Deanna Hoak

13 Responses to “Gaming geeks”  

1. 1 Archangel Beth Jul 5th, 2007 at 9:41 pm

   Well, for *real* role-playing games, one needs a live GM. Thus far, I’ve never met a computer “RPG” that really allowed for the wonky sorts of things that player characters come up with during tabletop games. And for those, I like trying to get into the head of Not Me, and solve problems, and do a bit of socializing. Sort of like writing a Mary Sue with rules, in some ways. *cough* [I have to have this bias; I get royalties from a couple of tabletop RPG books...] I’d play more of these if we had A) more time without the attention demanding kid, well, demanding attention, or B) a kid who was slightly less of a spotlight-hog. B is fixing itself, slowly, as she grows up, and I’ve run solo stuff for her. (Her warrior guardswoman is now a werewolf warrior guardswoman…)

   Neverwinter Nights has some interesting storylines, but it’s more of an interactive “book” sort of thing. Riddle-solving here and there, but not very much of it. It’s mostly entertaining because we do it multi-player — me, spouse, and our kid. (With pets and henchpeople and familiars, we’re a small army!) The cooperative aspects of it can be fun, though.

   EverQuest and World of Warcraft… Well, EverCrack and Warcrack, I call them. They seduce me with the PRETTY! And the power-mongering now and then. Deadmines is my [level 64 druid's] personal playpen, muwhahahah. And they’re fun to do with my spouse — cooperating on a single, fairly simply achieved goal, like hunting talbuk, or taking down clefthoof or ogres or the like. And even alone, one can do something and have at least the illusion of progress. (Warcrack’s better about that than EverCrack. After a certain level, EQ pretty much demands grouping to get anywhere in any finite time, and grinding mobs is much more tedious than grinding away at various individual quests.) Both I and the spouse also like tradeskilling in both. The reason my Vah Shir Bard’s last name is “Potter” is because “Clayfur” or “Mudhands” were even worse; she spent a lot of time at the pottery wheel and kiln, and she’ll be spending more, slowly.

2. 2 Alex Jul 5th, 2007 at 10:00 pm

   I don’t play much in the way of video games (I guess if I got a gaming system, my productivity would go downhill), but I’ve done plenty of the books-and-dice kind, enough of a geek anyway to have an RPG article in Dragon back when I was in college.

   For me it’s all about the collaborative, improvised storytelling in all-night sessions. I tended to play whatever game the others were interested in and I could learn the rules for–the dice and rules and prep stuff were secondary to what we came up with on the spot.

3. 3 Cath Jul 5th, 2007 at 10:33 pm

   I play Myst Online: Uru Live via Gametap.

   I play it because I’d kind of addicted. I started because I liked the other Myst games - Myst, Exile, Riven, and then the boxed version of Uru.

   * no shooting/killing/fighting
   * no dying
   * beautiful graphics
   * hellaciously difficult puzzles (usually; or perhaps I am getting less smart! lol)
   * story

   The original games all had more self-contained stories, and while one interacted with the story to a certain extent, they were not truly changeable. You had different endings, but one was obviously more desirable than others.

   Uru has had a rocky life and is still struggling in some ways, and changing in others. It’s very social and a lot of the gameplay is optional. Most of it is shareable, so that if you want help doing Ages, for instance, you can get some friends together and make it both less work and more fun.

   The story these is different, because Cyan is trying to build in a modern storyline with the same punch as the old games. I’m not sure how that will work out in the long run, but it’s interesting to watch it develop.

   I’d never played anything online before, and certainly nothing with other people, but I’d played lots of games with two people sitting at the same desk discussing the problems. I really missed playing games with K and my niece over the years, so making friends to play with in Uru filled a need I hadn’t realized I had.

   I’m not sure this really answers your question specifically. I do still play some single-player games with a friend who comes a bit less often then once a month. Uru lets me play whenever I want to, and if I am desperate for company I can always find *someone*. I belong to a neighborhood with a lot of nice people, too.

   I used to play a lot of things like CivNet and Colonization, but the play is the same thing over and over. I played a lot of the Sierra games — King’s Quest, the Laura Bow games, the hero’s quest/so you want to be a hero series— I liked those, but I didn’t like the dying and killing so much. I like a good atmosphere and a clever puzzle. I liked Lost in Time because it had puzzles that made sense in how you used items. The end wasn’t fabulous, but oh well.

   This is getting long. I shall stop now. :)

4. 4 Fiona Avery Jul 6th, 2007 at 3:00 am

   I play FFXI and enjoy the sheer vast world that Square Enix develops on a yearly basis. I enjoy the reality of the world in its finest details. Getting sets of armor, crafting, fishing, and also like you — exploring.

   I love to do new things too and am not the kind of person who enjoys “level-grinding.” I’m a 65 (out of 75) level samurai, and I started playing over 3 years ago now. I don’t play frequently anymore, but I keep the account alive because there are 3 years on and off that are invested in that ‘character,’ and I enjoy the alternate reality that allows me to interact socially as a samurai, as it were, with other people and to watch their reactions. I have also had many inspirations for writing within the game — not from the game’s story line or scenery, but from the people I have met there and have come to befriend over long periods of time. I really enjoy meeting the other people who appreciate what samurai really are in all sense of the word too.

   The last social aspect relates to my foreign language study: I have accessed the Japanese language ability on my computer, so it’s the best place for me to practice modern, conversational Japanese with all slang and game slang combined. It’s a challenge and I have many Japanese friends who I like to chat with there.

   I have dabbled with minor characters in other classes: red mage, ninja, and white mage, but because this game is so intensive — I never trained them far compared to the samurai. SAM (its class nickname) was also really difficult to play, but even still, I play the MMORPG with my fella as a fun and cheap pastime occasionally. This means that for 3 years plus, we have played the same characters in the same classes together — and have never left one another behind in the realm to gain levels solo or take part in HNML hunts (I think that’s sort of like your raiding). We did everything together, sometimes duoing in a system that was set up only to reward full parties of six players. That made the leveling slower than it was (and it was already excruciatingly difficult to level in FFXI) and we didn’t want that all-consuming feeling that other players had experienced either. So we are basically part-time players, but with a strong dedication to the effort and time put into these characters, who evolve little back stories and personalities all their own - - just like in novel writing.

   I actually get the desire to draw “fan art” sometimes from my experiences. Usually months or years after they occur. It’s a nostalgic thing for me … and it’s usually about some inside joke. I hope you don’t mind me sharing some pictures with you:

   http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/58148651/

   http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/52018317/

   http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/58152453/

   And people have even drawn my character and sent me the pictures as gifts!

   http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/58973786/

   Anyway, it seems that everyone sort of lives outside the game with part of themselves attached to the game to a certain extent and this is some of my own umbilical cord to the world of Final Fantasy laid bare. Enjoy!

   –Fiona

5. 5 Sophia Jul 6th, 2007 at 5:12 am

   I have played the Baldur’s Gate computer game series hundreds of times. Sometimes I take a break of a year or so from it, and then return. I love the non-player characters (NPCs) in it, and trying out different combinations in my party. As well as the conversations the NPCs have with the protagonist, they all have dialogue written for interactions with each other, which are consistently superb. I love the way I can influence the NPCs as the story progresses, and by the final part of the series, see how they have matured and become self-confident. There is also the way that the protagonist has different personal quests depending on the job they have (ranger, fighter, mage, etc.) In comparison, the Neverwinter Nights game (the first one - there is also a second one that I haven’t tried) held no interest for me once I had completed it. Nothing would change the next time if I tried a different character type, and there was only a small sense of having built up a bond with the NPCs.

   Sophia, off to play BGII. :)

6. 6 Jason Jul 6th, 2007 at 6:06 am

   I’ve played Starwars Galaxies (before Sony buggered it up and drove everyone away), Everquest 2, and now World of Warcraft pretty intensively over the last few years. I tend to focus on one game at a time however.
   For me, playing MMORPG’s is all about the people. I love to be in groups with my friends, working together, and communicating either in game chat, or using Teamspeak and the like. Not so keen on the Pick-up-groups as you inevitably get one or two people who leave a bit to be desired, or exhibit a lack of ability to communicate.

   If not MMORPG’s then I like to play strategy games, Civilisation and the like. Civ is a fantastic game that’s epic in scope and scale, and it’s great.

7. 7 TemplarWolf Jul 6th, 2007 at 9:18 am

   I’ve been involved in pena dn paper RPGs since the early 90’s. Most of that time, as the GM. So far, I’ve played three systems of D&D, Shadowrun, White Wolf, Deadlands, and a whole slew of others.

   I’m pretty sure what drew me into it (starting with the old D&D basic red boxed set) was the interactive story telling. It was a way I could get myself to create and tell a story with friends. The first inspiration for wanting to play in a story was reading ElfQuest. I loved the characters and the setting so much, I wanted to create soemthing like it, so I dug the rules out from the back of my closet and started reading them. It largely spiraled out of control from there.

   Even as I’m starting to push 30, I play regularly. Tonight I’m hosting a Deadlands game. It alternates with Furry Pirates.

   On the plus side, the gaming got me into doing more with acutally writing. Most of my early writings were set in game worlds, such as D&D’s Mystara, or the Seattle of Shadowrun. At least the characters were all my own, except for the handful of NPCs I threw in for flavor. From there, I branched out into creating my own worlds.

   Even the stuff I submit for critique at Oddyssey has roots in my gaming. Some of the stuff is for things I’m working to adapt to a gaming system, while others have characters that started out in games.

   Somehow, I don’t think I’ll be packing away my dice any time soon. Much less giving up my Warcrack…

8. 8 Melissa Jul 6th, 2007 at 10:54 am

   I guess I could go on record as a bit of a gamer, I’ve played regular rpgs both as a player and a GM and I like to play various types on the computer and once when I had time I used to play a few of the early mmorpgs.

   I love to play games that have an exploratory or problem solving aspect to them. While I do play first person shooters, I tend to play ones that are story driven and not just the DOOM style shoot-em ups that my hubby prefers to relax with.

   Again back in the days we had time my husband and I would sit down and run through games together, we would team play things like NWN or Diablo, as well as sitting together to run through Monkey Island series or the Kings Quest games. We also used to play You don’t Know Jack and other triva games like that as well.

   For me it’s definately story, and then a chance to explore and interact that get me and keep me playing a game. I also appreciate a charactor I can port into a new adventure cause I hate putting hours into developing a charactor and then having to start over from the beginning.

9. 9 Hilda Jul 6th, 2007 at 3:34 pm

   Both my husband and I currently play World of Warcraft and love it!

   Before WoW I played SIMS, Civilization (I liked it up to CivII, III and IV are too complicated), and Duke Nukem.

   I tried Max Payne but didn’t like killing people and all the subsequent blood - at least Duke Nukem killed monsters. Being part of the Horde, killing the Humanoids in WoW doesn’t bother me for some reason. ;)

   As to your question, primarily I enjoy the escapism of gaming. Hours go by and you’re totally disconnected from reality - I think that’s a good thing.

10. 10 Wendy S. Delmater Jul 7th, 2007 at 12:48 am

    If I cannot sleep I like solitaire games, like Tetris or Dr. Mario, or Collapse, or Bejeweled…especially this one:

    http://www.by-art.com/mjong/mjong.php

    And Roller Coaster Tycoon is a fine way to kill an evening, but I’ve not played that for a dog’s age. I used to like Command & Conquer: that’s a game you play alone, too.

    Escapism is good. As long as it does not give you carpal tunnel syndrome.

11. 11 Corey Feldman Jul 10th, 2007 at 8:53 am

    I have never been much of a gamer. I tried guildwars for a bit, before the baby. It was fun, but I soon lost interest. After I got to a certain level, I just didn’t have the time to dedicate to move forward.

12. 12 Todd Jul 12th, 2007 at 9:06 pm

    It’s been about a decade since I last played a paper and pencil roleplaying game and I became interested in them because I had an interest in wargames in general, and really wanted to use miniatures, but couldn’t afford the massive amounts the big tabletop games required, and loved the small scale of RPGs.

    As far as video/online gaming my I’ve really liked Call of Duty and some of the Star Wars first person shooters. They have qualities of roleplaying and old fashioned arcade games. I also loved Madden NFL because it’s the only way I’ll ever see my favorite team in the Super Bowl again, under my leadership.

    The only video game I actively play at the moment is Combat Mission. It has the appeal of traditional wargames — both miniature and board games such as Squad Leader. (I like World War II.) The tactical decision making, along with blind luck involved sometimes keeps me playing. The AI can also be truly be evil.

13. 13 pecunium Jul 13th, 2007 at 11:54 am

    RPGs need a GM. I lost interest in them years ago. Too much work, as a rule, for too little return. Too much began to hinge on what one had, not what one did.

    The failing was probably mine; not willing to find a better group.

    I like tabletop war games; ideally ones with little lead armies and good maps. Not setting up an historical battle is best. Those sorts of games require lots of people; running platoons (in modern armor games) to Brigades (Napleonic games) and the various issues (which parallel some of the better aspects of RPGs) are challenging; e.g. divorcing oneself from what one sees, as the semi-omniscient player, from what one knows (as the view limited character on the ground).

    And one has to deal with the quirks, strengths and weaknesses of the other players; one’s own side, and not.

    I also like board games.

    I play a few games on the computer. Some strategy games (one’s which don’t just replay the same thing), a few multi-person shooters (all hail the LAN party) and some flying combat games.

    I’ll have to look for Combat Mission.

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