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    1. How does Shantae ½ Genie Hero: Officer Mode compare to Mighty Switch Force

      Has anyone here played both Shantae ½ Genie Hero in its Officer costume and Mighty Switch Force of any classical version? If so, I would love to hear how the two compare. I have the former and and...

      Has anyone here played both Shantae ½ Genie Hero in its Officer costume and Mighty Switch Force of any classical version?

      If so, I would love to hear how the two compare. I have the former and and trying to figure out if I want to later order the latter’s recently announced collection.

      I adored Shantae’s main game, but left the DLC/costume modes for a later time, which might be coming ;)

      (… but first, finishing Velocity 2X and Wonderboy 3)

      3 votes
    2. Can someone explain the hype around Super Mario Maker 2?

      I don't understand what makes the game appealing. It looks like it takes forever to make a level, and why would I want to play levels from random people on the internet? I like games that you...

      I don't understand what makes the game appealing. It looks like it takes forever to make a level, and why would I want to play levels from random people on the internet?

      I like games that you build stuff like KSP but just wondering what the appeal of SMM2 is.

      18 votes
    3. What are examples of modern games that would fit in perfectly on retro consoles?

      Shovel Knight is essentially an NES game that got released in 2014, as its design and artwork are deliberately reminiscent of games for that system. It's a definitive example of an answer to the...

      Shovel Knight is essentially an NES game that got released in 2014, as its design and artwork are deliberately reminiscent of games for that system. It's a definitive example of an answer to the question, but I'm also interested in games that weren't necessarily intended to be throwbacks but can be interpreted as such by nature of their execution.

      What are other examples of games that feel like they could have been released for, say, the Dreamcast, PSOne, SNES, or any of the other consoles of yesteryear? Furthermore, what are the defining traits they possess that make them fit in on that system?

      12 votes
    4. How do you fit a video game's interpretation with its source files?

      Given a movie with ambiguous story, you have multiple options to base your interpretation upon: you have the movie itself, the screenplay if available, what the author said in interviews or books,...

      Given a movie with ambiguous story, you have multiple options to base your interpretation upon: you have the movie itself, the screenplay if available, what the author said in interviews or books, etc... Now, if we take a video game, you also have additional tools: the source code, the installed file names, unused resources, etc. There are of course a few games that expect the player to check these files but that isn't what I want to focus on.

      Would you say that all these files have the same authority as the game itself when it comes to interpretations?

      I'd like to take an example with SPOILERS FOR LIFE IS STRANGE 1, as this is the game that sparked this topic for me:

      The blue butterfly has a special place in this game, it is what starts the whole journey when Max takes a picture of it and Chloe gets shot. It also shown again in the 'Sacrifice Chloe' ending during that same scene. And later during Chloe's burial that butterfly is shown to land on the coffin in front of Max and fly away. There are some scenes that imply that spirit animals are a thing in the in-game universe. After finishing the game my interpretation was that the blue butterfly was Chloe's spirit animal. Now what a surprise to see in the game wiki that the texture file for that butterfly is named 'Spirit_animal_Chloe' !

      Is there any room left for interpretation when the source makes it explicit text? Or can the source be reasonably be pushed aside?

      8 votes
    5. Attending Dice Tower Con

      I'm not sure how many people here are into board games, but I figured I'd make a post about it. I'm going to be at dice tower con this week. I'm hoping to get a game of Blood on the Clocktower...

      I'm not sure how many people here are into board games, but I figured I'd make a post about it. I'm going to be at dice tower con this week. I'm hoping to get a game of Blood on the Clocktower going. If you see a guy trying to gather people for a game of botc, that'll be me. Come say hi.

      5 votes
    6. What are some of your favorite examples of storytelling via gameplay?

      Video game's approach to storytelling usually comprise of mixing gameplay mechanics (gunplay, health system, enemy AI...) and storytelling elements (cutscenes, dialogue trees, environment...

      Video game's approach to storytelling usually comprise of mixing gameplay mechanics (gunplay, health system, enemy AI...) and storytelling elements (cutscenes, dialogue trees, environment details...). There are also special systems designed to work both as gameplay challenge as well as narrative carriers (quick time events, the nemesis system in Shadow of War...)

      However, there's also a third approach, where traditional gameplay elements when put into appropriate context within the game gain additional narrative significance (the way Thomas was Alone's basic platforming mechanics are personified via narration, or Undertale's combat system being integral to how the story develops...)

      Have you ever noticed if a gameplay element also doubled as a storytelling device in the games you played before? If so, what was it and what did it "tell" you?

      12 votes
    7. Does anyone use a trackball mouse?

      I've been curious about making a switch for ergonomics and just lack of space on my desk. Do you recommend it for gaming? Any guidance on genres that do or don't work? I mostly play real time and...

      I've been curious about making a switch for ergonomics and just lack of space on my desk.

      • Do you recommend it for gaming? Any guidance on genres that do or don't work? I mostly play real time and turn based strategy games or point-and-click style games such as Diablo on my computer. I don't generally go in for twitchy FPSes, but I'd like the option.

      • Opinions on index vs. thumb?

      • How long was the adjustment period to get used to it?

      • Any recommendations on good ones to buy?

      • Are there any advantages I'm not thinking of besides just being better for my wrist?

      • Disadvantages besides, potentially, being less precise than a mouse?

      • Are there any tradeoffs with going wireless?

      9 votes
    8. Please recommend me a video game

      I've never really been that into video games. When I was young, I played a lot of RPGs on the SNES and PS1. Within the last couple of years, I dipped my toes back in the water and tried a few out....

      I've never really been that into video games. When I was young, I played a lot of RPGs on the SNES and PS1. Within the last couple of years, I dipped my toes back in the water and tried a few out. I tried Skyrim on a friend's recommendation, but it was just a little too involved and open-world for me. I got Cities:Skylines, which I love because I love city builder sims, but that game just does not run well on any of my underpowered computers. And I loved Ori and the Blind Forest, a beautiful platformer, and I'd play it again right now if it wasn't Windows-only.

      Here are my requirements. First, it needs to run well on a low-powered machine without making the fan go insane. I've got a MacBook Air 2012 and a ThinkPad x250 (Linux). Neither of these are the ideal gaming experience, I know, but I'm not looking for amazing graphics or bleeding edge technology or something super immersive. Pixel graphics are fine with me. It reminds me of my youth, anyway. I played both Skylines and Ori on my Intel NUC 4th Gen and while it worked, they both really taxed that little machine. I was able to finish Ori, but once a city reaches a certain size in Skylines, it gets unplayable.

      I'm not looking for stress. I like RPGs and sims. But it doesn't have to be really hard or frustrating. I don't want to feel chased in a game. I prefer to feel that I'm driving the action and I can go at my pace. I want to feel like if I look away for a moment, I'm not going to lose everything. I'm a casual. I also don't mind if there's no defined ending of a game. For me, I'm more looking for a diversion and a slow build over some kind of constant progression/achievement type scenario.

      If it has full controller support, that would be ideal. I've got a Steam controller, and I prefer using a controller to play a game. I've never liked using the keyboard to play. I'm not totally against it, but I guess I just never got into computer gaming. I pretty much always played on consoles in the past.

      Linux or macOS only, please. I did have Windows installed once so that I could play games, but I'm not bothering with that anymore. I don't want to have to boot into another operating system just to play a game. I want to be able to hop in and out of a game while using my daily driver computer.

      So in my research, I've looked into Terraria and Stardew Valley. These might be what I'm looking for. But I really don't know. Do either of these scratch my itch? Is there another game that I would enjoy based on what I've told you? Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

      EDIT: Thank you everybody for your awesome suggestions. I'm still happy to hear more, as I plan to add the ones that really interest me to my wishlist and revisit later. I ended up getting Hollow Knight yesterday and I spent the whole day playing it. It's very engrossing, and it's the perfect game for me. It's so much like Ori, and that game blew me away. Chilled out, go at your own pace, exploring dungeons, challenging but not impossible (though the first Hornet fight was pretty tough for me). The game runs fine on my ThinkPad x250 (i5-5300U) in Pop!_OS Linux, apart from the initial movie scene stuttering--I just had to skip past it, unfortunately. It's such an awesome game, and I'm glad to see they've already announced a sequel. If you know of any other games that are like Ori and Hollow Knight, let me know.

      23 votes
    9. Do you play your games modded or vanilla and why?

      I personally usually heavily mod my games, due to finding the process of modding itself fun, along with me preferring to spend a LONG time at one run through. As an example, I'd give minecraft...

      I personally usually heavily mod my games, due to finding the process of modding itself fun, along with me preferring to spend a LONG time at one run through.

      As an example, I'd give minecraft where I usually play so-called expert packs, which are basically taking a lot of mods and making them depend on each other for progression.

      22 votes
    10. Tabletop RPGs with kids

      Has anybody had much experience playing DnD or other tabletops with children? I've been toying with the idea of making a fairly straightforward and simplified RPG using Story Cubes and GURPS that...

      Has anybody had much experience playing DnD or other tabletops with children? I've been toying with the idea of making a fairly straightforward and simplified RPG using Story Cubes and GURPS that kids can get involved with easily and have fun playing. I'm specifically aiming to play with my daughter (8) and my niece (5) on a big family holiday in August, though I see no real reason that this couldn't work with adults as well.
      Essentially, the conceit would go along the lines of each player rolling a limited number of story dice to help with character creation and such. I'd ask the players a few simple questions about their powers (for example, are you more of a wizard or more of a warrior?) to get some basic stats stats together (STR, DEX, INT, CON), and then use story dice myself to quickly improvise a short one-shot session.

      Does anyone have experience playing with kids, and if so - any pointers? Am I being too ambitious about children's ability to imagine stuff in this way? If so, are there any good systems out there that are good for young people to pick up and get stuck into roleplaying with?

      9 votes
    11. D&D our new campaign

      howdy all, been a few weeks since I posted about our last meet for the first campaign we ran. So one of the other players has stepped up as the DM so our first DM could actually play since it was...

      howdy all, been a few weeks since I posted about our last meet for the first campaign we ran.
      So one of the other players has stepped up as the DM so our first DM could actually play since it was his idea to get us altogether in the first place, the new game is running on milestone leveling and so far feels like it will move a bit faster. Our first meet we only just survived the night, all of us having to use the death save rolls at least once each, the new DM made a comment of "If I thought you lot would roll so horridly I would have toned it down way more" but hey it made things more fun and we had to work as a damn team.

      Last night we had our 2nd meet and our first PC death. It was the rogue that tried to steal everything nailed down including the nails, he tried to pick pocket the NPC that was with us and rolled a damn 1 the NPC rolled a nat 20 and it just went from there, this was also after dealing with the big bad of the evening so spell slots had been spent and half the party kinda said he had it coming. He is brand new to RPG games so went all out with the role playing side and doing what he wants, personally I thought it was amazing he also has taken some pride in being the first to go down.

      Anyone else have something fun or cool to share about their campaign?

      16 votes
    12. What are some ideas and experiences that are underexplored in gaming?

      I was thinking about this question recently because I finished watching Game of Thrones and it made me want to play a game where I get to be a badass dragon. Unfortunately, it turns out there are...

      I was thinking about this question recently because I finished watching Game of Thrones and it made me want to play a game where I get to be a badass dragon. Unfortunately, it turns out there are surprisingly few games that tackle that experience.

      I also recently played a game called 1979 Revolution: Black Friday, which attempts to inform the player about a real event in history through Telltale-style adventure gameplay. Though it's fictionalized, I realized while playing that it's as close to a documentary as I've come in gaming, which I would argue is another unexplored area.

      That said, I'm curious to see what people here think.

      • What are some ideas/experiences that games haven't tackled, or have hardly scratched the surface of?
      • Why do you think this area has gone untouched for so long? Oversight? Tough to design around? Unfeasible? Unfun?
      • Are there any games that do fit your bill? Are they any good?
      • If you had to design a game to fill the niche you identified, what might it be like?
      26 votes
    13. Linux gamers: let's help test Proton compatibility before the Steam summer sale

      I made this an "event" over on reddit, and I figured I'd also mention it here. The Steam summer sale is alleged to start on June 23rd, and I figured it would be nice if people could go into it...

      I made this an "event" over on reddit, and I figured I'd also mention it here.

      The Steam summer sale is alleged to start on June 23rd, and I figured it would be nice if people could go into it with current information on Proton compatibility for games so we can better know what to buy and avoid. As such, it would be great if we could all submit a bunch of ProtonDB reports this coming week.

      I plan to go through my library and test high-leverage games: either ones that lack reports or games whose reports are quite old. Let me know if you're wanting to join in the "fun!"

      14 votes