xkcd

by **ameretrifle** » Sun Apr 24, 2011 6:42 am UTC

Ah, this is hard. I could write up a whole list of resources-- have, in fact, if you want it-- but that's not quite the point, is it?

Here are some recommended game lists. Without a genre it's really hard to say, but assuming you're looking for something with an interesting/unusual narrative that really highlights the simliarities and differences between IF and traditional fiction, maybe try one of these? And I realize this list is too long... http://emshort.wordpress.com/how-to-play/reading-if/ might be organized in a helpful way for you; personally, here's what I'd start considering, in rough order:

Photopia-- Classic writing, and probably great for getting used to the interface too, as it's on fairly solid rails.
Alabaster/Anything by Emily Short-- Just astonishing things with conversation paths. I want to play this again now and look for some of the other endings...
Violet--Well known for the narration by the protagonist's mental projection of what their girlfriend would be saying.
My Angel--plays with a more traditional-fiction format, plot/character-focused with a lot of neat little trickses.
Deadline Enchanter-- might be more effective once familiar with how the genre works, but simple to get through, and a heck of a narrative twist.
Spider and Web--spy-story that makes unusual and rich use of interrogation and flashbacks.

There's also Slouching Toward Bedlam for steampunk and Anchorhead for Lovecraftian horror, if genre is a good consideration; they're long and legendary. Also, if you want to start with a more "typical" example of the genre, uh... I'm out for the night. XD http://www.wurb.com/if/index is the best place for finding game files; the IF wiki sometimes has more information. I'm trying out Garglk as an interpreter and so far I like it. And-- no, wait, someone is asking about IF on the internet--!

*is dragged away*

by **Box Boy** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:28 pm UTC

Jorpho wrote:Come now: Zork may have been the first major text adventure, but that just means that it made a whole lot of mistakes that were avoided in later generations.

But it's also easily available for free and a classic to this day for good reason: for everything it did wrong, it did two other things -right-

EDIT: Also, Japanese Visual Novels in general suit what you're looking for, are pretty easily found (legally or otherwise) and you can jump over to their page on TvTropes to find the ones good enough to bother looking for. (Just keep in mind a -lot- of them feature explicit sex scenes and'll have a lot of similarities to anime)

by **SurgicalSteel** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 7:41 am UTC

Box Boy wrote:for everything it did wrong, it did two other things -right-

So a full third of the game is bad?

by **bigglesworth** » Sat May 14, 2011 1:48 pm UTC

Are there any half-decent JRPGs on Steam?

by **Dthen** » Sat May 14, 2011 4:48 pm UTC

Recettear is meant to be good. Not played it myself, though.

by **DRWS** » Wed May 18, 2011 2:32 pm UTC

Naurgul wrote:I'm probably just describing a game that doesn't and won't ever exist, but I've got to give it a try anyway:

I'm looking for a game I can casually play every day or every other day for small amounts of time (30-120 minutes). I don't have a preference on genre but I'd like if it was multiplayer and playable with a small number of people (3-5). I'd prefer co-op but a competitive game would be somewhat fine too, I guess. Then, I'd like it to be mostly relaxed in pace and strategy. Not too slow and not completely devoid of thinking but keep in mind that I consider most FPSs too fast-paced and I wouldn't want to be continuously thinking and doubting what I should be doing. It would also be nice if in each session you started where you left off in a continuing campaign instead of starting over.

I've been playing http://www.battlemaster.org for almost five years, and it fits most of your criteria. It is designed explicitly for people to play for ~5-120 minutes per day, has hundreds of players spread out over factions and the geography, and you can easily begin with your friends working together. It is high in role-playing and strategy, and relaxed in pace. It is a perpetual game. The only thing that may bum you out is the lack of graphics. There are no graphics except for the maps. The game is free and web-based.

by **TheBanana** » Wed May 18, 2011 8:56 pm UTC

Naurgul wrote:I'm probably just describing a game that doesn't and won't ever exist, but I've got to give it a try anyway:

I'm looking for a game I can casually play every day or every other day for small amounts of time (30-120 minutes). I don't have a preference on genre but I'd like if it was multiplayer and playable with a small number of people (3-5). I'd prefer co-op but a competitive game would be somewhat fine too, I guess. Then, I'd like it to be mostly relaxed in pace and strategy. Not too slow and not completely devoid of thinking but keep in mind that I consider most FPSs too fast-paced and I wouldn't want to be continuously thinking and doubting what I should be doing. It would also be nice if in each session you started where you left off in a continuing campaign instead of starting over.

Late reply I know but I couldn't help but think of Borderlands when I read about what you are looking for. Borderlands is a lot of fun and very casual. It's a FPS with certain RPG elements (leveling, character class, abilities and item acquisition) and it's co-op up to 4 players. Definitely one of the most all-round enjoyable games that I've played in the past couple of years.

by **Goldstein** » Sat May 28, 2011 11:02 am UTC

I'm looking for one or two iPhone (God, I know. Sorry) games that I can play in small chunks - probably some sort of roguelike and a management/development/strategy game, but I don't know what's available or why the store search suggests what it does. Besides, you guys will have a better idea of what's good than any review site I might find. Any ideas?

by **TheBanana** » Tue May 31, 2011 7:31 pm UTC

Anyone have any recommendations for a good co-op first person shooter or action game? One that is either coming out soon or is already out. Preferably for the Xbox and relatively recent.

I've played left 4 dead, borderlands and gears of war before and I'm not really into Call of Duty so I'm just wondering if there's other fun co-op games I've been missing.

by **SecondTalon** » Tue May 31, 2011 8:09 pm UTC

Goldstein wrote:I'm looking for one or two iPhone (God, I know. Sorry) games that I can play in small chunks - probably some sort of roguelike and a management/development/strategy game, but I don't know what's available or why the store search suggests what it does. Besides, you guys will have a better idea of what's good than any review site I might find. Any ideas?

Legends Of Yore is a neat little simplified roguelike.

by **Goldstein** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 6:29 am UTC

Neat. This fulfills my goal of being a wizard whenever I want. Thanks, ST!

by **DanielJackins** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 10:29 pm UTC

I'm looking for a fun computer trivia game, other than You Don't Know Jack's, and I have Jeopardy 2003 and Trivial Pursuit. Anything else fun out there?

by **Endless Mike** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:50 pm UTC

TheBanana wrote:Anyone have any recommendations for a good co-op first person shooter or action game? One that is either coming out soon or is already out. Preferably for the Xbox and relatively recent.

I've played left 4 dead, borderlands and gears of war before and I'm not really into Call of Duty so I'm just wondering if there's other fun co-op games I've been missing.

Halo seems like the obvious choice on X-Box.

by **emceng** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 6:18 pm UTC

So I bought a DS. I figure I'd like to try Pokemon I guess, so I picked up Platinum. Is that one any good? Any other suggestions for DS games? It came with Scribblenauts, Mario, a few I don't care about, and I bought Dragon Quest 6.

by **Jorpho** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 11:03 pm UTC

emceng wrote:So I bought a DS. I figure I'd like to try Pokemon I guess, so I picked up Platinum. Is that one any good?

How absurd! You've already bought the game, so why don't you start playing it and make up your own mind!?

Any other suggestions for DS games? It came with Scribblenauts, Mario, a few I don't care about, and I bought Dragon Quest 6.

This is also absurd. It is difficult to suggest a game without knowing something about your preferences.

by **Beardhammer** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 9:15 am UTC

TheBanana wrote:
Naurgul wrote:I'm probably just describing a game that doesn't and won't ever exist, but I've got to give it a try anyway:

I'm looking for a game I can casually play every day or every other day for small amounts of time (30-120 minutes). I don't have a preference on genre but I'd like if it was multiplayer and playable with a small number of people (3-5). I'd prefer co-op but a competitive game would be somewhat fine too, I guess. Then, I'd like it to be mostly relaxed in pace and strategy. Not too slow and not completely devoid of thinking but keep in mind that I consider most FPSs too fast-paced and I wouldn't want to be continuously thinking and doubting what I should be doing. It would also be nice if in each session you started where you left off in a continuing campaign instead of starting over.

Late reply I know but I couldn't help but think of Borderlands when I read about what you are looking for. Borderlands is a lot of fun and very casual. It's a FPS with certain RPG elements (leveling, character class, abilities and item acquisition) and it's co-op up to 4 players. Definitely one of the most all-round enjoyable games that I've played in the past couple of years.

Borderlands is very fun for about four or five hours, after which it can very rapidly become tedious. I've found that buying the Game of the Year edition so you get the DLC's for free is usually a good idea - rampaging through piles of zombies and Mad Moxxy's arenas are a nice change of pace from the default game. I felt the game was way too heavy on quest repetition - it seemed like every new section of the game was the same as the last with just some slightly different artwork.

Borderlands could also be difficult if you really aren't a shooter player. It's not as demanding as Quake or UT, but you will need to know the basics.

by **Endless Mike** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 5:42 pm UTC

emceng wrote:So I bought a DS. I figure I'd like to try Pokemon I guess, so I picked up Platinum. Is that one any good? Any other suggestions for DS games? It came with Scribblenauts, Mario, a few I don't care about, and I bought Dragon Quest 6.

Professor Layton & (insert title here - there's three of them and continuity is not really important so just grab whichever is cheapest!)

by **Enokh** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 5:35 pm UTC

I'm pretty sure the answer is "no", but here goes:

Is there an MMO that is Fantasy-based, has no or easily avoidable PVP, and has an endgame that doesn't require grouping with more than five or ten people (so no 25-man instances, as an example)?

I like me some MMOs, and my wife could be interested in them, but the above three things are her prerequisites. It's a losing battle, methinks. Here's hoping that the Star Wars MMO will keep the really large groups completely optional, I guess.

by **Goldstein** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 5:45 pm UTC

Ultima Online? I don't know what the 'late game' for that is, officially. I used to play on a free shard and it was very social. Granted, I spent most of my time standing at "the bridge", with the PKers on one side and the 'blues' on the other side, staring each other down and occasionally making a stupid move that got someone killed, but a lot of crafters would also stand around and talk with us without getting involved in the fighting.

by **Krealr** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 7:24 pm UTC

Enokh wrote:I'm pretty sure the answer is "no", but here goes:

Is there an MMO that is Fantasy-based, has no or easily avoidable PVP, and has an endgame that doesn't require grouping with more than five or ten people (so no 25-man instances, as an example)?

I like me some MMOs, and my wife could be interested in them, but the above three things are her prerequisites. It's a losing battle, methinks. Here's hoping that the Star Wars MMO will keep the really large groups completely optional, I guess.

Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO)? PVP is virtually non-existant and easily avoided. Max size on raid groups is 12 and can be done with fewer if you have decent people.

by **maxwellpower** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 1:21 am UTC

Hi, I'm looking for a game that has high competitive potential. I'm currently playing League of Legends (approx 1800~ elo after 4-5 weeks of playing Ranked) and gold League in BLC with some Quake Live on the side. I used to play HoN and DotA, and currently waiting for D3 and GW2. However, I just want a game that I can play competitively in, a game with a long lasting potential in PvP/tournies etc.

I'm not particularity into any Genres per se, and I've been looking into SC2. However, I've never played an RTS in my life. I know that I'm a good gamer, but I dunno if I should start playing SC2 due to the insane amount of skills/apm, which I've never experienced, but I am a fast typer if that helps

So, please help me, should I get SC2? Or what other games can I play that has a high competitive potential?

by **Jesse** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 11:57 am UTC

Get SC2, you already play LoL, so your micro/apm should be pretty good, and the macro skills will come with practise. Also, it's increidbly fun.

by **Menacing Spike** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 4:48 pm UTC

Jesse wrote:you already play LoL, so your micro/apm should be pretty good

*snicker*

But yeah, SC2 is fun.

by **maxwellpower** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:43 pm UTC

Jesse wrote:Get SC2, you already play LoL, so your micro/apm should be pretty good, and the macro skills will come with practise. Also, it's increidbly fun.

I played a few games, I didn't quite enjoy the whole "Macro Race" of the game. Maybe a competitive game that's less focused on upgrading tech trees and macroing up and more focused on the action like MOBAs or MMO's. any thoughts on those?

by **The Milkman** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 12:01 am UTC

I'm trying to find a game that I can play through casually, put a good amount of thought into and also will keep for a long time.

If you could, because I've been searching for something like this for a long time..

by **Jorpho** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 1:43 am UTC

The Milkman wrote:I'm trying to find a game that I can play through casually, put a good amount of thought into and also will keep for a long time.

If you could, because I've been searching for something like this for a long time..

Can you narrow it down just a smidgen?

by **The Milkman** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:38 am UTC

PC game? That sort of specification?

by **Jorpho** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 3:49 am UTC

Well, yes, that helps, but there are still a bazillion games out there that you could potentially play through "casually". What sort of genres do you like? What sort of games have you played through casually before?

by **The Milkman** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 1:27 pm UTC

I like sorts of strategy games(hence the put some thought into it), but the real idea here is to be able to keep and be able to be played a lot and not get old/boring.

by **Spambot5546** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:08 pm UTC

I recommend Battle for Wesnoth.

by **bigglesworth** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 10:20 pm UTC

Something from the Civilisation series.

by **SecondTalon** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:12 am UTC

The Milkman wrote:I like sorts of strategy games(hence the put some thought into it), but the real idea here is to be able to keep and be able to be played a lot and not get old/boring.

Roguelikes, any of 'em.

Not that Roguelikes isn't a serious suggestion, but if you don't help us out a bit more, we can't help you. What do you already own? Which ones do you like? Anything more specific than Strategy Games? Because that's still broad enough to include Chess, Civilization, Starcraft, and Etherlords, all of which are fairly different games.

by **Sarr** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 4:16 am UTC

So, I'd forgotten this thread existed, and it's exactly what I need. I found my Game Boy Color recently and it works, but my games have been lost to the ages. It'd be a shame to have such a nice handheld sitting around useless, so it's advice time - what Game Boy Color games are worth searching out and getting? I remember a few from my childhood (Pokemon, Dragon Warrior Monsters, Link's Awakening), but other than that I don't know what to look for.

by **Aaeriele** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 5:58 am UTC

Harvest Moon

by **The Milkman** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 11:53 am UTC

SexyTalon wrote:
The Milkman wrote:I like sorts of strategy games(hence the put some thought into it), but the real idea here is to be able to keep and be able to be played a lot and not get old/boring.

Roguelikes, any of 'em.

Not that Roguelikes isn't a serious suggestion, but if you don't help us out a bit more, we can't help you. What do you already own? Which ones do you like? Anything more specific than Strategy Games? Because that's still broad enough to include Chess, Civilization, Starcraft, and Etherlords, all of which are fairly different games.

Okay, I'll admit, it was a bit vague. I don't really like RTS games; they tend to get too frantic and competitive for my taste. Turn-based games seem to be the right balance of thought and time that I need, and I personally now have none of them, as I really haven't bought any game like this before. So you could say I'm a newbie at things like this.

Hope that gives some sort of clarity.

by **Gwydion** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 9:44 pm UTC

Sarr wrote:So, I'd forgotten this thread existed, and it's exactly what I need. I found my Game Boy Color recently and it works, but my games have been lost to the ages. It'd be a shame to have such a nice handheld sitting around useless, so it's advice time - what Game Boy Color games are worth searching out and getting? I remember a few from my childhood (Pokemon, Dragon Warrior Monsters, Link's Awakening), but other than that I don't know what to look for.

Agree with Link's Awakening, possibly one of my favorite Zelda games of all time, and will add the Oracle of Ages/Seasons games (not as good). The original Pokemon is dated, sadly, if you've played the more recent incarnations it's difficult to "regress" to a world with only 150 'mons and without all the special new toys/attacks/etc. If you haven't, it's a blast, and one of the top non-Squaresoft JRPGs in my opinion. Also will second Harvest Moon.

It's often forgotten, but the GB Donkey Kong was a remarkable game if you can find it. I still play through it on weekends at times, good difficulty curve and lots of fun puzzles, very forgiving when it comes to 1-ups (can acquire 99 lives without trying too hard by level 5-6).

For an odd choice, I'd also suggest Kirby's Pinball. Standard pinball fare with Kirby-based items, enemies, and levels. Think Sonic Spinball only ridiculously cute. I've drained fresh sets of batteries without turning this game off.

by **Jorpho** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 1:29 am UTC

I read a lovely article along those lines not so long ago:
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011 ... lor-games/

Some of them are obvious; some of them much less so. Not sure why the author is down on Warioland 2 and 3; they're different, but they're really quite excellent. Blaster Master: Enemy Below is curiously absent as well.

See also Mole Mania:
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/molema ... emania.htm

by **Sarr** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 3:25 am UTC

Thanks, guys, I've got a list now. Just hope I can find most of them cheaply.

by **Eseell** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 3:27 am UTC

The Milkman wrote:Okay, I'll admit, it was a bit vague. I don't really like RTS games; they tend to get too frantic and competitive for my taste. Turn-based games seem to be the right balance of thought and time that I need, and I personally now have none of them, as I really haven't bought any game like this before. So you could say I'm a newbie at things like this.

Hope that gives some sort of clarity.

I'm going to go ahead and recommend King's Bounty or Heroes of Might and Magic. HOMM probably requires a bit more thought, but they're both turn-based strategy games in a similar style, you can play them at whatever pace you want, and they're both on GOG for cheap.

by **Jorpho** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 4:46 am UTC

Sarr wrote:Thanks, guys, I've got a list now. Just hope I can find most of them cheaply.

Heh. That's unlikely.

I might add that it is quite feasible to play GB and GBC roms on a GBA (or even a DS Lite) with an easily-obtained flashcart like the EZ-Flash IV, but flash carts for the GB and GBC are rather more difficult to come across.

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