zompist bboard

Since there's a steam sale these days <remember, ONLY BUY THE DAILY DEALS> I thought it would be a nice time to discuss videogames.

for example, I just bought Antichamber and it makes my head hurt... its kind of a deconstructionist videogame with weirder puzzles than Portal, more jarring colours than Mirror's Edge, and a spookier, more intimate atmosphere than Braid... its good, don't get me wrong, but weeeeird. How far have games come that we have deconstructionist videogames, man!

so what have you been playing?

I don't have time or opportunity to play new games. I managed to play a little GTA 4 while the wife and children were away for a week, but they're back, so no more opportunities.

So then maybe I will play Thief 1 & 2 for the 2000th time each.

I've been laying FEZ. The game turns to be rather... relaxing. There's no enemy, only puzzles.

Minecraft, sporadically.

I don't really play games anymore. Hell, I don't do anything anymore, come to think of it.

Oh dear.

Old thief games be the shit!

I don't really play computer games - never have much, and even less since the '90s ended - but I am now finally getting around to playing Thief.

It's quite good, although I think I may find it becoming repetitive.

Are you playing the new thief game or the good old ones?

The Myst series.

Torco wrote:Are you playing the new thief game or the good old ones?

The original, of course. Well, not the original original. Thief Gold.

I play mostly Civ IV, and sometimes Angry Birds on my mobile. Nothing original.

Salmoneus wrote:

Torco wrote:Are you playing the new thief game or the good old ones?

The original, of course. Well, not the original original. Thief Gold.

The Lord smiles upon you, then xD
but seriously, how is it repetitive? each level in Thief 1 is such that there's like nine thousand ways to beat it. Its kind of the the old Hitman games in that regard <never played absolution, but I fear they may have gotten CoDded>

KathAveara wrote:The Myst series.

Never got around to trying them: like, I understand they're awesome and well-crafted, but I get the feeling they may be a bit tedious as well... am I founded in that suspicion?

Torco wrote:

KathAveara wrote:Myst

tedious

You have no idea. However, once you get into the games, and are prepared to not rage-quit or consult a walkthrough, it does become very fun. Especially if you play with a friend.

KathAveara wrote:

Torco wrote:

KathAveara wrote:Myst

tedious

You have no idea. However, once you get into the games, and are prepared to not rage-quit or consult a walkthrough, it does become very fun. Especially if you play with a friend.

awww... sounds like the kind of game best played when one has an abundance of free time. Alas =(

Yeah. Plus, there is an abundant backstory only hinted at in the games.

They're a series of novels, right ?

The Myst novels were written by a commissioned authors and deviate in a few places from what Cyan staff consider canon, but they're pretty close. Reviewers revile them because they're so meticulously atmospheric, but they wouldn't really be Myst paraphernalia if they didn't!

I've played Antichamber, too, and it's definitely one of the best games ever made. If you enjoyed it you might also like:

• The Stanley Parable: originally an HL2 mod, really funny, plays with space in the same way Antichamber does. Commentary about game narrative design. Old version still free?
• Dear Esther: also originally an HL2 mod. No gameplay whatsoever; no puzzles or combat. Just listen to the narrative and walk and look around. Which parts of the story you hear are randomized in some areas, so you have to play through the game multiple times to hear everything. Not ideal for people still learning English, though; it has a pretty demanding literary style. Old version still free, but the remake is really, really pretty.
• Korsakovia: same authors as Dear Esther. About an alcoholic who's gone crazy. Played from the alcoholic's perspective. Tricky to figure out what's real and what isn't. Older HL2 mod, free.
• Quantum Conundrum: some of the Portal developers didn't like the direction Portal 2 was going, so they quit and made this instead. Narration by John de Lancie (Q from Star Trek) as a crazy inventor uncle. The portal gun is replaced with the ability to switch between laws of physics.
• The Swapper: sidescrolling puzzle game, also based around a device and a gimmick: in this case it's the ability to create clones far away that copy your actions. You can transfer your soul between them. The plot and atmosphere are both amazing; you're trapped on a space station with everyone else dead. The claymation-y art style, while usually too subtle to stick out, creates a feeling of primordiality that is otherwise hard to capture in when your avatar is a space suit. The story is about the implications of the swapping device and what constitutes self, making it at least as cerebral as Antichamber but more philosophically interrogatory.

...and, yes, seriously, play the Myst series, all six games (and the two slightly different versions of Uru, Complete Chronicles and Myst Online.) The later games are a rite of passage for building a conworld with a Mesoamerican theme in the same sense that Tolkien is a rite of passage for a Northern European theme, although with a lot more technology than the real deal. Uru is what spurred me to get serious about worldbuilding and language creation.

Rhetorica wrote:Uru is what spurred me to get serious about worldbuilding and language creation.

Same here!

One of the best games ever made, huh? good reason to try it again, then. Can't say I've had a great time with it so far, though.
Stanley parable is excellent.. I'll definitely try Korsakovia, even though Dear Esther was not precisely my cup of sake.

Torco wrote:

Salmoneus wrote:

Torco wrote:Are you playing the new thief game or the good old ones?

The original, of course. Well, not the original original. Thief Gold.

The Lord smiles upon you, then xD
but seriously, how is it repetitive? each level in Thief 1 is such that there's like nine thousand ways to beat it. Its kind of the the old Hitman games in that regard <never played absolution, but I fear they may have gotten CoDded>

Thief Gold and Thief 2 are two of my favourite PC games. Hitman 2 is also pretty fun.
The best things about these games is that you can invent your own rules to play them. When I play the Thief games I always add my own rules that don't exist in the game, like making knockouts illegal, and considering being spotted by a guard a fail, so I have to reload from my previous save game. This makes it pretty cool when you time your runs just right so you can slip through their patrol routes. There are some guards (like at the end of Bafford's manor) that are basically impossible to avoid though, unless you get creative.

Or you can do the opposite and completely disallow both fighting and reloading, which makes the game really hard (I only play on expert difficulty).

Torco wrote:I'll definitely try Korsakovia, even though Dear Esther was not precisely my cup of sake.

Korsakovia's an actual puzzle-and-dodge-enemies game, it just has very Esther-y narrative.

There are some guards (like at the end of Bafford's manor) that are basically impossible to avoid though, unless you get creative.

SPOILER
If they're the guards I'm thinking of, I just grab like a cup from somewhere and throw it near them to distract them. they'll go investigate the noise and I'll quietly sneak past 'em. Or snipe 'em with broadheads xD

What have I been playing... just finished The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds the other day (cute game with extremely awesome music, if a bit short and easy) and went through another playthrough of Twilight Princess (looooong, but easy in most places; seriously, the bosses are jokes, for one).

I've been playing Animal Crossing New Leaf which is just adorable beyond belief sometimes, and Pokémon Y, which I finished the main part of the game a week or two ago.

Might get Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, or LoZ: Ocarina of Time for the 3DS, but not sure which would be more satisfying. (Maybe OOT, as I've never actually gotten very far in the game… :s )

You guys are arty... I'm having way too much fun playing Saints Row IV (which finally went on sale).

I just bought Left 4 Dead a couple days ago and played it for the first time. It was okay, but got repetitive. Maybe it would've been a better experience if I played with humans instead of computers.

Other than that, I'm (re)learning to speed-run The Legend of Zelda : The Oracle of Seasons. About 6 months ago, I learned the game and finished it in 2:36:xx, but then I lost interest, so I have to relearn everything (and learn some things that I never learned the first time) now. I aim to get under 2 hours.

What have I been playing... just finished The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds the other day (cute game with extremely awesome music, if a bit short and easy)

LBW looks very good, but unfortunately I don't have a 3DS.

On the topic of Nintendo, I'm amazed that they have managed to keep the quality of their games so good for so long. The only terrible Zelda games are the infamous CDI ones, which weren't even made by Nintendo.