Gaming – Page 279 – A Pixel Nomad

So What Ever Happened To…

Remember when everyone was playing Stardew Valley? I sure do, and I was right there with them. Everyone was talking about it, and we were all having a blast re-living our various Animal Crossing day dreams. There were more of my friends playing that game than are currently playing No Man’s Sky (47 to 33) but I’m hearing a LOT more about No Man’s Sky these days.

Are any of my friends still playing? I’m not really sure. I do know I only have 2/40 achievements unlocked, though a number of them didn’t release until I had been playing for a while.

So what happened?

Well, nothing in specific. It just happens to be the way playing video games goes. We all get drawn towards a game for a little while, play it a whole lot, burn out, and move on. In fact October should be a popular month for this with the latest Civilization game releasing (I’m so excited, but it will be another one of those games I have to wait to purchase, especially since I’m due in October).

I have lots of games like this in my steam library. Some games we revisit and play over and over again, they grab a hold of us and never let go and we’re constantly wandering back (Skyrim, I’m looking at you). Games like Civilization, Cities: Skylines, Banished, Tropico, and even ‘simple’ games like Cook Serve Delicious and Triple Town manage to get me to play them over and over. Other games, not so much. Of course there’s also the issue of taking a look at my library and then spending the next few hours trying to decide what would be good to play, or what I’m in the mood for.

What about everyone else? How do games catch your attention, and if you have a large game library, how do you decide exactly what it is you want to play?

Invasions, and more Invasions

I didn’t get a whole lot of gaming done this weekend, but I did manage to complete all 6 of the different invasions that are going on in World of Warcraft. I purchased the leather appearance set because none of my leather wearing characters happen to be going through the invasions, and my paladin finished off her own set along with the boosted weapon (ilevel 725). I’ve been trying to think of ways to make money in game, but aside from garrisons (which are nerfed) things are at a bit of a standstill until Legion comes out and then we discover the latest money making effort.

To be honest, I’m already a bit tired of invasions and it hasn’t even been a full week yet. The experience is good for lower level characters but once you collect the items you want (including any appearance stuff, and of course the pet) there’s very little reason to keep doing them.

So it’s up to me to figure out what else I can do to keep busy. Running old dungeons and raids for transmog items is certainly one option. Making sure my professions are all at 700 is another. Leveling up that priest I started. There’s lots to do. It’s just a matter of me WANTING to do it. Meanwhile, a large portion of my friends are all involved with this game..

Their screenshots are beautiful, and I’m having a good time living vicariously through their game play in the meantime. The chances of them still playing it by the time I’m able to afford it are probably slim to none, if I know my friends, but we’ll see! As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

Saturday Post: Presented Without Comment

Everyone is Playing

I’m pretty sure everyone I know is playing No Man’s Sky, whether it’s on console or PC. I love watching gamers bond together this way, but on the other hand it also makes me feel pretty left out. At $66.49 Canadian it’s an expense I just can’t justify with a little one on the way. There’s still a car seat, stroller, crib, and clothing to purchase before October rolls around, and finding work-from-home jobs just hasn’t been all that kind to me. I’m glad I have my priorities in order, but it’s always nice to be a part of the gaming excitement, too.

With that being said, I do have tons of games to play. My World of Warcraft account is taken care of until July 2017 and Legion is on the way. This gives me a nice social game to play without a lot of cost worries. I’ve got a number of steam games, and Wurm Unlimited (and the various servers) is always there too. So there’s other ways to get my social video game fix – not to mention games like Civ 5 (I know, a new one is coming, don’t remind me) Sims, and all the other single player games I enjoy a great deal. Still, the excitement of a fresh new game is sometimes painful to watch from the sidelines – especially if you actually share in any of the excitement about the game, rather than just the excitement that others are excited (does that make sense? I hope it does).

I logged into World of Warcraft last night hoping to at least get my two invasions done but the invasion zones along with city zones were out of commission and instead I ended up logging over to my priest to try to get level 30. After two runs through the gnome instance (which is one of the few instances I REALLY dislike) and a run or two through Scarlet Monastery, I found myself at a happy level 30. Still a long way from 100, but it’s not a bad beginning. I don’t know that I’ll get my new priest to 100 before Legion, but at least I know the character is there. Maybe I’ll get up the nerve to grind out some levels this weekend, we’ll just have to see.

Is it Enough To Keep People Interested?

I openly admit that I am having an absolute hoot with the new pre-legion events. I love seeing just how many people are around partaking, the talk in trade and general is as active as I’ve ever seen it, and people seem to have some fairly positive views on how things are going. I can’t help but wonder – will it last. Will people continue to play right up until Legion the amount that they’re already playing. Will more return with the actual launch of legion, and with so many people decked out in ilevel 700 gear, what will keep them playing until the 30th?

I was a bit surprised that demon hunters released early. Sure it gives people a chance to get to 100 and then to get some gear but offering early content could turn out to be a bad thing, too. People burn through it and then log off dejected because they have nothing to do. Not that I’ve ever encountered this, there’s SO many different things for me to partake in – but not everyone has my play style, so grinding battle pets or reputation or going profession recipe hunting may not be what they’re interested in.

With that being said, I’m still having tons of fun. Yesterday I decided to dust my horde hunter off and ran her through the introduction scenario and a few invasions. She’s not quite at ilevel 700 yet, but she’s getting there, sitting at a respectable 698. I also got one of the fel weapons, a longbow and upgraded it once (so far) to 705. Hopefully I’ll be able to collect a few more of those.

I still have not created a demon hunter yet. I don’t really have the desire to start another new character, and I’m having a good time focusing on the ones I already have. My new priest that I made yesterday is sitting at level 27, I’ve been taking a break from leveling her through dungeons because I find it pretty tedious. It’s still a 10 minute wait to queue as a healer, and at these low levels with only three heals (and one of them an emergency heal on a one minute timer) and everyone running off in their own direction makes it a stressful ordeal. Everyone thinks they’re the tank and then blames the healer when things go wrong.

What do you think, is there enough content to keep people playing as they have been right up until Legion, or are things bound to taper off and slow down once the initial rush is over? Let me know in comments and as always happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.