What I Learned from Games and Comics

In response to “Anything But Child’s Play” from The Escapist forums:

There’s a really good article on this subject by Mark rosewater that you should read. It’s called Timmy, Johnny and Spike and does a great job of explaining why people play games. I’ve found that this explanation goes a long way towards understanding why people enjoy different aspects of games.

Personally, I prefer puzzles and RPGs where you have to manage resources carefully. One of my favorite examples was playing through Pokemon Soul Silver where I restricted myself by not fighting any wild okemon and not buying anything from the shops. My brother prefers action and FPSs and any kind of game where he can mow down hordes of enemies. Our playthrough of Tales of Symphonia was rather interesting, with me managing the party build and the majority of the puzzels while he did most of the fighting.
– randommaster

You know, I think your kid is actually ahead of the curve here. Most of us cynical gamers will only turn to these fun alternatives when the ‘proper’ way to play the game is spent. But it’s those alternatives that stick to mind the most. I’ve heard great tales of people playing races on Battlefield games, had a lot of fun when me and my friend got tired of shooting each other on GoldenEye and started shouting at each other ‘Freeze! I have a gun!’, and my most memorable CounterStrike session was when I somehow managed to get stuck inside a jeep that was stuck on the level’s invisible ceiling.

Maybe that’s why sandbox games got so popular. They’re a game that have a story in them when you look for them, but when you don’t let you do whatever you want. Although most of them have little secrets and missions hidden in the gameworld – are you really creating your play in childlike fashion when the game expects you to? Hm, let me know when your son is old enough to philosophise.

– The Random One

***

In response to “The Case of Dad vs. Phoenix Wright” from The Escapist forums:
Not to mention Layton vs Wright 😛

I’m still waiting on Franziska Von Karma: Perfect Whipping.

A game that plays half PW half Beat-Em-Up in which you use her whip to abuse, attack and get the truth out of witnesses.

Seriously however. The Ace Attorney series of games are some of the best out there. Whenever people buy a DS or a Wii I make sure to put the series down as games to play. It literally has became much like Okami and Little King’s Story as games you MUST play (or really shouldn’t be playing games.)

– Tiswas

***

In response to “One More Turn, Dad” from The Escapist forums:
What a great article. It brought joy to both myself and my wife.

My son is only 5 and he has the same passion for gaming (video and boardgames and I just introduced him to D&D) that I do. I look forward to the day we can play as peers like you and your Dad. Its amazing how something as small as just playing games with your son (or anything really – basically spending time with him) can have such a long lasting impact.

I can second the motion to give Alpha Centuri a go … if you can stand the ancient graphics the mechanics are great. I also recommend Master of Orion 2 – Civ in space.

/mm

– Michael Mifsud

***

In response to “Grandpa Holds the Cards” from The Escapist forums:
Back in the 90s at my father-in-law’s place of work they got a whole bunch of new computers and upper management had all of the games removed for fear that people would waste company time playing them. However as my father-in-law pointed out many of the employees who got these computers weren’t computer literate and card games like solitaire and freecell are great ways for people to get used to using a mouse and other simple operations.

Upper management didn’t listen but I always felt like he had a really good point here.

– Hungry Donner

Nice read. I’m 30 now, and with my ever-expanding library of games, one thing’s for sure. When I retire, FreeCell isn’t the only game I’ll be playing… 😉

I worked in a retirement home a few years back, and have been involved in recreational activities in other institutions aimed at retired persons and the elderly as well, but the latter was not a full-time job. I haven’t seen much in the way of “alternative entertainment” for this demographic, but have realised that they should be (to a greater extent) exposed to computer games. The only problem is that a lot of these people still see games as a form of entertainment solely aimed towards children.

This article reminds me of the time I introduced a 75 year old that lived home alone to the standard Windows game pack, starting with Minesweeper. The man had been a captain on a large merchant vessel before, during, and after WWII, so I found his enthusiasm for Minesweeper (and telling stories from the war) quite amusing. 🙂

– CosmoK