What are you playing right now?

[Eerongal he/him]

Hahahahaha... NO. Yeesh, I cannot do horror at all! Not games, not movies, not anything. I'm such a wuss when it comes to that kind of stuff. I watched a little bit of Tobuscus's Dead Space playthrough and it freaked me out. I can't handle his videos of Amnesia: The Dark Descent either. My overactive writer's imagination takes horror concepts I see and churns them around in terrifying now iterations for weeks. It's awful.

Seriously, the dwemer ruins in Skyrim are scary enough that I almost gave up that game. And they're not even supposed to be that scary.

IMO, calling dead space a "horror" game is a bit of a stretch. It's more like a rather visceral action game with "gotcha" moments.

What you SHOULD play is either Penumbra: Overture or Amnesia: the dark descent (as you mentioned above)

[FeatherWriter she/her]

Yeah, those "gotcha" moments - definitely not my friend. They show up in action movies sometimes too and they get me every time. A game comprised of those would be sort of my worst nightmare. Like, I really want to go see Cabin In The Woods because it's Joss Whedon, but it's also technically horror, so I don't know if I can handle it. Grr... It's like if Brandon somehow wrote a horror novel. (Do those exist? Thrillers I guess...) I'd be totally conflicted.

I can't even play shooters because they freak me out. Even things like Halo, Call of Duty or Splinter Cell are too scary for me. Yeah, Amnesia would send me catatonic I'm sure. For crying out loud, the part in the original Portal where you get out of the testing rooms and you're back behind the scenes almost made me shut the game off. I scare easily to say the least.

[Eerongal he/him]

Yeah, those "gotcha" moments - definitely not my friend. They show up in action movies sometimes too and they get me every time. A game comprised of those would be sort of my worst nightmare. Like, I really want to go see Cabin In The Woods because it's Joss Whedon, but it's also technically horror, so I don't know if I can handle it. Grr... It's like if Brandon somehow wrote a horror novel. (Do those exist? Thrillers I guess...) I'd be totally conflicted.

I can't even play shooters because they freak me out. Even things like Halo, Call of Duty or Splinter Cell are too scary for me. Yeah, Amnesia would send me catatonic I'm sure. For crying out loud, the part in the original Portal where you get out of the testing rooms and you're back behind the scenes almost made me shut the game off. I scare easily to say the least.

Amnesia is on sale on steam today! It's totally a sign that you need to get it and record yourself playing it! You know you want to!

[FeatherWriter she/her]

You are evil, Eero. Tempt me not!

[Lady_Yasha she/her]

Amnesia is a great game. Anyone that doesn't play it really is missing out on a great experience.

I'm playing Dark Souls currently.

[Strawberry Eggs she/her]

More progress in Xenoblade, though I have been doing a lot of sidequests. I'm taking care of the ones that have are "timed" (I think those clock icons just means they disappear after a point of no return? I'm not certain). I also played through the DS game Atelier Annie twice. It's the first time I played an Atelier game, and I greatly enjoyed it. It's so very charming.

I've been flipping between the DS game Solatorobo and the GBA game Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand. I want to concentrate on the latter, and while I know the sun isn't absolutely essential, it does make things easier. Sadly, it's been rather rainy these past few days...

[Lady_Yasha she/her]

Pokemon Diamond

[Tamzin Ashevai she/her]

I'm not much of a gamer and never have been. I wasn't really drawn to gaming, despite that I was a teen when Pac-Man first came out. Perhaps this is due to the fact that my family didn't have Atari or any other comparable system of the day. However, there was a local pizza place that had some table-top games and I remember playing Centipede when I was there on occasion. Later, I played Snafu with a young boy whom I babysat. (I know well just how much I'm 'dating' myself in stating this.)

After I joined Facebook (obviously, many years since that previous time), I played some of the Zinga games for a very short while. I got bored with their repetitiveness and, eventually, requested that all games updates from Friends be deleted from my Home page. I've also deleted all games invites from Friends since then. I think I'm just a different sort of geek.

Edited August 24, 2012 by Tamzin Ashevai

[Riddlesinthedark he/him]

Lots and lots of League of Legends, lately. It runs better than Dota on my laptop, and I've fallen in with some old friends that all play often.

Summoner name: Riddlesinthedark

[Windrunner he/him]

I hope nobody takes this the wrong way because I have to say that I don't play games ... of any kind. What I mean by this statement is just my simple truth. I don't play games of any kind so I'm not a candidate for "points" based on contests which might earn me such merits which might compromise my own integrity.. If I gain anything, I think I will have earned it; I won't have WON anything. OKAY? I hope so. Let's go!

I find myself annoyed and a little confused at the passive aggressive tone of this post. Wouldn't a simple, "I don't care for video games" suffice? Or perhaps nothing at all really. This isn't a topic about whether or nor you like games and why, it's about what games you are playing. So by default, everyone who posts in this particular topic is going to like games. Wouldn't you be better off maybe starting a topic where you could get a lively debate going on the merits and detriments of video games? I think it would be better then posting potentially inflamatory things here.

In addition to that, you mention "compromising my own integrity" by playing video games. It seems that you're implying that playing video games causes people to be immoral? I'd take offense at that for sure. I don't play video games extremely often but I know that they don't detract from my sense of right and wrong or make me a worse person.

I'm not even sure where you're going with the end of this post. Have you switched from talking about games to some sort of metaphor for life? We don't play just to get "points", "merits" or level up. Sure becoming skillful at doing cool things that I can't do in real life is fun. I could never climb buildings in Constantinople with my bare hands. But Ezio sure can. It's really not all that different from reading a book, the best games have you there for the story. You never want video games to become all you do but you never really want just one activity to dominate your whole life anyway, right? If you spent all your time reading, or playing water polo, or playing chess, you really aren't any better off. It's not even about playing to win, it's playing for enjoyment. Same as any other activity.

So maybe video games aren't your thing. It's not really necessary to deride people who enjoy them, is it? Or imply that the whole activity is shallow and immoral?

[Link Von Kelsier Harvey he/him]

I'm about twentyish chapters into The Last Story, and I am really enjoying it so far. Though my discovery that it is possible to miss entire chapters if you don't explore enough has me running all over the city, checking every nook and cranny for sidequests, etc.

[Tamzin Ashevai she/her]

I find myself annoyed and a little confused at the passive aggressive tone of this post. Wouldn't a simple, "I don't care for video games" suffice? Or perhaps nothing at all really. This isn't a topic about whether or nor you like games and why, it's about what games you are playing. So by default, everyone who posts in this particular topic is going to like games. Wouldn't you be better off maybe starting a topic where you could get a lively debate going on the merits and detriments of video games? I think it would be better then posting potentially inflamatory things here.

In addition to that, you mention "compromising my own integrity" by playing video games. It seems that you're implying that playing video games causes people to be immoral? I'd take offense at that for sure. I don't play video games extremely often but I know that they don't detract from my sense of right and wrong or make me a worse person.

I'm not even sure where you're going with the end of this post. Have you switched from talking about games to some sort of metaphor for life? We don't play just to get "points", "merits" or level up. Sure becoming skillful at doing cool things that I can't do in real life is fun. I could never climb buildings in Constantinople with my bare hands. But Ezio sure can. It's really not all that different from reading a book, the best games have you there for the story. You never want video games to become all you do but you never really want just one activity to dominate your whole life anyway, right? If you spent all your time reading, or playing water polo, or playing chess, you really aren't any better off. It's not even about playing to win, it's playing for enjoyment. Same as any other activity.

So maybe video games aren't your thing. It's not really necessary to deride people who enjoy them, is it? Or imply that the whole activity is shallow and immoral?

Please allow me to apologize for the perceived tone of the post I made regarding video games, which I've since edited. I hope that you'll review it. My intent certainly wasn't at all to be passive/aggressive and/or inflammatory. Never was it my intent to deride those who enjoy gaming, nor to imply that the activity is shallow and immoral. It's just not for me; that's all. With this in mind, I have to admit that I'm a generation beyond many members here and my exposure to and experiences within the growth of technology and all that the internet has made available worldwide has been amazing; not just a given. My first computer was the very first Mac and, then, the Mac Plus. A friend of mine was instrumental in developing True Basic. So, now you know I'm old enough to be someone's mother, but I'm not. Perhaps the generational gap aids in making me seem what you perceived. Perhaps my experience/inexperience characterizes some of my responses. Please be assured that I'll be more sensitive to the responses of others on-site given these differences. In all honesty, I'm really happy to be here; to be a part of this.

[Lady_Yasha she/her]

What you have to remember also Tamzin, is that the people here might not be of your generation, but even the younger of our members may have found technology at an early age too. I myself was playing with a ZX Spectrum in the 90's and found arcade gaming as little as 4 years old.

Retro gaming was a big part of my life that I actively sought games from the 80's - old 2D side-scrollers and text-based adventures.

While I know you weren't trying to insult anyone and Windrunner has already covered that, I just want to mention that games have a story too. It seems you perceive games as mere vehicles towards a digital accomplishment. True, they are that, especially in games that have a high risk-reward system. But games have come along way in three decades to the point where they are just as much a story as books.

Some games I play for the sheer enjoyment, the thrill of being able to do things I'd never be able to do in reality, or to experience fantastical worlds of magic and myth. Others I like to be immersed in the story, the culture, the history. Look at the Elder Scrolls series, how much lore do you think exists in that? Sometimes I just sit around reading in-game books on the history of Tamriel, then I'll go to the wiki and read more.

Some games are gateways to the level of intrigue you'd find in an epic fantasy series like Wheel of Time. They are now a medium by which to entertain and distract us from reality, where we can be absorbed by wonder and majesty.

---

Playing: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

It's O.K. but don't expect to be blown away by it. I feel it's like any other action game these days that force you into situations you can't avoid. At points you're forced to kill people in your path when you're trying to be sneaky, and then thrown into firefights because, hey, why not?

The "tactics" are pretty slim too. GRAW seemed more well balanced than Future Soldier is with context sensitive commands. In FS you are able to mark targets, perform synchronised shots and... that's it. The only use your team perform is in providing back-up in fire-fights, which the game recommends you avoid. Fortunately, you're not penalized for being compromised, though some sub-objectives require stealth where I see opportunities to just gun my way through.

The multiplayer is fun, though I wish they had more customization a la Rainbow Six and some game modes that aren't blatantly Call of Duty.

Edited August 25, 2012 by Lyrebon

[Windrunner he/him]

It's all good Tamzin. I was fairly certain that you weren't intending to be rude and your level-headed response confirms this. Thank you for being understanding.

[Voidus]

Re-playing Skyrim for around the 7th time

[Lady_Yasha she/her]

Replaying. You actually have 7 characters?

I wanted it for the PC so I could mod the hell out of it but I don't really care about getting another desktop. They're too clunky.

[Voidus]

Well I didn't get too far with some of them but yeah 7 Characters, my problem is I keep trying to play as a certain class but then forget and revert back to my rogue play-style Yay for PC mods!

[Lady_Yasha she/her]

I love rogue style characters but I've made myself use others now aswel. I had Morrowind for the PC so I could just screw around with the stats and be whatever the hell I wanted whenever.

So far I have a Sword/Shield Nord Warrior (+Restoration, Forging, and Enchanting), a Khajiit Battlemage (One-handed weapons, LOTS OF DESTRUCTION), and a Wood Elf rogue (+Alchemy and Archery).

[Voidus]

My latest is a dual-swords wielding Redguard, I've also got a Dark Elf mage, an Argonian Rogue (Dual daggers) and a Wood elf rogue (Illusion and Archery) all the rest are weird class wise because they became stealth characters half-way through

[Salmakia she/her]

I'm working through several games at once at the moment. Final Fantasy IV, VI and VII, Tales of the Abyss and Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the 3DS.

I'm near the end in both FF IV and VII, but methinks I have quite a way to go before I complete Final Fantasy VI!

I have played Ocarina of Time before - on the Gamecube - but my save file corrupted after I won Epona! And then my friend decided I had GIVEN her the disc I said she could borrow. The remastered version on the 3DS is quite spectacular though.

Edited August 27, 2012 by Salmakia

[Harbinger]

I'm still playing Skyrim mostly. I've had the game since February and I still haven't finished the main quest line. Either I go off exploring and killing zombies in crypts or or change characters cause I want to see how it would be like to do this or that differently. I've at least finished some of the side story lines like the Dark Brotherhood and the Mage's College.

[Tulir he/him]

I just finished/got bored with the games that I own and was wondering what video games people would recomend. I like puzzle games like Portal and Portal 2, I like more mystical/sci-fi oriented themes and I like a storyline. I was looking at Skyrim and the Mass Effect trilogy, but I want to hear what other people would recomend, so recomend away!

[Voidus]

I'd definitely recommend Skyrim Mass effect had good gameplay and story but the ending still irritates me.

[Link Von Kelsier Harvey he/him]

Just wrapped up The Last Story, which I quite enjoyed. So, back to Kingdom Hearts II.

[Joe ST he/him]

Just found a game called Glitch, which is a lot of fun.