StaceyPowers

Anyone interested in this upcoming game with talking guns? I am very intrigued, though it is not on my main platform.

Are there any actors who star in films or shows that you would like to see doing voice-over work in video games (obviously, it should be someone you haven't heard do so already)? I would pick Josh Holloway.

What makes a side quest fun, compelling and rewarding versus tedious and annoying? To me it is as simple as “please no fetch quests.” And if the payoff involves a little bit of lore or character development/background, that is my favorite reward.

I'm not sure I fully agree with your point. Perhaps this extreme expression of it, but I think video games, like literature or art, can have a transformative effect on individuals and society with their messages. That could add up to significant social change, however indirect.

Ack! So sorry, here it is: https://www.thedailybeast.com/virtual-reality-could-completely-transform-mental-health-if-were-ready-for-it

Agreed. Even I might rethink the situation if they come out with something that weighs next to nothing. But otherwise? No way, lol.

If you have a VR headset, how much time on average do you think you typically use it over the course of a week, a month, etc.? What factors hold you back from using it for longer?

“Some researchers have found [VR] technology to be especially potent at solving mental health issues like anxiety, addiction, and social isolation. Today’s virtual reality startups are in the game of creating and perfecting illusions to help users cope with reality, not disconnect from it.” What are your thoughts? Do you think VR could help mental health for some users?

Is the concept of the Metaverse really new? I sometimes feel like it has been around for ages, and it is more like other people are now starting to think of online worlds and communities the same way I always did.

Which model of PlayStation is your favorite and why?

For you, is virtual reality more immersive than gaming without it, or less immersive (i.e. by being distracting)? Or does it depend on what game you are playing or other factors that are impacting your experience? (sorry, this was supposed to go under "VR" - posted in wrong area)

@GeppyX I had no freezes on TLOU 2, but my PS5 freezes so often on the save/load screens of Skyrim and The Outer Worlds. Have you had save/load freeze issues on any games on PS5?

I get so irritated when devs rely on making their enemies into bullet sponges to make them more difficult. What are some better ways to make enemies more challenging?

I have a rotating schedule where I play a game for about a week, then move to another, then another, and then back to the first. But each time I do, I feel like I need to be at a logical break point in the game, i.e. just finished a mission, have gone back to in-game home, and have tidied up my inventory. If I just quit in the middle of a dungeon, I feel weird about it for days. Does anyone else also feel you need everything to be in its right place before taking a short break from a game?

Do you think there are any personality traits that have the potential to increase a person’s immersion in gaming? For example, I suspect the personality trait called “absorption” might make it easier for someone to experience deep immersion in a game world.

One useful application of VR I can imagine would be to create educational video games that teach a person certain life skills, i.e. how to work on an automobile or such. What do you think of this idea?

Would you work in a VR office wearing a headset all day? Personally, I don’t get how this is a thing. I’d feel so (literally) weighted down by the headset and distracted by the layered environments that there’s no way I could concentrate on work. But I am curious if anyone here feels differently.

Ah, I think maybe my thread topic was unclear. I meant politics internal to MMO game worlds, like ... players trying to gain in-game political power or use it to create in-game change.

Plot threads that are unresolved, but not necessarily cliff-hangers. More like things devs either are taking forever to circle back to or outright forgot. Like the Architect in Dragon Age. Assuming his survival is canon, his failure to reappear in DA II or Inquisition is a huge dropped plot threat.

Are there people you miss from your gaming past? Who do you miss? I still miss an admin in a MUD I played who died 14 years go. I also often wonder what happened to a girl I knew in a related game when I was a few years younger, who disappeared after she was harassed. I’m not sure I miss anyone else—maybe more the times we had than the players themselves.

I’ve never played a large, modern MMO—just MUDs. In MUDs, politics was often a huge deal. In fact, in the games I played, it was the thing to be involved in. It created and broke relationships, and consumed endless hours of players’ time. Most players who were famous got that way through political clout. I seldom seem to hear anyone talking about politics in major MMOs. Is it just not a thing in games like WoW?

What are some character designs that worked conceptually, but not visually? For example, I am replaying Dragon Age: Awakening, and keep thinking that Justice running around translucent looks odd, since his weapon is still solid, and always looks like it is in front of him, not on his back where it really is.

I have read that more and more schools are getting their own esports teams. There was nothing like that around when I was a kid. Has anyone here ever participated in a school esports team?

To those who wager on esports, what are some of your biggest wins and losses to date?

I am self-centered, in the sense of literally being focused on myself and my life experiences most of the time. If someone tells me a story, the first thing I do is think if I have any relevant experience through which I can understand it. This isn't the same as being selfish though. I just am the literal center of my own universe. It doesn't mean I think I'm the center of anyone else's.