Vidya Gaems General

MadassAlex

Hey Malk, you should check out Dragon's Dogma. 

It's made by some of the guys responsible for DMC (and it shows in the dedicated combat classes), but it's an open-world JRPG/WRPG hybrid that becomes survival horror at night. 

Malkavian

I'll check it out.

Oh, also I remember think DMC1 looked so awesome when I first played it and I think the HD revamp does it a disservice.

AttObl

@LouieW:

I am glad to see someone else around here looking forward to PSO2. What class are you planning on playing?

A Cast Ranger or a Human Hunter.

Lai

@Alex: No clue. I'd like to say yes though, that's just how I feel about it.

Icalasari

Biggest problem with Minecraft: Oh dear god WHY does it make my laptop so hot within and hour or two it takes a whole night for Skyrim to do the same so WHY!?

glennmagusharvey

The purpose of this thread is to sink IJBMer updates, 'cause we all know how long that will last without vidya conversation.

(warning: loud)

That is, that music games are music first and games a distant second, which seems to have more or less completely defined all music games since then.

I don't know about you, but to me, my favorite music videogame is DDR/Stepmania and I think of it as music and dance first.  The dance is the gameplay, however, so I guess that's also gameplay first.

Incidentally, even indie games like Frets on Fire and Phase Shift, are preoccupied with being like Rock Band, rather than on being good games in their own right.

I don't know about Phase Shift, but IIRC the whole point of Frets on Fire is to be imitation Guitar Hero.

I enjoy mastering my skills

If I don't enjoy mastering my skills at a game, does that make me a casual player?

While these might be approximations of the dichotomy as it stands, I don't really like it, if for no other reason than it fails to describe my place in all this. For instance, I don't play an excessively large amount of games, but what I do or have played is pretty diverse; pretty much everything from SRPGs to old and new FPS games to hack-and-slash to platformer to adventure games and so on. My daily play time is probably somewhere between nothing and three hours depending, and I've been playing games since I was four years old. Then again, I'll spend weeks or months not playing any games at all, and other times, I'll get a game I've been anticipating and throw five or six hours into it per a day for as long as it lasts. Furthermore, I take an analytical approach and try to understand the experience and why the game causes it.

So I feel like I can sympathise with both groups. Like a casual gamer, I essentially play for the core experience and don't really care for much that's peripheral to that, and I see accessibility as a definite plus in game design. But I also appreciate deeper experiences, even at the cost of accessibility, while at the same time caring little for multiplayer.

I have a pretty similar perspective on the hardcore/casual divide.

I'm a casual hardcore gamer.  I have a long history of gaming, and I'm very dedicated to the games that I play, even if I have less time than I used to to play them.  I also really enjoy that feeling of accomplishment when I get into a game I like and do something cool with it, such as beating it.  I'm also very analytical about games that I like; I speak their praises (and criticisms too!), I listen to their music, and I might even download some wallpapers or avatars.

However, I don't really play anything the hardcore crowd plays.  I'm also terribly unwilling to practice at any game.  Well, if I find it fun I might be enticed to play it over and over again, or if I'm really driven by the storyline, I might try a battle over and over again until I win.  But other than that...the only reason I've sunken countless hours playing Spelunky is because it's really easy to pick up, it provides a new experience every game (as the levels are procedurally/randomly generated), and each game is quick (just a few minutes, typically).

Just finished Metroid Prime. I still can't believe this game was made 10 years ago.

Wait, really?  It's been ten years already???

Minecraft

Never played it.  Dunno if I'd like it, or if my computer could even run it.  Have played Terraria a ton.  Though I still haven't advanced my world to hardmode.

Fire Emblem

I tried playing FE7.  It was okay.  I mean, the story was nice, the characters were cool, the music was okay, the gameplay was tedious in the sense of, if I really want to engage in in-depth strategizing, then I'd better be prepared to be thinking about the game for the better part of a day.  Or two.  This has been the biggest reason I've basically dropped the game.

Lai

Hunted a Great Jaggi again with 3 people this time.

It went down much easier this time. :V

MadassAlex

I hope you're ready for the next major monster that shows up. Unfortunately, the Great Jaggi is a cakewalk in comparison -- in fact, it's probably the most difficult early game monster all-up due to its moveset. While it goes down pretty easy once you get advanced enough gear that you're dealing major damage, its particular behaviours and set of abilities is bullshit to the nth degree. 

Lai

I didn't find the Great Jaggi to be too bullshit. I just thought it took a while to beat it down and and a bit tricky at times.

1st time with just me and a friend I didn't think he was too bad, I was thinking, "WHY AREN'T YOU DEAD YET?!"

MadassAlex

I meant that the next monster is bullshit. The Great Jaggi is a worthy adversary, but its moveset is pretty straightforward and its tells are easy to see. In fact, one of the awful things about the next monster is that it has an attack that doesn't telegraph. 

Lai

Does it hurt like all hell?

MadassAlex

It's not the nastiest attack in terms of damage, but it comes out of nowhere and can ruin your strategy in an instant. There is a particularly nasty damage attack, too, but it's got an obvious telegraph. 

Lai

Is it the Qurupeco? [/random guess]

Also, thinking of getting a new weapon other than my hammer. Though I like smashing stuff,  I feel that I should get acquainted with the other weapons. Tried the Great Sword, holy shit is that thing slow.

MadassAlex

Yes. 

Personally, I'm fond of the Switch Axe. The Sword and Shield is too weak, the Great Sword lacks too much mobility and the Hammer is severely lacking in range while providing no defensive options. While the running thrust with the Switch Axe bothers me a bit, it also gives great range and power with great mobility, with the option to go into sword mode for greater damage. Insofar as slower options go, I find the Lance to be the best as its great defense offsets the lack of mobility and you can attack from behind guard, if my memory's correct. It's a great weapon for error control and survivalism, although primarily useful against large boss monsters rather than the general fare. 

Icalasari

What game are you talking about?

MadassAlex

Monster Hunter Tri. 

Nova

I should probably play this more.

But it takes so goddamned long to kill shit and to get items, and I don't know where to get a better weapon, except to upgrade mine, which is expensive.

Lai

Saving some hunting for tomorrow. Playing Brawl for CDs.

DYRE

Great Sword is my favorite weapon class in Monster Hunter.  I don't know why, they're just the most fun to play.  Probably because fuck blocking so I won't use a sword and shield or lance, and... swords are just cooler than weapons that aren't swords. >.>

MacDuffy

I prefer Great Swords for their power and range. They're easily the best choice of weapon for part-severing.



Well, except the Long Sword, maybe. But the Long Sword is the best choice for EVERYTHING, and that's boring.

Lai

Imma stick with my hammer if I can. I just like hammers.

Nova

Great Swords are ridiculously slow, so I don't use mine.

MadassAlex

Is the Long Sword in Tri?

Lai

Seconding Nova.

MacDuffy

^^ It is. The first one is unlocked after you fight the Gobul.



^^^ It's only really slow if you keep it unsheathed. Extensive use of the unsheathing attack is integral in fighting with Great Swords.

MadassAlex

Ah. I don't think I ever got that far. I presume it's a compromise between the Great Sword and Sword and Shield? 

Nova

It's only really slow if you keep it unsheathed. Extensive use of the unsheathing attack is integral in fighting with Great Swords.

It is slow enough that anything with a charging attack can hit you while you attempt to swing it, while the regular sword can catch them immediately.

And I would rather not have to rely on a gimicky attack to make use of a weapon, thank you.

MacDuffy

^ I don't use the charge attack unless the monster is incapacitated, the raw damage from regular attacks is usually enough. The unsheathing attack is no more gimmicky than any other attack with any other weapon.



^^ It's basically a faster Great Sword with no block, more combos, and a Limit Break.

Nova

 I don't use the charge attack unless the monster is incapacitated, the raw damage from regular attacks is usually enough.

Unfortunately, the enemies, who are the people I was talking about, can and regularly do use charging attacks. Not the larger monsters, but the smaller ones do.

The unsheathing attack is no more gimmicky than any other attack with any other weapon.

In itself, no, but constantly sheathing and unsheathing a weapon is.

MacDuffy

^ Shit, I read that wrong.



By smaller, what do you mean?