What are you playing?

[Mel81x+]

1 hour ago, ASF said:

If you think that the gaming industry is as good or even better than 15/20 years ago, you're kidding yourself. But each to their own.

Hmm, kidding myself, nope just checked definitely not. Like I said, quite a myopic perspective of an industry that grows not every year but every day in almost every facet it has put out there so yes its gotten miles better over two decades, forget about matching itself two decades ago. As for to each their own, fair point not even a debate there but now I am curious about what exactly was so great almost two decades ago that is eternally lost to the industry today?

[Pyfish+]

Enjoying wasting hours away on Forza Horizon 4 at the moment on Xbox One. It's set mostly in the UK which is interesting and I'm enjoying the online adventure games at the minute although I can see them getting a bit repetitive and they should introduce some new ones.

There's some DLC out called Fortune Island but not too fussed about that until the next DLC comes out and I can get a better cost for it.

[True Blue]

Currently Rise of Civilizations on my mobile. It's an historic strategy game, very short on time for any other serious gaming.

[ASF]

On 14/01/2019 at 21:56, Mel81x said:

Hmm, kidding myself, nope just checked definitely not. Like I said, quite a myopic perspective of an industry that grows not every year but every day in almost every facet it has put out there so yes its gotten miles better over two decades, forget about matching itself two decades ago. As for to each their own, fair point not even a debate there but now I am curious about what exactly was so great almost two decades ago that is eternally lost to the industry today?

That's an overly optimistic view of the present gaming industry. Growing/being bigger doesn't mean being better. You only have to look at the cinema industry. It's bigger and making more money than in any other era before, and it's definitely not better than in the past. The quality has diminished and the same has happened with video games.

What made games better 15/20 years ago was innovation, games being made for players, challenging games (not friendly user), lack of greed. You had quality releases in a monthly rate, sometimes even weekly, for all platforms. One game, newly released, was pricey, so quality was important. Obviously, there was crap being made like you always have, but you could feel the care developers had while making a new game. The end product mattered, because us, the players, mattered. 

Feel free to keep thinking things are better in the present. It has gotten worse and will only continue to do so, while people such as yourself keep buying and feeding the greedy companies, who will continue to shit on the players.

[Mel81x+]

7 hours ago, ASF said:

That's an overly optimistic view of the present gaming industry. Growing/being bigger doesn't mean being better. You only have to look at the cinema industry. It's bigger and making more money than in any other era before, and it's definitely not better than in the past. The quality has diminished and the same has happened with video games.

What made games better 15/20 years ago was innovation, games being made for players, challenging games (not friendly user), lack of greed. You had quality releases in a monthly rate, sometimes even weekly, for all platforms. One game, newly released, was pricey, so quality was important. Obviously, there was crap being made like you always have, but you could feel the care developers had while making a new game. The end product mattered, because us, the players, mattered. 

Feel free to keep thinking things are better in the present. It has gotten worse and will only continue to do so, while people such as yourself keep buying and feeding the greedy companies, who will continue to shit on the players.

I hear all the being better, weekly releases yet absolutely no data to back it up. What makes you think the gaming industry isn't doing that? Here lets dissect your post once again and pick the parts that are possibly fabricated since my assumption is you don't play games as much anymore.

innovation - Lets talk innovation. I guess when you look at the last twenty years we've seen growing narratives in games, innovative game mechanics like the ones used on the new Odyssey game from Nintendo, Open world reach like we have on the new Red Dead Redemption, Action-Story mix like on the new Wolfenstein, Brutal rail mission mode system with enemy improvement on the new Doom, Crytek and all their fantastic inclusions to the mix of stealth and difficulty. But hey I guess someone like you would be content with playing a MGS game like the first Solid one sitting back and thinking "oh hes never going to outdo himself" when he did less than 20 years later with Snake Eater, then he took it one step further with the Phantom Pain as well. Looking at games over the last twenty years and thinking man they've milked it with stuff made in the late 90s is once again a myopic view but I am slowly realizing that's the kind of person I am talking to. Try games like Persona 5, Limbo, Bioshock, Portal 2, Little Big Planet, etc and tell me there's no innovation, I'd put money on it that you can't. I won't even get into the fighting game genre which has seen the most innovation in game mechanics over the last 20 years.

games being made for players - Now I know you're trolling. Once of the best innovations the industry has had over the last 10 years is player inclusion via group gaming, MMORPGs and cross-functional play. These are designed to engage players and give them the ability to branch out and play the game as they see fit. Open world games (as stated above) have grown to a scale that people couldn't perceive 20 years ago. You think Fortnite isn't a game for players? You think games like GoW, Zelda, etc aren't for players? 

challenging games (not friendly user) - I guess you haven't picked up a copy of NiOh or Dark Souls? Well if you had then this statement would be moot. Ever played Gaiden on Ninja mode? If you think that's user friendly then your definition of user friendly must be wanting to snap your controller in half. Ever played a Guilty Gear game? Probably not. Ever played a team sport game and engaged with another player who just gave you the beating of your life even though you've got a great handle on the mechanics? Guess not. Tetris can be challenging if you want it to be so I don't get this challenging game concept what and odd thing to say. Console and PC gaming hasn't really aged improperly what you're probably speaking to is Mobile gaming which is a cluster-fuck in itself and if it went away I wouldn't be upset at all but it is for a demographic I don't belong to so being angry about it is moot.

lack of greed - I suppose you're talking about companies that had micro-reach and hence they couldn't really be classified as greedy because they weren't reaching as many customers? It's a business and if you think they aren't in it for money and just for creative acclaim then that is the most delusional statement I have ever heard from a gamer/person in my life. Platform dispersion is heavy these days and there are companies out there making games for a pittance which are great games on platforms like Steam which do gain mass following. The flipside of this coin is that you have companies like EA which get all the spotlight (guessing thats where you're basing your entire view on the industry from not actually picking up a game and playing it) so its quite natural that couch surfers come with this view to the table. Micro-transactions are the new in-thing to hate and I don't like them just as much as the next person but is every single game out there riddled with this problem? No. 

"Feel free to keep thinking things are better in the present. It has gotten worse and will only continue to do so, while people such as yourself keep buying and feeding the greedy companies, who will continue to shit on the players." and then there's this. Thanks for telling me how I should be thinking about the gaming industry and that I am somehow feeding a greed-crazed engine when you're talking hypothetically about how its gotten worse without actually having played any games to make that clear statement. Are there duds more than successes? Absolutely, its a creative business at the end of the day and this will always be the case. Are people far more educated in their view of games and have companies got a better reach to gamers? Yes they have and I am glad that they do because it forces them to make better and more engaging games which they do. Do I think you're a person who came here after reading a news article without having actually played any games and thereby adding zero value to the discussion? Most certainly. 

If you're so incessant that its gotten worse prove the point instead of regurgitating the statement and we can have a discussion but I'd rather close it here since its quite clear you've got a view on things that will never match up to the reality of what things really are. I play a lot of games in a year since its my downtime/unwind method and I have played a shit tonne of games since the late 80s to know this is only getting better not worse. 

[ASF]

On 17/01/2019 at 05:09, Mel81x said:

I hear all the being better, weekly releases yet absolutely no data to back it up. What makes you think the gaming industry isn't doing that? Here lets dissect your post once again and pick the parts that are possibly fabricated since my assumption is you don't play games as much anymore.

innovation - Lets talk innovation. I guess when you look at the last twenty years we've seen growing narratives in games, innovative game mechanics like the ones used on the new Odyssey game from Nintendo, Open world reach like we have on the new Red Dead Redemption, Action-Story mix like on the new Wolfenstein, Brutal rail mission mode system with enemy improvement on the new Doom, Crytek and all their fantastic inclusions to the mix of stealth and difficulty. But hey I guess someone like you would be content with playing a MGS game like the first Solid one sitting back and thinking "oh hes never going to outdo himself" when he did less than 20 years later with Snake Eater, then he took it one step further with the Phantom Pain as well. Looking at games over the last twenty years and thinking man they've milked it with stuff made in the late 90s is once again a myopic view but I am slowly realizing that's the kind of person I am talking to. Try games like Persona 5, Limbo, Bioshock, Portal 2, Little Big Planet, etc and tell me there's no innovation, I'd put money on it that you can't. I won't even get into the fighting game genre which has seen the most innovation in game mechanics over the last 20 years.

games being made for players - Now I know you're trolling. Once of the best innovations the industry has had over the last 10 years is player inclusion via group gaming, MMORPGs and cross-functional play. These are designed to engage players and give them the ability to branch out and play the game as they see fit. Open world games (as stated above) have grown to a scale that people couldn't perceive 20 years ago. You think Fortnite isn't a game for players? You think games like GoW, Zelda, etc aren't for players? 

challenging games (not friendly user) - I guess you haven't picked up a copy of NiOh or Dark Souls? Well if you had then this statement would be moot. Ever played Gaiden on Ninja mode? If you think that's user friendly then your definition of user friendly must be wanting to snap your controller in half. Ever played a Guilty Gear game? Probably not. Ever played a team sport game and engaged with another player who just gave you the beating of your life even though you've got a great handle on the mechanics? Guess not. Tetris can be challenging if you want it to be so I don't get this challenging game concept what and odd thing to say. Console and PC gaming hasn't really aged improperly what you're probably speaking to is Mobile gaming which is a cluster-fuck in itself and if it went away I wouldn't be upset at all but it is for a demographic I don't belong to so being angry about it is moot.

lack of greed - I suppose you're talking about companies that had micro-reach and hence they couldn't really be classified as greedy because they weren't reaching as many customers? It's a business and if you think they aren't in it for money and just for creative acclaim then that is the most delusional statement I have ever heard from a gamer/person in my life. Platform dispersion is heavy these days and there are companies out there making games for a pittance which are great games on platforms like Steam which do gain mass following. The flipside of this coin is that you have companies like EA which get all the spotlight (guessing thats where you're basing your entire view on the industry from not actually picking up a game and playing it) so its quite natural that couch surfers come with this view to the table. Micro-transactions are the new in-thing to hate and I don't like them just as much as the next person but is every single game out there riddled with this problem? No. 

"Feel free to keep thinking things are better in the present. It has gotten worse and will only continue to do so, while people such as yourself keep buying and feeding the greedy companies, who will continue to shit on the players." and then there's this. Thanks for telling me how I should be thinking about the gaming industry and that I am somehow feeding a greed-crazed engine when you're talking hypothetically about how its gotten worse without actually having played any games to make that clear statement. Are there duds more than successes? Absolutely, its a creative business at the end of the day and this will always be the case. Are people far more educated in their view of games and have companies got a better reach to gamers? Yes they have and I am glad that they do because it forces them to make better and more engaging games which they do. Do I think you're a person who came here after reading a news article without having actually played any games and thereby adding zero value to the discussion? Most certainly. 

If you're so incessant that its gotten worse prove the point instead of regurgitating the statement and we can have a discussion but I'd rather close it here since its quite clear you've got a view on things that will never match up to the reality of what things really are. I play a lot of games in a year since its my downtime/unwind method and I have played a shit tonne of games since the late 80s to know this is only getting better not worse. 

Mel, I used to think that you were a decent poster, but perhaps I was wrong, because now you're looking like you're not a very smart guy. So let me put this to you, like I would to a 5 year-old.

You don't need to make an assumption about the fact that I don't play video games anymore, because I said it clearly in my first post of January 12.

First thing I need to point out is that you aren't very good at Maths. The best period in gaming history was between the mid 90's until 2007. 2007 was, in my opinion, the last great year in video games, with diversity and quality titles being launched for every platform. I never once said they milked everything in the late 90's, so you're talking out of your ass there.

But I do think that the best innovations are long gone. Now is mostly copy and repeat of what has been previously done. Which has been a recurring phenom, not only in games, but in other areas of culture, art, etc.

When I mentioned games being made for players I was talking about a product being made just for the player to have the most fun of it, not having to worry if he needs to pay something extra, apart from the game itself, to be able to advance in the game. I might be wrong here, but all these MMORPG's just seem a poor excuse to take a few more bucks from people.

My definition of challenging is not snapping my controller in half. But it's also not having pointers of where to go, what to do all the time, treating me like a halfwit. I've played and have games like Gran Turismo, Devil May Cry, Burnout, so I know what a challenging, but not user friendly, game can and should be.

Of course companies are in for the money as well. It would be stupid to think otherwise. But there's a reasonable limit and I think that one has been surpassed for quite a while now.

I didn't come here after reading a news article. I still follow video games news and discuss it with people who are still gamers to this day. And they, the same as I, feel the same way I do. I'm sure there are a lot of people who want to play this high tech games that come out, but the magic is lost and nothing you say or think will make it come back. For someone that supposedly plays lots of games, you clearly don't understand this feeling.

So please, feel free to write another post about how new games are amazeballs or how I'm not a gamer anymore, so my opinion means nothing. You come across as a fan boy, that can't take criticism about something he likes.

[Mel81x+]

Finally played Bright Memory Ep. 1 this weekend https://store.steampowered.com/app/955050/Bright_Memory__Episode_1/

Actually quite good and not your run-of-the-mill shooter. Plus its cheap on Steam so if you like games with a lot of weapon switching then this might be up your alley. The amazing thing is that this entire game was written by a single person and apparently its gotten very good reviews which I suppose are fair since its got quite a bit of content as well. I just hope they keep it as fresh for Ep 2.

[Mel81x+]

7 hours ago, ASF said:

So please, feel free to write another post about how new games are amazeballs or how I'm not a gamer anymore, so my opinion means nothing. You come across as a fan boy, that can't take criticism about something he likes.

I'll keep it short so as to get back to what this thread is about. Gaming, as you said, isn't just an entertainment block anymore and has gone beyond it for good or bad depending on how you see it. Will we all like what's happened? Probably not. Do I agree with what/anything you've said? Only a blind person would think so. So, like I said, in the interest of not going around in circles about things we'll never see eye-to-eye on I'll close the argument here because honestly its adding zero value to this thread. Feel free to continue it if you'd like but I still think the gaming industry hasn't lots its charm totally and puts out grade A (in some cases industry altering) titles every two years or so and maybe they are hard to come across but if you look hard enough you'll find whatever works for you.

Edited January 20, 2019 by Mel81x

[PrinceSpeedyG]

A lot of AC Odyssey before my current holiday. 

[Mel81x+]

@Bluebird Hewitt have you tried Smash online? Seems like its consistently dropping and not connecting for me.

[Bluebird Hewitt]

5 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

@Bluebird Hewitt have you tried Smash online? Seems like its consistently dropping and not connecting for me.

I've only done a private lobby with a few people. I remember the previous versions (Brawl and Wii U, Brawl especially) having terrible online so barely bothered.

If you wanted one time, I could give you a game sometime and see how it goes (general time, time difference and all that).

[Mel81x+]

3 minutes ago, Bluebird Hewitt said:

I've only done a private lobby with a few people. I remember the previous versions (Brawl and Wii U, Brawl especially) having terrible online so barely bothered.

If you wanted one time, I could give you a game sometime and see how it goes (general time, time difference and all that).

I'm going to try and see whether I can connect but yeah we should play sometime seeing as it would be a lot more fun online. Have you finished the World of Light?

[Bluebird Hewitt]

Just now, Mel81x said:

I'm going to try and see whether I can connect but yeah we should play sometime seeing as it would be a lot more fun online. Have you finished the World of Light?

I did. Didn't realise how much I did as I completed the entire thing at 97.88%. Got the rest of the spirits just because I'm a sad bastard and wanted to make it 100%.

[nudge+]

Just installed Stardew Valley today. BIG mistake. Spent the last couple of hours after work farming and catching fish. FFS

[Bluewolf]

11 minutes ago, nudge said:

Just installed Stardew Valley today. BIG mistake. Spent the last couple of hours after work farming and catching fish. FFS

Did you get to ride the pony ??? 

[nudge+]

1 minute ago, Bluewolf said:

Did you get to ride the pony ??? 

Woah slow down there, I just managed to plant some parsnips, catch an anchovie and steal someone's spring onions well and also visited the saloon a couple of times... 

[Bluewolf]

Just now, nudge said:

Woah slow down there, I just managed to plant some parsnips, catch an anchovie and steal someone's spring onions well and also visited the saloon a couple of times... 

How many trees have you chopped down then?? 

[Bluewolf]

38 minutes ago, nudge said:

Just installed Stardew Valley today. BIG mistake. Spent the last couple of hours after work farming and catching fish. FFS

 

23 minutes ago, nudge said:

Woah slow down there, I just managed to plant some parsnips, catch an anchovie and steal someone's spring onions well and also visited the saloon a couple of times... 

Just remind me that if you ever get to do any work for me in the future that I should avoid paying you by the hour... 

[Bluebird Hewitt]

1 hour ago, nudge said:

Just installed Stardew Valley today. BIG mistake. Spent the last couple of hours after work farming and catching fish. FFS

Never played it but heard it's meant to be very good. In fact, one of the best games of its year.

[Rab]

I've been playing Blacks Ops 4 a shit tonne. My PS4 has been an expensive paperweight until Christmas came along. I absolutely love it. It's probably my favourite Call of Duty since Black Ops 2.

[nudge+]

11 hours ago, Bluewolf said:

How many trees have you chopped down then?? 

So many I'm a certified lumberjack by now!!!

11 hours ago, Bluewolf said:

Just remind me that if you ever get to do any work for me in the future that I should avoid paying you by the hour... 

 

10 hours ago, Bluebird Hewitt said:

Never played it but heard it's meant to be very good. In fact, one of the best games of its year.

It is good at what it is - an open-ended casual farming simulator/RPG; for me it is perfect when I just want to play a relaxing game with few limitations on my own pace. I used to play quite a bit of the original Harvest Moon: Back to Nature on PS One years ago and Stardew Valley is a very nice and improved throwback to that.

[Mel81x+]

Just replayed RE:Revelations and don't remember it being as much as it was this time around. Fun game and pretty cheap too, the story was actually quite well thought out as well.

[Pyfish+]

Been playing Lego City Undercover for the past few nights. I think I may be addicted! It's a great game to play to just wind down before bed. 

[RandoEFC+]

Lego Island was a sensational game when I was 6 years old.

[nudge+]

Okay, so I made an even bigger mistake and got Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic today  I'm normally not into RPGs much, but since I love Star Wars and always heard raving reviews about the game, I decided to give it a go. And I'm glad I did as the story and the gameplay is just incredible and I'm only just starting... Anyone played it before?