StaceyPowers

Awesome answer. Playing MMOs when I was young did a lot to open my eyes to a world beyond the demographic lines that other people in society have drawn. I wrote a number of papers on gaming in college and how it can help us see past social constructs and explore different aspects of our identities which might be suppressed in our day-to-day lives.

I've been looking very carefully at the statues and paintings on your advice. Not only is the artwork amazing, but you are right--there are a lot of details i'd have missed otherwise in terms of plot. Thank you!

That's great. I never thought of it like that before, but you nailed it. If I kill people in games without a reason, I remove the emotional payoff of getting righteous results.

I often hear people referring to liking a "cinematic" quality in a game, but I've never totally been clear on what that means (it seems to vary from person to person). For those who like games with this quality, what are you looking for in terms of POV, world design, cut scenes, etc?

When you are playing FPS games, what do you look for in a solid map? This is a very subjective topic, but here is what I typically like: -A reasonable amount of small, tight areas (I play better in them, and dislike maps which are totally wide open). -Smart use of vertical space to add more dimensionality to game play. -Distinctive areas or landmarks which assist with navigation. -Some intuitive "flow" to the landscape. This one is hard to explain, but there are some maps which just don't make any logical sense to my brain. No matter how often I play them, I never really learn my way around effectively. -A variety of features to support different play styles. -"Fun" features, i.e. those bouncy pads on Q3A. Or like in this player-made map called Shibam for Q3A, there are spots where you can woosh through the air and do other fun things. -Strategic opportunities. I.e. if there is a ranged weapon on a map for sniping, I want there to be a variety of exciting sniper's nests to choose from. -Aesthetics. I'd rather play an ugly map that plays well that a pretty map that doesn't, but ambiance does go a long way for me.

What are your favorite FPS maps in any game?

What I mean is … -How many video games are you actively playing at any one time? -How do you rotate through them? -What percentage of your time is dedicated to your favorite games/the same games over and over again? I usually have like three open world games on a rotation, and then something else for the fourth week, so like: -Fallout 3 for a week -Skyrim for a week -Fallout NV for a week -Dragon Age for a week -Rinse and repeat If I play more than four or five games at a time, I have a hard time focusing/keeping track of what I’m doing in each game. But if I jump game to game too quickly, I don’t really get the full immersion I want. What’s your gaming schedule like?

Not that I can use them, since I’m on PS3, but I’m curious what everyone’s favorite Skyrim mods are?

Sort of an oddly specific topic, lol, but what video games have you played that featured beautiful lighting? I’ve really been impressed with the lighting in Bioshock Infinite. Everything in that game has a kind of “luminous” quality to it. It’s just beautiful to look at.

I think a lot of people play video games to get some kind of psychological release. Obviously you see this a lot with FPS games. Games give us a chance to do what we can’t do in real life. What gives you some form of catharsis while gaming? For me, it is games which allow me to take action against social ills I can’t do anything about in real life (i.e. striking out against bigotry). Even though nothing real is accomplished (obviously), there is still a sense of emotional satisfaction I can't experience IRL.

I started Bioshock Infinite the other day, and so far I love it—except for one thing, which is the complete inability to make manual saves. I know there are some technical reasons why developers sometimes do this, but does this kind of thing drive anyone else crazy?

Actually, I'm increasingly sure you can't manually save. But at least I figured out how to see when it saved last.

Thanks for the advice! Is there a way to tell when the game last auto-saved, btw? And there is no way to create manual saves?

I know it’s super early to be asking this, but there are a lot of folks here who are as hooked on Bethesda games as I am. What are you hoping for from Elder Scrolls VI in terms of location, improvements over past titles, etc? I think what I’d like to see most is a bit more depth to various characters and quests, even if that means fewer choices. Like I very much prefer the companion system in Fallout NV. There are fewer possible companions there, but they are much more well-developed and all (I think) have quests associated with them. It very much amounts to a sense of “less is more” for me—the whole game feels more fleshed out. Beyond that, I’d like to see more reflections of player choices in the world. Like I want other characters/factions to react to armor choice, past actions, etc. Here too I really like NV’s reputation system, and feel like something like that could reach a new level in Elder Scrolls VI.

I think it was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack_(video_game), but I'm digging into the mists of childhood.

What's the most challenging boss fight you remember from any video game?

I'm just beginning Bioshock Infinite for the first time. Anyone have any handy tips and advice (spoiler-free please) for a newbie?

I work :) What about you?

Hypothetically, yes. I feel like we (as a species) exist in a state of pretty extreme isolation. Seeing a greater diversity of intelligent life (defining "life" broadly) spring into existence is something I would favour. It should broaden the horizons of thought and possibility. Do I think human beings could handle the advent of a new intelligence? Probably not. Our species has a tendency to try and crush diversity and promote sameness while stratifying power. I would expect it to abuse a new intelligence (in a Battlestar Galactica type scenario). So while I like the concept of highly intelligent AI, I think the outcome would be messy.

That's true. Didn't say I'd answer everything though. Google? I wouldn't call myself a "fan," no. I neither love nor loathe them. You?

It's a matter of national security :)

Yeah, Epic Games.

Yeah, it's interesting realizing that the same developer is now doing Fortnite.

Game developers are often notorious for seeming to ignore fan feedback, but there are definitely some companies which seem to go the extra mile. For the life of me I can’t remember the name, but I recall a story about a developer for an FPS game which received feedback from one player complaining about a particular map feature screwing up strategic play (a tree, I believe), and they removed it on his request. I found that pretty impressive. What game developers do you think do the best job listening to their fans and building a relationship?

Has anyone joined in the Alpha for this game (PC only, unfortunately), and if so, how is it?