The Video Game Critic

[QUOTE=JustLikeHeaven]
Nice!  That sounds awesome man.  That is exactly how I would like to experience my games. 

It's funny you mentioned boardgames, because I think that has finally usurped videogames as my primary hobby.  It's mostly for the social experience.  I love getting together with friends and people have way less hangups about a boardgame night.  Me and Mrs. JustLikeHeaven routinely host boardgame nights with plenty of food and drink for all.  We mostly do party/social games but every now and then we try something from my boardgame collection that people freak out about.  I have two large bookshelves FULL of boardgames and when people see them they're always like, "I never knew there were so many different boardgames!"  That hobby is going through a sort of golden age at the moment so it's pretty cool.  If you and your friends haven't played The Resistance or Cash n' Guns...I'd recommend doing so.  Easy to learn games, that will leave you reaching for the Advil from laughing so hard.  You'll have a great time![/QUOTE]

Do you watch Tabletop on Youtube? It is a great show about boardgames (hosted by Wil Weaton) where they play a different one each time. Stores that sell boardgames say whatever he plays sells better afterwards. My local comic and hobby store said the same thing happened for them. 

I could quit videogames if I had enough people for consistent boardgame play as often. 

I have become a real impatient gamer, which makes it hard for me to enjoy many recent games. I really don't care about long introduction stories, long tutorials or tutorial levels. Just let me play the freaking game! However, since I skip all that stuff, I usually have no clue what to do and give up. I'll just get back to my 16-bit games.

[QUOTE=Atarifever][QUOTE=JustLikeHeaven]
Nice!  That sounds awesome man.  That is exactly how I would like to experience my games. 

It's funny you mentioned boardgames, because I think that has finally usurped videogames as my primary hobby.  It's mostly for the social experience.  I love getting together with friends and people have way less hangups about a boardgame night.  Me and Mrs. JustLikeHeaven routinely host boardgame nights with plenty of food and drink for all.  We mostly do party/social games but every now and then we try something from my boardgame collection that people freak out about.  I have two large bookshelves FULL of boardgames and when people see them they're always like, "I never knew there were so many different boardgames!"  That hobby is going through a sort of golden age at the moment so it's pretty cool.  If you and your friends haven't played The Resistance or Cash n' Guns...I'd recommend doing so.  Easy to learn games, that will leave you reaching for the Advil from laughing so hard.  You'll have a great time![/QUOTE]

Do you watch Tabletop on Youtube? It is a great show about boardgames (hosted by Wil Weaton) where they play a different one each time. Stores that sell boardgames say whatever he plays sells better afterwards. My local comic and hobby store said the same thing happened for them. 

I could quit videogames if I had enough people for consistent boardgame play as often. [/QUOTE]

Oh yeah, I'm a big fan of Tabletop!  Stores call it the Tabletop effect.  Right after a game is on the show sales increase big time.  Sometimes it really stinks because demand will be so high that you can't find it for a few months.  Right now I'm actually dying to get my hands on Dead of Winter which was just on the show lol.

Like I said...boardgaming has almost completely eclipsed my videogaming.  This thread actually made me realize why I made the shift towards boardgames actually.  For me it's mostly about that experience of gaming with other people.  I just really like the social aspect of gaming.  Plus there are some really cool games out there now! Games like Cosmic Encounter, Battlestar Galactica, Catan, Bohnanza, Power Grid, and Shadows over Camelot offer experiences that you just can't get via videogames.  People think boardgaming still consist of Life, Monopoly, Risk, Trivial Pursuit and Sorry.  It's moved way beyond that!

Over the years, I started losing interest in games I used to love. Like adventure games, such as Grim Fandango, MysT, and Full throttle. I used to love games like that. Now I don't find myself having as much fun with those games. I prefer faster paced games nowadays.

Tabletop always been way beyond those staples, just as video games are far more than shooter and Madden. Think of all the great tactical games of Avalon Hill or FASA or whoever made Star Fleet Battles. Add in the worlds of tabletop role playing, from sword and magical fantasy to time travel to zombies. Add in ancient fun like ouija or 9 mens morris or backgammon, etc.

The commonality, from charades to call of cthulhlu, is the social aspect. Clue is nothing special, but with overly dramatic kids or adults is a hoot. Clue as a video game...not so fun.

Video games are evolving away from being social. Play alone, play online with strangers, but couch multiplayer seems to be less and less important. Not gone, just less important as our lives move online more.

Maybe that is going to be a continuing trend. Makes me want to toss some 20 siders.

[QUOTE=Captain_Crunch]
I have become a real impatient gamer, which makes it hard for me to enjoy many recent games. I really don't care about long introduction stories, long tutorials or tutorial levels. Just let me play the freaking game! However, since I skip all that stuff, I usually have no clue what to do and give up. I'll just get back to my 16-bit games.[/QUOTE]

A lot of recent games are responding to this trend by going back to a more organic teaching structure, like in the original Super Mario Bros., where the "tutorial" was built into the level design, gradually introducing more concepts as you progress through the first level. There was no text signposting that first level as a "tutorial," but it served that function nevertheless. Bethesda games--Skyrim specifically--are known for having well-integrated learning curves. The first area of Dark Souls teaches you virtually everything you'll need to know throughout the game. Basically all FPSes share a common design language so skills acquired in one easily transfer to another. Those also get you into the action quicker than other genres.

Of course, this is coming from someone who values depth, complexity, and artful storytelling more than immediacy and accessibility. I'd prefer to spend more time with fewer games than spend a little bit of time with many games.

When I was a kid with my SNES, I had absolutely no way to research games before buying them , so my game buying consisted of three things: did the cover look cool, could I afford it with my $5 allowance, and would my parents let me play it. I got a PS2 when I was 12,and it stayed pretty much the same since my parents had a strict "No M-Ratings" rule. I got my PS3 as a graduation present, and since I had a drivers license and a part time job I had a lot more freedom in buying whatever game I wanted whenever I wanted it. Since it was my first ever console to have built in internet, I became addicted to online multiplayer deathmatches. Now I'm all about story. If a game has a good narrative, I want it. That means I play lots of RPGs. All things considered, 7 year old gamer me probably wouldn't even recognize 22 year old gamer me.

[QUOTE=DaHeckIzDat]When I was a kid with my SNES, I had absolutely no way to research games before buying them , so my game buying consisted of three things: did the cover look cool, could I afford it with my $5 allowance, and would my parents let me play it.[/QUOTE]

I can sympathize, although our kid years are separate by a generation.  I also had very little way to research games back in the 2nd generation, and the cover art was basically a mushroom trip away from what the actual game was.  Getting games was infrequent both due to my limited funds, the expense of games, and where games were sold.   There really was nothing objectionable back then really, mostly, just time spent gaming.

One world of difference now from my youngling days of gaming is I feel like Doctor Who. I can time travel between the eras with a bit of grinding and wheezing and flashing lights.  I have consoles from all these different eras of gaming, going from Pong to Pac Man to Panzer General. 

That freedom comes at an odd cost.  It promotes dabbling into games instead of deep diving because choice gives you an easy out.

[QUOTE=scotland17][QUOTE=DaHeckIzDat]When I was a kid with my SNES, I had absolutely no way to research games before buying them , so my game buying consisted of three things: did the cover look cool, could I afford it with my $5 allowance, and would my parents let me play it.[/QUOTE]

I can sympathize, although our kid years are separate by a generation.  I also had very little way to research games back in the 2nd generation, and the cover art was basically a mushroom trip away from what the actual game was.  Getting games was infrequent both due to my limited funds, the expense of games, and where games were sold.   There really was nothing objectionable back then really, mostly, just time spent gaming.

One world of difference now from my youngling days of gaming is I feel like Doctor Who. I can time travel between the eras with a bit of grinding and wheezing and flashing lights.  I have consoles from all these different eras of gaming, going from Pong to Pac Man to Panzer General. 

That freedom comes at an odd cost.  It promotes dabbling into games instead of deep diving because choice gives you an easy out.[/QUOTE]

There's also the issue that my parents never liked that I played video games. I seriously don't think my dad ever forgave my grandma for giving me the Super Nintendo that got me hooked to games for my birthday. Since the nearest used game store was a thirty minute drive away, I could only ever go when one of my parents decided it had been long enough since the last visit. I should point out that I got the SNES just before the PS1 and N64 were both coming out, so I was already a generation behind HAD to go to that particular store to get new ones. That resulted in me getting maybe two with my own money a year,and another one from mom and dad for Christmas. Needless to say, it felt like freaking freedom when I was able to drive to the store by myself.

[QUOTE=DaHeckIzDat] There's also the issue that my parents never liked that I played video games.  [/QUOTE]

I wonder if some parental disapproval is not an uncommon event for people on the forums.   That's something that changes over time...maybe one day you'll be a parent and have to see how you feel from the other side of the divide. 

1980s parents could see that their child was learning about computers on an 8 bit computer, something lauded as valuable in this new post-Space Age Computer Age.    So, sure we don't have smart houses and robot butlers all these years later, but the promise of those things probably let me play a lot of BeachHead2 and Bards Tale.