StaceyPowers

How do you feel about the enchanted item soul gem charging in Skyrim vs. Oblivion? I find the soul gem demands in Oblivion are so high per use they almost don’t seem worth it. But even in Skyrim, my use of enchanted weapons has dropped since playing Dawnguard for RP reasons (trapping souls turns out to be far more evil than it appears at a glance). Any thoughts on any of this?

What are some games that feature solid climbing system? And I don’t just mean that you can, if determined, jump up any surface. But like, proper climbing.

The minimaps in some games seem far more functional than others, but I have a hard time pinpointing what makes one useful vs. useless. What qualities do you think make them most functional?

In what games do you enjoy dungeons the most and the least? My favorite “dungeons” are definitely the vaults in Fallout games, as they usually tell an interesting story that you get to discover as you play through them. Meanwhile, as much as I love Oblivion, I have to admit I find its dungeons very tedious.

Games all have different rules for awarding XP—i.e. clearing a dungeon will award it in some games but not others. Attempting a task and failing it might award it in some games but not others. What games do you like most in terms of how they award XP?

Is being lost and/or confused in a game always annoying, or do you sometimes find it fun and immersive? In what situations?

Do you think of yourself as a “gamer?” Why or why not?

Does anyone have an idea in mind for a type of game that to your knowledge has never been made? What is it?

What are some moments in video games where the absence of soundtracking itself makes a statement? For example, this happens in TLOU when Joel is looking for Ellie at one point, and I feel it conveys how focused and desperate he is.

How do you feel about games where you can’t pause combat (except, usually, by pulling up the game menu)?

Do you prefer combat systems in games that let you target specific body parts for different types of damage (more than just headshots, which seem almost universal)?

Do you prefer your health, stamina and mana to regenerate passively, or not?

Do you make use of blocking and dodging in melee combat? I’ve found them almost useless in most older games, but I love how dodging works in TLOU 2.

I see lots of people complain about third person in Skyrim. How could the next ES improve upon it?

I see lots of articles that assert that the draw toward VR and metaverse are just so we can escape our problems. But I think that for a lot of us, we are very aware of our problems, and how those problems prohibit us from doing other things (i.e. if you are poor and cannot travel, of course you are going to do the next closest thing by embracing meta-worlds). I also think meta-spaces can offer us places where we can experiment with questioning norms and exploring alternate ways of life. What do you think?

Favourite game you've played this year?

It's hard to think of specifics--I don't think I have anything as cool as @Reality vs Adventure's reply. But maybe standing at the docks at the Citadel in Mass Effect 3, looking out the window at the Normandy.

You definitely picked up fast on the concept! Those are excellent examples.

Games are aimed largely at people who are not deficient in certain areas—reflexes, executive function, etc. Alas, some people are deficient in said areas. Do you feel that in any situations, this is an accessibility issue (i.e. unexpected tasks/difficulty spikes in the middle of games that are uncharacteristic of the rest of the game)? What can be done to prevent such issues?

A large percentage of games seem to include tragic or quasi-tragic endings, where events often unfold unpleasantly and/or the protagonist dies. But I notice most games do seem to involve some type of moral victory or other. I find that interesting—that this is the form of optimism that is most prevalent in games. We can’t control outcomes, but we can try to do something right. I feel this is a viable lesson for RL.

What games say snarky things about your moral choices? Like, both The Outer Worlds and Fallout 3 have had snarky things to say about things I did.

What are some games that give you positive feedback as you play? Like in TLOU, Ellie makes a lot of dramatic comments whenever you/Joel take out a bunch of enemies.

The other day, a friend said that after he fails a video game task a certain large number of times (i.e. a few dozen), he would prefer if the game offers to skip him past it or offer a workaround. Would you want a feature like this, or would you not?

When you play video games, do you find it normally helps you to regulate your mood? Or does it more frequently dysregulated your mood? Or is it totally context-dependent?

As I start closing in on the end of an open world game and my quest list starts to trickle out, I always feel really depressed, like I am watching the world stagnate and die around me. Does anyone else get that hollow, dismal feeling?