StaceyPowers

Some of my childhood maladaptations. They served their purpose when I was young, but now they just are holding me back from being my best self.

Try and figure out if there is a way to avoid a similar letdown in the future.

I'll give up reading. I am more a learn by watching or doing type, I've already read tons, and I write both for a living and as my passion project. I'm going to assume for the sake of this question that I may read what I'm writing to edit it, as that is a required part of writing well.

Maybe "sanguine."

Probably. I guess I had good luck with braces. I just had all my bad luck dumped into other areas of life.

I have a misaligned jaw, and I do it every day 😞 It's not so bad though, seriously. I cut corn off the cob and cut up apples when I had braces. I actually don't recall avoiding any other food entirely, even popcorn. I probably broke the rules, but I was fine?

I saw news today about China wanting to crack down on games that allow players too much moral choice and/or feature gender ambiguity of any nature. Clearly, China fears the power of games to help players on their journeys of self-discovery. In what ways have video games helped you to discover yourself? Do you also think video games are a powerful medium for helping people to find themselves?

Is gaming your favorite form of entertainment? If you had to choose only one for the rest of your life (i.e. video games, books, movies, TV, etc.), which would you pick?

What countries are the worst to live in if you are a gamer in terms of censorship and other regulations and restrictions?

What are the best video games based on movies or TV shows?

How do you approach open world gaming so as to keep the experience fresh? Mods are an obvious answer, but what about how you play? I’ve noticed that open worlds feel fresher to me if I approach them as much like RL as possible—limit fast travelling, go everywhere on foot or using in-game conveyances, etc.

Are there any games you wish you could play, but which aren’t or won’t be available on your platform?

Quite a few games have addressed trauma and PTSD, and at least one of them helped me start processing my own traumas (Spec Ops: The Line). Are there other specific mental health issues you’d like to see a game address?

Is there a specific setting you would love to see in a video game and never have before? Where/when would it be?

If you have a pile of games waiting for you that are all going to take many months to complete and you have one open slot in your gaming schedule, how do you pick which game to play next?

What are your favorite story-driven games? Mine include TLOU, BioShock series, Mass Effect series, Dragon Age series, and Spec Ops: The Line.

What are some games where the main quest line is so compelling that it is hard for you not to rush forward just to find out what happens next? Mass Effect was like this for me.

Does anything while gaming ever give you eye strain? I don’t really have this problem unless I am trying to read something in a difficult font.

Is there an easy way to figure out if a game includes levelled loot without happening to look it up or see it somewhere at random?

Do you sometimes spin around searching the walls around a room so much in a game for loot that you make yourself dizzy?

Do you ever have a weird out-of-body moment when gaming? It’s hard to explain what I mean. Like, you might be playing in third person, and momentarily, forget that the body on the screen is not your real body, and then have a fleeting sense you are outside of yourself.

I didn't agree with his actions either, but I don't think we were meant to. Did you disagree with the overarching message you took from the game? I came away with "our choices are restricted until we know what is driving us," which made sense to me.

There can never be too many BioShock series playthroughs.

Surely that is part of where teens learn it from 😉

Here is an essay on the concept of “ludonarrative dissonance” in games that I found very interesting: http://www.fredericseraphine.com/index.php/2016/09/02/ludonarrative-dissonance-is-storytelling-about-reaching-harmony/ I guess this really bothers a lot of people. Ironically, I feel most of the games that have really impacted me have deliberately featured this dissonance and made it part of the experience, rather than trying to avoid it. In some ways though, I don’t even get why this bothers people. A gap between what I am trying/want to do and what I can/must do IRL pretty much is the essence of my normal human experience. Life, at its core, features this “dissonance.” When it features in games, to me it actually makes them more lifelike.