Did you learn anything about yourself as a player this year?

Bubblefuzz wrote:

Same, but Destiny Traded out with PS3, got me thinking might have to pick it up again for PS4.

Right on. I'm playing it on the PS3, fwiw, although if the community is all on PS4 for Destiny 2 that'll be what pushes me over to getting a new console.

RnRClown wrote:

I completed my first ever JRPG and it has created more of an interest in the genre. Phantasy Star was that game. It was fantastic. I believe I appreciated it more as a relative novice to the genre. I am interested to see if this was a one off, or the beginnings of a new library to delve into.

I'm impressed! I tried playing the original Phantasy Star on the GBA a few years back but couldn't do it. Did you find it hard to get in to? I love the idea of the series so it'd be fun to try again or play one of the latter ones.

CptDomano wrote:

2. I am way more into "zen" games than I ever have been. Games like Simulator, basically. I just recently picked up Farming Simulator 17 and it has been a blast. The added bonus is that I can show my son these games and we can both play along. It probably has something to do with the fact that where I'm at in life means I'm on the go a lot more than I ever have been, so playing something a bit more mundane is a better stress reliever than something more action/adrenaline based.

Heh. I just started tooling around with the new Internet Radio feature in FS17, adding custom stations.

Besides the insta-addition of my longstanding fave, Bassdrive, I randomly happened upon Ambient Radio .org.

Wowzers. You want to talk Zen?

I was harvesting a field after midnight (in-game) with Ambient playing and it felt like I was using over-the-counter Valium. In a sweet, transported sense...not the boring variety.

1) It isn't about the game I play, it is who I play it with. Being a part of a community again has been awesome and I forgot how much I missed idle chit-chat between matches.

2) After several years of only buying older games on steep discounts, I thought it was fun to pick up Overwatch and play it with others, which lead to item #1, and feeling like it was great to be a part of the conversation. I then bought Battlefield 1 have pretty much regretted it while I wait for them to patch in joystick support, and while have enjoyed the single player part, just haven't been able to get into multiplayer on it. Feel like it would have been just as fun for me 2 years from now when I paid $10 for it.

3) I like games on rails, or with a clear set of goals and guidance. Not sure if it is work life creeping into gaming, and feeling overwhelmed at work, but I've struggled with open world games and big RPG's this year. Made it a couple of hours into Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2, and the Witcher 3, and with each struggled after walking into a town and getting overwhelmed with quests, and feeling like I had this huge to-do list, and rather than looking at it as things to accomplish, I just felt overwhelmed and quit.

4) I enjoy being stupid in games. The most fun I've had in Overwatch has been when our team does something crazy like go all D.Va, or all Winston, and just cause chaos. It isn't about winning. The most fun I've had in Hearts of Iron IV hasn't been playing France, Germany, or the UK and been playing the game the "right way", it has been playing Canada becoming communist, and trying to cause a communist coup in Germany and the US. It has been playing Portugal, building nothing but an air-force and nukes, and trying to get one side or the other to invite me to the war so I can use them.

5) Have learned to let go of my pile of shame. I keep adding to it, but it is no longer something I have to complete. Maybe some day my kids will play some of the games I never did.

6) Learned lots of "dad" gamer skills as I play games with my 4 year old. How to play against him in Rocket League and make an own goal look accidental. How to leave the ball in front of my own goal for him to tap in. Remembering where I drop traps on Mario Kart so that I hit them on the next lap.

gravity wrote:
RnRClown wrote:

I completed my first ever JRPG and it has created more of an interest in the genre. Phantasy Star was that game. It was fantastic. I believe I appreciated it more as a relative novice to the genre. I am interested to see if this was a one off, or the beginnings of a new library to delve into.

I'm impressed! I tried playing the original Phantasy Star on the GBA a few years back but couldn't do it. Did you find it hard to get in to? I love the idea of the series so it'd be fun to try again or play one of the latter ones.

It is a dated experience in relation to how target acquisition is handled, and how the menu navigation presents itself, for two examples, but there is a lot of charm to Phantasy Star when considering the release date, and its hardware. The 3D dungeons are great. The music is wonderful. I enjoyed the combat even though it is simplistic. I kept looking to play whenever possible.

The use of a guide and a few maps were essential. I may not have finished without them.

Being a novice (J)RPG player helped, I think, as its age was not as apparent to me. I know little of the genre, so although I knew it was dated, I wasn't aware of it all of the time.

I loved it. I'm not sure I'd recommend it too often, mind.

RnRClown wrote:

The use of a guide and a few maps were essential. I may not have finished without them.

Now that you mention it, in hindsight I think this was my problem. I tried for the pure classic experience, but ended up dropping it for likely the same reason. If I take another run at the series I'll have guides and maps handy. Thanks!

Interesting topic. I have to say that, if I learned anything about myself in 2016, it's that I'm reaching an age where nostalgia is finally starting to overtake novelty in my gaming interests.

A lack of free time and the unwillingness to commit to anything new might be part of it. I get a bit nervous thinking about buying expensive brand new games. Am I going to be able to spend enough time playing it to get to the end? Am I going to enjoy it enough to justify the cost?

Sure, I still get giddy reading and listening about all the crazy new stuff going on in the gaming industry, with the VR trends and AAA titles. But as for playing it .... eh, not really. I thought NMS was going to be the game that I'd be playing forever this year, but it turns out I just wanted to replay Bloodborne and the old Dragon Warrior games.

Games I'd finished at least once, and can now play in a non-committal, nonobligatory kind of way. No worries about leaving it be for months on end; I know what happens next, and if I never pick it back up, no guilt.

I reactivated my Eve Online account for sh*ts and giggles, and it's exactly how I remember it. I've also been spending more time with my son, playing Magic or Pokemon, and working on our hobbies. Doing more around the house in non-gaming related activities. I'm catching up on my Netflix queue.

For a good chunk of my life, I considered myself a "Gamer", which meant I wanted to be part of that conversation. Now, I'm good just sitting back and living vicariously through others. If there's a gaming experience I gotta have, I'll catch a Twitch stream or YouTube video about it.

I learned that I don't have the patience or the ability to enjoy multiplayer shooters. I tried Splatoon and I tried Titanfall 2, and I want to like both of them, but I have the exact same problem in each one and don't know what I'm doing wrong or how to fix it. I just wish the lesson hadn't cost me $120 that I could have spent on games that were fun for me.

I also learned that I have no idea why I love Fallout 3, because I hate Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 4, and couldn't get into any Elder Scrolls games. I completed Fallout 3 twice, and started it a third time and still want to play more, but the worlds in the sequels can't hold my interest.