StaceyPowers

For example, I finished my first playthrough of Spec Ops: The Line a few months ago, but as recently as last week, I realized whole new layers of meaning in how the game dealt with matters like cognitive dissonance, unconscious behavioural scripts, and limits to perceived choices. Even though it’s been a while since I finished this game, it just keeps amazing me.

Oh man. This is going to be painful 😞 I'm the same exact way you are.

I still haven't had my chance to play this yet, and have resisted looking up spoilers, but I appreciate the fair warning that the ending is going to kick my arse :/

Alas, "conventional wisdom" tends to be from and toward a neurotypical population, and generally doesn't account for an abusive upbringing either.

I think I'd add that sometimes it's a LOT easier to empathize with characters in a video game or TV. We're given a way to look inside their heads and actually know their motivations and feelings. We rarely get that insight from real people, even those we are close to. So it can be easier--at least for me--to process emotions when there is more clarity. With a story, it is just easier to know what to feel. Real people are confusing, even when they mean a lot to me.

Someone who was ostensibly my friend (not a great friend, but still someone I liked) killed herself while I was on Skype with her a few years back. I barely reacted outside of reassessing my own life. It wasn't that her death didn't matter to me--it made me angry. But I wasn't really broke up about it. But I've been a bawling mess over a TV show all week. Did you ever read The Stranger by Camus, btw? It's about a guy who has a kind of meltdown and kills another guy, and his subsequent trial. They decide to execute him, but not because he murdered someone--but because he didn't cry at his mother's funeral. It was what he was that they hated, more than what he did.

I can relate. This happens with me with both video games and TV series. I've actually been full-on depressed this week after I finished watching The Good Place. Ah well, better overly emotionally invested in things than numb.

Yes, this was what I was asking =D I think I've managed that one-shot melee thing like ... twice. But I still almost always have a brick instead of a bottle. Just in case.

I am thinking about purchasing Fallout 4 once I get a PS5, since I expect it will be backwards compatible, and I have not yet had a chance to play it. I love Fallout 3 and love Fallout NV even more, but I have heard a lot of people say Fallout 4 is not as good as either. For those who have played all three, is Fallout 4 worth it? @DylanC

I think this might be a daft question, but does anyone know whether backwards compatibility on the PS5 will encompass PS4 games on disc, PS4 games purchased digitally, or both? I keep thinking maybe the answer is an obvious “both,” but then I wonder if I am making a huge assumption. I keep wanting to grab PS4 digital deals to play on my eventual PS5 (I am on PS3 now), but then I worry they may not be compatible because they are not on a disc.

Is there a game you have completed that you expect never to play again? If so, what was the reason? Did it break your heart, bore you, frustrate you, or do you have another reason?

What moment in a video game utterly devastated you emotionally? Did you recover? Have you played the game again since, or was the heartbreak so bad that you still haven’t repeated the game?

I’m on the last sharpshooter challenge in RDR where you have to disarm a bunch of people without reloading or changing weapons. I’m having a pretty hard time with it; anyone have any tips?

Bricks or bottles?

What is the next game you plan to buy?

In addition to the one I have? Whichever I can turn around and sell for the largest amount of $$$$. It's amazing :)

I’m not much into PC gaming, but I have friends that are! I’ll be telling them about this giveaway, and entering myself since I can always gift them with games if I win.

My second playthrough, I did one-handed, smithing, and conjuration, and it worked out great! The first playthrough, I wasted a bunch on destruction before realizing I couldn't really afford to do that and something else, like you said.

I am on my third playthrough of Skyrim, and to challenge myself, I am playing as a destruction mage with nothing else to assist me aside from conjuration (which I lean heavily on) and a crossbow. Even with the atronachs, I am having a very hard time with 1-enemies fleeing out of range, and 2-enemies in range meleeing me. Does anyone have any helpful recommendations for playing as a destruction mage?

On my third playthrough of Skyrim, I have made it a rule not to carry any melee weapons, and to confine myself solely to destruction magic, conjuration and a crossbow. So far, I am only able to survive most hard fights because of the atronachs, and have come to the conclusion that destruction magic is one of the hardest standalone combat methods one could choose in Skyrim. What combat styles do you think are most challenging in this game?

So far I am enjoying the challenges of being a vampire in Skyrim, but I am still having a pretty hard time dealing with being out during the day. Does anyone have any recommendations? I was thinking that the best course of action is probably to stock up on equipment that helps to offset the daytime penalties rather than avoiding fighting during the day altogether.

What is your favourite national park that you have visited? Incidentally, saw the discussion here about Yellowstone. I can highly recommend it. I spent five months there once, and I miss it every day of my life.

This is a frequent occurrence, yes =D

I can happily play an immersive game for hours at a time, and as for long-term investment, if I find a game that I love, I want to play it over and over again probably for the rest of my life. Factors that draw me in and keep me there include an atmospheric world to explore with rich lore to discover, well-developed and portrayed characters I care about, a compelling story, beautiful soundtracking and ambiance, and any type of game play that gets me into a “flow” state where I can effortlessly concentrate and be in the moment.

I could say that I lost the same friendships I built through MUDs, since in-game events inevitably were woven into the growth and decay of the out-of-game relationships. My BFF in high school also cold-shouldred me for months after she quit the game we were playing, and didn’t talk to me again until I quit too.