StaceyPowers

I admire your tenacity!

Very cool idea.

Did you manage to keep the Little Sister(s) alive?

What video games do the best job with dynamic weather? So far, the best I’ve experienced I would say is Red Dead Redemption, followed by Skyrim.

Usually when I start a new game, I post asking if anyone has any starting tips, as I’ve gotten some excellent advice here doing that. But I think I forgot to post and ask when I started DA: Inquisition. I assumed it’d be much like Origins and DA II, but it is quite different. I’d especially appreciate any advice anyone can give about crafting supplies and what’s worth grabbing.

I thought all had gone well when I tried to import my World State to Dragon Age Inquisition from the “Keep” or whatever … it acted like it succeeded … but it totally didn’t. Looking this up online, it seems like a common issue, but I didn’t see any reliable solutions aside from “try over and over.” Has anyone here ever solved this on PS3 or any other system?

I am trying to complete the Challenge in Red Dead Redemption where you have to shoot hats off two peoples’ heads. But no matter what I do, even if I aim at the brim or the top of a top hat, I blow off their heads. Any tips from anyone?

I have a deficit in the area of Theory of Mind, a.k.a. “cognitive empathy” that makes it hard for me to imagine what it is like to be another person with another mind. One of the cool things to me about playing video games with strong storylines/characters is that it makes it easy for me to empathize with the characters. The action in the game being in first person/under my partial control is like a “shortcut” for emotional involvement. This in turn helps me to understand how the character thinks/feels about situations. Sometimes games have also helped me to imagine some unusual situations more clearly. I’m watching Westworld for the first time, for example, which in Season 1 deals with characters with very limited free choice/lucidity. That would have been a tough situation to imagine through their eyes, except that I’d found myself in a similar situation in Bioshock 1. I thought that was a cool, random way in which playing a video game enhanced how I experienced a TV show and helped me understand something. Has playing video games given you empathy and helped you imagine what it is like to be someone else? @The Blackangel @killamch89 @kingpotato @DylanC @killamch89 @Aerielle del Rosario @LadyDay

Favorite quest in Fallout NV?

What are the most tedious parts of games you’ve played? Here are some for me: -The puzzle in Myst where you have to navigate through a maze using sounds. -The entire Fallout 3 Mothership Zeta DLC (I didn’t hate it … it just was quite long and unvaried) -The Circle tower in Dragon Age Origins (I actually kind of like the part in the Fade, but I have to admit while watching someone else play through it, the Circle is a bit tedious) -The boss battle at the end of the Legacy DLC in Dragon Age II. I am sure there are more I could be listing, but that’s all off the top of my head that really stands out. What about for you? @The Blackangel @killamch89 @kingpotato @skyfire @DylanC @Alyxx @Aerielle del Rosario

The moment I saw your thread title, I was like "Dark Souls."

Both @killamch89 and @The Blackangel commented here that long and unskippable cutscenes can be irritating, particularly if they do not advance a story. I have to admit I actually tend to like cutscenes, short and long. Then again, I think maybe I’ve simply been lucky in playing games where they tended to contribute to story and character development. They give my brain a bit of a breather between the action, which I often need, or I can get fatigued/lose effectiveness. Do you typically like or dislike cutscenes, and what does it take to make a cutscene worthwhile to you?

In another thread, both @kingpotato and @killamch89 mentioned that they don't like long tutorials in video games. I'm someone who can sometimes benefit from them, being as I have executive function deficits which make me slow to pick up on super basic stuff involving menus and controls. I often need to repeat an action a bunch of times to teach my muscles to do things right (my brain will never fully consciously pick up on this stuff). But at the same time, nothing is more annoying than having to play for 30 minutes or more before you can even make a save file. I think arguably the best tutorial/intro in a game I've played is The Last of Us. You're given as much or as little time as you need to in the house as Sarah to get used to the controls with zero pressure. Then when you leave, well, there's never been another intro sequence which hit me harder or pulled me in faster than that first chapter. What are some of the best and worst tutorials you've encountered in video games?

@killamch89 started a thread on most overhyped games. And it got me wondering how much hype is ideal for a game to begin with. I think that a lot of games that were overhyped would have been better received if they hadn't been (i.e. No Man's Sky), yet obviously hype gets the word out. So how much is enough, and how much is too much?

When you play a character in an MMO, how closely does that character mirror your own personality/beliefs? I’m watching Westworld for the first time, and there’s a theme in the show that Westworld (which is essential a sort of RL game) reveals peoples’ true selves. I’ve long held the same belief regarding MMOs, and have asserted that even when players create characters which appear very different from them on the surface, they are an expression of something latent to who they are underneath. I’ve encountered a lot of resistance to that argument, probably because claiming that one’s character is entirely disconnected from oneself makes it easy to abdicate responsibility (i.e. for in-game bullying or other behaviours the player considers potentially shameful). What are your feelings about the matter? And when you play a character in an MMO, how much do you feel like that person is partly or entirely “you?”

I nominate everyone you mentioned, @DC, as all have been actively contributing great conversation as always :)

Those who share my relationship values, which by itself is pretty hard to come by. What about you?

Bioshock Infinite.

Good to know you still exist :) Well, even if you're not actively gaming a lot, we'd still love to see more of you around here!

Either you or @LadyDay (who I haven't seen in some time), because I always feel like I'm on a wavelength with both of you and like we'd have a great time. I also relate to you because of matters of disability. Gaming gives both of us a breathing space, and it'd be fun to share it.

Do you have any game-themed clothing, jewelry, or other accessories that you wear/carry everywhere? I only have one item, a recently-obtained Bioshock-themed ring that says, “A man chooses, a slave obeys.” I also would like to craft a choker like Elizabeth’s in Bioshock Infinite, but make it reversible with the cage on one side and the bird on the other. I'm also in the process of teaching myself art nouveau and deco design so that I can make my own tattoo, not necessarily Bioshock-themed, but with the same overall flavour. What about you? Do you wear anything to express your video game fandom? @killamch89 @DylanC @Alyxx @kingpotato @skyfire @The Blackangel @Executor Akamia @Aerielle del Rosario

I kind of feel this way every day now when I read the news.

When you put in a new game for the first time, are there any pet peeves you have where you’re instantly annoyed, and thinking, “How will I ever put up with this?” Like for example, I get irritated by fonts I find hard to read, controls I find really unintuitive (especially when the trigger key is R2 instead of R1, but not for what seems like a good reason), and confusing menu navigation. And I get really peeved by unwanted or intrusive HUD/quest displays. Like in Dragon Age Inquisition, that awful quest box that appears on the right-hand side of the screen and just … stays. What about you? What drives you crazy the instant you see it and potentially annoys you for the rest of a game?

I noticed @The Blackangel created a thread for worst dressed characters in games, so I thought I'd make one for best dressed characters. Which characters in games do you think have been the most fashionably attired? I realize this is a woefully cheesy pick, but I am fond of Morrigan's somewhat silly revealing outfit in Dragon Age Origins. It has a kind of elegance to it, and suits her--and I always get irritated at the comments from other characters trying to tell her to replace it.

Oh, it is the hotkeying I can't figure out! For some reason nothing will map. I have no idea what I'm pressing wrong, but I'm on PS3, so you probably can't help there.