I Had a Random Thought (About Video Games)

[clyde]

Combat is (in most games) core gameplay, it's what you'll spend most of your time doing. I don't feel the need to formally define "minigame" because surely everyone knows it when they see it. Hacking minigames are far more videogаmey than navigating dialogue or merchant menus. This lack of definition leaves some grey areas, but the grey areas don't matter to my initial question.

I don't think "minigame" has the common-sense definition you claim it has and that this is where your confusion on the initial question is rooted. It seems like you are using "minigame" to describe the gameplay mechanics which you feel are the most incongruous after the fact, rather than asking what makes them incongruous in the first place.

[Ben X]

I'm biased, obv, but the hacking in The Swindle is really effective. It's a very simple Simon Says game that only has 4 prompts max (and you can upgrade to get rid of most of them) which appear above your head as the camera slowly zooms in on you. So it mimics the sense of (movie) hacking where you suddenly have to stop and concentrate while losing track of your immediate surroundings, but as long as you don't panic it's easy and satisfying. It's a hell of a lot better than pipe mini-games.

[iax]

I don't think "minigame" has the common-sense definition you claim it has and that this is where your confusion on the initial question is rooted. It seems like you are using "minigame" to describe the gameplay mechanics which you feel are the most incongruous after the fact, rather than asking what makes them incongruous in the first place.

 

Well, I think the term "minigame" does not have a scientific definition, but not many game design concepts do. I'd say a minigame is a part of game rules that makes a self-contained whole of certain complexity that barely interacts with the rest of the rules, most commonly it only generates a binary success/failure output which the "main" game uses. Sure, it's not a bulletproof definition (or even a definition really) but I believe the concept is valid and identifiable by most people. Wondering about bad minigames is not the same as wondering about incongruous mechanics in general. Game designers are certainly familiar with the concept, their thought process when adding this type of thing is more likely to be "let's put a minigame here" than "let's add a set of mechanics solving this problem to our game".

[tberton]

I hate all those hacking/lockpicking games. Even the very best examples, which would be fun enough in isolation, end up being much too frequent and ruin the pacing of the game. Worst offender (to my mind) in recent years is Human Revolution.

Luckily I generally play on PC, and modders are quick to find ways of bypassing those minigames

 

Oh man, I loved the Human Revolution hacking game. Best hacking minigame I've played by far.

[Dewar]

I imagine why a lot of rpg-lite products have these sorts of minigames is so that they can then provide skills that make those games easier, and it's a meaningful choice versus doing more damage. i guess, by the same token. even in regular FPS's it's trying to provide a risk/reward mechanic of do I want to spend my time fiddling with this thing to make the next fight easier, or do I just want to go in guns blazing? The problem is that few people see "just don't bother" to be a valid choice.

[JonCole]

XCOM 2 ANNOUNCED OMG

 

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/01/xcom-2-announced-ign-first

[Bjorn]

Ergh..blerghl....I'm literally drooling over this.

 

Tomorrow you’ll get an in-depth overview and interview with Creative Director Jake Solomon that’ll highlight the major new features, including new soldier classes, new aliens, stealth-infused tactics, procedurally generated maps, and more.

 

the bold move to take XCOM from a multiplatform series to a PC exclusive, and how XCOM 2 will be tailored to take advantage of that single platform’s strengths – followed by Firaxis’ exciting plans to support modders and their work.

[eot]

Heh, I pre-ordered the last one and I still haven't gotten around to playing it D:

I actually have a semi-decent reason but still

[dibs]

A long time ago on the podcast, they discussed an hilarious bug where someone was in 3rd person cover shooter and they saw a characters neck do ridiculous contortions while the body of the character stayed still while looking over cover. Anyone got a link to the vid?

[N1njaSquirrel]

I'm pretty sure they were talking about crysis 1, and that the reason why there isn't any multiplayer is because they haven't rigged the bodies to move when looking over cover. Someone modded the game to force the third person perspective and that's what the hilarious result was.

 

As for where the video is, I have no idea.

[zerofiftyone]

A long time ago on the podcast, they discussed an hilarious bug where someone was in 3rd person cover shooter and they saw a characters neck do ridiculous contortions while the body of the character stayed still while looking over cover. Anyone got a link to the vid?

 

NinjaSquirrel is right, except it was Crysis 2.

 

[dibs]

Thanks:)

[Bjorn]

There's a Kung Fury video game. 

[elmuerte]

It's ok, it's like one finger death punch, but not as good. Worst part, there is no proper indication when enemies are within range.

[SecretAsianMan]

Lately I've been thinking about changing my name on Steam.  I've been going by SecretAsianMan since high school when the joke first occurred to me.  For most of the time since then, the worst thing I had to endure about it was people frequently singing "Secret Aaaaaasian Man!" which I quickly learned to ignore.  But lately, I've been increasingly annoyed by people saying stuff about me.  While I haven't had any racial slurs thrown at me quite yet (some have come pretty close though), I do hear a lot of racially insensitive stuff.  One of the worst was probably last night when some random asshole decided that my name was Ching Jin and kept calling me that, saying stuff like "Go Ching Jin!" in the most sarcastic voice or just randomly yelling it out when I do something. 

 

I've been playing games pretty much my whole life and I'd say my skill level is above average in almost any given game.  Plus when I play a game I tend to get a little obsessed by it and do research on how to play it better.  So when I do well or do something that seems amazing but really isn't if you know how to do it, I tend to see/hear a lot of people attributing it to my being Asian.  Most are in a joking manner, some aren't.  It's a stereotype I'm really starting to get tired of.  I am Asian.  I am good at video games.  ONE OF THOSE THINGS IS NOT THE CAUSE OF THE OTHER.  The jokes are really wearing on me.  I know it's supposed to be seen as a "compliment", but I can assure you, assuming I am good at something because of my race isn't the compliment you think it is.

 

I realize that it flat out says Asian in my name and for a while I had the mentality of "well, I guess I'm asking for it".  But then I decided fuck that.  I am Asian.  I'm proud of what I am.  I'm not asking for people make fun of me or assume things about me, but this being the internet of course they will.  I'm not going to hide or deny my ethnicity, but I am getting increasingly pissed off that actively displaying it leads to shit like this.  I'm thinking about just shortening it to S.A.M.  I'm more than ok with the full joke only being understood by those in the know.  I'll keep my name on the forums but in a public place like Steam it's becoming more trouble than its worth.

 

Sorry for the rant.  None of those things are directed at anyone here.  I just had to get that off my chest.

[clyde]

You shouldn't have to change your name, but it's worth admitting your limitations to yourself. Personally, I prefer to put myself in circumstances where I can choose my battles when possible. Even as a cis, heterosexual white male it can be tiring trying to be a stand-up kinda guy in lobbies of random douchebags.

Also, anecdotally, I've been noticing a lot more racist comments against asian folks in my daily life, it's kinda weird. I'm wondering if Fox News started talking more about China or something.

[zerofiftyone]

Ughh. I'm sorry you have to deal with that

 

I've been pretty lucky when it comes to receiving racist garbage from people in game. But then again, I've always made a deliberate choice to not use a photo of myself as my avatar on steam. I guess you could look at that as me conceding in a similar way to what you're considering now.

 

I don't really have much useful to add. It sucks that people get hassle just for being themselves in a video game.

[Azniac]

That's awful. I know people say: "That's the internet, everyone has to deal with douches!" but that's no excuse for people being stupid.

 

For the most part, none of my online aliases have ever betrayed my race (Egyptian -- Arab), but everyone once in a while a friend lets something slip and the *jokes* from strangers roll in. I've had a couple slurs thrown my way, but it's usually weak attempts at jokes. I've never felt hurt by it, but it's annoying and irritating to hear the different people say the same thing. I don't play online as much these days as I used to though, so recently I've been isolated from all that.

[SecretAsianMan]

In a way I'm glad that (at least for the moment) being Asian on the internet is a somewhat positive thing due to the internet's obsession with Anime and the aforementioned stereotypes such as being good at video games or math.  That doesn't make any of that shit right or pleasant to hear, but I do count myself lucky knowing that other groups have it WAAAAAY worse.

[Twig]

My name is Twig which when people get mad enough leads to dick jokes at my expense but I don't really care. I mean, obviously I don't care, because it's utterly meaningless.

 

But I do care about slurs. Sometimes I try to engage with people using slurs all willy nilly and it almost never works out. If I ask them to stop being racist, they ask if I'm black or Arab or whatever the race is they're being shitty about*. If I ask them to stop being sexist or homophobic they ask me if I'm a woman. Then they say it's just a joke. If I answer the question with no, they just say, "well then it doesn't matter to you". I've experimented and said yes on occasion and then they just fucking double-down on the bullshit.

 

Every once in a while, in a blue moon, I get someone who apologizes and says they'll try to be better about it in the future. I cherish those moments. But they're so few and far between that I've basically given up and now just mute people.

 

*(Actually, Mexican shit comes up a lot because people conflate Peruvians and Brazilians and Mexicans and a lot of Peruvians and Brazilians will jump on the US servers in Dota 2. I'm constantly frustrated with people who refuse to speak English after queuing on an English-speaking server (it's a box you have to actually check!), but fuck I never make it about race even when my fuse does burn out.)

[jennegatron]

As a woman, I routinely hide my gender online, either through playing male avatars (my first WoW character was a male undead mage named Larry Potter) or by picking gender neutral names that other assume to be male by default. I would also never ever use voice chat in pick up groups, and continue to not use voice chat unless i'm playing with people I know, and if a stranger comes in I have to trust my friends to tell that person that it's not cool to hassle me, because that stranger is inevitably a dude who wouldn't listen to me telling them it's not cool.

So I really don't blame any person who uses the assumptions of the player base to escape those shitty experiences. 

[Bjorn]

But I do care about slurs. Sometimes I try to engage with people using slurs all willy nilly and it almost never works out. If I ask them to stop being racist, they ask if I'm black or Arab or whatever the race is they're being shitty about*. If I ask them to stop being sexist or homophobic they ask me if I'm a woman. Then they say it's just a joke. If I answer the question with no, they just say, "well then it doesn't matter to you". I've experimented and said yes on occasion and then they just fucking double-down on the bullshit.

 

I had a really frustrating exchange recently on Reddit about DS2 hatemail.  Someone had posted a series of hatemails they had received after PvP, and every single message (like 6 in total) included a gendered slur or insult of some sort.  And there were a couple of people in the reddit thread who were arguing that there was absolutely nothing sexist or misogynistic about the messages at all. "It wasn't directed at a woman, so there's nothing sexist about it."  Even going so far as to say people calling the hatemailer sexist were being rude, because you shouldn't just throw a word like that around. Just...what the fuck?  Do you people know what you're typing?

 

 

As for usernames, I've usually used variations on Bjorn the Dwarf.  Twice I've had (very obviously stoned) people on random voice chats say shit like, "Are you a real midget...er, I mean little person?" and similar things along that vein.  Just weird and awkward, more than insulting. 

[Azniac]

I will never understand the mental gymnastics one has to jump through in order to sincerely believe that being called sexist/racist is worse than actual sexism/racism.

[Twig]

As for usernames, I've usually used variations on Bjorn the Dwarf.  Twice I've had (very obviously stoned) people on random voice chats as shit like, "Are you a real midget...er, I mean little person?" and similar things along that vein.  Just weird and awkward, more than insulting. 

I've actually being wondering recently if the "dwarf" fantasy race bothers people with real-life dwarfism. I don't know why I only started wondering this recently, but yeah. I love love love the dwarf fantasy race, it's my favorite thing. But they're nothing like the real life condition. So I feel bad maybe I dunno. D:

[tegan]

I use a gender-neutral name and don't use voice chat.