The Video Game thread

[Andrew]

I feel like a lot of these big games on the sale don't really seem any fun. I've been thinking a lot about how much more fun I had playing video games when I was younger. there was just something special about playing games back then that isn't quite there now. part of me thinks that older games are more about gameplay, but maybe i'm not digging deep enough into modern games

Definitely agree with enjoying games differently, though I think that older games just didn't have the technology or funding to fully demonstrate what the Developers had in mind. I don't see that the gameplay in older games as being 'better', Artificial Intelligence in games just wasn't anywhere near as refined as it is now. The clunkiness was just apart of the gameplay, I love System Shock 2 but even the running and weapon degrading systems weren't fully optimized.


But, i'm the sort of person that would rather replay 10 favourite games than tolerate 100 decent ones. Hell, I literally just finished Snake Eater again.

[ChetMagongalo]

Honestly AI is still pretty terrible in most video games I play. I personally haven't seen great leaps and strides in that area but that could just be my experience.

[Twangasaurus]

There was plenty of stuff I wanted to pick up but I was too broke. Farcry 3 was one of the only games I did manage to get and it won't even fucking launch and none of the fixes I've found are working. Guess I will just go back to playing Trials or something...

[chuckjaywalk]

The Steam sale is finally over. I have quite a backlog now.

[leaves turn]

I feel like a lot of these big games on the sale don't really seem any fun. I've been thinking a lot about how much more fun I had playing video games when I was younger. there was just something special about playing games back then that isn't quite there now. part of me thinks that older games are more about gameplay, but maybe i'm not digging deep enough into modern games

Definitely agree with enjoying games differently, though I think that older games just didn't have the technology or funding to fully demonstrate what the Developers had in mind. I don't see that the gameplay in older games as being 'better', Artificial Intelligence in games just wasn't anywhere near as refined as it is now. The clunkiness was just apart of the gameplay, I love System Shock 2 but even the running and weapon degrading systems weren't fully optimized.


But, i'm the sort of person that would rather replay 10 favourite games than tolerate 100 decent ones. Hell, I literally just finished Snake Eater again.

I think I just had lower standards/didn't know any better back in the day. My brother and I sunk countless hours into freakin' Quest 64 because it was pretty much the only RPG for N64 (we found Hybrid Heaven and Ogre Battle later). That game is awful, but we didn't really care. We worked within the confines of our few Nintendo systems.

I didn't buy anything this sale because I think I'd be happier with the dollar.

[gunslinger_burrito]

I feel like a lot of these big games on the sale don't really seem any fun. I've been thinking a lot about how much more fun I had playing video games when I was younger. there was just something special about playing games back then that isn't quite there now. part of me thinks that older games are more about gameplay, but maybe i'm not digging deep enough into modern games

It's hard for me to find games that captivate me for the same reason. I think it may be similar to how as you get older, it becomes harder to identify with the younger generation's music. Plus when you're young, everything is still really new to you, so the games you played had a lasting impression. These days, it's easy for me to think "Oh, ANOTHER one of those games..... But I've started playing Dark Souls 2, and while I kind of suck at it, the fact that the gameplay is challenging makes me want to play it more. I torrented it to try it out, because I wasn't sure I'd want to pay for a game that could possibly just frustrate me, but now I'm thinking that if I have some spare cash I'll get it to be able to play online. Even Skyrim, which I played the shit out of, got boring quite often, just because the combat could get pretty monotonous. I miss games like Final Fantasy 7-12 (not 11) because they had stories that were worth a shit, captivating music, diverse environments, and overall variety. It feels to me like a lot of newer games are kind of white-washed, if that makes any sense. two cents

[GardenoftheDead]

Honestly AI is still pretty terrible in most video games I play. I personally haven't seen great leaps and strides in that area but that could just be my experience.

Not just you. AI in general has basically stalled since Halo.

[Andrew]

Honestly AI is still pretty terrible in most video games I play. I personally haven't seen great leaps and strides in that area but that could just be my experience.

Not just you. AI in general has basically stalled since Halo.

If you look at Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite, which is one of the most complex NPCs in terms of sheer technical development. The environmental and combat subtleties alone were one of the biggest reasons why the game was delayed for so long. Elizabeth Interacting with certain objects then prompting dialog, hiding and assisting in combat as well as portraying emotional responses in a convincing and realistic way is one of the most impressive feats in gaming. The reason why so much effort was put into Elizabeth was simply so the players would develop an emotional connection to her and the story, the NPC is a vessel served directly to the player for dialog and gameplay.

The reason why other Game Companies don't produce any other sophisticated AIs is simply because they only exist to be Helmet headed or Balaclava wearing Mercenaries for you to shoot - so they can slightly move when you attack them. They're non entities, they're masked simply so it dehumanizes the act so you don't feel bad about mowing down 80 Police Officers. The average gamer doesn't care about the programming of "The Enemy" as long as they have a high kill count that they achieved by using fancy looking guns that they spend 20 hours trying to earn. Developers would rather inject money into Textures and Sound design than to create enemies interacting in a convincing way. What would be the incentive for Devs to make anything that ceases to exist after you shove a round of bullets in them? It's just a power fantasy.

The game industry is so bloated and unbalanced in terms of funding. Games are regurgitated purely to keep the investors happy, but don't sell the unrealistic amount they need to so the investors get pissed because they didn't get the money back, the gamers are pissed because they got a lesser experience and the CEOs blame the pirates for stealing their content when they were making the games noone's prepared to buy for full price. Then gamers get pissed which makes my head hurt. This is the problem with modern gaming.

[foomanfat]

AI chat: Ellie in Last Of Us and the enemies in FEAR

[Sparrow]

i'm going to put on my Ring of Whispers .. and go talk to Manscorpion Tark!

no really. i am.

[jfrey]

The artwork for Duelyst is amazing.

http://www.artstation.com/artist/shant

[chuckjaywalk]

Play Grim Dawn. It is fun and brutal. Also, Hotline Miami.

[LOCOPELAND]

i'm going to put on my Ring of Whispers .. and go talk to Manscorpion Tark!

no really. i am.

Make sure you talk to him after killing the bosses of that area for some loot, yo

[leaves turn]

New Dwarf Fortress release is due soon, maybe this month. One of these days I'm going to invade hell before I get bored and start over.

[Wes Mantooth]

i'm going to put on my Ring of Whispers .. and go talk to Manscorpion Tark!

no really. i am.

I had no idea what his deal was so I just killed him, good loot. Only NPC that I killed though.