StaceyPowers

I think that one has to be careful judging peoples morality based on their behavior in computer games. We all commit the ultimate moral crime, killing, in computer games. Sometimes even pixelated representations of humans. I don't believe that everybody who plays Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty or whatever have questionable morality in real life. I also don't think that those who are entertained by torturing and killing characters in The Sims, where it isn't a premise of the game,  or unneccesarily killing non-enemies in Skyrim or GTA or whatever, have questionable morals. In general I don't think gamers are less moral people than others, despite constantly killing characters in an imagined world. When we play a game we create a character in our mind, a character that isn't us, we don't become the character, we tell ourselves a story. I think it's just a case of finding different stories interesting. Just like people who enjoy watching slasher horror movies don't like watching real life brutal murder. 
Of cause there exists the occasional sociopath, @The Blackangel even admits to being one, who just don't have a sense of empathy, but I don't think their actions in video games are particularly connected to their lacking empathy. They might as well manipulate real life people as video game characters. Correct me if I'm wrong @The Blackangel? But maybe some take it out on video game characters rather than real humans, because they know on an intellectual level that taking it out on real humans might lead to themselves being punished? My point is, I don't think there are a noticeably higher percentage of sociopaths/psychopaths among gamers than among non-gamers. 
I also don't think that people lose their sense of morality by playing violent video games. 
That's my two cents 🙂 

You forgot the third option. There are those of us who honestly don't care enough about people that hurting them and helping them all amounts to the same thing to us. If I kill someone in a car wreck, oh well. If I save someone's life in a car wreck, oh well. Human life means absolutely nothing to us.
Sociopaths.
If it is interesting to me at the time, then fuck anyone who has a problem with it. Fuck anyone who likes it. Typically those people will never be anything other than differently colored pixels anyway, so why the hell should I take notice?
With me personally, in gaming, I'm not your friend. If you happen to be going the same direction I'm going then whatever. But don't expect any kind of help or even reaction if you end up in a bad situation. I'm also the same IRL. Yes sociopaths can form an emotional bond, in extremely rare situations. But that doesn't mean we give a shit about anyone else.

Do other people here who enjoy open world games spend a large percentage of time just messing around and doing mundane things?
I literally spend about 50% of my time in RDR working on the hunting/gathering challenges and gambling. It makes the world feel more “lived in” to me, rather than something I’m just passing through.
I mess around a lot in Skyrim and Fallout too, but not to the same degree. I think RDR’s mundane tasks are just more fun to me than, say, the radiant quests in Skyrim.
Then again, I spend a lot of time in both Skyrim and Fallout arranging items around my house.
What percentage of time do you spend in the open world games you play just doing random slice of life activities?
And what “slice of life” type activities do you wish were available in the games you play which aren’t? Like in Skyrim, I like that there are some activities you can do with your kids, but I wish there were more, like taking them to town to shop and such. And there are literally no spouse activities, which is kind of lame. It would also be cool if you could go fishing.

How often do you replay your favorite game?
Most of my games are open world games, so I just keep them on a semi-permanent rotation loop—so I am basically always playing Skyrim, Fallout, etc.
I’m finally getting around to my second playthrough of TLOU, will probably start in the next few weeks. And I recently finished my first full playthrough of all BioShock games and DLCs.
I think ideally, I want to play through BioShock and TLOU every year. But I am sure it will be impossible to keep up with that as I expand my video game library.
How often do you replay your favorite game or games?
@kingpotato @DylanC @The Blackangel @Alyxx @killamch89 @LadyDay @skyfire
 
 
 

I was reading @kingpotato's thread about people dying from too much gaming. I think most of us have run into these stories in the news sometimes about people who actually died or wound up in a hospital because of too much gaming. But does anyone know anyone personally who it actually happened to? 

Obviously I want The Sims 5. But that's pretty certain to happen either way. I don't think EA is going to end such a profitable game series any time soon. Then I of course want The Elder Scrolls VI. But again, there's no doubt that will happen. And I think a new Left4Dead would be fun (They have a lot of humor and zombies. Everybody loves that!).

I would have said a Zelda sequel, but I don’t have to worry about that. There will never be a shortage of those. So I’m thinking a true sequel to FF8. As for what direction to go I would need a little more time to think on that one.

Just because it's cold in the room doesn't mean it's not overheating.
You may have a faulty disc. Just because it's new doesn't mean it works. If you recall I had a similar problem with several copies of the same edition of a FF8 press. I would suggest hitting up a used game shop if you have one nearby and picking up another copy and see if that fixes the problem. If you play it a lot, it could just be something as simple as the disc itself getting worn out. I've had that happen with a lot of games, both cartridge and disc.

Do you want the names alphabetically?

I'm always the troll in online games creating all manner of mischief lol. How can you not troll online? I mean the non-malicious kind of trolling. For instance, I'll be the absolutely incompetent teammate always trying to "help" which usually gets my whole team killed. Of course I get called all kinds of names for this...

Of the ones you mention, micro transactions and lack of single player games are the ones I am most concerned about. I want my games to myself, or play them with friends, I don't want strangers in my game. And micro transactions I simply won't do. Period. I don't want to lose track of how much money I'm spending on a game and I don't like feeling like I'm constantly being milked for money. I'll happily buy proper packs of DLC to a game I love, but I refuse to pay little things constantly in order to progress properly in the game!

How about all of the above? I hate online gaming, especially if it’s multiplayer. I won’t submit to the whims of others if I want to do something else. Also I’m not willing to waste my time relying on someone else so I can succeed. If it all goes digitally online, then you’ll never see my broke ass again. Maybe an antique store will have a few physical games that are of interest, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Everything turning into microtransactions is what really scares me to be honest, That and the streaming games trend the Google Stadia is trying to push.

Same here with Skyrim, around level 30 I decided to go with Conjuration and destruction but I got killed very often, but the good thing is that I invested a lot in shields in early levels so I'm going with my shield and heavy armor but using destruction and conjuration, no swords or axes. So far it works very well.

Considering that I keep a .45 with me and an 8" blade, I'll kill it. I know it's already dead, but 2 clips of hollow points and a sharp blade taking it apart, might just slow it down and ruin its day.

We’ve all got something about us that is a few steps beyond quirky. Something that would make people look at you and “WTF is wrong with you?”. I’m no exception. The thing about me, is that I used to take a blanket and sleep in cemeteries on nice nights. I found it soothing and calming. I commonly saw apparitions. I’m not saying they were ghosts, but they were translucent humanoid shapes.
So freaks of the world unite! Wear your freak badge with pride!
 
So what makes you a freak? 

I nominate @The Blackangel and @skyfire

I nominate the following
@StaceyPowers
@killamch89
@kingpotato
@DylanC
 
 

I would have to say Disturbed. They hit on actual issues with their music, and everything has an actual meaning behind it. They have released 8 albums and every song has held a meaning behind it and/or told a story. Whereas most metal bands are releasing only hard hitting screaming Disturbed does so much more. Their music is not only innovative, but inspiring as well. It has inspired me to be a better singer.
Here are some videos to give you an idea what I'm talking about.
 
 
 
 

Anyone ever have a weird glitch in Skyrim where random characters suddenly get stuck sort of walking in place like they’re on a treadmill for eternity? Including dead characters?
@kingpotato @killamch89 @DylanC

Just started my third playthrough of Skyrim. The first one, I leveled very badly all over the map before I found a style I like (one handed weapon + conjuration). The second one, I optimized for one handed/conjuration.
This time, I thought I’d challenge myself. I never had an easy time with destruction magic, but I have just gotten through Bleak Falls Barrow without any weapon use, and am going to see if I can go no weapons the entire game. So far, it is difficult, and I am dying a lot, but it’s also been interesting. It’s forced me to do more stealth and plan out some of my attacks instead of just rushing in.
What are some games where you have deliberately tried a very different combat style to your usual on a playthrough? How did it go?
@kingpotato @killamch89 @Alyxx @DylanC @The Blackangel @skyfire
 
 

A great and highly specific example! :)

Yes! I am glad you agree.
That sounds really awesome. I've always been interested, but haven't played it.
You raise a good point. In Skyrim, you essentially have been given a shortcut to influence rather than having to build it yourself. Of course, I think it frequently works that way IRL too. But that’s exactly the point. Since most of us weren’t handed money and fame on a platter by chance, we want to relate to a story which helps us believe we are capable of climbing in influence through our own hard work or cleverness.

I remember there was a thread where we were talking about how in open world games, typically the world revolves around us. Like in Skyrim, everyone is fascinated by the Dragonborn, who saves the world. In Fallout 3, you can save the Capitol Wasteland, and Three Dog gives radio reports on you all the time. In linear games, one tends to have earth-shaking significance as a character as well.
In some ways, I like this, because it is cathartic to be able to save the world, as that is something most of us can’t do IRL.
But as we were talking about in that thread (I wish I could find it), it can get a bit old. Because it is unrelatable, and in an ironic way, a little disempowering. It reinforces the feeling that if you aren’t a mover-and-shaker, you can’t make a difference at all. It also makes the world feel much smaller when everywhere you go, you are the running topic of conversation.
It would be cool if there were more games, especially open world games, where we are relatively insignificant on a global scale, but can still make real differences, maybe more in a “butterfly flaps its wings” sort of way.
But I wonder if there would be a lot of resistance to this concept among gamers? Because I am so used to hearing complaints about games where a player’s sense of agency is restricted. I.e. lots of people complained about not having any meaningful choices in BioShock Infinite (even though I don’t think having them would make sense with the story/philosophy of the game). And lots of people hate on how in DA II, Anders makes a decision the player can’t control which does change the world.
So, how do you feel about games that restrict player agency? Is it a lack of choices that is annoying, or an overall lack of power? Would an open world game where you have lots of choices but limited agency be something that would excite you? What about a game where you had lots of power to change the world, but weren’t “famous” or “important” to other characters? Do you think there is a market for this type of thing?
@kingpotato @killamch89 @DylanC @skyfire @Alyxx @The Blackangel

@kingpotato, @killamch89 and @skyfire and I were talking about FPS weapons of choice here. And in another thread, we were talking about issues with camping in FPS games.
The thing is, if you use a sniper rifle, rail gun, etc., from a tactical standpoint, it seems to me like camping is ideal. But at the same time, obviously camping can get to be an irritant. 
For those who prefer sniping, how do you usually approach this issue when playing online? Are you just a really precise aim, and you can run-and-gun with a precision weapon and still hit things (unlike me)? Or do you camp for a couple minutes at a time in different nests, but move around enough to try and not annoy other players? Or do you camp as long as you want and not care about the issue?