StaceyPowers

Considering that Rapture "survives" the ending of the first game long enough for the second to take place, I always have held out hope that it never gets 100% destroyed, and maybe someone fixes it. Like you, I do find its sad state a crushing waste of an amazing feat of engineering/vision.

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.

@kingpotato @The Blackangel It's interesting that both of you mention that fighting games don't seem to have a "draw" for you, and yet are apparently something of a staple for you anyway. I guess in that same area, I'd mention that I never had a big draw to the post-apocalypse genre, yet I seem to spend a looot of gaming hours there (i.e. Fallout, TLOU). As an open world RPG though, Fallout is clearly well within my comfort zone. TLOU isn't though; I don't really excel at stealth games, and that one pushes me.

Yeah, I think I'd think of 2D side scrolling more as a POV thing than a genre. Q*Bert! Good memories.

I do kinda recall cringing at the volume of her voice after thinking about it, but it's not like it scarred my psyche or anything, lol. There are also quite a few other annoyingly loud voices in Skyrim. I mean, the Night Mother, for example.

After BioShock: Burial at Sea crushed me, I find myself writing my first-ever fanfic of any nature =D I don’t really have the time for it, but I can’t seem to help it. Anyone here write any gaming related fan fiction? If so, where can I read it? @The Blackangel tagging you since I know you write. I'm sorry I still haven't read your other story yet or replied--I've been down for the count for much of the past week with pain issues.

Actually, I think the good ending is the canon ending, being as it is featured in Burial at Sea? Then again, hypothetically, all three of those endings probably happened in various universes =D

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

I figure to some degree, most of us have some genres we’re more comfortable in than others, and some we know next to nothing about. What are some games you have played which are way outside what you usually play, but which you really enjoyed?

@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?

In Q3A, if there is a BFG, I grab it, because it is too big and fun an advantage to ignore. Otherwise, I use the plasma gun whenever possible. If I can’t grab that, shotgun or rocket launcher if I am in tight quarters. If there are some fun sniping spots, the rail gun. If there aren’t, I avoid it like the plague, cause I am a dreadful shot. If I am playing bots, I do also spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to gauntlet everyone. In UT2004, I usually prefer the link gun or the minigun.

Thank you so much for sharing such specific tips—exactly what I was looking for. I’ve been very low on energy the past few days so I haven’t gotten a chance to play yet, but I am excited to at last experience this game.

I've never done this specifically, but I can relate to it. When I was young, my parents had really strict controls on what we watched on TV, listened to, read, etc. So, I have this long list of old TV shows to catch up on, and I Must Watch All Of Them. It is as much about "finally doing the thing" as it is about any present interest. It also means if I am even remotely curious about anything in the present, I have to check it out. Because, you know, I can now, and it's impossible to take that sort of thing for granted.

I had to look this up, as I didn’t realize it was a meme. It seems that the major complaint is the volume level of Meridia’s voice. I suppose I can see how that could catch a person off guard, especially with headphones on. But really … they are making quite a big fuss about it IMO. I actually prioritize this quest, and am happy when it shows up as early as possible, because I want that sword. It is one of my favorite weapons in the game. It’s effective and it’s a (literal) blast to use. The dungeon is pretty “average” to me in terms of play, but I do like visiting the place because I like the statue of Meridia and the view on the roof.

Eh, I kind of prefer when things are harder in a way that makes sense. I mean, having them be omniscient rather defeated the sense of accomplishment I would have gotten from finding an obscure sniper nest which actually went unnoticed for a little bit. Although, if I could actually survive their shots and climb to the very highest point on the map, I suppose that was a small kind of accomplishment?

I think we did this one. I said Jason Isaacs :)

Some friends just bought me a copy of Faster Than Light. I’m new not just to this game, but fairly new to this entire type of game. Anyone have any starting advice for a newbie to help me get the most out of it? @DylanC @Executor Akamia

I adore New Vegas. This is exactly what I was wanting to hear. New Vegas + BioShock aesthetic = Take my money.

What is the most innovative metal band you have heard?

None. I get a weird sensory issue when bits of my flesh aren't where I think they should be. But I like them on other people and am very pro-body modification in general.

Thank you! Awesome review, and now I'm more stoked than ever! I can't wait (of course, I have to, lol).

This is a pretty broad topic since the answers will vary depending on genre, but what makes for good or bad AI? I was thinking about this while reading @Kaynil 's interesting thread about cheap or unnatural difficulty in games, where something is hard for the sake of being hard, but not necessarily with any reasonable logic behind it. It made me think about Unreal Tournament 2004. UT2004 is an all-time favorite game for me, but I think its weakest element are its bots. It isn’t that they aren’t smart. They are. But they’re too smart. They are almost omniscient. I love climbing to high, almost-inaccessible points in the maps, and they spot me instantly when a human never would even think to look for me up there. Interested to hear examples of what you think are good and bad AIs.

Unreal Tournament 2004's unnaturally smart bots.

For a really long time, I didn’t care about video game spoilers at all, for the simple reason that gaming had long since become a sublimated interest, and I didn’t have a console! I was working in the industry, so I got used to learning about games I hadn’t played inside and out. It definitely didn’t ruin my experiences with anything when I did finally get a console. I just caught up on the games I’d wanted to play for years, and didn’t mind a bit that I knew how they’d end. But now I find myself actively trying to avoid spoilers for games for PS4 that I can’t play yet, because I figure that when PS5 comes out, I’ll buy one and be able to play them without waiting for eternity. Do you go out of your way to steer clear of video game spoilers? Why or why not? @DylanC @The Blackangel @Executor Akamia @kingpotato @Alyxx @killamch89 @Aerielle del Rosario @skyfire