Gaming – Page 363 – A Pixel Nomad

Games we wish we had more time for

I wish there were more hours in a day, although I’m not exactly sure that I would spend it gaming (I could use a few more hours of sleep, or some other hobby of mine). That being said, lets pretend for a minute that we were going to use those hours for gaming. What game would you find yourself in? If you had absolutely no limits on money or time, where would you be adventuring?

I’m sure I would be playing the same games I play right now, but perhaps with a bit more variety, and change. Right now I tend to ‘binge’ on the games I enjoy, and rotate through them all. With a bit more time I may play more than just the small handful I enjoy currently each day. Specific games that I would love to make time for? Sure, I have those.

Sims 3 – my legacy family is feeling neglected. This is my go-to non-mmo game (typically) but since I’ve been filling that time lately with Tropico, I haven’t had time to play.

Everything in my steam library, but most notably:

Divinity: Original Sin
Skyrim
The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot
Civilization V
Starbound
Terraria
Tomb Raider

This doesn’t even begin to glance at the other MMOs that I would love to spend more time playing (Hearthstone, I’m looking at you, and Heroes of the Storm though I haven’t made my way into that beta yet). Guild Wars 2 is a game I’d like to step back into for more than a second, the Landmark and ArcheAge betas have been neglected as I wait for content and divide my time, and I have been contemplating trying DCUO just because I haven’t tried it before and why not when everyone has all-access if they’re subscribed to a single SOE game.

So. What games would you play if you had unlimited time and money?

The Wonders of Tropico 5

After falling in love with Tropico 4, it was a great surprise when I was gifted Tropico 5 – and of course I love this version of the game just as much as the previous. It’s a bit more complex this time. I turned the settings down to the easiest ones but left disasters up because hey what’s the point without a little bit of adventure. I do prefer to play these types of games at a relaxed easy pace, and that’s exactly what I got.

I started by playing through campaigns again, and unlike the previous version this time I got to create a ruler who was head of her very own dynasty. Mid way through the first story line there was an illegitimate pregnancy that resulted in my dynasty growing a bit. The costumes are also much more amusing this round. I believe the head of my current dynasty is sporting a halo and wings along with a pacifier. The youngest member is garbed in steampunk clothing.

When I first started playing I was disgruntled with the fact that you can’t build everything you want right away. First you have to work your way through each ‘era’, like war and modern times. Despite these changes the basics are the same. Build up a city, watch it flourish or crash horribly. I’m having an absolute blast with the dynasty story line and the politics that happen. They along with the new trade and commerce options are hilarious. It’s also nice to be getting different ‘challenges’ now, the quests from 4 were repeating themselves quite frequently.

The first few campaigns had me starting on a new map, but now that I’m on the 3rd one, it has me back at my original city (exactly as I left it) which is pretty neat. In the screenshot above I was preparing my city before an invasion was about to hit. I may have over done it just a bit, their tanks didn’t last that long.

All in all, it was a great afternoon spent gaming. Congratulations to those by the way who managed to take advantage of the steam sale where Tropico 4 was only 39 cents.. I see they corrected the issue later on in the day, and I hope a few people made the purchase! As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

10 years, 10 questions

Area 52 (horde side) was packed tonight, it was awesome to see.

All the cool kids are doing it, so I decided I would also partake in the “10 years, 10 questions” phenomenon that is ongoing due to the impending anniversary of World of Warcraft, though it does make me feel pretty old.

1. Why did you start playing World of Warcraft

I don’t know that I really have a ‘why’. My partner at the time and I had been playing EverQuest, and I had no real plans of adding another MMO to the list, but there it was. We also played EverQuest 2 together, although that game took me far longer to get interested in because I was so deeply vested in the first version. At the time I was still pretty new to MMOs in general, having played nothing but MUDS until then.

2. What was the first character you ever rolled

I don’t remember what class it was, but I do remember it was a troll. Why I decided to go with that race I have no idea, something about liking their hair I think. I started out as horde, eventually swapped over to alliance, and now play both.

3. Which factors determined your faction choice in game?

Pretty sure we had friends who were playing horde, though I never did meet up with them in game…

4. What has been your most memorable moment in Warcraft and why?

I don’t actually have one. I know, how sad is that, right? A game I’ve been playing for 10 years now and I don’t have a memorable moment.. thing is, I never formed a community in WoW, I never did any “real” raiding besides PUGs. For me, those moments really come from playing with friends, and sadly enough I just never really made any. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the game, I did and I do, but my “memorable moments” are things like, earning 400 pets, and things like that.

5. What is your favorite aspect of the game, and has this always been the case

Pet battles, by far. It hasn’t always been the case because they’re still pretty new. Before that it was LFRaid, and I know that people could go either way on that but it gave people like me a chance to experience content that I wouldn’t even get to see otherwise. Before THAT it would have to be the humour of the game, and yes, that has always been the case.

6. Do you have an area in game that you always return to?

Pretty much all of the old dungeons. I have no reason for it, there’s no gear upgrades there and my characters have long since out leveled them but I absolutely love doing old content.

7. How long have you /played and has that been continuous?

I have played off and on since release, but not continuously. I tend to get bored or move on to another game when I run out of things to do. My last break was about a year ago, and I haven’t run out of things yet. With the expansion on the horizon it looks like I’ll be here for a while longer at least.

8. Admit it: Do you read quest text or not?

First time through, yes I read it. Though I admit I am much more likely to enjoy a cinematic.

9. Are there any regrets from your time in game?

Not finding a proper community, as I mentioned above. I really think that having a group of “friends” to play with would have made a difference for me. Now I think it’s too late, there’s no real reason to meet up with people, and I wouldn’t even know where to start.

10. What effect has Warcraft had on your life outside of gaming?

I think playing Warcraft has made me a bit more tolerant. I know, that’s a strange thing to say. I have heard so many people coming down on those who play a particular game, judging them and thinking they are some how less ‘good’ because of their video game choices. None of that is true. Playing multiple MMOs in general has made me more accepting of the fact that we all have different interests, and none of that has any baring on what type of a person we are.

Feel free to answer the questions yourself! Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

What are you Playing

Can you ever play too many games? I like to think not, but has anyone decided for themselves “hey, maybe I play too many games?” – I’m not talking devoting your entire life to gaming, but I mean pure number of games.

By some peoples standards, my steam library is tiny. I think I own 200 games or so now. I don’t own a console, but I have a handful of other games that are not on steam (Mostly MMOs). In any given week I probably rotate between 4 and 15 different games, playing each of them for a few hours here and there. Some times I can get on a game bender where I play just one game for weeks at a time until I’m so burnt out that I push it aside in disgust, only to lovingly pull it back out and start playing again a few weeks later. Actually most of my steam library follows this pattern.

So what about you, how many games at a time do you play? Do you stick to your guns and complete a game before moving on to the next one (those that have ‘endings’ at least) or do you dabble around in whatever catches your fancy?

Let me know in comments below!

Divinity: Original Sin

Playing through some of my steam games, I turned back to Divinity: Original Sin. I started playing it when it released in multi-player, but of course it’s always hard to find extra time to play through all the games in my library. With the release of Fable, I was looking for an RPG to sink my teeth into in the meantime.

A tale of Orcs, Undead, and wild Sorcerers, you play two characters who are meant to save the world. Right now I’m playing through the story with Titan (warrior) and Jessica (enchanter) as they meander their way and open every single container that crosses their path.

That’s probably the main annoyance I have with the game. There are SO MANY containers, and of course if you’re a completionist or you’re just curious you’re going to want to open up every single one of them along the way. It takes a lot of time especially when many of them are empty.

I love the crafting. It’s simple (just drag and drop items on top of each other) but also really neat. Had some wheat, some water, made dough. Made fish dough. Made pizza. Because who doesn’t like pizza (well, to be honest, I don’t but whatever). So far I’m having lots of fun – though I do think I enjoy multi-player better. For now, I’m just enjoying the story.