tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post5066400995392027518..comments2024-03-18T19:38:53.390-04:00Comments on Parallel Context: Comfort Food for the GamerRedbeardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-9893266835660050292023-03-31T16:45:41.030-04:002023-03-31T16:45:41.030-04:00I can imagine. I've created about a half dozen...I can imagine. I've created about a half dozen druids over the years that never got beyond the starting zone. While the class never grabbed me, the zone certainly did!Redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-75432063970524608672023-03-31T14:04:52.833-04:002023-03-31T14:04:52.833-04:00Teldrassil, oh yes! I don't know how many poor...Teldrassil, oh yes! I don't know how many poor Night Elves have been started so I can go through it again. Wow, so many good memories. AncientAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-62582633018537389932023-03-29T23:45:09.787-04:002023-03-29T23:45:09.787-04:00LOL! Once during my last couple of years of gradua...LOL! Once during my last couple of years of graduate school, I had the FFVI soundtrack running on iTunes and someone else in the lab asked if I was playing a video game... :PKamaliahttp://www.kamaliaetalia.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-82841121770250590932023-03-29T20:23:15.449-04:002023-03-29T20:23:15.449-04:00Ah, a person after my own heart! My oldest's S...Ah, a person after my own heart! My oldest's SO got me the soundtrack to Stardew Valley on CD for my birthday a couple of years ago, and I still bring that with me on the long drives up to get my son from college. I also have the soundtrack to Jade Empire (the mp3s from EA) and the Mass Effect Trilogy (again courtesy of a deal from EA), and I've been known to have the music to Stellaris running in the background while I'm working. Nobody has asked about that, but on one occasion I had the soundtrack to Burning Crusade going (have it on CD) and during a pause in the call someone asked me if I was playing WoW. "Oh no," I replied. "I just have the soundtrack going in the background." I caught some crap for a few days about me "playing video games at work" but then it settled down.Redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-65411488948729319892023-03-29T20:18:20.092-04:002023-03-29T20:18:20.092-04:00Oh yes, I still play SWTOR, I just don't blog ...Oh yes, I still play SWTOR, I just don't blog about it. I just don't go beyond the original vanilla areas because I enjoy them so much. There have been nights when I've been on and watching people come and go at Coruscant or up on Carrick Station. Not really doing anything, just people watching. Certainly not as many as there used to be, but there are times when players are there.<br /><br />LOTRO has been the one that I've hardly done anything on for several years. Well, other than pay the upkeep on the housing and wander around Bree and listen to the band on Fridays after hours.<br /><br />I'm no altaholic for certain, as I have far too many Mages and Paladins around, but you're right about the change of pace. I'm not there to powerlevel a new alt, I'm there to chill. Let other people worry about getting to max level in a couple of weeks; I'm gonna go fish at the Sartheris Strand and dodge naga for a while.Redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-33501791626989388292023-03-29T18:47:47.345-04:002023-03-29T18:47:47.345-04:00Yay, you played SWTOR!
Low-level alts are definit...Yay, you played SWTOR!<br /><br />Low-level alts are definitely a type of comfort food for me as well. Not just because of nostalgia for the starting zones, but also for a change of pace and break from the endgame routines I eventually fall into.<br /><br />And I love the night elf starting zones as well. That magical forest feeling coupled with the music... just sublime. And yes, of course I'm biased from levelling a night elf as my first character back in the day, but still. 🙂Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-44867414393747393162023-03-29T16:10:08.615-04:002023-03-29T16:10:08.615-04:00Though I only play Retail WoW currently, in the ea...Though I only play Retail WoW currently, in the early years of our marriage, my husband and I played Final Fantasy VI and the Portal games together. I had the Final Fantasy VI soundtrack in iTunes until iTunes went away. I recently bought the Final Fantasy VI soundtrack on CD to listen to in the car (and prep my oldest for playing that game himself in a year or two :D). I suppose listening to the Final Fantasy VI soundtrack even though I haven't played the game itself for several years is sort of like "gaming comfort food" for me.Kamaliahttp://www.kamaliaetalia.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-29315386717890190742023-03-29T14:14:42.395-04:002023-03-29T14:14:42.395-04:00ESO scratches the same exploration itch that GW2 d...ESO scratches the same exploration itch that GW2 does, but in both cases the automated level adjustment to match the zone you're in means in both cases I have to be on my toes whenever I go exploring in each. (Thank goodness for the Stealthie class in each!) But in terms of a relaxing ride being out in the world, the older titles are what I return to.<br /><br />I never really tried any of the single player Elder Scrolls games, Skyrim was that my kids played and I just never got around to either it or the other two well known games (Morrowind and Oblivion). As far as old school RPGs are concerned, Ultima V and VI were my thing. And Baldur's Gate, but I don't know if you can call that old school or not.Redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-7119972156816472212023-03-29T11:28:38.841-04:002023-03-29T11:28:38.841-04:00I play Wow most of course, and just pop around to ...I play Wow most of course, and just pop around to different servers and characters for a break from the Northrend slog. I have an active ESO subscription and love my Khajiit Templar. That game is so different from anything else. When I want to wander and explore it’s perfect. LOTRO always beckons for the same reason. If I’m really wanting to go somewhere where it’s just me and the imaginary world, Elder Scrolls Oblivion is my favorite. Also Mass Effect. AtherenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-49213159742210302982023-03-28T16:20:51.084-04:002023-03-28T16:20:51.084-04:00I kind of jumped off the current content bandwagon...I kind of jumped off the current content bandwagon in SWTOR, but I truly love the "classic" or vanilla SWTOR. And yes, Rise of the Hut Cartel too. If Bioware were to create Classic SWTOR, complete with talent trees and the old leveling cadence and the different planetary currencies, I'd be all for it.<br /><br />I do need to really do some work with Mass Effect, but given that I have a bad tendency to spend far too much time playing when I'm engrossed (or reading a novel, such as The Chronicles of the Black Company that I'm reading now) I'm seriously worried that I might not sleep while playing the ME Trilogy.Redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-71879045221500178732023-03-28T16:16:53.464-04:002023-03-28T16:16:53.464-04:00The strange thing is that those early MMOs weren&#...The strange thing is that those early MMOs weren't explicitly designed with the dopamine hit in the same way that modern MMOs and video games are nakedly ambitious about separating you from your money. A lot of the dopamine rush for me comes from the immersion and enjoyment of being in an environment where I can simply lose myself for a while. I can spend time questing, sure, but also exploring and working on crafts as a way to connecting with the world.<br /><br />I'll never forget my son, when he was in elementary school, really really wanted to visit Elrond in Rivendell. Because Lord of the Rings, you know, but his character was something around L20 whereas the area surrounding Rivendell was for characters roughly L37-L40. (This was also before LOTRO's nerfing of the ogres that wander The Trollshaws at night from elites to normal --but high level-- enemies.) He spent a lot of time reviving, but he managed to figure out a way to get from The Shire to Rivendell solo. If he were playing a more modern MMO I'm not sure this would have been an accomplishment, because I'd imagine that the devs would have greased everything to allow a toon easy access to Rivendell. But for a kid who just wanted to explore, he truly had a grand adventure worthy of Bilbo Baggins.Redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-37535285075283905392023-03-28T11:10:04.997-04:002023-03-28T11:10:04.997-04:00Often I'll just replay a class story in Swtor....Often I'll just replay a class story in Swtor. I'm generally not trying to have yet another max level character, but just having some fun trying some variations on a theme. I have started to replay all the planetary missions and side-missions. It is nice to see how much I've forgotten over the years since Bioware redid the leveling xp curve. Nice in the sense it is fun to rediscover how many of the quests flowed without knowing "x, y, and z are going to happen in this order".<br /><br />I'm also very fond of the vanilla Wow zones for Night Elves. It was Teldrassil, Darnassus, and Darkshore on my NE hunter that really hooked me on the game. Redoing the Kalimdor zones was fun up until Cataclysm. After those changes I found I mostly enjoyed the Draenei starting areas and then just did whatever got me leveled easiest as the Cataclysm questing changes weren't that appealing to me. (I do wish Retail had an option for a Chromie time version of Classic as I would level that way over all the other options.)<br /><br />The closest I have to a set of comfort single player games would be (depending on my mood) No One Lives Forever 1 & 2, Half Life 2, Portal 2 and the Mass Effect series. Each of those games can pull me into their world when I need to take a break from my other games or need a small step away from real-life issues.Pallaishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01052537793722183657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-31562736823186884782023-03-28T10:57:20.330-04:002023-03-28T10:57:20.330-04:00I'm doing it at the moment, returning to my co...I'm doing it at the moment, returning to my comfort zone and finding it quite addictive as well as, obviously, comforting. The odd thing is that it was completely unplanned. I had to move a character in EQII because the server she was on was getting merged with another I didn't fancy going to; I could just have used the Move token and left it that but I logged her in to sort out a few odds end ends and next I knew I was back playing EQII again. <br /><br />I think it's mostly that low-level play in most mmorpgs, especially the older ones, is so well-tuned to those infamous dopamine hits that it's actively difficult to stop yourself being drawn back in. Of course, if you've played all the way up to the endgame before, you know just when that sense of comfortable satisfaction is going to shioft into frustration and annoyance, so if you have any sense you'll jump ship before it happens. Which is why we end up making endless new characters, playing them up, then dropping them.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com