I'm only going to try this once, since the pulse here is pretty slow and I don't want to annoy the community (that badly).
I would love to have some one to talk to regularly (and probably casually) about why games work or don't. I haven't met any one who really wants to dissect them yet, just people who like to leave it at "it's good" or "it sucked". It's a conversation vein I feel a little starved of. It'd just be nice to have a buddy I can mention anything to, as opposed to fishing around on forums for other people to respond or finding an existing thread.
But y'know, if I've had so much trouble finding that person until now I somehow doubt they're suddenly gonna pop up, even here. But if I don't try I'll never find one!
Some games that I really like: Banjo Kazooie, Don't Starve Together, Final Fantasy 6,7,8,10,12&tactics, Undertale, The Last of Us, Bioshock, Dragon Age 2&Inquisition, Heroes of Might and Magic, Tetris Attack, Wario's Woods, Portal1&2, Beginner's Guide, Stanley Parable
Games I had fun playing: Ib, Assassin's Creed 1&2, Katamari Damacy, Super Monkey Ball, Kirby's Dreamland 3, most Mario games from Bros. 2 for the NES through Galaxy, Donkey Kong Country 1&2, Dark Souls, Rogue Legacy, Many Harvest Moons, some League of Legends, Grandia III, Jade Cocoon 2, Azure Dreams, Disgaea 1&2, Spelunky, The Wolf Among Us, Ogre Battle 64, LoZ Ocarina of Time, Medievil, Fire Emblem (GBA), Risk of Rain, even Pokemon once upon a time (pokemon stadium's minigames could be surprisingly fun), Suikoden, Chrono Cross, Secret of Mana, Legend of Mana, Shadow of the Colossus, Starcraft (the first one), Star Ocean Second Story, Tales of Symphonia, DDR, Rhythm Heaven, Pikmin, Mass Effect 1&2, Cave Story
Games I'm sadly not very interested in: Counter Strike series, Halo series, most fighting games (I can enjoy tekken but I think that's more to do with who I play it with), sports games, most 'simulator' games, racing games, Final Fantasy XIII & XV, Mass Effect 3 & Andromeda *wretches*
And there are a ton of games I haven't played that I would probably really like - like Chrono Trigger, Twilight Princess, the Mother/Earthbound series, Persona, more Tales of, Half Life, etc.
Also I'm a fan of the youtube channel Game Theory. That's not to say I agree with every video, but overall it's entertaining and promotes observation & analysis.
Kind of stuff I'd probably say: Dragon Age (and Mass Effect) were breakthrough series most notable for their excellent and branching dialogue. While you generally don't go too long without a spoken scene, party banter is an excellent feature that keeps the personality of the game alive while slogging through dungeons or wandering around lost on a quest, and they flow completely naturally as real spontaneous conversations do. Their greatest fault is being so good that you're disappointed if they're interrupted (which is very easy to do, since they start randomly).
---Ironically, my thread was moved to this forum by a moderator, but I don't have enough posts to post here yet, so I have to edit my first post in order to publicly respond.---
Reply to ScoutingNinja:
- I have not tried GameFAQs specifically, and perhaps I should. However the general problems I run into when trying to talk to some one the way I want to are like this: "Aren't you overthinking it?" "It's just a game." response to a long ponderous statement, "Yeah/I guess so/I have no idea," or even, y'know - just not responding to me any more. I assume all these sorts of answers come from the other party not being interested in the way I'm trying to look at things. Thus why I thought maybe a forum of people interested in game development would have a chance of holding the kind of person I'm looking for. Is wondering why mechanics are enjoyable or how they can be altered to be more enjoyable not along the veins of game design?
- Very good point and I will probably post some such threads in the future. However I am looking for 1 to 1 interaction on a chat service more like skype or discord because the style of conversation is completely different. Forums tend to run like debates - posts are often long, well thought-out and responses come slowly. They're a great thing! But they're not the same as "just talking to some one", where thoughts can be a bit more loose, spontaneous, free - I can say something and not worry about it being tackled by 5 hypothetical counter-arguments, and I don't feel like I'm sitting in a fishing boat waiting for anything to bite. I don't think I'm quite doing this explanation justice, but I'm sure you know very well the difference between the two modes of communication.
- I used Counter Strike as an example because I didn't want to say "all FPSs", because Bioshock and Last of Us are FPSs. I suppose I could have said "multiplayer FPSs" instead, but that's also not true because I enjoy playing those with small groups of people in the same room. I don't like playing competitive FPSs against strangers, especially in team settings because I am not good at them nor do I have the desire to improve my skills when I'm getting flamed from all directions. (You might be wondering how I ever play League of Legends - I do it with friends and I don't do it often) I'm a sensitive soul and I don't take bashing well - if some one rips the hell out of my art or whatever, that's one thing, because I know I can't be universally liked and I'm doing it for my own satisfaction or goals - but if people are ripping into me when I'm just trying to play a game and have a good time, I can't. That's not fun to me. Also I'm extremely introverted. I'm sure it's a great franchise and I would play a bit to learn more about it, but that's about it.
- I don't know of any other games before them (especially for console) that had that amount of script (it basically reads like a novel) that the player could really interact with to a great extent. The responses you pick in a conversation really can lead it down a completely different path. In many games I've played you have the illusion of choice but you get a universal response or end result. I suppose there was The Witcher (also made by BioWare) released 1 month before Mass Effect 1, but I believe both DA and ME are better reviewed and received more critical acclaim than The Witcher. Also speaking of novels, I know there's a whole genre of visual novels that I don't actually know much about. But perhaps that's my point - as your average consumer I've heard of Dragon Age yet I haven't really played a visual novel, so it was a breakthrough to a certain demographic. Also visual novels as I understand it don't involve much game play outside of dialogue options, so DA/ME are a breakthrough in bringing expansive dialogue together with other full-game styles of gameplay - kind of like a, "why shouldn't dungeon crawlers or FPSs also have deep, interactive compelling plots to them?" That's how I see it at least. Please feel free to contest me.
Thanks for responding to me! I was expecting no answers, but I suppose I should have equally been expecting this - a very forum style response. But you've been helpful.
