GWJ Conference Call Episode 605

Pillars of Eternity II, Monster Prom, Enchanting Mahjong Match, Slay The Spire, Our Favorite Kind of Game Moments, Your Emails and More!

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This week Shawn, Amanda, Sean and Cory talk about what makes a character in a game relatable. 

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00:02:35 Pillars of Eternity II
00:17:50 Monster Prom
00:20:39 Enchanting Mahjong Match
00:23:23 Slay The Spire
00:25:25 Fortnite
00:29:06 Our Favorite Kind of Game Moments
00:45:29 Your Emails

Great example with Gardens of the Moon. I returned to the series after several years with book 7 and had to keep a wiki open on my phone. Alas, I stalled out again after that...

Conference call games you say. I wonder if someone made an unsuccessful thread about this?

I look forward to the Let's Play videos from Monster Prom.

I like stories like the Malazan books. They feel like a living world, rather than a stage created for the reader/player/viewer. Even Lord of the Rings refers frequently to historical events and characters without stopping to explain everything. I let stuff like that wash over me until I naturally internalise the important parts, and let go of the unimportant.

Re: Favorite moments in games

I have to admit, I'm a sucker for a good post-boss cutscene. Not necessarily the final boss, but any tough battle where your adrenaline is pumping and afterwards there's a nice 30 seconds of exposition to cool down through and set up the next big task in the game. Nier is one of my favorites because of this.

Megaman showing off his new powerups? So satisfying.

Re: What makes a game easy to come back to after a sequel

I find that the most important thing is the mechanics of the game. I can go back and play ANY Zelda game from the beginning of time, and not feel it ruined one bit by their modern counterparts. The mechanics always feel so good, the progression and item gathering so well designed, that they don't show their age.

I can't say the same for the 2D Super Mario Bros games. I really find it hard to go back to the old pre-SMW platformers, even one as excellent as SMB3. Even the modern 3D on a 2D track versions feel dated.

Yes, a good story will save a game from showing it's age. But when I go back to play a game the 2nd time, even if it's got a great story, it's really the feel of the game mechanics that makes it worth finishing twice.

Alz wrote:

Re: Favorite moments in games

I have to admit, I'm a sucker for a good post-boss cutscene. Not necessarily the final boss, but any tough battle where your adrenaline is pumping and afterwards there's a nice 30 seconds of exposition to cool down through and set up the next big task in the game. Nier is one of my favorites because of this.

That's a great one. Related to that, I always enjoyed triggering the 'Praise the Sun' emote as my phantom faded out of another players game, post boss stomping. All the none verbal communication in the Souls games and Bloodborne I find endlessly pleasing.

I like seeing extra little touches from the developers of games that add to the feeling of the character I'm playing being a real person; like Drake reaching a hand out to a wall as he passes. Great animation in games is always a delight to me. I suspect a large part of why I liked the Assassin's Creed series so much was the, for it's time, it's fluid climbing and fighting animations.

And currently, of course, there is any time Kratos throws his axe or summons it back to his hand.

This video has spoilers for environments, enemy types and equipment. I'd say don't watch it if you think you might play the game in the future.

On funny player names, there is a guy who regularly appears in Uncharted matches with the name Wruce Billis. It always makes us laugh when he shows up.

Nothing to see here.

I personally love the first 20-30 minutes of every game, starting at the title load-up screen. There's a wonderful sense of anticipation and discovery as a new story, new characters/units, and new systems stretch out in front, ripe with possibilities. Reality has an unfortunate way of dropping in bugs, limitations, production quality issues, and so forth shortly thereafter, but *man* that first period of discovery is great. It's probably the reason I own far, far more games than I have ever seen the mid-game of, let alone finished.

With respect to books, movies, and games that ask the audience to infer context, rather than be spoon-fed it, I'm always rather reminded of Tolkien's famous comment regarding the Tower in the Distance. Viewed from afar, he opined, it's full of mystery and potential. To go there is to destroy the magic. Thus I think the Hobbit and LOTR would have been far better served without all of the Silmarillion stuff. Let history be mentioned and cultural aspects demonstrated, but it's often unnecessary (and undesirable) for every quirk of a person, place, or situation to be explained in excruciating detail. It's enough to know that the people of a particular region often wear a silk glove on their left hand to avoid touching another person with it. I don't need to know the entire history of the superstition to find it an interesting touch that brings the culture alive.

You've reminded me that I enjoy the moment the credits roll on a game. If I like a game I will generally finish it (I'm getting better at not forcing myself to finish games I'm not particularly enjoying.) There is something about having completed a game that is more satisfying than finishing any other form of entertainment. You've overcome all the challenges put before you and you've pushed on through all adversity (even though games are generally designed to allow you to do that) and you can now move on with a lingering sense of contentment to start a new gaming experience in some other virtual world full of delights and unknown challenges.

I still remember the feeling of joy I had while watching the credits scroll past at the end of 'The Secret of Monkey Island.' The first game I ever finished.