Companion thread to 'What are you GOOD at in games?'
Vehicles:
Always a problem for me. I don't like racing games so I've no practice, I've no interest so I avoid vehicles as much as possible—generally only doing the minimum required for some missions, or maybe to grab some perk or experience points. As long as there are a good supply of Fast Travel points in a big map, I'm good on foot.
I remember using the mini-Chopper in Far Cry 4 a lot—I forget why, probably because FT points were sparse. And I still remember the boat ride in the canal from Half Life 2—you shoot out of this pipe way up in a dam [I think?], land with a heck of a thud on the river far below, and then have to dodge a chopper dropping mines in front of you. Typical HL2, so many memorable set pieces.
Melee:
As above, don't enjoy it, so little practice = I'm bad. Only game I've played thru which required a lot of melee was Far Cry Primal, but the significant melee was definitely the least enjoyable part for me.
I role play a lot in games—not in a RPG sense, but in a 'What if I was in this situation?' kind of way. So the last thing I'd do is run into a fire fight blazing away—I don't care how much my inheritors would enjoy the life insurance!
Even in strategy games, I take pride in not losing a unit in a small encounter—kind of Sun Tzu 'never start a war until you have it won'. Similarly in shooters, take over a base without being shot gives me warm fuzzies—and saves on med kits and armor.
Learning new systems:
I avoid lots of games because of the unfamiliar setting. One thing my 3 favorite franchises—C&C, Civ, Far Cry—have in common is I have a good idea what the basic mechanics do. Tanks and planes, trade routes and missionaries, rifles and grenades, grunts and heavies, spears and bee bombs—easy to figure out, so I can get right into playing the game and pick up the nuances as I go along—waddayamean a spearman can defeat a tank? 🥴
But if I have to spend significant time figuring out what each unit does, what each building does, what are the counters to each, etc—too much like work. Hmm, maybe that's it, since learning new systems were a big part of my working life. Waddayaknow, I've achieved work-play balance!
Challenge:
I used to play to beat the game at the hardest level, but not in a decade or so now. I play to enjoy, and conquering difficult situations is not a source of pleasure anymore. I automatically start a new game on Easy. If I like it enough to replay, I'll go to Normal and apply any mods I fancy. Difficulty is only relevant in requiring good planning, presenting fun puzzles, and providing interesting choices.
There, told you this would be longer than my post in the GOOG thread! So own up, where in gaming does it suck to be you?
Vehicles:
Always a problem for me. I don't like racing games so I've no practice, I've no interest so I avoid vehicles as much as possible—generally only doing the minimum required for some missions, or maybe to grab some perk or experience points. As long as there are a good supply of Fast Travel points in a big map, I'm good on foot.
I remember using the mini-Chopper in Far Cry 4 a lot—I forget why, probably because FT points were sparse. And I still remember the boat ride in the canal from Half Life 2—you shoot out of this pipe way up in a dam [I think?], land with a heck of a thud on the river far below, and then have to dodge a chopper dropping mines in front of you. Typical HL2, so many memorable set pieces.
Melee:
As above, don't enjoy it, so little practice = I'm bad. Only game I've played thru which required a lot of melee was Far Cry Primal, but the significant melee was definitely the least enjoyable part for me.
I role play a lot in games—not in a RPG sense, but in a 'What if I was in this situation?' kind of way. So the last thing I'd do is run into a fire fight blazing away—I don't care how much my inheritors would enjoy the life insurance!
Even in strategy games, I take pride in not losing a unit in a small encounter—kind of Sun Tzu 'never start a war until you have it won'. Similarly in shooters, take over a base without being shot gives me warm fuzzies—and saves on med kits and armor.
Learning new systems:
I avoid lots of games because of the unfamiliar setting. One thing my 3 favorite franchises—C&C, Civ, Far Cry—have in common is I have a good idea what the basic mechanics do. Tanks and planes, trade routes and missionaries, rifles and grenades, grunts and heavies, spears and bee bombs—easy to figure out, so I can get right into playing the game and pick up the nuances as I go along—waddayamean a spearman can defeat a tank? 🥴
But if I have to spend significant time figuring out what each unit does, what each building does, what are the counters to each, etc—too much like work. Hmm, maybe that's it, since learning new systems were a big part of my working life. Waddayaknow, I've achieved work-play balance!
Challenge:
I used to play to beat the game at the hardest level, but not in a decade or so now. I play to enjoy, and conquering difficult situations is not a source of pleasure anymore. I automatically start a new game on Easy. If I like it enough to replay, I'll go to Normal and apply any mods I fancy. Difficulty is only relevant in requiring good planning, presenting fun puzzles, and providing interesting choices.
There, told you this would be longer than my post in the GOOG thread! So own up, where in gaming does it suck to be you?
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram