leader strategically, or in terms of good storytelling? Honestly, lawful good leaders sometimes irk me, as they often tend to have a black and white view of the universe that just doesn't fit with real life. While trying not to dirty their hands, they end up causing more harm than good sometimes. They don't make good soldiers. They are more worried about protecting their egos than protecting others.

I didn't know that was even a thing!

@The Blackangel mentioned in another thread about games and human nature that anti-heroes may be more realistic as characters than heroes. Do you prefer heroes or anti-heroes in your games, and why? Personally, at least to some degree, I think that being a hero versus an anti-hero is in the eye of the beholder. Many people would call Joel from TLOU an anti-hero, I think, but I’d just consider him a hero.

In another thread, @Reality vs Adventure and @The Blackangel and I were talking about aspects of human nature explored in video games, and got to talking a bit about heroes in games. While most games I think make fairly typical statements about heroics and its value, one game that takes a very different stance regarding the ego-driven desire to be a hero is Spec Ops: The Line. What other games make unusual or unexpected statements or critiques on the idea of the hero?

I cannot stand puzzles in games that do not appear to have a logical in-game basis. For example, I ran into a puzzle in DA: Inquisition the other week that required running over tablets in a certain order, and the best way anyone could explain how to do it online was to imagine that they are a number pad on a keyboard and then to just step on even or odd numbers. Why would the Inquisitor in Thedas be thinking about “what if these tablets are like the numbers on a keypad?” Does this sort of thing drive anyone else crazy?

Are there any specific types of sim games you think would be cool, but do not to your knowledge exist? I know there are some coral reef/aquarium type sim games, but they seem really casual, and I think it would be cool if there were a super detailed one for maintaining a diverse coral reef habitat.

When I was a little kid decades ago, video games, computers and the internet were not nearly as prominent among children as they are today, so we all grew up with highly genderized toys (i.e. dollhouses and kitchen play sets for girls, action figures for boys). Now, I think kids grow up with much more neutral activities, since they all grow up playing the same video games, etc. (i.e. the Sims is kind of like a virtual dollhouse, but boys and girls alike enjoy it). Do you think this has led to differences in gender socialization, expression and/or identity among people growing up today?

Come to think of it, most of the games I've really adored featured anti-heroes.

Spec Ops: The Line subverts this beautifully.

This is incredibly cool, especially considering your resources were limited. I'm so glad you shared the photos. Thank you!

That's more than I found! Both out of stock, but at least I can keep an eye on the order pages 🙂 Thank you so much!

I feel like I can remember at least two or three people here mentioning that they were interested in The Witcher 3, but never really got into it—but I don’t seem to recall anyone explaining why. I am curious about this game, so I would like to know why it didn’t really “grab” those of you who didn’t get into it.

I seem to remember a point of no return message, but I quite agree that this is another egregious example of an unfinished game.

We now have a thread on gaming merchandise that we want but do not have—but what about gaming merchandise that should exist, but doesn’t? For example, my brother wants Diablo plushies, but neither of us have been able to find any.

In another thread, someone mentioned how part of fascism involves taking people who are scared or angry about something and giving them an out-group on which to focus their hate. This is a process I don’t think I fully understood until I played BioShock Infinite, and saw how Columbia’s government crafted a black-and-white narrative of the world built on racism and fundamentalism—and expressed that narrative so seductively through every aspect of the city’s architecture, art, products, and culture. Are there games that have also helped you to better grasp some aspect of human nature or experience that previously, you did not understand?

Perhaps the ecology qualifies as a superorganism though?

I will buy the full version so I can keep buying used games locally on disc 🙂

Fallout New Vegas is an example of a game that isn’t just buggy, but genuinely broken on my platform—the world gradually breaks and eventually becomes inaccessible as my save file on PS3 grows. Despite this extreme inconvenience, I have played this game to death, and expect I will replay it numerous more times, as horrible bugs aside, I adore everything about it. What games do you love so much that even truly horrible bugs don’t stop you from playing it?

I have noticed many games have repetitious filler tasks that are linked to the main quest line, but which can often be avoided (i.e. to my knowledge, I do not need to close all the Oblivion gates in Oblivion, or all the rifts in DA: Inquisition—and I know I don’t need to kill every dragon that spawns in Skyrim). I find these elements rather tedious, and tend to feel they add little to their games—my thought when I run into them is usually, “another cockroach to squish, ugh.” How do you feel about them?

Fallout New Vegas literally breaks--as in stops functioning at all--on my PS3 every single time I play it. It works fine for a while, but as the save file grows, the world starts to crash. I still adore the game and still consider it one of the best RPGs--but it barely runs on my console.

Not a huge surprise, since it's such a highly specific question, but thank you for looking 🙂 My hope is that since PS3 saves can be transferred to PS4, and PS4 version of game is compatible with PS5, it might somehow all work out ...