When you can play and listen to other stuff
As a podcast whore, I have fifty kazillion podcasts to listen to, so I need to multi-task wherever possible.
I've found that there are games that work for listening to podcasts and those that don't.
Of games I'm playing right now:
LOTRO: I can listen to podcasts if I'm soloing, but when grouping I find I need to listen to the audio to pick up hints about what's going on in the fight and reduce the chance that everyone dies because I was pondering just how hot the GWJer podcast hosts are for each other (based on the oh so subtle clues).
Company of Heroes: At first I couldn't listen to anything else while playing, as the game was just too intense. After getting used to the game, I find I can listen to podcasts while playing, but I just don't want to. The experience with full attention to audio is so immersive, that's how I prefer to play.
Titan Quest: No problem listening to podcasts. Really the perfect game for it.
What works for you? Or would you never dream of mixing these things?
If it's dead, it's probably me.
Burnout Revenge grabs thrash/speed, classical, techno/industrial. For me, racing games get specific types of music, everything else goes to shuffle/random.
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If I gamed enough (solo) to warrant looking into more multitasking, it would probably first fall to turn-based strategy games. Carcassone or Civ. I have been trying to give star rankings to all my mp3s, and have played my list of unrated tracks while playing other single player games where immersion wasn't a factor.
And then there's Joust. I can multitask Joust about as easily as I can multitask drinking.
It doesn't get hard until you hit the 10th round!
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That wouldn't work for me. If I were playing a game while listening to a podcast, the podcast would be tuned out. I have problems with multitasking and attention. :/
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I can only listen to stuff if I'm playing Catan or Carcassonne.
Ouch, I have lost myself again
Last.fm
At which point everyone gets to.
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Sorry.
Ouch, I have lost myself again
Last.fm
But I'm your private dancer.
Dancing for money.
Danjo Olivaw Lives
I can only listen to music while playing a game. Listening to people talk in a podcast would be too distracting. Even then, I only select music in XBLA games.
f*ck no!
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kaostheory wrote:
On Saturday mornings I often find myself "behind" on my podcasts for the week, and I'll listen to whatever is leftover while playing games. I can pretty much listen while playing any game that doesn't have a story, but I don't really do as well for the most part.
Other than that, I might replace the music on an XBLA game or two, but generally I like to crank up the game's sound and get immersed in the experience.
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For games where I can actually listen to something else, I tune into talk radio.
Semper Delectatio
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I have noticed there are certain kinds of podcasts I can and can't listen to while playing games...scientific podcasts with lots of detail I need to listen to on my commute, where I can focus on them.
While playing games, it tends to be conversation podcasts or gaming news and the like. If the GWJ hosts don't want people doing other things while listening to their podcasts, perhaps it's time to add in some particle physics...
If it's dead, it's probably me.
I listen to music/podcasts when I play Titan Quest too. I'd agree that it's the perfect game type for it. I used to do the same thing in my repeat plays of Diablo 2.
I also tend to listen to metal/rock of some kind when I play Starcraft now.
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Some music has been mentally tied to games for me:
Quake 2 - Sehnsucht - Rammstein
Total Anihilation - Dude Ranch - Blink 182 (I was young!)
Also food
Gothic 2 - Muscle Jerky
Ultima 9 - Barq's Root Beer when it still had commercials
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I primarily listen to podcasts while playing fighting or racing games. RPGs have a story that needs to be listened to, and with the sound off on a FPS, I often end up dead.
In fact due to the way my sound system is set up, I can listen to DVD commentaries while playing a video game. That's pretty awesome.
Zydeco, bluegrass and alt-country for some reason. I find it compliments most any game, Iron and Wine plus Gears is a great combination especially.
so much fail -a triumph of lowbrow consistency
Hmmm. like Chocolate and Peanut Butter. Nice.
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To me, listening to anything else but the game I'm playing is hard. If I were to have a tv on or something in the background, that's sort of fine, but I wouldn't hear a word of what was going on in the movie/tv show/whatever. I don't know why but I just don't do as well if I can't hear the game.
Back in the day I played a lot of Mario Kart, and every time I'd play at a friend's house or something they'd put music on and I'd get pissed because it messed with my flow... just can't listen to two different things at once. Of course, I am a guy, so that might have something to do with it.
"It's like when you go through McDonald's and they give you an extra, -- oh, I don't know -- 1 million french fries. Do you question it? Nope. You just bask in the glory that is one million french fries." -Highlander
Honestly, I've just got back into a kick where I'm playing Crimsonland's Survivor mode while listening to repetitive techno.
Daft Punk's 'Around the World' is a good track.
For longer sessions, I really enjoy the music in cIV, but I can also switch the music off and listen to just about anything, including TMS and talk radio.
Quintin_Stone wrote:
I listen to podcasts while gaming a lot too. I usually do it for RPGs or games with very poor voice acting where I just switch on the subtitles. Odd thing is podcasts don't distract me but, if someone is talking to me while I play then I die many horrible deaths.
I find few games have compelling enough sound that I won't just turn it off and listen to something else. Counterstrike, Dawn of War, Half-life 2 and (strangely) Combat Mission all demand that I have my sound on, or a just interesting enough that I want to listen.
Otherwise, action-heavy games like Unreal Tournament go well with fast-paced heavy rock, RPGs (MMO or singleplayer) work well with podcasts and strategy games like Civ go well with anything.
Games that have interesting audio that doesn't quickly get repetitive are few and far between, it seems.
If I'm going to play a game, I play the game - music and all. I just don't think it's right to be fighting demons and orcs while listening to Norah Jones or remixed Super Mario tunes or some nerdy dudes* arguing about current/upcoming games and game systems.
*Not referring to anyone in specific, of course.
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Really weird artists to listen to while playing Gears:
Bruddah Iz
Ka'au Crater Boys
Las Toallitas
The Dubliners
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
XBL: E Munnie
elementsofmeaning.blogspot.com
I put on The Decemberists when playing BF2 and sing, loudly. You'd think it'd keep me calm, but no...
'I'll fill your mouth with cinnamon and bullets, mutha...'
so much fail -a triumph of lowbrow consistency
There is no bad time to listen to the Dubliners.
Quintin_Stone wrote:
Rocky Road to Dublin + coitus = The Good Times
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elementsofmeaning.blogspot.com
GWJ podcast is for that awesome racing sim I call "going to and from work"...
I usually don't play other music unless playing puzzle games (hexic HD, Bejeweled, etc...). But I have had a great time playing Gears of War playing the Halo soundtrack in the background! I laugh my ass off half the time. It also completly changes the multiplayer. "danm I didn't hear you sneaking up... my console was too busy trying to turn Dom's lancer into a covanant sword
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