Notgames Forum

Another "what are you playing" thread. Me, I haven't been playing much of anything. When I do get a chance, I've been playing Crimson Steam Pirates and Frankenstein (sort of a Choose You Own Adventure type thing), both on iPad. Things I'd like to find the time for: Skyrim and S.P.A.Z.

So what are you playing, if you're playing anything at all.

Hello. My first return, typing at least, for quite a while. Basically since the first one, actually.

I'm trying not to play Football Manager 2012, because it's a complete time sink. One I really enjoy, but since I deciding to quit my job and commit to writing fiction I'm in perpetual danger of wasting my life through it.

I've been dipping into a few things off and on, via Steam. I tend to collect things I think I'll want to play at some point, and since I tend to go stealthy whenever a FPS allows it I picked up the first three Thief titles, so I'll play more of number one in the coming weeks I expect.

I found my way to Nifflas's games after coming here, and picked up a few - very good fun, on the whole. The most recent I've tried is Night Sky, which I bought because my girlfriend actually played and enjoyed the demo - a genuine first. Possibly a genuine last as well, since there's a good chance it will take her thirty or forty years to finish it... but as long as she's happy!

Before I got mired in revision and exams I was playing Gotham City Imposters which was fun, though I hold little hope that anyone still plays it since finding a game was getting difficult even before I stopped playing. Post-exams I'm planning to play spyro the dragon and then some of the indie-ish/bundle games that all seemed to have appeared over the last week or so. I also have silent hill 2 sitting on my desktop (as it has been for a very long time) as well as Drawn: the painted tower and the most recent Deus Ex game on my shelf. I probably won't end up playing all of these, but maybe some combination of them.

We are re-playing Silent Hill 1 (available for download on PS3 now). It's amazing. And sad how video games have lost the direction the Silent Hill team was pointing towards: of videogames as immersive, evocative experiences rich in meaning and wonder.

I also played a bit of Dinner Date yesterday. Very lovely, indeed.

Oh, and I'm playing Spelltower on my iPod touch. But just as something to do in between things that matter.

Embarrassed I forgot to say, but: a few days ago, I was a little freaked out when I heard the sound of invisible birds squarking in my little kitchen. I assumed the neighbours had bought some annoyingours later, I discovered that my g/f had opened The Graveyard on my mobile phone, and it had just been sitting there for hours, eating my battery. As a result though, I played it again later that evening and my Old Lady passed away for the first time (the one in the game, I mean, not my g/f). I also had a great evening playing (no, "moving through") Dear Esther recently.

Yeah, Silent Hill 1 is one of my favs too. I haven't gotten around to playing 2 yet, even though it's been on my harddrive for ages.

I've played through Dinner date 2 or 3 times and I'll probably play it again soon. It's like a great short story you can't help reread when you get a chance.

Drawn: The Painted Tower is another I've been meaning to play as well. And the second! I haven't gotten to either. I've put a moratorium on all Steam/game purchases until I've gotten around to playing at least a few.

My favorite Nifflas game is Knytt. Not Stories or anything else. Just that one. I adore that game.

I've been making use of that somewhat silly apparatus they call PlayStation Move. Datura came first, and I was impressed by the creative liberties its authors clearly benefited from. Took me a whole week to make sense of it but the joy of seeing beyond the surface was most rewarding.

At this point I find myself mesmerized by that organic canvas of PixelJunk 4am. There's something about having a live audience cheering when you get something right. A completely unique experience with a strangely intuitive interface; not to mention a chance to listen to a genre of music I otherwise tend to frown upon. It's amusing when you're on the other side of the turntable, so to speak.

I envy those here who are playing Silent Hill for the first time.

I am playing Diablo 3 ... it is hardcore and casual at the same time. Or as hardcore as you want it to be. Or as casual.

It feels like a single player MMO. There is no meaning in it, but it is very enjoyable and comfortable. Clicking away a few hours now and then ... it is really like fast food, but fast food is actual expensive and you feel hungry afterwards. Same with D3, but the good thing is you can satisfy your D3-need whenever you want. You already paid for it.

I would only recommend it to stable, firm people. Otherwise you could be wasting 6-8 hours a day. I have my limits set to 1-2 hours a day ... it is dangerous in that way. I hate it. I love it...

I've also been dipping into the survival horror of old, playing Resident Evil 2 for the first time. I'm really appreciating how the old Resident Evils float between the systematic and the surprising - it's internal economy of herbs and ammo, inventory spaces and safehouses, is a surprisingly rich gameplay system, leading to countless nerve-wracking decisions about what to bring, or whether to fight or run. This is very much unlike the Silent Hills, whose combat and riddles have always felt unnecessary to me.
The Resident Evil system makes the player acutely aware of what they should be afraid of, making the situation and emotion very clear. I'm certainly tasked with trying to beat the system, certainly playing a game and thinking about it as such, but that's where the surprises become so important - and so effective, striking when I'm so into the micromanagement that I forget about the zombies! Every so often Capcom throws a wrench in its own system - a new enemy type or a surprise attack, expanding the system to include elements I don't understand and haven't mastered and have every reason to be afraid of - or just breaking its own rules. Even today, I found Resident Evil 2 to be a tense experience. An audiovisual (and narrative?) overhaul like the first one got would probably make it genuinely chilling.

Have a look at Child of Eden too. I quite enjoyed playing it with the Move controller, until it got too hard.


Thanks for the tip. I'm not drawn to PixelJunk's games. But I'll give this one a try, then.

I've played Child of Eden some months ago, after an extended period of reticence. It was very pleasurable. At times it was truly remarkable, even. Far from being my favorite Mizuguchi but still very respectable in the way it adhered to a distinctive J-Pop aesthetic. Some levels were overly demanding, I agree with you. Still, the dying "gamer" in me didn't give me peace until I saw the end of it. I wished he hadn't tried to appeal to Rez fans so much, or at least not so directly.

PixelJunk games are always too gamey, don't you think? Even Eden, in spite of the wonderful visual design, was too desperate to embody that indie revivalist ideal. I played it for a few levels but eventually gave up. 4am has no difficulty, no challenges, nothing. It's just the player, the audience, and a set of sounds that can be manipulated to create music and light up the screen!  I hope you enjoy it! 

Currently not playing that much at all. "Real" life is my current addiction. Enjoying the sun, enjoying other people, enjoying music and other beautiful things.