On computer gaming as occasional hobby

[nanila]

I’m spending some of my pre-maternity annual leave indulging in a pastime I don’t get to very often: computer gaming. I occasionally play something on my phone or tablet (Scrabble, solitaire, crosswords, Angry Birds, Plague Inc) but it’s not the same to me as firing up something on my desktop machine and diving in for a while.

It’s taken me a couple of decades to accept, but I’ve refined a set of pretty clear desirables that keep me from wasting money on new games. I don’t go for console-based games (there are enough electronic gizmos ruling my life, thx), first-person shooters, racing or anything requiring a monthly subscription. I only ever get to play for 2-3 weeks a year if I’m lucky, and I’d rather keep from getting wound up and frustrated by them instead of relaxed, which is the point.

1. Single player. I don’t do multiplayer games, let alone MMORPGs. I don’t want to set up times to play games with people I know I like (I spend much of my working life organising things) and the time I tried World of Warcraft, which was very pretty and I liked flying around and fishing and making potions but disliked pretty much everything else, I had exactly one enjoyable interaction with a random person. I recall an old webcomic in which a female character goes into a shop to buy a game, and the (male) sales attendant tries to get her to purchase the latest, shiniest MMORPG which he insists is much better than the single-player game she wants. Eventually she shouts at him, “The last thing I want to do to unwind is interact with other humans!” Yep.
   
   
2. Vital formulaic elements. These are: Rewards for thorough explorations of areas, puzzles to solve, monsters to kill and treasure to find. I also don’t want anything to be stupidly difficult. I never play above “normal” settings (mostly because to play on the harder ones usually requires practice and/or cheat sheet research, neither of which I have time to indulge in). I like a nice steady pace of leveling up, and finding and using shiny new toys on a regular basis.
   
   
3. Minions. I may not want human interaction whilst playing games, but I do like to tackle monsters with companions. I tend to prefer ranged classes of attackers rather than tanks.
   
   
4. Crafts. I like it when there are side pursuits for the characters. (Chocobo-breeding!) Making weapons/armour/potions/gems and collecting materials for these is a fun diversion when I’m bored of building up my character to the next boss fight.
   
   
5. Pretty. Darkly pretty is even better. There should be time to enjoy exploring and appreciate the pretty, and ways to customise my character so they are pretty too.
   
   
6. Bite-size. I rarely play for stretches longer than an hour. There are too many other activities I want to mix in, like working, tidying, writing, putzing on the internet, editing photos, etc. The style of play has to be reasonably forgiving. I need to be able to put my character down someplace safe and leave them for undefined lengths of time (er, up to a year) on very little notice.

For those of you who play games, whatever the medium, what do you consider essential to your enjoyment of the experience?

(On a different note: The Seasonal Giving poll for DW account time closes this Friday, 12 December. If you'd like to nominate someone, please do so here.)

Comments

[ankaret]

There are no monsters to kill in The Sims, but otherwise Sims 2 or 3 might fit the bill? Plenty of pretty, lots of rewarding mini quests to stumble on while keeping your little people solvent and hydrated, and you can fish, make potions, hunt ghosts, explore tombs, challenge the Grim Reaper to guitar duels and more.

I have not played Sims 4, but I'd imagine it's similar.

[nanila]

I played the Sims (probably the first incarnation) many years ago, and I remember finding it frustrating just trying to keep my Sims alive. :P I presume game-play has improved since then, so will give it a shot, thank you!

[antisoppist]

So what do you play? I'm interested in any recs you get in comments too.

I don't want multiplayer either. I tried Glitch and it was terrible because actual real people spoke to me and I panicked and had to turn it off and run away.

I like organising things and being in charge of things. I got into computer games when a friend-now-husband introduced me to Civilisation I. I play historical city building games like Pharaoh, Anno 1404 (exploring, resources, building and trading) and still Civ but I'd like others and I don't know quite what to look for. I don't particularly want to fight enormous battles. I would rather build things and make my (mutitudes of grateful) people happy.

I've also enjoyed Railway Tycoon and The Sims but with both of those I build too much and run out of money. My 13 year-old has pinched The Sims and says there are ways of playing it without running out of money but I feel this is cheating. However, the bit where you get to invent characters and give them clothes is something I'd like more of, and which you don't get in macro-level God games. But I like exploring and mapping vast new territories too and the Sims doesn't have that.

But then I also had a problem with things like Myst where you are wandering about in a strange world where no-one is telling you what the rules are and you have to solve complicated secret puzzles. That is what real life is like! Why would I want to do that to relax from it?

As you might be able to tell, most of my gaming was done about a decade ago, pre-children, and I feel it's all moved on and I don't know quite what to look for any more.

[nanila]

Mostly Diablo III (I adored I and II and for a while refused to admit that III existed). I've played Skyrim recently as well, which is also very pretty though a bit nerve-wracking for my taste.

Several people have made recommendations on the LJ version of this post, and my friend imyril reminded me about a new game called Sunless Sea made by the people who did Fallen London. I'm presently updating Steam so I can try it out.

[ursula]

I like Bioware RPGs. (Right now I'm playing Dragon Age: Inquisition, which hits most of your wishlist.) I want strong, character-driven plot with a clearly defined END to the game. The end is important, because I tend to play games obsessively when I'm playing them, and I want to know I'll eventually stop!

[nanila]

Haha, I almost never finish a game. I played Diablo II through to the end exactly once in a decade. I still haven't finished Diablo III. Dragon Age: Inquisition looks fantastic - although if I do get it, I likely won't finish. Thank you!

[silveradept]

Regrettably, my time for gaming had gone down significantly in the last few years, so now my primary requirements start reflecting a need to be able to pick up and put down and still make regular progress - otherwise I'm pretty much in favor of any game that feels fun and doesn't otherwise feel like the computer is cheating. Which might be why, after a certain difficulty level, I stop liking FPS and various fighting-type games.

[nanila]

*nod nod* Yes, agreed. I rarely "finish" games or reach the highest level for my character. I prefer that this doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the game when I do get to play it, so I don't mind as long as it doesn't feel like I always have to stop at the same point because it gets too difficult.

[silveradept]

I tend to really want to pursue those end game objectives for the optional loot and for the advantages they usually give in making the rest of the game easier. But that's tough to do with limited time, which is sad.

[surpassingly]

I have All The Thoughts and Squee about gaming (:D!!!) and I hope to come back and ramble more about it! But regarding something darkly pretty, that one can play on one's own, with minions and formulaic elements -- Dungeon Siege 3 is pretty nice! I'm not sure if it has crafting and stuff (I haven't played it enough yet to explore that) but there are lots of sidequests, and one can play it for less than an hour at a time.

[nanila]

Ooer, DS3 looks very pretty indeed, and it's on Steam! Thank you.

[surpassingly]

You're so welcome! I don't know how you feel about survival games too, but Don't Starve is fascinating, with a quirky morbid sense of humor and very charming graphics (I would say, yes, darkly pretty) -- and hilarious crafting combinations. XD;

[lovepeaceohana]

Right now I'm playing Waking Mars, which is available on Steam and I got on rec from another friend - it's very similar to The Undergarden (also on Steam, but I play it on the ps3) in the mechanics, although the story is very different. It's essentially a puzzle game, though: you grow plants and progress through levels by growing enough of them, and uncover increasingly-compelling lore as you go. It does get a little lonely toward the end (where I'm currently at) but I think that's kind of the point, and anyway it's not so lonesome as, say, Shadow of the Colossus. You might also like Child of Light, which is super-pretty and features a whole cast of characters including a firefly companion, a very simple crafting system, RPG leveling and skill trees, and plays in about, oh, 10 hours max? (It may also be on Steam, now that I think about it. I swear they're not paying me :P)

Otherwise, I'm very much a franchise player: I'll pick up any new iteration of series with which I'm already in love. I do branch out and enjoy new things from time to time but I'm pretty terrible about actually finishing longer games because at some point it becomes ... well, frankly, easier to just watch the let's play, which gives me the story with none of the frustration of losing at button-mashing.

[nanila]

Ten hours max to complete a very pretty game with all my favourite elements?? *swoon* I shall definitely give that a go. I also like the sound of growing plants to level up.

Repetitive button-mashing bores me, especially if you have to practise for ages to get really fast at it in order to win. I find it very dull.

[lovepeaceohana]

:3 The trailer's here if you want a closer look at the story and graphics before committing. It was really enjoyable, and over way before I thought it would be. What I liked best about it, mechanics-wise, was the turn-based battle system: no button-mashing!

Because I totally agree, I am pants at button-mashing. I watched Beau play through the latest Tomb Raider and it has these sequences where you have to quickly respond to on-screen button-mashing commands to progress successfully (or, you know, die gruesomely) and it was tough to even watch. That kind of stuff turns me off games quick - or, well, sends me looking for let's plays :P