Discussion thread! Let's talk about worlds!
Hey all, it's @ddrfr33k. I'm going to be curating discussion threads as close to a weekly schedule as I can. If not weekly, then it'll be biweekly instead. Look forward to these, they're a great opportunity to chat with the mods, the GU community at large, and if you're not a member of Gamers United, this is a great time to find out more about our awesome people! That's more or less our goal. We want to set up an open mic that anyone can contribute to. And most importantly, this is a great way to get to know your fellow members!
I've been getting wrapped up in Far Cry 5 lately, and just how awesome a space Ubisoft put together in Hope County. So for you guys, I want to know this:
Tell us about a game world you remember fondly. One that tugged at the heart strings, stunned you in its beauty, or set such an amazing atmospheric experience that you can't wait to go back again.
Sound off in the comments below, and let us know what you think about posts like these. If you like them, let us know! If you don't like them, let us know. You know which ones we'll listen to and which ones we'll ignore. (kidding, kidding...)
@GamersUnited is a brand new SteemIt curation group for everything gaming! Whether you're a game dev, streamer, artist that loves gaming, game reviewer, or have any other form of gaming addiction - we want you!
I am torn between two worlds that I love.
Like @gmuxx, I love the Witcher universe. None of this trite good/evil, high eleven stereotypes. Everyone here is gray, and with an agenda. Monsters are not necessarily the evil, men sometimes are and it is a world that is dripping with serious themes (if you ignore the nude card collecting game in the first one...).
However, more recently I've been playing games from the "Endless" universe. The way they link all these games from vastly different settings in to a single timeline, Endless Legend (fantasy) and Endless Space (space travel) as well as other offshoots is just great! 4X with some real storylines, it's a much better take on the genre than Civ.
Sorry guys, I have no idea what this gentle bot that upvoted my comment is! Not trying to hijack the comment section. I'm as surprised as anyone else...
All good bro! Take the vote and run :D
Oh, I will! That wasn't in question!
So, I think I'm going to have to follow suit with @GamersClassified on this one.
World of Warcraft has been at the heart of my love for gaming since it first came out (I was 13 at the time). My dad bought it, and I tried it on his account - he ended up having to buy me one 2 days later because I got so hooked haha.
We'd play together almost every single night - when he remarried, my Stepmom, as well as my step-siblings, all got into it too. There were 5 of us, sitting next to each other at separate desks, WoWing out pretty much every night that I was over there.
Vanilla WoW was incredibly well crafted for its time. From the landscapes to the architectural designs, the UI, the play/fighting style, and my favorite part - the PvP. I most remember waking up before school, popping into an Alterac Valley, getting an hour in, and then having to leave - I'd get home from school, pop back in, and the same damn round of Valley would be happening. It was so awesome!
Having rivals on your server (way before server sharding/battlegroups) was something that made it even more memorable. You'd specifically remember someone's name, and if they were on the opposing faction, would ALWAYS go after them first if you happened to run into them (which was pretty often, typically). This is when big names would start to pop up in the game and make WoW history.
I even spent loads of time when I was at school, using Thotbott (pre-WoWhead Wiki) to look up all the amazing gear that I could one day find. Reading all the comments, all the drop rates, memorizing shit that had no bearing on real life, but yet to this day STILL remember (i.e. the hidden quest on the broken bridge between Wetlands and Arathi Highlands, anyone?)
WoW has made such an impact on my life, and thinking back to when I first started makes me incredibly nostalgic every single time. This game has actually had an impact on my life, so much so that I'm now actually focusing on streaming and building up an audience to potentially make something of this.
Crazy how our parents always told us that "you'll never get anywhere in life by just playing video games all day" - yet we now live in the day and age where it's actually quite possible to earn a living by geeking out to games (albeit, it does require having a personality and knowing how, or at least learning how to market yourself and "build your brand/persona").
Thanks for all the great memories so far, WoW. You've definitely impacted my life forever - and while I may have spent WAY too much time playing when I was younger, I still don't regret it.
/endrant
#GamersUnited
It would have to be the first iteration of world of warcraft. Started off as a Night Elf and the game scenery was epic but nothing sent shivers down my spine harder in any game ever then walking into Darnassus for the first time. Everything about it from the coloring, scenery music and sheer size reassured me there was hundreds of hours left in this game to explore!
I recently tried a private vanilla server, and loved the way Teldrassil felt. Vanilla WoW had an atmosphere to it that was amazing.
I've always read a ton of books, and frankly video games rarely make an impression on me in terms of world building (there are many other aspects that I love)
One reason is that our imagination sort of work against us, when it comes to video games.
In Harry Potter I just need to read a few paragraphs about muggle society and Hogwarts, and my mind will automatically fill in the rest.
But the agency in video games allows me to explore. And then I quickly discover that the city in GTA is not actually a city. It's a backdrop to the scripted story. Most doors and houses are just graphics I can't interact with.
But one game in particular, made me believe that everything wasn't just setup to be part of my Hero's Journey.
That the inhabitants of that world had life's and stories of their own, that was happening whether I came by to notice it or not.
I'm talking about:
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker.
I will agree with that, with one exception:
THAT DAMN MERCHANT! :P
Haha what do you mean?
That he's annoying? Or that he shows up magically all over the place 😁
I will agree with Metro 2033, that game is amazing and very atmospheric.
My top will always go back to SNES and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. A combination of game-play, level setup, music, enemies and everything always gets me. Also the nostalgia from my younger days haha.
What about the atmosphere in Diddy Kong's Quest stuck out to you? Was it the music that goes with the levels?
The music really helped make the levels unique, they were really fitting for what the stages were too.
So, while you're probably thinking Hope County is going to be my answer for a really absorbing game world, I'm actually going to say something entirely different.
This game.
This game is not a normal shooter. What I loved about it was just how immersive the game is. If you put it in Russian with subtitles, it feels like a foreign film. But at the same time, you feel like you're actually trudging through the subway tunnels, checking your gas mask, and timing your life. It's beautiful in this weird sort of way. I love everything about it, from the clunky controls to the slow, methodical pacing of the game. It's a true beauty, you know?
you must be looking forward to the new one yeah?
Cautiously optimistic, but yes. I liked the cinematic, but a pretty movie doesn't necessarily equate to a solid game. Metro 2033 was amazing because it wasn't mainstream, it was done by a tiny team from Ukraine. I don't think it'll be a failure, but I worry about the amount of money coming into the franchise.
Personally I played Metro: Last Light and the least that I can say is that was SHOOKED at how deep I got into the universe, checking the Gas mask, checking the Radiation and the likes. When I first started the game I was like wtf russian aliens? Wtf is going on? And then I started learning about what had happened in the first game and how that had affected the story in this entry and the stress of getting new masks and health... It was a pretty great experience and one I wasn't expecting (I dropped the game the first time because I was too scared to play it but eventually started it over again and finished it) But I can say one thing. Games that grab you by the neck and immerse you into the world like that, are a rare find. When you do find a game like that, then you know they're unique.
And how! It's amazing how that works out, isn't it?
It's truly amazing. Not a ton of games can create such immersion and worlds as expansive as others!
Not sure how many of you out there have played this game, but 1993's Gabriel Knight : Sins of The Father is a true masterpiece!!
For me nothing beats those story rich point n click games of the past, I wish they got back to that kind of story telling in today's games. It was so dark and intense (for its time)...love it!!
If you want to play this they released a remasted 20th year Anniversary on steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/262000/Gabriel_Knight_Sins_of_the_Fathers_20th_Anniversary_Edition/
I missed that one. I played a lot of edutainment games in the 90's. What was the premise behind this game?
Ok so I've been thinking since I saw this post last night.
There were 2 games which I had in mind: Dark Souls and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim because I think those are the two games in which I've spent way too much time, the latter being the one I've played the most. (wink wink)
If that last line didn't give you a heads up of which game dipped my head fully into it's Lore, World and Characters, then I'll tell you. It's a game I would love to go back even on this day, It's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. And here's why.
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I first got introduced into what Skyrim was in 2012, some months after it came out. I had been watching countless videos and gameplay series about it and I was so hyped that Skyrim was the only thing I wanted to talk about when I was in school back then (9th grade). Later down that year, a friend gifted me his copy of Skyrim and I was so SHOOK that I didn't even remember what else happened on that day until I got home and inserted the disc onto my 360.
To this day I could keep playing skyrim without getting tired (The disc got damaged before I could install it) and even more with all of the DLC's and mods that exist today. But sadly I don't own it on PC.
The things that captivated 13 year old Volderhein about Skyrim, were: The openness of the world. I had never played an open world game like this with Rpg elements, dumb puzzles and somewhat entertaining combat. Back then I thought that this was the best game ever created, EVER. The fact that I could kill almost anyone, go anywhere I wanted and the variety of weapons, armors and spells were just the best thing I had ever seen back then! The Soundtrack. Have you ever listened to it? It's one of the most relaxing and immersing pieces of OST ever created. It blends pristinely into the traversing of the world and the combat and the exploring and it's just simply perfect for the Adventure. The Lore. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH LORE IS INTO THIS GAME? THERE'S APROXIMATELY 5 GAME'S CONTENT OF LORE IN HERE. AND I HAVE PROBABLY READ ABOUT IT. I've honestly felt like I've learned about 3 life's worth of history knowledge since I got into Skyrim.
Although the game looks like a clunky mess because of today standards in the industry, it still holds a dear place in my heart and it will stay there forever. In 2012 this was the best gaming experience and worldbuilding that I had ever experienced. All of these things plus the exploration and the characters make me 100% immersed in Skyrim whenever I pick it up. It's just so easy to get lost into it's world and the roleplaying of your character. I will never regret going back to it because I can always say that I took an arrow in the knee.
I am going to be straight up, Super Mario World for Super NES is still my all time favorite game world. To this day that game blows my mind. There are a million dope games out there, some complex, some less so. But to me simplicity is beauty and that is how Super Mario World always was to me.
What? Nobody mentioned City of Heroes? I lived in that game-world.One could spend hours in character creation before starting while loving every minute of it. If there was ever a game that needed to be brought back it was that one.
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I remember watching a video about the rise and fall of City of Heroes. Kind of a shame, really. Looked like it had a lot going for it.