h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Not significantly, that I'm aware. Maybe there are some that only want to use computers for ordinary things like work and shopping. Others I know for certain do all the standard Facebook, YouTube, Twitter stuff. Although it's worth remembering that there are whole swathes of people out there whose lives don't revolve around computers.

Although I'm sure there'll be a high correlation between being mad keen on technology and playing computer games. Obviously.

Someone mentioned addiction. For me that word would be a bit strong, but it's true that if I didn't have access to computer games, I would get more 'other things' done. Whether that would make me a happier person is another thing, but a more productive one, probably.

I would though still need to find another form of 'family compatible downtime', which would possibly be something more passive, like television.

sprout

I'm certainly not claiming to get anything done!

There are people who become 'addicted' to computer games, but like most of these things it's such an insignificantly small number the amount of media attenion it gets is completely baffling.

Now if you'll excuse me I get the shakes if I haven't played Skyrim in more than 12 hours.

Re-subbing...

"Someone mentioned addiction. For me that word would be a bit strong"

I don't think so, at least for some games. There's an interesting mechanic at work in Call of Duty's recent iterations online.

At first, one is lowly, ill equipped and underpowered, and playing against others who are higher ranked, with better weapons, better attachments to those weapons (e.g. grenade launchers, thermal sights etc.), and more powers (e.g. the ability to not appear on radar, the ability to move silently or reload more quickly).

As one plays, and scores points, more equipment and abilities are unlocked. Each time a milestone of any kind is reached, a heavy metal guitar chord is played, and a sign notifies you of your achievement, and you get a little thrill of satisfaction.

But the more you play, the more achievements you tick off... the further apart those moments become. At first, you're getting achievements constantly, every game. Eventually, you're playing entire skirmishes with just one achievement as your aim, and sometimes not even that. It sucks you in with early success, and keeps you in by progressively rationing that success, until you reach the top level and there's little left to do.

And then comes the coup de grace - Prestige Mode. You trade all your achievements for a badge, and go back to the lowest level again. And it's like being in love again - those guitar chords are coming every few seconds, and the thrill is back... but you're better at the game now, so you advance quicker, the achievements left to get thin out, and before you know it, you're near the top level again and fighting and fighting for just a few crumbs, and Prestige Mode is in sight...

The designers have clearly structured the thing and focus grouped it to within an inch of its life to ensure that it's about as addictive as it can be without being physically wired to the pleasure centre of your brain. It's genius. I'm so glad my XBox is currently broken...

Post 29 "Probably wise. Star Wars games in the main suck donkey balls. The exception is the lego star wars games, which are close to perfect family entertainment."

I have to take exception here. Tie Fighter (form 1995) is for my money one of the ifnest games of all time. Absolutely superb and still great fun to playv now. Knights of the old Republic on the Xbox 1 was boss too....

FB

Fair enough. The old Atari vector-graphic arcade game from about 1985 was pretty good, too, on its own terms. That's two or three more... out of how many? I want the thirty minutes I wasted playing "Masters of Teras Kasi" back. And let's not even mention "Super Bombad Racing"... oops, too late.

Oh and on the "heritage of games" thing do check out Charlie Brooker's excellent "Gameswipe" about computer games. It is ace, and I wish they would do some more of it at some point.

FB

I shan't disagree that most Star Wars games have been unplayable drivel. But when they are good....

FB

(I do remember being disappointed no British video game magazine ever came up with a decent headline pun based on the fact that "Teras Kasi" rhymed with "khazi" which was appropriate for a game that should be flushed down the toilet.)

(And while I'm on headline puns, one of THE best I have ever seen was in Official Playstation Magazine in about 1998. The article's subject was the large pool of games released in Japan which were not available over here because of perceived cultural difference, and how it was possible that publishers and gamers were missing out. Their headline, for this discussion of the *potential* market for these *far eastern-origin* games?

...

"Latent Orient".

I bet whoever came up with that took the rest of the day off...)

Note for our non-UK readers: there's a relatively low-level professional football team from east London called "Leighton Orient".

Have we reached a good point to discuss gamification?

http://gamification.org/wiki/Gamification

I don't play computer games. I have played them. I watched B playing shootemup games and shouted 'duck' a lot when they were new to both of us. Ones with storylines even, but the problem is they are a bit like vampire porn novels - there's an awful lot of ah, business, to not very much story and if you are resenting the business because you want to find out what happens next, you are probably reading the wrong series/ playing the wrong game. I haven't found one yet where I haven't quickly started thinking for gods sake lets just get the killing over quickly so we can see what's round the corner. In terms of piloting the people myself, most of them require a skill level I don't have or can't be bothered to acquire. Wii is too boring. And I am not much interested in puzzles. I got on better with Civilisation and Zeus, especially Zeus, but Zeus has a habit of making you, well, me, play for ages and then you realise the whole town is borked on some fundamental aspect, and will require days more to fix and I lose the will to go on. So I haven't played one of those for ages either. I'm not much of a stratagist either, to be honest. Or do I mean tactician?

However, I have had a lot of fun, more fun than most other fun things I've tried, joining in the roleplaying adventures here.

>> Oh and the day I see you ever dare to criticise Hoo here will be a special day indeed.

Here you go, Effers - your special day, the posts I yikesed were by Hoo and Alfster: F19585?thread=8271370&skip=20&show=40#p110194184

There are other examples, but finding specific yikesed posts is time consuming and I am at work. For what it's worth, though, it was me who coined the rather sarcastic term "Dirty Angels" for those who opposed Della in the Della Wars, and Hoo is under no illusions about what I thought of his treatment of Justin the Preacher.

Glad to have made today special for you.

But back to games, or lack thereof...

I read the first page then skipped a whoooole loads of what looked like bad tempers

The last gamey game I really enjoyed playing was Discworld Noir on the PC, and before that lemmings. I never could get interested in any of the shoot 'em up games, there might have been strategy and planning etc involved but the wandering around shooting people/monsters just bored me.

I do have a Wii, and play some of the games on there occasionally, more socially than on my own - I like Just Dance and some of the wii fit games where you run over obstacle courses but would rather do the real life version of running/cycling type games.

I probably haven't found the right game to totally grab my imagination, but I have so little leisure time at home I don't think I can afford to find one! I get maybe an hour to an hour and a half of an evening, during which I sit down and eat dinner and watch something on the telly. I suppose when I have finished eating I could play something, but I've lost touch with the gaming world to the extent that I don't know of anything I'd rather play than spend my hour watching Borgen, or Sherlock, or whatever other drama I've managed to sky+ this week.

I think Sol has nailed it.

Yes...graphics...plot...characterisation...I get all that. But why does it have to involve so much farting around shooting zombies?

Because shooting zombies is *fun*.

A short note on Star Wars: The new Star Wars MMO is actually good. I did not expect it, really, over a year ago I watched their homepage and it looked not very promising. But I played the beta in December and it's really a good game. They did it well. Once it's cheaper I may buy it and play a few months.
But as I said, I'm waiting for Guild Wars 2, which has the additional benefit of no monthly fees.


I don't like zombies.

>>why does it have to involve so much farting around shooting zombies?

There are indeed a lot of crass games aimed at the 15 year-old mindset, although there is also quite a variety of other stuff.

I would like to see all sorts of innovative themes; how about one where you are a stand-up comedian trying out material to a difficult crowd, where the quality of your material is somehow judged (perhaps by other gamers)? Or a chef cooking a new dish where the flavour combinations are accurately assessed (I don't accept the naf online baking games fulfil this remit)? Or a Marxist attempting to give the workers the means of production?

>>I don't like zombies.

All the more reason to shoot 'em, I'd gave thought.


>>a Marxist attempting to give the workers the means of production?

Well leaving aside that the whole point is that they have to seize it for themselves...there is actually a notoriously dull and pious boardgame:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/70106/class-struggle-fun-for-the-whole-family

(I don't play board or card games, either...except for Flux which ex-Researcher Snailrind introduced me to)

I'd probably enjoy the shooting zombies/ solving puzzles/ planning bits if I were better at them. That's the thing really.