Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

Quote (Glenn Magus Harvey @ 10th February 2013 09:24)

And on that note I still don't get why some people like jerk protagonists so much.

Because they're " Bishie Kawaii desu nee and Cloud is so hawt " !

--------------------

Top Three fave Final Fantasies Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy V [ GBA ]

IMO kingdom hearts, call of duty mw1 and since, and those evil people behind windwaker need to all be rounded up and publicly executed...as those games are awful

Also skyrim is inferior to even morrowind.

Finally ff7 is highly overrated and ff8 was amazing

--------------------

PSN : everum89
Before your mother, before your god, you will call for me, for I am your medic, and I will always come for you!

Apparently I haven't posted this here yet, but...I play console-style games with keyboard controls. More specifically: I play games like platformers, action RPGs, and shmups, and I am mostly a PC gamer, but I don't use a controller. Instead, I use the arrow keys and ZXCASD or something like that. I find that mapping the different control features to different fingers is much easier for me than having to manage several buttons (all four right-side pad ones) with one thumb.

This is apparently considered standard in Japan, so if you pick up a Japanese indie game without knowing the controls, chances are the controls are something like this. On the other hand, western developers and gamers seem split between WASD and arrow keys, as far as games like platformers are concerned.

I developed this habit thanks to using an emulator many years ago, which allowed me to play console games on PC. I had previously played DOS games like Duke Nukem 1 and Cosmo and Commander Keen, which do something similar: arrow keys and Ctrl and Alt. Since I couldn't map Ctrl and Alt to anything in Windows, and I needed more buttons anyway, I just moved up to Z and X, then expanded to QWEASDZXC. Sometimes RFV as well. Enter is usually pause/start for me, and space is usually select.

----

Another opinion that seems pretty unpopular is that I don't think that having a game on Steam is worth that much.

Desura works just as well to give me a single place for redownloads, as do websites like GOG. And while Steam has cool social features, I mainly just use the chat.

I don't like achievements (even if I do use them), and I don't do leaderboards. Incidentally, I also rarely play multiplayer games, so that might be another factor; Steam seems to do multiplayer well with its own games such as TF2...though for some other games such as Terraria you'll need to figure out how to do multiplayer yourself (through something like Hamachi).

I also don't think that highly of cloud saving. Yes it's theoretically useful, but I find that -- especially with an inconsistent internet connection -- it's just easier for me to keep my saves locally and not let the system become confused between mismatched cloud and local saves.

And I don't really like the Steam trading cards.

Finally, I have a history of organizing my game files myself, so Steam compiling a list of my games is not a feature I care for much. If anything, I add non-Steam games to my library list not for convenience but for socially showing them off.

--------------------

Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

Quote (Docrob @ 1st October 2013 22:59)

Finally ff7 is highly overrated and ff8 was amazing

And you my good sir are my best friend lol

I haven't played FFVII in a long time but i hated how much FF fans have obsessed about it and FFVIII was just amazing with the features and the leveling systems with the GF and all that.

--------------------

So Zetta Slow!

Secret of Mana has a good storyline, and Halo and Call of Duty are boring. Kain is a terrible person who has a shameless lust for Rosa. Rydia has terrible fashion sense and was much more useful as a child, but she is okay as an adult. Cloud is relatable. Magus never stops being evil, even after joining the protagonists (he is awesome though). Lightning is cooler than everyone.

People whine about games too much

--------------------

X is blue.

So I recently played my first game of Cards Against Humanity.

I'm not sure how popular this opinion is, but it definitely wasn't something to say when I was there in meatspace, as everyone seemed to be enjoying the game more than me.

Background information: Cards Against Humanity is, in short, a "dirty" version of Apples to Apples. It plays very slightly differently, but the main attraction is usually the content -- such as racially offensive stereotypes, sexual situations, and more.

Well, I enjoyed the game. It had creative imagination and all sorts of weird things one can do with the cards. But I didn't really enjoy the content, so I only really had about half as much fun. I mean, half of the (apparent) humor is lost on me when I don't really like the sexually dirty or the racially offensive. I still laughed at the political and media jokes, but...yeah.

And someone mentioned at the end of the evening that this was "definitely better than Apples to Apples". Ehh...I'd disagree. For several reasons:

1. Apples to Apples features adjective cards. Cards Against Humanity features question-and-answer or fill-in-the-blank cards in the same role. Which can you be more open-ended and creative with? Adjective cards. You can go nuts far more easily with those.

2. As I said earlier, I'm not much of a fan of the content. Obviously, your mileage may vary.

3. A2A cards feature their main text written vertically on the upper left corner. CAH cards feature their main text written horizontally from the top of the card. A2A cards are easier to read when you hold them in your hand in a typical way.

4. A2A cards at least provide a quick blurb about the noun in question. Don't know who Sylvester Stallone is? Here's some basic info; at least this might make the card vaguely more fun than a throwaway card.

To the person who hosted this event: Don't feel bad about this; I still enjoyed hanging out with you and your friends. And as I said, I still enjoyed the game, just not as much I had hoped to. These are just my opinions on the game itself.

EDIT

All that said...I still have to admit that one of the most entertaining cards is this one:

Quote

Bees?

This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 7th October 2013 23:31

--------------------

Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

By being too nerdy you forget to unwind to enjoy yourself.

--------------------

https://www.youtube.com/user/Greatermaxim

Terra - LV 99 - HP 9999 - MP 999

Equipment - - - Abilities

Illumina - - - - - Fight
Genji Shield - - Morph
Oath Veil - - - - Magic
Minerva - - - - - Item
Ribbon
Economizer

Final Fantasy VIII is the worst of the series made so far in both gameplay and story.

I prefer text boxes to bad voice acting.

FF Tactics is ruined by a gad-awful ending.

Every FF game with voice acting has had terrible acting.

I like the villain level up in Seventh Saga. What prevents that game from being decent is a horrible ending.

Rygar is a good game.

I despise 3D Mario Games

Same with 3D Castlevania

Holy Diver is almost as good as the first Castlevania games.

Cyberpunk is better than Shadowrun

Neverwinter Nights I is better than WoW.



--------------------

"So, are you a fan of the Fett?"

"Nah, I'm more of a Star Wars guy."

I can't stand half-life 2. the FOV on ps3 version is awful and sickening. love Portal though!

It's a bad port, play it on PC then decide.

--------------------

www.youtube.com/blinje
The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens

How about some of these unpopular opinions:

Skyward Sword is better than Ocarina of Time

Also better than Skyrim

The new Duke Nukem game was actually kind of fun. not better than the first two Halo games, but better than the last two.

video games don't inspire misogyny and racism anymore than they inspire violence.

--------------------

"So, are you a fan of the Fett?"

"Nah, I'm more of a Star Wars guy."

Quote (chevleclair @ 9th February 2014 16:18)

Skyward Sword is better than Ocarina of Time

There is no safe place for you left on earth, there's nowhere you can run.

--------------------

www.youtube.com/blinje
The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens

Quote (Blinge Odonata @ 9th February 2014 16:48)

Quote (chevleclair @ 9th February 2014 16:18)

Skyward Sword is better than Ocarina of Time

There is no safe place for you left on earth, there's nowhere you can run.

I agree. Though i do believe Zelda is better than skyrim.

--------------------

Excuse me? Would you mind not talking while I'm interupting?

I've preferred every console Zelda release that has come after it to Ocarina.

--------------------

I fear my heart and fear my soul
Life goes on, it surely will,
Without me and I wonder:
Will I ever see light again?

Life goes on...

Well here's my unpopular opinion -
Skyward Sword is garbage.

Wind Waker was meh, big empty ocean. But i should give it another try to make sure, it's also painfully easy.

Twilight Princess was fantastic and if you think its just a remake of ocarina you are an utter moron who should stop playing games.

Majora reigns supreme.

--------------------

www.youtube.com/blinje
The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens

Quote (Blinge Odonata @ 10th February 2014 13:21)

Wind Waker was meh, big empty ocean.

You did not see enough of that game then.

--------------------

I fear my heart and fear my soul
Life goes on, it surely will,
Without me and I wonder:
Will I ever see light again?

Life goes on...

There's really no such thing, at the moment, as a bad LoZ game, mind you. Windwaker and Spirit Tracks were both great games, they just had issues of long bouts of nothing between some amazing levels.

Why Skyward Sword is better

Camera work is better. OoT can flip to very bizarre camera angles, often changing in mid-swing and forcing errant swings/throws at critical moments.

Fi is annoying, Navi is worse. Almost all Zelda games have fetch quests, and Navi screaming "HEY! HEY!HEY!HEY!HEY!" during fetch quests got very annoying. Navi also brings gameplay to a dead halt with "LISTEN!" and unskippable dialog.

They're both less annoying than the Minish Cap.

Perhaps it was because I was 17 or so when the game was released, but I was completely unfooled by the Zelda/Sheik thing. The Impa/Old Lady thing was a bigger swerve.

There was a nasty knack of items you barely used in Ocarina of Time. This is true of almost all Zelda games, but OoT was terrible about it.

Slingshot, Deku Shield, Deku anything, any magic except Din's Fire, and megaton hammer.

Skyward Sword just had the slingshot.

You actually go faster by holding down the A-button, and you could turn while doing so. Roll, roll, roll, roll, roll, roll, roll, roll....

--------------------

"So, are you a fan of the Fett?"

"Nah, I'm more of a Star Wars guy."

Quote (chevleclair @ 13th February 2014 14:35)

often changing in mid-swing and forcing errant swings/throws at critical moments.

^ Get good.

As for SS.... THIS IS A DEKU HORNET. YOU HAVE 99 OF THEM ALREADY. LETS STOP THE GAMEPLAY AND TELL YOU WHAT THEY'RE ABOUT WITH NO WAY TO SKIP IT.

Let's do that for every item you find on a whole page of said minor (rarely used) items in your inventory, every time you pick each item up per new play session
- as in when you load a save, not start a new game.

yeah, skyward sword never brings gameplay to a halt...

Also @Sherick - I found and did everything in windwaker except the figurine sidequest

This post has been edited by Blinge Odonata on 13th February 2014 18:35

--------------------

www.youtube.com/blinje
The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens

Unpopular opinion, or at least taste:

I find myself not all that interested in having tons of character customization options. Maybe a few. That's nice. But having tons can get in the way of me being able to enjoy what they're doing in the game world.

I love it when a character has one or a few basic abilities and you just use that to explore the world. Simple and easy-to-use attacks plus high maneuverability = awesome.

And y'know, some days, I just want to play through an epic story that lets me be part of it. I want the story and other narrative features to lead me through the game, emotionally.

This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 14th February 2014 01:30

--------------------

Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

Quote (Blinge Odonata @ 13th February 2014 13:33)

Also @Sherick - I found and did everything in windwaker except the figurine sidequest

And you didn't think there was anything in the Ocean?

--------------------

I fear my heart and fear my soul
Life goes on, it surely will,
Without me and I wonder:
Will I ever see light again?

Life goes on...

I used hyperbole for the sake of expression, of course there's SOMETHING in the ocean, but most of the islands are just rocks with different copy pasted variants of the pirates or their towers.
It got really old, considering how much time you spend traversing that big blue.

--------------------

www.youtube.com/blinje
The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens

So I recently played Mutant Mudds, and enjoyed it quite a bit. Aside from somewhat-stiff controls (which actually work for the game's design but I can understand someone being a bit annoyed at them), I can see no obvious flaws.

I checked Metacritic's rating of it.
...a 61. Really?
(It had 7 reviews. Also, 5.5 user score, in case you're wondering.)

Well this isn't the first time this oddity has come up. Ys Origin, for example, is one of my favorite games of all time -- with graphical design and top-notch gameplay (with smooth controls and highly challenging bosses) and an absolutely epic soundtrack. In my opinion at least. Metacritic's score? 76 (7 critics). At least the user score is 8.8.

On the other hand...I've also played Portal. It's a nice game, and I enjoyed it. Interesting mechanic (with novel use of an FPS's gun(-like) device), and also a creative way of storytelling. While the game is good, it really wasn't something I'd write home about. Metacritic's score? 90 (27 critics), and 9.4 user score.

Yeah, yeah, I know, matters of taste.

But it seems to me that metascores are biased in favor of (1) novelty and (2) fame. Games that have a bigger name rec seem, everything else being equal, to more easily get a higher score. And so do games that do something novel or unusual -- be it Portal or, say, Recettear (82 with 12 critics, 8.6 user score). Though novelty does also lend it self more easily to name rec.

Critics seem to have an expectation for games to be cutting-edge and novel. Note a review of Ys Origin describing it as "a small nerdy pleasure for everyone who misses the 16-/32-bit era, but does not want to resort to going completely retro" -- implying a sort of "retro ghetto" mentality that doesn't seem to be even relevant in a proper evaluation of a game's quality. (Some days I'm a little annoyed at the idea of "retro" even being a thing -- it implies that pixel graphics are something that's gone and past and is being brought back for nostalgia's sake, rather than on its own merits.) The highest-rating non-user review of Mutant Mudds describes it as "utterly standard and unoriginal", and the next one says it "doesn’t do enough to differentiate itself in an increasingly saturated indie platformer market" -- like the rest of a game market context ought to be considered in evaluating its quality. And another one notes that the game "literally feels like it could have been made 20 years ago", but "games have changed a great deal since then and Mutant Mudds is left feeling stale and boring". How come? Market context has nothing to do with its quality!

(I'm not saying there are no meaningful reviews that comment negatively about games I like. The third non-user review of Mutant Mudds is a meaningful and relatively negative review of the game. I enjoyed the music but I can appreciate that someone might not. And it addresses problems of depth perception, and also points out that the difficulty may be a turn-off, which is entirely valid.)

TL;DR: I think that critics in general have too much preference for newfangled stuff (in both novelty value and current-gen-ish appearances).

(Yeah, yeah, you can probably poke lots of holes through this argument as it stands. I'm too lazy busy lazy to look up more Metacritic pages for games I'm familiar with to compare them with more statistical rigor than a few anecdotes...)

Edit

I think that that they put in the checkpoints in Mutant Mudds in the Steam version (which I played) after the release of the 3DS/WiiU version. The checkpoints definitely contribute to the challenge level feeling reasonable, so that might be why people talked about it being more difficult than I thought it was.

Also, GameFAQs gives an 84 metacritic score for Mutant Mudds, but Metacritic itself says it's 61. It turns out that the listing for Mutant Mudds is not the same as for Mutant Mudds Deluxe.

Well, I guess that invalidates like over half my post. Whatever. I'm just going to leave this here to see what everyone's thoughts are on the issue anyway.

This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 21st April 2014 21:21

--------------------

Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

TES's D'nD roots are what's holding the games back from being literally the best videogame series in existence.

--------------------

Arts

Farts

Twarts

Quote (Narratorway @ 22nd April 2014 00:00)

TES's D'nD roots are what's holding the games back from being literally the best videogame series in existence.

But that's so integral to what the games are, that would make them fundamentally different games.

--------------------

Praise Be To Helix!

That common delusional sentiment is pretty much exactly what I'm talking about. The pen and paper system is just that: pens and papers. They're a simple set of number-based systems meant to represent things that cannot be reasonably represented in real space and time. That's a perfectly reasonable compromise for an interactive experience that is being handled by a group of people sitting round a table in their mother's basement, but it doesn't make sense for a game where a computer can easily handle the back end systems without muddling the gameplay for the player.

While it can be argued that TES doesn't use AD'nD directly, its stat-based mechanics are a direct descendant of those kinds of pen and paper systems and they create a massive disconnect between the world they create and the level of meaningful interaction you have in it.

This wouldn't be a problem if your actions weren't supposed to have meaning on any personal level, such as Minecraft, but nope. The games have stories to tell, told through interaction with the worlds and characters that inhabit them and you are meant to be a participant in what are meant to be meaningful experiences, but they can't be when the games are so brazenly indifferent to the actions you take and focus entirely on what the numbers say. Yes stat-based systems allow for a greater variety of play, but since that play isn't dictated by the player, it renders it meaningless.

This post has been edited by Narratorway on 23rd April 2014 09:16

--------------------

Arts

Farts

Twarts

Okay, let me get this straight- the personal insult of tabletop gamers aside- a system of statistics and numbers- the determination of success and failure "muddies" the gameplay's storytelling experience?

I guess I see your point, there. That being said, let me ask this question- what's the alternative?

I can think of a few:

People whine about the interactivity of Skyward Sword, due to the fact that you actually have to move the controller to correspond with Link's actions. One proposed alternative would be to create MORE interaction, having every action defined by your motions in real life. This means that you are basically controlling the game, based on your physical capabilities/deficiencies, and your personal knowledge of things. The latter can be countered with in game information, but therein lies a problem. If Skyward Sword was too interactive, then what would folk say about a game like that?

The second option would be to have zero chance of failure at any action you take. This annihilates any challenge whatsoever, and takes away from the realism of it all.

You could use the old interactive formula, like Myst, Shadowgate, or Uninvited. This seriously limits the number of actions a character can do, and limits game situations to one, two, or possibly three solutions.

There's only so much an AI can do. What else can one do to work with that problem?

--------------------

"So, are you a fan of the Fett?"

"Nah, I'm more of a Star Wars guy."

Quote (chevleclair @ 23rd April 2014 05:53)

There's only so much an AI can do. What else can one do to work with that problem?

Not use false dichotomies for a start.

Ignoring that this isn't an issue of AI, there's pleeeenty of options available for replacing the disconnected mechanics of TES, far too numerous to mention, but a simple setup would be taking any action that can be performed outside the world (i.e. pauses the game and opens up a menu/prompt/etc. and asking how it can be accomplished in-world instead.

--------------------

Arts

Farts

Twarts

Nway can you give some specific examples of DnD mechanics hampering the Elder Scrolls experience pls?

--------------------

www.youtube.com/blinje
The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens

The Infinite Bag of Holding. Stats preventing hits. Status effects through text. Etcetera.

--------------------

Arts

Farts

Twarts