StaceyPowers

This whole response is so above and beyond, and sort of a delicious treat. Thank you.
Ironically, there was a bright, sunny dungeon I saw in Skyrim once that I cannot for the life of me identify or locate again, and it's been driving me crazy for years.
THIS. The stories woven into the Fallout vaults are awesome.

For all their faults, Bethesda Game Studios have an incredible dungeon design philosophy in the Fallout games. Here are my observations:
Purpose. The dungeon isn't there because it's something for the player to do. It has a reason to exist in the context of the world. Schools, factories, towns and Vaults are all reasonable expectations in that setting, and are reasonably expected to provide the following: essential items (food, water, medicine), utilities (crafting materials), or at the very least shelter from the elements and baddies outdoors. Granted, these places should be picked clean but you can always take the goods from the current occupiers. Not every bandit exists solely to be XP fodder (OK, in the video game sense sure, but in lore, they've all got their reasons. In Fallout, the harsh world creates a harsher people).
In the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion mines are differentiated from caves because of their mineral value and the assets within (boarded up walls, pickaxes strewn around) and their more even surfaces. Believable Structure. See above with location; what does a school look like? It's not going to have spike pits and holding cells. Nor is it going to have an abundance of lockers, a cafeteria, a playground and gym. Without these things you might as well have the spike pits and holding cells.
A dungeon never starts out as a dungeon. Even a labyrinthian cave, a natural structure, can still have some logic for why its occupants reside there - is it warm, is it cool, is it spacious, is it cramped, is it near a viable food source or running water? Resident Evils. Who resides in the dungeon, and more importantly, why? As said above nobody wants to live in a dungeon because it's a dungeon; they won't live there of their own accord unless it provides a boon. Are they criminals on the run, or have they got the perfect place to ambush travellers? Is it the only place its nocturnal occupants can sleep? And if there's numerous types of creature living there, how do they survive? Which is the invasive species? Reward. A reward doesn't have to be material, though it can be for those who want to get something out of delving in dungeons. If it is material I always find a cache at the end of hardships (solving puzzles or besting beasties) to be a satisfying conclusion. As a game programming note, make a note that the player has completed the dungeon at least once, even if the loot can respawn. But some rewards are better than the material. Again, see Fallout and the odd Elder Scrolls cave - nearly all of them have a story via audio logs, diaries, or environmental assets such as bones or locked rooms with gas or water leaking from underneath them. I couldn't tell you of any weapons I've found in any of these dungeons, but I can tell you of the elections you didn't want to win of Vault 11, or the inescapable island where Bravil's debtors end up. That just about covers the fundamentals of what I think is good dungeon design.

So much gore and torture you can smell it through the tv. Walk by recently used torture devices with matted insides some of which are still dripping. And that dripping never stops. You can always hear it. Faint voices of screams that are on its last round of echoes. The sound of chains dangling in the silence from an unknown breeze. Hot inferno in one chamber, and cold ghostly chill in another. Bones and limbs laying around as if kicked to the side like garbage, or fallen from a cart of bodies. Growls from creatures that are somewhere, and every turn you anticipate the worst. Cold stone walls and hooks dangling from ceilings. Big roaches and rats scurry. A maze you can't get out, with endless sights of death to see. And that is all just the surface, till you go down another level. You might as well be in hell. Because your soul is now forever changed. Hallucinations has you tormented, making you a raving lunatic. You find yourself naked on the cold bloody floor, weakly crawling as each breath is the last. Mad demons laugh at you all around. The world is spinning. You finally can walk and stumble around delirious. Head spinning. Bodies dangling. Axe chops. Chops. Then you make it to a quiet chamber to collect yourself. And the exit is not a door, but a psychological puzzle you have to solve in order to escape the dungeon. And you then wonder if any of it was real. Flashbacks haunt you. You begin to think you are dead. Turns out you never made it out of the dungeon, and that quiet room was just a teaser. Now you have to run, cause the monsters are there for real. And you run not knowing where you are going, just running through the maze. Hiding, running some more. Then you wake up and it all seems like a dream. Because it is. You are still in the dungeon after getting knocked out. Now you are strapped down. And the torture begins. Non pain torture first. And you have to figure out a way to get yourself free and run again. 

First off, a good reason to even enter, preferably on an optional basis.
Second, a changing setup instead of sticking to one theme for the entire dungeon.
Third, multiple variations of enemies to face including unique enemies only found in said dungeon.
Fourth, consequences to all choices. Both positive and negative consequences.
Fifth, a justifiable level of difficulty. Not a cruel difficulty level (Zelda ROM-hacks) but not something so easy it could be played in your sleep. Something that easy typically offers no entertainment, as there’s no accomplishment. It’s why there are several of my favorites that I burn out on extremely quickly. I’m too good at them because I’ve played them so damn much.
 
But above all, a good challenge, and a sense of accomplishment afterwards. An item or treasure is always great too.

You're right. After studying all the living organisms on this planet for some time, they'd come to the conclusion that we're the most illogical beings in existence.

Half life series, left4dead, Portal, Postal series, Saints Row.
These games are pretty much everywhere and known to be legendary games but i just never wanted to play team, but i think i will be giving half life a try sooner

I'd say that Outlast is more bloody and gory and some of the imagery (ambience and monsters) is absolutely terrifying like something out of a horror film - I highly recommend getting both games.. As for Alien isolation, the best tactic is to use things like flashbang and noisemakers and throw it where the npcs are and use them as a distraction. The thing that makes Alien Isolation is that the Alien learns how you play and adapts accordingly so if you like to hide in lockers, it'll start to search every locker in the area and if stay in one spot too long it'll eventually find you.

The Last Of Us
People here have recommended it left and right, but I have never actually played it.
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Skyrim
I’m not sure if this really counts, but I have barely touched it. After escaping the dragon in the beginning, I may have an hour if time in the game. I’m in some town needing to talk to the jarl. Yet you guys talk about things in the game and I don’t have a damn clue you’re talking about. So for my severe ignorance and microscopic experience with the game, I think it qualifies for this thread.

Bioshock because @StaceyPowers and a few others keep talking about it but I've never really gotten around to playing it. Phasmaphobia was also recommended to me a lot especially recently but it's just not that appealing to me. Alien Isolation, Resident Evil 7, and Outlast 2 still provide me with plenty of scares when I need it. I have to procrastinate before I play any of the aforementioned games because of how freaking scary they are. Alien Isolation in particular is ridiculously scary because the Alien is invincible and is extremely intelligent so you have to constantly change up your approach to avoid them or just throw a noisemaker at other npcs and let the alien feast on them.

I very much like to gamble, but it's far more fun and safer with fake video game money. I'd rather have that as a safe outlet for my habit than suffer withdrawal symptoms and possibly relapse into going into real money gambling, a problem I've spoken about in threads you mention regarding loot boxes.
If I had to choose my favourite games, farkle from Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an unusual but incredibly fun dice game especially because you can cheat with all manner of collectable die. However for a more conventional game, I can't go wrong with any game's version of Texas Hold 'Em, or bog standard Poker.

If you could redecorate your home (and redesign the building) in a style from any game you have played, what would you choose? I would probably want to redo mine in an art deco/Rapture style from BioShock.

How do you feel about gambling in video games? Not loot boxes specifically (we have threads on that), but like casino games and such like in GTA Online.

It's because of this enemy that I'm probably going to give up trying to escape them and begin a new playthrough when better prepared, but the Skeleton Beast from Dark Souls is one of the coolest monsters I've ever seen. Essentially it's a giant skeleton on all fours that swipes and leaps at the player, which isn't too scary in itself save for the damage it does. It's more that you can't see it until it's too late, even with the lantern that illuminates the unnatural darkness within the cave.
I say "one of", but contendors in addition to the Skeleton Beast include the Bone Tower, the eldritch equivilant of a Pokey; and the Wheel Skeleton, or "zoombies" as I call them for their immense speed shooting out of the darkness.

Coolest undead, idk, maybe Pyramid Head in Silent Hill. I don't play many horror games sadly. I would also add the tank from Left 4 Dead. As for the games that have done it the best, the TLOU, Left 4 Dead 1 and 2, and I'm drawing a blank on others. I know there are more. 

Funny enough that was the exact game we played with my co-workers. One day we stayed late and just played through the night. It was 2008 or 2009 I think. My current co-workers are not big gamers unfortunately. But then again, there aren'T many new games that would be fun to play with friends, most don't even have lan multiplayer.

I usually just get all of my stuff from Amazon, or official stores. I have considered buying from people on etsy before, but haven't pulled the trigger on any gaming related stuff. I have a ton of stuff liked on there though. 😄 
As for other stores, I like places that sell collectibles and oddities, but I can't think of any names off the top of my head. 

Thank you for everything, @DC 🙂

Just to show off a bit, this is one of the scenes from the game. It has great music as far I remember and it is really fun to play. But back then as a 12yo kid you can imagine my horror seeing this blue hulk/puge(warcraft III) coming at me.

 
I think FIFA 98 is the funniest football game ever created. You can even faul the goalkeeper when he has the ball(it's an auto red card but still a fun way to show your frustration). You can download both games at https://www.myabandonware.com/ worked fine on windows 10 both.

I started up with quake 4 but it never felt anything like home, I just keep getting scared everytime I face a different boss.
I think call of duty warefare is the only game I feel safe with, no alien, no scary looking weirdo, just terrorist with guns and explosives.

As @The Blackangel rightly says, you've done a cracking job getting us all registered and keeping the forum going. And I think everyone on the list is worthy of their name being there, though I'm rather surprised I made it given how new I am. Cheers, chum.
Happy New Year to everyone on VGR! Keep on keeping on. ^^

There's one person who wasn't mentioned in the list.
 
@DC Thank you for creating and running a forum for gamers to come together and discuss all areas of gaming. From retro/classic gaming to current gen, mobile, and PC gaming. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. So many of us would be completely out of the loop on things if it wasn't for VGR and the work you do. Hell I personally wouldn't even know what the PS5 and Xbox X/S look like. Assuming I knew that they had been released. So many of us have been introduced to games we otherwise wouldn't have known about.
We have been able to broaden our horizons here at VGR. And it's thanks to you.

This might sound weird, but are there video games that give you a feeling of “home” and safety? Like for me, I’ve been playing Quake III Arena since I was in high school, so in a way, those maps have been the only completely static, consistent “places” in my life over all that time. So, they feel like home.

Innocence is that natural instinct until we are plagued by ideologies and the environment around us. You are right that a hero is in the 'eye of the beholder' meaning even villains can be someone's hero.
Just like someone who thinks they are a patriot but wants to enslave others, or a rebel that's wants genocide, or a hero that fights for pro slavery, a hero I refer to as being one has to uphold integrity and morality. And who am I to say what that is? Exactly
My point is, I think that siding with a criminal in a game shows that being a criminal doesn't mean they are automatically cut off from having the capacity in heroism. Would it forgive the things a criminal does if he does something heroic? Probably not, but you have to weigh it in at least. But if a criminal could still have potential heroism in them, then someone upholding the law could pervert heroism. I guess we really don't know until a situation arises that clearly divides us into being either a coward, hero, or villain. Those three characteristics are probably in all of us interchangeably depending on what situation we find ourselves in. But a villain in attack mode is way more obvious. 
Choices you make in the game could also define your character a little more too. I remember in True Crime Streets of LA you are a cop that chooses whether to be a good cop or bad cop. Lines are easily crossed. Referring to The Walking Dead again, one of the characters was on his way to prison for murder when it all happened, and he became such a lovable character. So our human nature can turn, whatever direction that is. I guess nothing is set in stone. But when we need some good, heroes will rise. I won't judge if they happen to be a criminal. 

I think the most complicated morality system is the one that isn't expressly intended to be about morality. Take a city management game like Tropico 4 - you've no moral obligation or mechanical reason beyond your citizens' joy to provide each of your people with mansions, which is possible but incredibly energy consuming and requires a lot of money. It's far cheaper to provide them with lower quality tenements, charge little rent and transfer the costs to funding your more expensive greener energy. I realised by the 7th mission I could better spend the money on pollution reducing techniques on industry, make more money and ultimately beat the game faster rather than try to build paradise on Earth each mission.
While Dragon Age: Origins has very basic moral choices, they're still not labelled as good and bad ones all the same. Even intimidation, often seen as the "bad" option is something that can spare a life that would be unfair to take. So when a game hides the morality, I'm fine with it as long as the consequences are clear (full sentences, not dialogue wheels; voice acting and text are not mutually exclusive).
If it has to be a system rather than a feeling the game gives me, then I like Fallout: New Vegas' system of reputation. Where karma still exists from Fallout 3, it has nowhere near the prominence it did before and instead your reputation with each faction lies on a broad spectrum of good and bad. It's one of the few games that is forgiving of you doing both good and bad things to the same people. Each faction has the ability to do good but is brought down by a single flaw: the NCR's inherent problem is corruption and ineptitude; Caesar's Legion (the least "grey" of all the players)'s inherent problem is the cult of personality; the Brotherhood of Steel's inherent problem is rigidity and internal strife; House's inherent problem is the inability to live beyond his fraction of the Mojave. You will do saintly and obscene things for each of these factions, and they will do saintly and obscene things in return. Even the Legion allows certain peoples a sporting chance to flee its havoc.

Having played a whole host of video games with various moral compasses, I'm always intrigued by the games with far more complicated systems than the stereotypical "good" or 'evil". The Elder Scrolls universe is a great example of this, while the Aedra are considered somewhat "benevolent" and the Daedric Prince "malevolent", it's not quite as simple as that. You have Daedric Princes such as Meridia who loathe undead creatures and unrighteous acts. Azura is another example, she has aided several mortals against other Daedric Princes. In reality, the deities have their reasons for what they do which is incomprehensible to the average mortal so they can't strictly adhere to the typical "good" and "evil" moral spectrum. What are your thoughts on this?