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6 votes
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China cuts amount of time minors can spend playing online video games to three hours a week, with an hour extra during holidays
19 votes -
French games used to be weird
9 votes -
Turns out the hardest part of making a game is...everything
8 votes -
About one out of three men prefer playing female characters. Rethinking the importance of female protagonists in video games.
16 votes -
What was the last game you played that really surprised you?
“Surprise” can be anything from an unexpected plot twist to a novel mechanic to simply liking a game you weren’t expecting to like. What surprised you about the game, and why? Please mark any...
“Surprise” can be anything from an unexpected plot twist to a novel mechanic to simply liking a game you weren’t expecting to like.
What surprised you about the game, and why?
Please mark any spoilers. Code below:
<details> <summary>[Game Title] Spoilers</summary> [Spoiler text goes here] </details>
Results:
[Game Title] Spoilers
[Spoiler text goes here]
19 votes -
Why medieval city-builder video games are historically inaccurate
20 votes -
Video games to be included in Netflix subscription
15 votes -
Steam Summer Sale is live (June 24th - July 8th)
13 votes -
Emulate a CRT screen with ReShade for your pixel-based games
Why? In recent years, there has been a bit of a nostalgia boom for older CRT displays, sort of in the same vein as vinyls over CDs and digital music, and people have been rediscovering the...
Why?
In recent years, there has been a bit of a nostalgia boom for older CRT displays, sort of in the same vein as vinyls over CDs and digital music, and people have been rediscovering the technology.
But something else that people have been rediscovering is that many older titles, from the NES all the way up to the PS2 era, were designed for CRT screens specifically. So much so that the graphical artistry can change entirely! A Twitter account called CRT Pixels has been documenting the difference across many games and the differences can be dramatic. Where LCD screens show each pixel exactly, the nature of CRT displays meant colours shifted and blended into each other and game artists of the time knew, tested for, and took advantage of this to create some amazing visuals.
Sometimes you get the proper colours.
Sometimes you get proper texture detail out of the image.
Sometimes the background details come together and you see what it really was supposed to look like.
Sometimes you'll see the characters actually have expressions on their faces.
Sometimes you get the proper image entirely.
Even in early 3D games, you'll see some pretty significant differences.
Of course, it's not always good but such is the tradeoff. CRTs were blurry by nature and smaller objects will always look less crisp and clear than clean pixel representation. Ultimately it's all a matter of preference. But that doesn't mean trying it out to see if you like it or not should be difficult.
Many emulators come with CRT emulating shaders built-in and support additional ones. But what about native PC games? We've seen a plethora of 2D indie games over the last decade, many going after the older nostalgic styles. Why not try them through a CRT filter and see if they hit that nostalgia button even harder?
I've noticed that a lot of pixel-like or "low-res" indie games look pretty sharp. Too sharp. I wondered what it would be like if they were displayed on CRTs and, through this emulation method, I've come to really prefer it for the majority of pixel graphic games out there. Even games that are going after this new trend of PS1/N64 era graphics like DUSK seem to benefit some from it!
Tools
There are only two things you need to get started on Windows:
Linux
Unfortunately I'm not able to offer much by way of help to Linux users but from what I gathered this is also possible. It will take a little more elbow grease to get Linux's equivalent of ReShade going.
If you're on Linux, you can use vkBasalt instead of Reshade. It's a ground-up post-processing solution like Reshade made for Linux that is mostly compatible with Reshade shaders. I'm not able to test this myself so I can't offer any guidance on setting it up with this particular CRT filter directly. There are some guides involving this, MangoHUD, and GOverlay on reddit's r/linux_gaming that go into more detail on installing this solution.
Setting it up
It's pretty easy! The basic gist is that you will be adding a few files and folders to your game installation folder. I've gone into a lot of detail in these steps but once you go through them, you'll see it's pretty simple. You'll be able to apply it to a new game in less than a minute!
ReShade is not a program you install on your computer! Instead that .exe file is an automated tool that will place the necessary .dll, .ini, and shader files into your game installation.
- Open ReShade and click on the big button that says "Click here to select a game and manage its Reshade installation"
- You will see a list of applications installed on your computer. Select your desired game and click "Use selected application", or use "Browse" and manually navigate to the game's .exe file. I recommend going for Browse immediately, this list can take forever to finish loading.
- On the next screen, it will ask you what rendering API the game uses between DirectX 9, 10/11/12, OpenGL, or Vulkan. Select the proper one. If you are unsure, check PCGamingWiki, you will find it near the end of any game's page under "Other information".
- The final screen will ask you which effect packages you'd like to install. ReShade supports all kinds of postprocessing effects but we won't worry about any of them. Install only the Standard effects so that we get some basic support. Once you hit OK, you're all done with ReShade.
- Navigate to your game's folder and you will see that ReShade has added a few files (dxgi.dll, dxgi.log, ReShade.ini) and a new folder (reshade-shaders).
- Open the .zip you downloaded from the CRT Royale GitHub page and drag the reshade-shaders folder inside that archive into your game installation folder. The files will move and nothing should be overwritten.
- When you launch the game, you should see a notice at the top that Reshade is running. Press Home to bring up the ReShade menu. You'll see a prompt to view a Tutorial to using it. Try it if you like! Otherwise, we can skip it for now. You will then see a list of installed effects (.fx files). Enable CRT_Royale, and it will load immediately.
You're basically done now! The filter will load with its stock settings. Of course, depending on your hardware and personal preferences, you may need to adjust the settings that pop up in the lower portion of the ReShade panel there.
One thing that you may need to address immediately is a severe shake to the screen. This is caused by the Interlacing setting running on a high resolution input on a modern LCD screen. Interlacing is a key part of what gives CRT screens the look they have so disabling it is not my recommendation. Instead, we offset the shake with its options. To stop the shake, increase the Scanline Blend Strength. On my monitor, the shake is quite severe so I set this to a maximum 1.0, and then adjust the Scanline Blend Gamma up to 0.95 to counter the slight darkening this introduces.
Configuring the CRT filter
These instructions are specific to CRT Royale. I chose to use CRT Royale as it is perhaps the most feature-filled CRT emulating shader out there, and is generally the most flexible. There are many other CRT shaders out there that may serve your particular purposes or desires better, especially if you want to recreate certain artifacts from NTSC or PAL signals.
In that last screenshot, you'll see all of the main factors to configure.
Generally, the stock configuration is pretty good! The vast majority of changes you can make are to your own personal preference or even memory of what CRTs were like. You can hover almost all the settings bars to get a good description of what part of the CRT technology the setting emulates.
Here's a selection of the options that you may want to consider playing around with:
- Mask Sample Mode: Choose between Lanczos or Point. This is entirely preferential and can change game by game!
- Mask Size Param: This is effectively the resolution of the CRT display. You can choose between Triad Width or Number of Triads Across, corresponding to the following two settings. If you want a higher resolution screen, or are going after a specific look, try adjusting these settings.
- CRT Gamma or LCD Gamma: Feel free to adjust these if you find the CRT filter makes the game too dark for your liking.
- Halation: This adjusts the emulation how inaccurate the phosphors of a CRT could be! Trying to go after a cheap, busted display from your youth where colours were unsaturated as all heck? Here's the option to get that effect!
- Diffusion: The refraction effect of the glass on CRT displays. Having none basically means you can see all the triads of the CRT technology, the refraction is part of what gives CRTs there "warm" look.
- Geom mode: The screen shape! Was your CRT curved? Flat? Maybe you had the Trinitron cylinder style? This will adjust the display to emulate the effect of playing on differently shaped CRT screens. The next few options under it give you the ability to tweak this further, if desired.
- Border size: The size of the black borders around the screen. I turn this off, this was always my least favourite thing about CRT screens but if you're trying to introduce and adjust that CRT style screen border, use this and the next few settings.
That's it
And that's all you need to try it out, really! I recommend giving it a shot to see if it works for you. It can take a few minutes but if you're like me and find some 2D games look a bit too sharp, the colours don't transition very well, or that the foreground objects stick out a little too obviously then the CRT filter might help it out.
I made a quick album using another 2D pixel graphics game called Blasphemous using the CRT filter. It was the game that finally inspired me to try this out and I think it fits the aesthetic of the game so much better. Things look that much gloomier and contrasted, and the softness added to characters and environments help them seem a bit less "video gamey" to me. Keep in mind that the CRT emulation effect looks a bit odd in still images as it's an effect that is in a constant state of flux.
16 votes -
List of all game release dates announced during E3 2021
13 votes -
Indie bundle for Palestinian aid - Donate $5 for access to games from 800+ devs
10 votes -
Your grandma’s tube TV is the hottest gaming tech
9 votes -
Itch.io indie bundle for Palestinian Aid - May 29th through June 11th
7 votes -
Creating a likeable video game villain
4 votes -
Vibe checks in video games
8 votes -
Looking for suggestions of investigation-based games
Hi all, can anybody recommend any games that are mostly investigation-based with little to no combat? A few that I've really enjoyed were Outer Wilds, Return of the Obra Dinn, and The Sexy...
Hi all, can anybody recommend any games that are mostly investigation-based with little to no combat? A few that I've really enjoyed were Outer Wilds, Return of the Obra Dinn, and The Sexy Brutale. (Two of these have time loop mechanics, and even Obra Dinn has something very similar, but I guess that's not strictly a requirement.) Each one is very story-driven, with complex worlds and events meticulously crafted, and it's your job to figure out exactly how each one works.
19 votes -
What are your feelings towards achievements?
Do you like them? Hate them? Don’t care about them? Take pride in them? What do you consider good/bad achievements? Do they affect how you play games? Do you feel you have to get most/all of them?...
Do you like them? Hate them? Don’t care about them? Take pride in them?
What do you consider good/bad achievements?
Do they affect how you play games?
Do you feel you have to get most/all of them?
What games have used them to novel effect?
Anything else you want to say about the topic is fair game as well. This is an open door for any discussion related to achievements.
14 votes -
Why do so many games have tanks, healers and DPS?
11 votes -
Flamethrower
4 votes -
The power of video game HUDs
8 votes -
Games that save the best for last
7 votes -
What are some casual, kid-friendly games that can be played remotely, over a videoconference such as Zoom?
I have a friend who's in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. They're currently all meeting remotely, for Obvious Covid Reasons. The kid they were paired with asked if they could play a game like...
I have a friend who's in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. They're currently all meeting remotely, for Obvious Covid Reasons.
The kid they were paired with asked if they could play a game like Monopoly or Wheel of Fortune.
I'm sure there are some amazing games out there that are a) well-suited to be played over Zoom or a similar videoconferencing link and b) enjoyable for an adult and a kid to play together (most likely 1-on-1, but if there's games that could be played with N adults and N kids, those could also work)
11 votes -
What game(s) have you tried to repeatedly get into but ultimately could not?
This could be a gaming series that is very popular but for some reason or another doesn't resonate with you, or maybe a weird one-off within a genre that you love. What aspects didn't resonate...
This could be a gaming series that is very popular but for some reason or another doesn't resonate with you, or maybe a weird one-off within a genre that you love. What aspects didn't resonate with you and what could have been done differently that would made it easier to like the game?
21 votes -
Gaming in the quarantine years
9 votes -
There's no "right" way to play a game, and Twitch streamers are sick of being shamed for playing on easy
17 votes -
GambleAware publishes new gaming and gambling research
8 votes -
Xbox is supporting old games, while Sony and Nintendo are leaving them behind
21 votes -
What are some older MMOs that can still be played?
I’ve missed a lot of the older mmos growing up like Everquest and dark age of Camelot. What are some good older mmos to play that can still be enjoyed either as a single player or coop experience...
I’ve missed a lot of the older mmos growing up like Everquest and dark age of Camelot. What are some good older mmos to play that can still be enjoyed either as a single player or coop experience with friends that still have online and supported servers? Doesn’t have to have a massive player base or anything, it can even have just a few thousand players. I would also like to avoid WoW, I’ve had a fair amount of time in it and don’t have any desire to go back.
18 votes -
Unexpected joys of kids playing Atari 2600 games
9 votes -
What kind of game did Cyberpunk 2077 turn out to be, anyway?
12 votes -
What are the oldest games you still regularly play?
For the purposes of the question, I want to ignore official remasters/rereleases since those are essentially separate, newer full releases. I'm interested in old, original games. Titles that you...
For the purposes of the question, I want to ignore official remasters/rereleases since those are essentially separate, newer full releases. I'm interested in old, original games. Titles that you can "manually remaster" yourself with mods are fine, since you're still playing the "original" game to some extent.
Also, "regularly" in the title doesn't have to mean daily/weekly and can instead be "once every couple of years".
- What keeps you coming back to them?
- Is your love for the games strictly nostalgia-based, or could an unacquainted newcomer still find similar value in them?
- If there are any modern games that try to scratch the same itch, do they succeed or fail?
- Would you want an official remaster of the game (if one isn't already available)?
25 votes -
Illinois rep. wants to ban ‘all violent video games’ to curb violence
14 votes -
The first video game
10 votes -
Amazon can make just about anything—except a good video game
12 votes -
What games have you played the "wrong" way?
"Wrong" here can be intentional or unintentional. Maybe you completely missed that a character had a certain ability and got through the entire game without knowing there was so much more you...
"Wrong" here can be intentional or unintentional. Maybe you completely missed that a character had a certain ability and got through the entire game without knowing there was so much more you could be doing! Instead, maybe you specifically challenged yourself to get through the game without using that ability, seeing if you were up to the challenge! Maybe you activated cheats to cruise through on easy mode, or maybe you accidentally activated a cheat and had no idea that the game wasn't supposed to be that easy (ask me about my FF7 playthrough).
"Wrong" can also be however you decide to interpret it: counter to the developer's intentions, exploiting the game engine, uncovering a loophole in the game's systems, pursuing your own goals instead of the game's goals, etc. It's not meant to be a moralistic judgment by any means (play any game however you want!) but more just an identifier that you went against the game's standard norms and expectations.
Tell us what you did "wrong", why you did it that way, and what the outcomes were. Did it make the game more fun or exciting? Did it ruin the game for you?
18 votes -
What are some RPGs that really capitalise on player choice and branching story?
I keep seeing a lot of complaints surrounding Cyberpunk 2077 that it's not a particularly good RPG, because the story is pretty linear and the player choice doesn't really amount to much. I'm not...
I keep seeing a lot of complaints surrounding Cyberpunk 2077 that it's not a particularly good RPG, because the story is pretty linear and the player choice doesn't really amount to much. I'm not yet done with the game so I don't know how accurate that assessment is. But either way, with my limited knowledge of programming and game design, I assume that doing this sort of thing well is a significant technical challenge.
What are some games that rise to this challenge and make the most of player choice and branching story?10 votes -
How should we evaluate narrative tension in videogames?
I recently played through 2013's Tomb Raider and it was a delight -- a wonderful reboot that modernized a series whose originals I loved but that are quite dated by today's standards. In the game,...
I recently played through 2013's Tomb Raider and it was a delight -- a wonderful reboot that modernized a series whose originals I loved but that are quite dated by today's standards.
In the game, Lara, the main character, is in peril constantly, and she is driven into worse and worse situations in an effort to save her crewmates and friend. The narrative of the game demands immediate action -- any dawdling risks all of the characters' lives.
Of course, we know that games' timelines aren't necessarily time-driven but character-driven, so it is trivial for Lara to stop at any point in the game and not advance the story. The killers who are prepared to murder your friends will patiently wait around as long as necessary. Furthermore, the game gives you plenty of reason to do so! There are collectibles to find and story and lore bits scattered about the levels that you have to go out of your way to encounter. Finding these gets you more XP and resources which unlock skills and weapons that make the game easier. The game lets you fast travel back and forth to different areas as needed, and I spent a good amount of time at the story's height of tension not resolving that tension by advancing to the climax but by ignoring it and scouring the island for all the things I missed instead.
I use Tomb Raider as an example here, but I'm sure you can think of plenty of other examples where the game directly incentivize actions that outright subvert its story. What I find interesting is that, on paper, I should care about this discrepancy, but in practice I really don't. In fact it's customary for me to do this in nearly every game I play, as I find that I like "checklisting" and cleaning things up rather than advancing the plot (of course -- do I actually like that, or do I merely like that I get rewards for doing so?).
I don't have a singular question to ask but instead have some jumping off points for discussion:
- Is this undermining of narrative tension an actual issue, or is it just part of the suspension of disbelief embedded into the medium of gaming?
- Have you felt that particular games were made worse due to this issue? If so, why? If not, why not?
- What games are counterexamples -- games whose narrative tension is not undercut by their gameplay? What makes them work? Does that aspect benefit the game, or would the game be roughly the same (or better) without it?
- If you consider this an issue, does the "responsibility" for it lie with the developer of the game for incentivizing gameplay counter to narrative, or does the "responsibility" lie with the player for ruining their enjoyment of the narrative by pursuing other goals?
Also, don't feel limited by these questions or my choice of game and feel free to address anything else relevant to this idea that you feel is important or relevant.
15 votes -
Derek Yu's top ten games of 2020
5 votes -
Game soundtracks: Listening to them outside the game and how they impact the game itself
I was curious how many people on here enjoy listening to game soundtracks outside of the game. I personally love when a game has a great soundtrack as it really adds to the atmosphere and overall...
I was curious how many people on here enjoy listening to game soundtracks outside of the game. I personally love when a game has a great soundtrack as it really adds to the atmosphere and overall immersion in the game. I also like collecting physical copies of them as well.
If you do, which ones are your favorite? Personally I love Shin Megami Tensei, Final Fantasy, and Blazblue soundtracks the most.
19 votes -
Military historian breaks down medieval weapons in video games
3 votes -
Eurogamer's list of games they're looking forward to in 2021
6 votes -
Sorry, wrong apocalypse: Horizon Zero Dawn, Heaven’s Vault, and the eco-critical video game
6 votes -
How much does multiplayer population matter?
4 votes -
What were the best games you played this year?
The question is NOT limited to 2020 releases (though they are certainly included). What were the best games you played this year, and why were they standouts?
31 votes -
What makes different hack’n’slash action games distinct and special?
I’ve been playing Bayonetta on and off for a bit of time, and now that I’m near the end of it (just started Requiem), the genre kinda grew on me, which surprised me quite a bit. I see loads of...
I’ve been playing Bayonetta on and off for a bit of time, and now that I’m near the end of it (just started Requiem), the genre kinda grew on me, which surprised me quite a bit.
I see loads of games being thrown in the same bag:
- Bayonetta
- Devil May Cry
- Darksiders
- Ninja Gaiden
- No More Heroes
- God of War
- several Warriors/Musou games
- etc. etc.
So I was wondering what makes any specific game in the general genre distinct and special, and wanted to discuss in this thread.
My experience with this genre is limited as the Switch is my first ever console, but I will share what little experience I have in a comment.
P.S. I hope this thread will be a bit more lively than my previous try with the Different types of 3D platformers thread.
6 votes -
What were the most novel, unique, or unusual games you played this year?
I asked in another thread about the best games you played this year, which is a question that tends to surface highly polished and often highly familiar gaming experiences. This thread isn't about...
I asked in another thread about the best games you played this year, which is a question that tends to surface highly polished and often highly familiar gaming experiences.
This thread isn't about "best" but about the most interesting -- games that did something different or odd or tried something new. They didn't have to necessarily succeed at that, and they can be very rough around the edges or even outright bad -- what matters is that they went out of their way to offer something very much their own.
11 votes -
Luxtorpeda: Suite of unofficial Steam Play compatibility tools for retro games
11 votes -
How accessible were this year's games?
9 votes -
The secret to the success of Bastion, Pyre, and Hades: No forced crunch, yes forced vacations
12 votes