Gaming Confessions & Blasphemy

Oh yeah, it was DW1. I never did get far in that game, it was WAY too hard for a kid of less than 10.

master0 wrote:

Well if you consider how big Mario used to be, compared to now nothing comes close really. It's sort of the same affect as music celebrities. Compare the reach and popularity of Michael Jackson at his height to modern celebs, and he just dwarfs them. I personally see this as a results of there being so much more competition for your time, that no one can ever be that big again world wide again. Same with Mario, I'd be damn surprised if any video game character became popular enough to have their own show again.

Except that video games are huge now, with a market many times what it was when we (well, my peers) first encountered Mario. While it may be that Mario is known to a smaller percentage of video game players today, I have a lot of trouble believing that Mario's brand awareness is somehow smaller in absolute terms (especially given how omnipresent Mario is in Nintendo marketing and the obscenely massive install base of the Wii and DS).

Of course this isn't really a question of whether games hold up, because the Mario these kids see is not the Mario we ever saw. They see New Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario Kart N, Mario Land U, or whatever the heck they are now. Sure, that character design dates back to the original Mario games, and the basic design elements of the platformers haven't changed much, but although they may be derivative, they're not... old... in the ways that make old games frustrating to play now.

I think it's absolutely true that we cling to old video games more from nostalgia than from any concrete qualities that made them "better." They become personally significant, even as the state of the art marches forward and has long obsoleted them. It's only when I actually sit down to play them again that I realize how my brain has smoothed over all the flaws, and how the game in my mind is not the one that really exists.

gore wrote:
master0 wrote:

Well if you consider how big Mario used to be, compared to now nothing comes close really. It's sort of the same affect as music celebrities. Compare the reach and popularity of Michael Jackson at his height to modern celebs, and he just dwarfs them. I personally see this as a results of there being so much more competition for your time, that no one can ever be that big again world wide again. Same with Mario, I'd be damn surprised if any video game character became popular enough to have their own show again.

Except that video games are huge now, with a market many times what it was when we (well, my peers) first encountered Mario. While it may be that Mario is known to a smaller percentage of video game players today, I have a lot of trouble believing that Mario's brand awareness is somehow smaller in absolute terms (especially given how omnipresent Mario is in Nintendo marketing and the obscenely massive install base of the Wii and DS).

Of course this isn't really a question of whether games hold up, because the Mario these kids see is not the Mario we ever saw. They see New Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario Kart N, Mario Land U, or whatever the heck they are now. Sure, that character design dates back to the original Mario games, and the basic design elements of the platformers haven't changed much, but although they may be derivative, they're not... old... in the ways that make old games frustrating to play now.

I think it's absolutely true that we cling to old video games more from nostalgia than from any concrete qualities that made them "better." They become personally significant, even as the state of the art marches forward and has long obsoleted them. It's only when I actually sit down to play them again that I realize how my brain has smoothed over all the flaws, and how the game in my mind is not the one that really exists.

I have no problem sitting down to play SNES Super Mario World, including the special levels. Yes, it's hard, but the game completely holds up in my mind, as does SMB3

ahrezmendi wrote:

Oh yeah, it was DW1. I never did get far in that game, it was WAY too hard for a kid of less than 10.

Yea I was like 9 or 10 at the time and probably wouldn't have made it through it with the super complete strategy guide it came with.

Seems like we should get back to confessions:

I hate WASD controls. In the rare event I play a PC game without a gamepad I always remap WASD to the arrow keys.

Rykin wrote:
ahrezmendi wrote:

Oh yeah, it was DW1. I never did get far in that game, it was WAY too hard for a kid of less than 10.

Yea I was like 9 or 10 at the time and probably wouldn't have made it through it with the super complete strategy guide it came with.

Seems like we should get back to confessions:

I hate WASD controls. In the rare event I play a PC game without a gamepad I always remap WASD to the arrow keys.

I'm an ESDF guy.

QWES here. A to duck. D to jump. Space is 'Use.'

I've tried WASD, but my three fingers are all about the same length so I prefer to have those keys on the same row.

DSXC or SAZX. I hate using a keyboard to play games, but if I have to, it's much more comfortable on my laptop to have my hand slightly turned.

Rykin wrote:

I hate WASD controls. In the rare event I play a PC game without a gamepad I always remap WASD to the arrow keys.

WASD is definitely a weird place to put the movement controls, but the arrow keys suck too since they're so far from the home row and have few easily accessible surrounding keys.

Honestly, the standard should really be ESDF for righties and IJKL for lefties. I used to try and stick with ESDF, but I got tired of remapping stuff every time...

To further the discussion, ever since I re-situated my desktop to be able to use my LCD in Big Picture mode, I find sitting at my desk playing games with a mouse and keyboard archaic. Wired 360 controller on the couch or bust!

Vrikk wrote:

To further the discussion, ever since I re-situated my desktop to be able to use my LCD in Big Picture mode, I find sitting at my desk playing games with a mouse and keyboard archaic. Wired 360 controller on the couch or bust!

You're like one of those countesses who falls in love with a commoner.

Rykin wrote:

I hate WASD controls.

Grenn wrote:

I'm an ESDF guy.

PaladinTom wrote:

QWES here. A to duck. D to jump. Space is 'Use.'

ClockworkHouse wrote:

DSXC or SAZX.

WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?

Vrikk wrote:

To further the discussion, ever since I re-situated my desktop to be able to use my LCD in Big Picture mode, I find sitting at my desk playing games with a mouse and keyboard archaic. Wired 360 controller on the couch or bust!

If you're on the couch... you gotta go wireless! I banished all wired controllers from the Family Room last gen with the WaveBird for the Game Cube and a Logitech wireless controller instead of the oh-so-crappy* dual-shock. Granted, I'm a bit ocd about wires. I am to wires as Steve Jobs was to physical buttons. When are they gonna invent wireless power cords already!

[size=8]*IMO[/size]

McIrishJihad wrote:
Rykin wrote:

I hate WASD controls.

Grenn wrote:

I'm an ESDF guy.

PaladinTom wrote:

QWES here. A to duck. D to jump. Space is 'Use.'

ClockworkHouse wrote:

DSXC or SAZX.

WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?

You mortals are so petty. And your hands are apparently tiny.

Vrikk wrote:

To further the discussion, ever since I re-situated my desktop to be able to use my LCD in Big Picture mode, I find sitting at my desk playing games with a mouse and keyboard archaic. Wired 360 controller on the couch or bust!

Depending on how support goes in the future and cheap PC hardware goes, this may ultimately be the direction I take. Depends on where the interesting Japanese games go, which could be handheld more than console.

McIrishJihad wrote:
Rykin wrote:

I hate WASD controls.

Grenn wrote:

I'm an ESDF guy.

PaladinTom wrote:

QWES here. A to duck. D to jump. Space is 'Use.'

ClockworkHouse wrote:

DSXC or SAZX.

WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?

Don't listen to them. They speak "Crazy Talk".

IMAGE(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Xbox-360-S-Controller.png/300px-Xbox-360-S-Controller.png)

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Vrikk wrote:

To further the discussion, ever since I re-situated my desktop to be able to use my LCD in Big Picture mode, I find sitting at my desk playing games with a mouse and keyboard archaic. Wired 360 controller on the couch or bust!

You're like one of those countesses who falls in love with a commoner.

I, like many, sit at a desk all day at work. I don't want to do it with my precious and limited gaming time at home. So yes, I am a commoner for shunning M & K for PC gaming

Note: I've done it for years... but Big Picture has opened my eyes. It's also not a one stop shop since a lot of games (especially older ones) aren't compatible.

gore wrote:
Rykin wrote:

I hate WASD controls. In the rare event I play a PC game without a gamepad I always remap WASD to the arrow keys.

WASD is definitely a weird place to put the movement controls, but the arrow keys suck too since they're so far from the home row and have few easily accessible surrounding keys.

Honestly, the standard should really be ESDF for righties and IJKL for lefties. I used to try and stick with ESDF, but I got tired of remapping stuff every time...

I solved this issue using the numpad, insert group, and a 5 button mouse... until I got a USB adapter for my N64 controller. I guess this should be another confession:

The last FPS I played on PC with keyboard/mouse controls was Unreal Tournament. Also switching from keyboard/mouse to N64 controller moved me from middle of the pack to top three on average. It is all about what you are used to.

And another confession:

The only PC FPS I have really played since UT is Minecraft.

Rykin wrote:

The last FPS I played on PC with keyboard/mouse controls was Unreal Tournament. Also switching from keyboard/mouse to N64 controller moved me from middle of the pack to top three on average. It is all about what you are used to.

And another confession:

The only PC FPS I have really played since UT is Minecraft.

To be fair, it's hard to go wrong with UT, it's a perfect desert island game.

I play FPS games on my PC with my Dualshock 3.

I find tail-chopping in Dark Souls to be a tiresome, overused annoyance, and the rewards are seldom worth the trouble. So far, this is one of my only complaints about the Souls games.

Kamakazi010654 wrote:

I play FPS games on my PC with my Dualshock 3.

Good god, you're a monster.

Dakuna wrote:

I find tail-chopping in Dark Souls to be a tiresome, overused annoyance, and the rewards are seldom worth the trouble. So far, this is one of my only complaints about the Souls games.

I assume you have not done much tail-chopping in Monster Hunter?

S0LIDARITY wrote:
Dakuna wrote:

I find tail-chopping in Dark Souls to be a tiresome, overused annoyance, and the rewards are seldom worth the trouble. So far, this is one of my only complaints about the Souls games.

I assume you have not done much tail-chopping in Monster Hunter?

What is this Monster Hunter you speak of??

@Dakuna, it's a franchise that has some gameplay similarities to Dark Souls. Notably, difficult battles with gigantic monsters using surf-board sized weapons. There's rewards for cutting off the tails of monsters.

Dakuna wrote:

I find tail-chopping in Dark Souls to be a tiresome, overused annoyance, and the rewards are seldom worth the trouble. So far, this is one of my only complaints about the Souls games.

Huge +1. I love the Souls games, but I absolutely hate this aspect of them. I also hated it in Monster Hunter. It's more annoying than challenging, and even when it's challenging (DLC Dragon boss for Dark Souls for example) it's not a good kind of challenging. It encourages cheese strategies just to get the tail, when it's far more fun to just focus on the strategy of the fight.

Demon's Souls didn't have any tail-chopping antics, and it was better for it!

S0LIDARITY wrote:

@Dakuna, it's a franchise that has some gameplay similarities to Dark Souls. Notably, difficult battles with gigantic monsters using surf-board sized weapons. There's rewards for cutting off the tails of monsters.

I may have to invest in playing some then. Are they fun? Any real comparison to the Souls games?

Also, I thought of a game that... has some things in common with the souls games, although it's way easier. I remember very much enjoying the Onimusha games.

@Dakuna, I like Monster Hunter 3, the only one I've played. It can be a bit grindy though, as you'll refight the same monster repeatedly to craft/upgrade weapons & armor from the monster drops. It lacks the Dark Souls exploration, but it is challenging without being unfair. There is co-op multiplayer and the game can be obtuse, it encourages experimentation. There is also the player-experience curve. Once you surpass various hurdles in the game, everything prior to those hurdles will suddenly feel so much easier. I think it's worth a shot. I don't know what MH games are available to you, but there's some for PSP (PS3 via PSN port), 3DS, Wii, and the newest is coming out for WiiU in March.

Sounds like I need to look into that. I may also be buying demon's souls and dark souls for download on psn, just to improve the load times. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Scratched wrote:
Rykin wrote:

The last FPS I played on PC with keyboard/mouse controls was Unreal Tournament. Also switching from keyboard/mouse to N64 controller moved me from middle of the pack to top three on average. It is all about what you are used to.

And another confession:

The only PC FPS I have really played since UT is Minecraft.

To be fair, it's hard to go wrong with UT, it's a perfect desert island game.

I actually only owned it for the mods. Can't stand the vanilla UT game-play. As a Mac user the TacOps mod was about as close as I could get to Counter-Strike back then.