StaceyPowers

It's not pathetic at all. Video game characters are often like stand-in family for me too, especially in Dragon Age. It's the same for me with some TV characters as well. There are some things one looks for that are hard to come by in real life.

In this thread regarding loyalty to video game companies, @killamch89 pointed out that "things can change with those companies in the blink of an eye." This is a very good point. It’s easy to forget that the version of a company that exists today may be radically different from the version that existed ten years ago or even just five—or the version that may exist five or ten years from now. What in your opinion were the best and worst eras for various video game companies—especially those like EA that get a lot of flak? What made them good or bad during those time periods? What could they do today to improve?

In this thread, @skyfire, @Alyxx and @The Blackangel mentioned that it may make more sense to be loyal to video games than to video game companies. I’m not sure I’d really say I am “loyal” per say to a particular franchise, because like a company, it may be subject to very large changes. But, perhaps I can relate in some way, as I may be more likely to try and look past flaws and appreciate bright spots in weaker games in a series if I love the series overall. What video games/series are you loyal to?

That was what math class was for =D

While reading this thread by @Jayson, I was thinking about how even though I buy most of my games used to save money, i still end up shelling out a ton of cash on DLCs. In fact, I am willing to wager 70% or more of the money I have spent on video games has been spent on DLCs. It isn’t uncommon for me to get a game for $5, and then wind up spending $40 or $50 on its DLCs and expansion packs. I try to avoid this by grabbing GOTY editions whenever possible, but obviously, this isn’t always an option (or I just miss the opportunity). I usually buy DLCs piecemeal whenever possible, i.e. one $5 DLC here and another there, and then when I’m at the grocery store, I just think, “Okay, what $5 grocery item do I not really need this week.” So, for any one game, how much money are you willing to spend on the DLCs? I seem to lose my patience after around $40 (for whatever arbitrary reason), but then, thankfully I usually have bought all the DLCs I want by that point.

I buy mostly used ... of course, I then buy all the DLC, soooo they still get a lot of my cash =D

Paper or plastic?

Are there video game characters you “miss” like old friends you haven’t seen when you don’t play the games they are featured in? I tend to collect followers, so I think I could say that this happens with anything I haven’t played in a while. But the characters I miss the most when not playing their game are: Ellie and Joel in TLOU, pretty much every character I like in DA games, and Booker and Elizabeth in BioShock Infinite. Sometimes I even miss “being” certain characters. Like when I’m not playing Infinite, I miss looking at the world through Booker’s eyes and the lens of his experiences. For some reason I have a hard time identifying, I feel that way about Hawke in DA II as well. What about you? What game characters do you miss when you’re not hanging out with them in video game land? @killamch89 @kingpotato @Alyxx @The Blackangel @skyfire @DylanC

Over here, @The Blackangel mentions a dislike of online gaming. I too currently do not play any online games. I was wondering who else here avoids multiplayer gaming, and if so, why? Sometimes I play Q3A or UT2004, but it's almost exclusively on the LAN. I used to be a very dedicated player on a MUD, but that was back in high school. Since then, I simply never found one I liked. It was like it had to be just the right community for me to be compelled by it. Plus, playing MUDs is too time-consuming with my adult responsibilities. So why don’t I play any other types of online games? Well, I play single player games at night to unwind in a zero-pressure environment that feels safe and controlled to me. That means dealing with other people is not something I want to do. Therefore, even though I’m sure I’d find some online games fun, I just don’t play them. If you avoid online games, why do you do so?

I was reading @The Blackangel talking here about not having many options for entertainment anymore owing to being stuck in a wheelchair. While there is a lot of conversation about gaming taking people away from physical exercise, not everybody has the option of leading an "active lifestyle." I can relate to the limited-entertainment-options issue, though to a lesser extent. In my case, my chronic pain doesn’t stop me from going out or doing mild to moderate exercise, but it does stop me from pursuing a lot of activities I used to enjoy, prime among them being travel. It is very difficult to plan a trip when I know there is a likely chance that the entire experience will be blotted out by pain issues. Instead, I find that gaming is the closest thing to filling that particular life void. Nighttime when I game is when my body feels best, and in games, I can travel to other locations in a way that feels more “real” to me than physically travelling but being separated from experiences by my pain. I wish that benefits like this would receive more attention in media coverage. Gaming does not take all of us away from physical activities. For some of us, it simply is our “next best thing.” Can anyone else relate to this? If your health limits your physical capabilities and activities, do you find that gaming offers you experiences that help to fill some of the gaps?

I was reading @Jayson's thread about "too much gaming," and some of the ridiculously long gaming sessions some people have pulled around the world (and sometimes died from). When I was a teenager though, I would often start gaming when I got home from school and continue until after midnight. That meant I was regularly gaming for like 9+ hours a day. But I stopped for dinner, and during that I was usually multi-tasking (switching between playing an MMO and working on homework), so I’m not sure that really counts as a single “session.” I doubt that even while hyperfocused, I have ever sat in one place for more than an hour or two at the outside without getting up to walk around. What about you? What is the longest you have gamed, with or without breaks? @skyfire @Alyxx @The Blackangel @DylanC @kingpotato @killamch89 @Executor Akamia @Jayson

Continuing off of the discussion here, a review cannot possibly cover everything, at least not in-depth. So do you usually prefer: 1. A review which tries to cover everything, but can only do so with a small amount of detail. 2. A review which is focused primarily on elements like gameplay, graphic quality, mechanics, etc. 3. A review which is focused primarily on elements involving story, characters, and themes. Or, does it depend on the type of game you are playing? In my case, I think it depends on what type of game it is and what makes me interested in it. If a game interests me because of its gameplay mechanics, that’s probably what I want to read about. But if it is a game’s story that sounds interesting, then I am more interested in hearing about its themes and writing quality. In both cases, I prefer in-depth reviews that focus on just a few things. @Alyxx @The Blackangel @kingpotato @killamch89 @DylanC @skyfire

What are your feelings about it? Obviously it was a huge flop, but I've heard a lot of people say it is better than it was given credit for being.

Oh man, $500. That's awful. What's the most you've ever spent to get a rare game?

So was I. Even the ones that were like encyclopedias with mild user interaction. It’s okay. It somehow never really entered my brain playing Math Blasters as a kid that I was learning arithmetic skills. I just liked exploring the levels. I think it’s by design that a kid doesn’t really think of an educational game as being educational. If the brain is engaged by the fun factor, memory retention and such is probably improved, and learning might be easier. Plus, a lot of kids sadly have a negative mental association with “education,” and tricking them may be for the best =D That's pretty amazing. Talk about practical knowledge.

It’s weird how that seems short to me, as does the year-long character I had. But when I had that character, it felt like ages. Ah, to be young again.

Ah, I can totally grok that. I always thought it’d be cool to live at the bottom of the sea and explore. And Rapture’s ambiance is amazing. I never noticed any drains in the floor … but hey, maybe I just don’t look at the floor enough =D Ah, I can totally grok that. I always thought it’d be cool to live at the bottom of the sea and explore. And Rapture’s ambiance is amazing. I never noticed any drains in the floor … but hey, maybe I just don’t look at the floor enough =D I feel like it’d have been a great place in theory, but in practice, it’s not like everyone came in with the same fair shot at success. Didn’t help that Ryan was a hypocrite either, nor that Fontaine was better at his game and an asshole. In that type of economy, I think one is counting on folks to be good for goodness’ sake—and alas, I don’t think one can count on people.

That wouldn’t have worked for me. I needed at least a small amount of homework to justify/explain why I needed to be sitting at the computer. Otherwise, it’d have raised questions about what I was doing. When I stayed up until 1 in the morning gaming, it was because I had “soooo much homework.”

We often hear a lot about video game developers that are notorious for crunch time or other dubious policies, but I don’t hear as much about companies that stand out for treating their employees well. Does anyone know of any? It’d be nice to know which companies to go out of my way to shop from. @The Blackangel @skyfire @killamch89 @Alyxx @kingpotato @Executor Akamia @DylanC

There are probably video game companies that each of us is more fond of than others. But would you say that there is a developer, publisher or hardware manufacturer that you are actually “loyal” to? Like you feel an emotional urge to defend them in an argument, for example? If so, which companies, and how did they obtain your dedication? @Alyxx @killamch89 @The Blackangel @DylanC @kingpotato @skyfire @Executor Akamia

In this thread, I cannot help but be astounded by the sheer number of unplayed games @killamch89 and @Alyxx happen to have. Yet this seems very common. I won’t ask “how the heck do you afford all these games?” as that might be rude, so instead I’ll ask, “how do you budget for your video games?” Like, do you set rules for your spending? Is there a certain amount or percentage of your budget monthly you let yourself use to buy games? In my case, I usually only purchase a game if I decide I Must Have It. And if that is the case, I try to do overtime and then shop only out of that budget. Though if I see a good deal or if I am reaching the end of a previous game in a series, I will often make an exception. As a result, I do not have many games.

Are there any video game lines you incorporate into conversation a lot? For example, I have a tendency to say “would you kindly” when making requests a lot, although only people who played BioShock know that I am making a joke. Everyone else has no idea why I seem to say it in italics. @Alyxx @kingpotato @The Blackangel @killamch89 @skyfire @Executor Akamia @DylanC

If you play MMOs, what are some silly stories about how you made friends in the game? As I was telling @killamch89 in another thread I think, I remember one time when I was away from the keyboard in an MMO, because I had to minimize the screen so my parents wouldn’t see it. When I came back, I found that a member of a mafia in the game had robbed me of all my cash. His brother offered to pay it back, which was probably a way to put me in his debt. Ironically, we ended up being friends. Another silly story is a time that someone in the same game killed me completely at random one day. Since he was a new-ish player, I tried to be nice about it and explain to him why this was poor behaviour. He disappeared, and a few days later, one of the game’s top combatants, who I have never talked to in my life, is killing people who have bugged me. It turns out that he was that guy’s alt. Anyone else have any weird or funny stories about meeting people in video games?

Thank you! I second these nominations, and also nominate @The Blackangel!

Heheh, I remember doing that with TV as a kid, but it was because of content, not the time of day. Smart :) My habit was to do as much of my homework at school as possible so that I'd have just maybe one or two tasks left when I got home that wouldn't be too intensive. Then, I would stretch them out over the rest of the afternoon and evening while playing my MUD. Whenever parents would come upstairs, I'd quickly hit minimize on the game, and then appear to be hard at work on the assignments. Meanwhile, as they were standing in the room, I'd be praying nobody was killing me or robbing me in the game while it was minimized, lol. The most dramatic thing I ever maximized and came back to was discovering that a member of one of the game's mafias had robbed me of all my money, and his brother was offering to "help" by giving it all back, thus attempting to put me in his debt =D Ironically, as a result of the incident, we became close frenemies.