Poetic thief on 8/6/2010 at 21:17
Yeah, I know that sounds completely insane :weird:, but please bear with me.
What I mean is I much prefer games where I feel like I'm a human being who was transported to an alternate reality. RPG games are my favorite genre because by design, they transplant you to a new world with its own lore, its own settings, and you generally get to play a human being who is interacting with that world in some way.
But when it comes to games that play like... games.... I feel cold. I have trouble playing games that remind me that I'm playing a game.
That's the difference between a game like Thief where I feel like I'm a human being transplanted to this strange steampunk medieval world, and a game like Plants vs. Zombies where I'm constantly reminded that I'm playing a game. Note, I'm not saying that P vs. Z is a bad game, mind you. It's just that I feel much more involved and immersed in games of the former sort than the latter sort.
This also explains why I didn't like Borderlands. There's too much of a gamey aspect to it. I am one of those people who were upset with the presence of Levi Dryden selling a DLC in my camp in Dragon Age. I also don't care for achievements at all because again, they remind me that I'm just in a game. If a game gives me the option to turn off things like floating damage numbers, I always take advantage of that. Watching numbers floating around on screen just becomes too distracting and again gamey.
Let's see if there is anyone else on this green earth who could relate to this... ha
Sulphur on 8/6/2010 at 21:23
So you prefer playing games for the escapism they afford. Not an altogether uncommon thing.
Chade on 8/6/2010 at 22:19
Thief and System-Shock were very good at escapism, so I imagine you'll find a lot of people on TTLG share your tastes.
Personally, I can go either way. On a practical note, however, I've recently found it impossible to meet the requirements for that sort of immersion (dark room, no distracting sounds, etc). I never previously realised what sort of demands "escapism" places on the rest of your life.
Poetic thief on 8/6/2010 at 22:44
Quote Posted by Chade
Thief and System-Shock were very good at escapism, so I imagine you'll find a lot of people on TTLG share your tastes.
Personally, I can go either way. On a practical note, however, I've recently found it impossible to meet the requirements for that sort of immersion (dark room, no distracting sounds, etc). I never previously realised what sort of demands "escapism" places on the rest of your life.
Yeah... I guess I might be preaching to the choir by coming to a place with people who liked system shock and thief.
I always feel like I'm in a tiny, tiny minority though. Things that bother me about some games, other people just shrug off in a "whatever" kind of way. E.g. I stopped playing Jade Empire because the combat was too much of a gamey, button-mashing arcade-fest. A damn shame because the game excelled in other areas.
I play myself all the time in real life, so when I sit down to play a game, I don't want to be the person behind the keyboard. I want to be a new character in a new world.
I understand that escapism might be hard to achieve if you have screaming toddlers running around the house, but isn't that the point of it? The fact that it might take work and juggling your schedule makes it feel all the sweeter when you're finally swept away :D
ZylonBane on 8/6/2010 at 22:53
This just in: Poetic thief hates Tetris, Pac-Man, having a soul.
Poetic thief on 8/6/2010 at 22:56
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
This just in: Poetic thief hates Tetris, Pac-Man, having a soul.
I agree with one and two...I don't understand what you mean by three...
SubJeff on 8/6/2010 at 23:13
I don't feel the same way as you Poetic, but I get you. I really like that feeling of being transported to elsewhere and FPS games, for me, are the only games that really do it. I don't get the same feeling in 3rd person games even though I might enjoy them. There is something about experiencing the world without anything really interfering with my perception of it that gets me there in a way that even "gamey" elements like the stuff in Borderlands takes away.
I loved Max Payne 2 for the gameplay and the writing/plot. But I came away feeling I'd watched a good film, whereas with SS2, Thief, HL2 et al I felt I'd experienced something.
There have been a couple of short and moving indie games out recently (I forget names - one was putting together words and finally sleeping) that really did it for me but I never got the same "experience" feeling that something like Dear Ester could give me.
ZylonBane on 9/6/2010 at 01:44
When it comes to food that tastes like... food.... I feel cold. I have trouble eating food that reminds me that I'm eating food.
PigLick on 9/6/2010 at 03:38
if you are gonna be an insufferable ass, then at least be funny about it.
ZylonBane on 9/6/2010 at 03:48
I'm sorry, your post was just too much like a PigLick post for me to feel immersed. Try posting less like yourself next time, 'kay?
