I Had a Random Thought (About Video Games)

[SecretAsianMan]

I had a couple friends in college who would use the numpad for movement.  Their reasoning was that it was like WASD with easy key accessibility but less likelihood of hitting the wrong thing since the numpad is usually grouped by itself.  It seemed weird to me at the time but they were all pretty darn good at games like TF2 so I can't really argue with the results.

 

These days I use a separate gamepad for games that require one hand on the keyboard.  Currently I'm using this

 

[Cleinhun]

Oh man, if you had something like that that was also a mouse would you be able to play an fps with one hand? Or play co-op with yourself? In theory, I mean. In practice that would be a nightmare.

[SecretAsianMan]

I think at long last I'm finally done with Spelunky.  It took about 2 years of almost non-stop daily challenges, but I no longer have a desire to play that game everyday.  I haven't done a daily in over a week and don't miss it at all.  I'm not posting this in the quitter's club thread because I suspect I'll still play it occasionally, but my daily love affair is definitely over.

[clyde]

I played a few games of the Gigantic beta this weekend and it's fun and close to my desire for a new Super Monday Night Combat game, but I kinda don't want to get involved. It's got the same appeal (though there are no creeps which is something I miss), but it also looks like it includes all the aspects that will eventually obsess and frustrate me and I don't know if I want to do all that again. Class-based Lords Managements require a lot of investment.

[Patrick R]

I've been playing Binding of Isaac. I feel like I sullied my Spelunky experience by looking up too many things on the internet instead of just figuring out the way the world works organically. I don't want to do the same thing with Binding of Isaac, but I feel like I'm having a lot harder time figuring out what items do what in this game. For example, I've picked up the Ace of Spades maybe a dozen times and I've never once observed it's effects. Should I just keep playing and hope I'll figure it out, or are there a lot of items that only provide very small passive bonuses that would be hard to suss out?

[Markson]

I had a couple friends in college who would use the numpad for movement.  Their reasoning was that it was like WASD with easy key accessibility but less likelihood of hitting the wrong thing since the numpad is usually grouped by itself.  It seemed weird to me at the time but they were all pretty darn good at games like TF2 so I can't really argue with the results.

 

These days I use a separate gamepad for games that require one hand on the keyboard.  Currently I'm using this

 

 

I miss having a numpad. I was way into Dwarf Fortress when I went to college...but in college I had a laptop, no numpad, and not a lot of money. I found it really hard to play without a numpad - almost impossible. So I haven't played DF in years! Now that I'm a Real Adult maybe I'll buy something like this and try it again.

 

I hope it hasn't changed TOO much! I remember last time I took a break from Minecraft, then came back and was like "What the heck is this game anymore?"

 

Not in a bad way necessarily, just in a surprising way.

[Bjorn]

I really dislike it when games kill off a character in a cutscene in a way that would never work within the actual gameplay.  It makes the death feel incredibly artificial and forced when you've had a dozen characters or more already escape the jaws of death in similar situations, but suddenly, magically, this one time, no one thought of using any of the tools at their disposal that they had used to save the lives of each other over the last several months of being companions. 

 

 

I've been playing Binding of Isaac. I feel like I sullied my Spelunky experience by looking up too many things on the internet instead of just figuring out the way the world works organically. I don't want to do the same thing with Binding of Isaac, but I feel like I'm having a lot harder time figuring out what items do what in this game. For example, I've picked up the Ace of Spades maybe a dozen times and I've never once observed it's effects. Should I just keep playing and hope I'll figure it out, or are there a lot of items that only provide very small passive bonuses that would be hard to suss out?

 

With practice, you can figure out most/all of the main items (passive or activate).  But some of the trinket (the items that show up in the bottom left) effects are either a low enough percentage or low enough proc rate that it's hard to tell what some of them do.  I'd say a lot of the trinkets are worth saving yourself the worry and looking up, but the rest of the items keep playing for awhile yet and see what you can figure out.  I also always kept a cheat sheet of the playing cards, because there were a few I always struggled to remember off the top of my head. 

[N1njaSquirrel]

I have been watching Orange is the New Black, and whilst it's excellent, the thing that really bugs me is that there's a specific background noise of a mechanical door closing that is exactly the same as the doors in the Facility level of GoldenEye, and it pulls me out of the fiction for a fraction of a second whilst my brain reminds me of this. 

 

I really dislike it when games kill off a character in a cutscene in a way that would never work within the actual gameplay.  It makes the death feel incredibly artificial and forced when you've had a dozen characters or more already escape the jaws of death in similar situations, but suddenly, magically, this one time, no one thought of using any of the tools at their disposal that they had used to save the lives of each other over the last several months of being companions. 

 

I hate this the most in fighting games. Especially when you have to win, only for the preceding cutscene to be about how your main character gets defeated. This is especially prevalent in anime series based fighting game. Like young Sasuke ever had a chance against Itachi. The fuck. Just let me fail and see the same cutscene.

[Ninety-Three]

 

I really dislike it when games kill off a character in a cutscene in a way that would never work within the actual gameplay.  It makes the death feel incredibly artificial and forced when you've had a dozen characters or more already escape the jaws of death in similar situations, but suddenly, magically, this one time, no one thought of using any of the tools at their disposal that they had used to save the lives of each other over the last several months of being companions.

 

This falls into a broader sort of cutscene stupidity I despise. Broadly speaking, it's "Stuff that only works because video games can arbitrarily take away your ability to do stuff". In Mass Effect 2, you come across a disabled enemy ship that doesn't appear to be damaged, my first thought was "Power up the main guns and let's make it really disabled", haha nope, walk into the obvious ambush buddy. In Shadowrun: Dragonfall, there's a bit where you are told that when you push a button, enemies will come in and also those sentry guns over there will turn on and start shooting you, but for no reason you can't destroy the sentry guns now, you have to wait until they go hostile.

 

 

I have been watching Orange is the New Black, and whilst it's excellent, the thing that really bugs me is that there's a specific background noise of a mechanical door closing that is exactly the same as the doors in the Facility level of GoldenEye, and it pulls me out of the fiction for a fraction of a second whilst my brain reminds me of this.

 

Hollywood apparently has some kind of soundboard full of default gun noises, and every time I hear a particular pistol-unholstering noise it brings me back to Jedi Outcast.

[SecretAsianMan]

The thing I hate about many cutscenes is the way they completely undermine you as a player.  When I see a cutscene that shows my character doing crazy flips, dodges, attacks, and moving at lightning speed when I can't do any of that shit myself it makes the gameplay feel really plodding once control is returned to me.  Don't dangle a carrot in front of me by trying to make me feel like I'm playing as a badass then take it away by not letting me actually do anything cool.  That's one thing I miss about playing Valve games.  Since you're always in control (at least as long as the character itself has control) you are never shown doing anything you can't do.  You are exactly the character they present and their capabilities are your capabilities.

[ratamero]

I've got half an hour to test Playstation VR this Thursday and I'm really excited!

[dartmonkey]

Random thought: Episode I Racer was a bloody awesome.

[Patrick R]

Random thought: Episode I Racer was a bloody awesome.

 

It was! I played the shit out of that game. The tracks were so unique and fun, and it felt really cool with an amazing sense of speed. Actually, the feeling of being in that world, upgrading your pod with junkyard parts, trying to meek by some winnings to buy new parts, it all had a really satisfying hard-nosed kind of reality that the prequels totally lacked. 

[Goggles]

Just had a super big hit of nostalgia for that game. I remember playing it with a joystick my dad had gotten for his flight sims. Increasing engine power with the thrust switch on the joystick was so satisfying. And managing boosts and engine heating. And nailing hard to land short cuts.

[Bjorn]

ClickHole has what's basically a Twine game about having a conversation with your dad.  I only went down the American Civil War fan fiction branch, but was quite entertained.

[dartmonkey]

It was! I played the shit out of that game. The tracks were so unique and fun, and it felt really cool with an amazing sense of speed. Actually, the feeling of being in that world, upgrading your pod with junkyard parts, trying to meek by some winnings to buy new parts, it all had a really satisfying hard-nosed kind of reality that the prequels totally lacked. 

 

Just had a super big hit of nostalgia for that game. I remember playing it with a joystick my dad had gotten for his flight sims. Increasing engine power with the thrust switch on the joystick was so satisfying. And managing boosts and engine heating. And nailing hard to land short cuts.

 

Yeah, I have specific memories of spending ages reading about all the upgrade parts and really feeling their effect on the courses. The pods felt nuanced and dirty and distinct. A really 'pure' racer. I also remember using 2 controllers with it and feeling like a boss. I don't have that game anymore - can't imagine why I got rid of it. One more thing to add to the ebay list :/

[SuperBiasedMan]

Ah, time for me to finally play a bit of this Two Brothers game. I've heard so much praise about the story.

 

2 minutes into the game, character referred to only as Loving Wife is fridged.

 

Jesus video games.

[Twig]

Yo Two Brothers is a different game from what you're talking about (which is Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons).

 

Significantly different.

 

http://store.steampowered.com/app/259760/

 

Also horribly flawed, although maybe also extremely interesting? I never was able to decide. It's a weird one. Polish wise is it a broken mess,.

 

Unless I'm forgetting a fridged wife at the beginning of Two Brothers. I don't think I am? God that game was weird and emotionally conflicting. Certainly not praised.

 

Also I don't think the story of Two Sons is actually really praised all that much, to be fair. It's more the, hmm, mechanics, and the way that plays out, coupled with some really great (in my opinion) environments and level design.

 

I know Bjorn has some thoughts about it. U;

[SuperBiasedMan]

Actually that is the one I was talking about.

...it's even worse realising that Brothers a Tale of Two Sons does basically the same thing.

[Twig]

Oh.

 

I have never heard any praise about Two Brothers, haha. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard anyone talk about it besides me.

 

(Thinking about it more, though, I do remember the Loving Wife.)

 

F'real though get ready for a completely broken-ass broked game. EDIT: I am not exaggerating that game was nigh unplayable at points. I would only recommend it to people who, like me, have a high tolerance for shitty shitty awful broken messes. I'd... actually even hesitate it then.

 

Maybe they fixed all the bugs, though?

 

"15.1 hrs on record" oh god how did i even manage this, i think i might have even just never beat it, because i either got stuck, or something? i had to look up the ending? i can't remember oh god

 

I dearly dearly wish I could play a version of this game that was actually polished. I think there's something great in there.

 

sorry apparently i have a lot of emotion directed at this game but i don't remember why other than "BROKE"

[Twig]

HOLD THE PHONE

 

 

They're remaking the game. Apparently the update will be free for PC users, so there's a thing. Maybe................ maybe wait, SBM. Maybe wait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my god the music in this trailer

[Twig]

THE MUSIC

 

e: sorry i dunno what's happening to me...

 

e e: the studio is also working on a game called "YIIK: A Postmodern RPG", i am not sure how to take this http://www.twinfinite.net/2015/08/22/yiik-might-be-the-spiritual-successor-to-earthbound-weve-been-waiting-for/ also somebody didn't get the memo, undertale's been the new earthbound since that game was kickstarted

[SuperBiasedMan]

Maybe I'm extrapolating from some emphatic recommendations? I don't read a lot of press to get a diverse range of praise.

 

Also no they didn't fix the bugs. There was meant to be an updated version of the game ported to a less buggy engine but they stopped posting about it in the Steam forums a few months ago. I feel a bit bad for the dudes, having a lot of people clamoring for their money's worth on the steam forums when they want to move on to a new game instead.

[SuperBiasedMan]

...oh man I'm sorry Twig. I should've posted about that sooner. I only started playing today because I went to check about a demo they were meant to post in July and it never materialised.

[Twig]

Eh maybe they'll get to it eventually. It's being done in Unity, so it's really not difficult to "port" to PC when they already have it done for PC.

 

Demos are a lot of work, wouldn't blame 'em to just drop that idea, tbh.