# Games doing something different



## ska invita (Oct 26, 2016)

I dont really follow computer games but its getting quite amazing how games look
Ive come across a couple today that really shocked me in the way they look

cuphead - which looks like a vintage cartoon


and Unravel, which looks like a modern animation


any other games out there breaking boundaries? whether in look or gameplay?


do give the thread a bump in the future


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## ohmyliver (Oct 26, 2016)

You've looked at Journey?  Game which dispenses with the gaming tropes of competition, scoring, death, and takes about an hour and a half to complete.  It's about 4 years old. 

or Never Alone/Kisima Ingitchuna (a game done in conjunction with an Innuit community to tell their mythology)


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## ska invita (Oct 26, 2016)

I don't play games ever, but I sometimes watch a YouTube games review to help fall asleep... Those two look really interesting!
You can safely presume I won't have heard of anything....


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## ohmyliver (Oct 26, 2016)

It's worth playing Journey.... it's not difficult, and it's a game just about a journey, and exploration.   The multiplayer is excellent, despite/because the only interaction you can have is singing and dancing and exploring with the other anonymous player.


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## Fez909 (Oct 26, 2016)

Have you seen Ni No Kuni, ska invita ? Another one that looks like a modern cartoon. Made by Studio Ghibli. The graphics are incredible.


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## Steel Icarus (Oct 26, 2016)

Little Inferno.


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## ohmyliver (Oct 26, 2016)

I really liked Ni No Kuni, great art direction, the side kick is localised to be Welsh, which must have confused the American market, and who could not like the unrelently cute monsters with bad puns for name.  Especially the pirate cat one.


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## Ming (Oct 28, 2016)

Papers Please is amazing. You play an administrator in a dystopian future having to make decisions about the citizens. Problem is if you're too nice it effects yourself detrimentally. Really heart wrenching at times.


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## Treacle Toes (Oct 28, 2016)

Ming said:


> Papers Please is amazing. You play an administrator in a dystopian future having to make decisions about the citizens. Problem is if you're too nice it effects yourself detrimentally. Really heart wrenching at times.



DWP staff training video/game then?


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## Ming (Oct 28, 2016)

Rutita1 said:


> DWP staff training video/game then?


That hit close to home (i used to work in Ealing ESJ...i was nice though). Undertale is brill too (no spoilers...too good a game to give anything away).


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## Treacle Toes (Oct 28, 2016)

A game of dilemmas that rewards cruelty? ...to labour the point a little more  

Culturally speaking is this a new thing in gaming terms... It's not the average shoot them up is it?


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## Ming (Oct 28, 2016)

I don't think i've described it well. Its not about about being an authoritarian knob as much as trying to find a moral path within an immoral framework. Its a great game if not necessarily an enjoyable experience. If you play it it'll stay with you.


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## Ming (Oct 28, 2016)

Rutita1 said:


> A game of dilemmas that rewards cruelty? ...to labour the point a little more
> 
> Culturally speaking is this a new thing in gaming terms... It's not the average shoot them up is it?


I think (indie) developers are pushing what a game can be which is fucking cool. I love Battlefield don't get me wrong though.
Here's old Zero Punctuation reviewing it (from 03:15...Brothers is a great game also).


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## tommers (Oct 28, 2016)

It s hard to say which games are breaking boundaries cos there are so many.


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## ska invita (Oct 28, 2016)

I did a similiar thread a few years back (which i wanted to bump but couldnt find) and papers please came up. my understanding is that its more a case of , you're a papers inspector in a cold war setting, and its ultimately a case of how many people you can let through without the state catching you out. More about playing the system to its limits than being a bastard


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## tommers (Oct 28, 2016)

ska invita said:


> I did a similiar thread a few years back (which i wanted to bump but couldnt find) and papers please came up. my understanding is that its more a case of , you're a papers inspector in a cold war setting, and its ultimately a case of how many people you can let through without the state catching you out. More about playing the system to its limits than being a bastard



Why don't you play it?  It's probably about four quid these days.

This is his website Games by Lucas Pope.  Republia times is free and browser based,  you are the editor of a newspaper in a brutal dictatorship and have to save your family by placing stories correctly. 

It's quite fun for a little bit.


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## ohmyliver (Oct 28, 2016)

7 quid on Steam seems to be the cheapest 
Papers, Please on Steam


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## ska invita (Oct 28, 2016)

tommers said:


> Why don't you play it?  It's probably about four quid these days.


its a tetchy subject for me...i banned myself from playing computer games about 10 years ago....found them too addictive and too much of a time waste (in a bad way)...ive done more than my share of watching tv and playing computer games - more than enough for a lifetime. life is too short, and most of it is spent working and sleeping and nowadays i like to make the absolute most of my free time. As it is im often in front of a computer (hence posting on here so much), and to relax even more in front of a computer is too much.

Im still tempted to have a quick go on football/tennis games or my old favourite worms  - but im clean these days with a no going back policy. most modern game formats: shooters, platforms, rpgs etc, do nothing for me anyway. this Papers game looks interesting in concept but ive got no desire in giving time to it. a review is more than enough for me!

its an amazing industry though, and considering its bigger than tv, movies and music put together i like to see whats going on out there. most games seem depressingly realistic...thats one way to go i guess. I still think Sensible Soccer shits on Fifa 2017 (not that ive played it), no matter how lifelike new Fifa games look. Creativity, fun, playability, trump realism for me. I still like to see creativity in computer games and what can be pushed out of the technology...though i dont actually want to play any of them!


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## tommers (Oct 28, 2016)

Ha, fair enough.  I don't see games as a waste of time, if something is interesting or makes you think then why not? But I can understand not wanting to get sucked in again.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 28, 2016)

I can understand it. It is a big time suck. 
I can't buy records anymore cos it's too all consuming.


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## ska invita (Oct 28, 2016)

tommers said:


> Ha, fair enough.  I don't see games as a waste of time, if something is interesting or makes you think then why not? But I can understand not wanting to get sucked in again.


computer games dont really make you think though, at best they're fun and make you switch off - hand eye coordination yes,  some strategy and logic problems yes, but adult life is already endless strategy and logic problems! if i come across a problem in a computer game on a platformer say, i just cant be arsed to solve it - ive got enough problems!

Dys4ia however was amazing - autobiographical "game" about gender transition dys4ia by anna anthropy
shame, used to be free but now charging five dollars....it only lasts about 20 minutes but its 20 unforgettable, moving minutes

*people are angry that its been monetised here : dys4ia "


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## tommers (Oct 28, 2016)

I'm just about to head out but you say games don't make you think and then post up an example of a game which made you think.


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## ska invita (Oct 28, 2016)

tommers said:


> I'm just about to head out but you say games don't make you think and then post up an example of a game which made you think.


rare example, and it was more an art work than a game - theres no game play there - creative use of technology....

games should be Fun - no need for them to make you think.
Though games like Fifa and Army Gear Shooting just make me think the army and corporate sport have got too big an influence.


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## Artaxerxes (Oct 31, 2016)

Westport Independent - How much of the truth will you tell before you get shut down? Can you inspire the revolution?

On sale for under £2


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## Voley (Oct 31, 2016)

Don't know about being particularly different, but the new Red Dead Redemption looks beautiful:


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## Fez909 (Oct 31, 2016)

Played this arcade game recently:



It's got 3D, surround sound, vibrations in the seats and weapons, air blasters and a heart rate monitor. It's pretty scary in places and the heart rate monitor checks how scared you are and that affects how well you do in the game. Well worth a quid or two


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## DotCommunist (Oct 31, 2016)

Voley said:


> Don't know about being particularly different, but the new Red Dead Redemption looks beautiful:



I know someones mum who works with someone at Rockstar games and I have passed on the message that this discrimination against the PC master race must end. How hard can it be to make a port goddamit


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## Artaxerxes (Oct 31, 2016)

DotCommunist said:


> I know someones mum who works with someone at Rockstar games and I have passed on the message that this discrimination against the PC master race must end. How hard can it be to make a port goddamit




Very, still no excuse for them seldom relabelling controls and minimising graphics customisations though.


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## Voley (Oct 31, 2016)

I'd be fucked off too if I didn't have a Playstation. I'm really looking forward to this - played the last one to death.


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## Ranbay (Oct 31, 2016)

blame pirates and hackers


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## mauvais (Oct 31, 2016)

Lots of games make you think, sometimes just as much as TV or film.


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## Vintage Paw (Oct 31, 2016)

ska invita said:


> computer games dont really make you think though



Oh how wrong you are.


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## DotCommunist (Oct 31, 2016)

mauvais said:


> Lots of games make you think, sometimes just as much as TV or film.


more so I'd say. You are the passive observer in film and TV whereas games put you in the drivers seat. Thats why sometimes I am 'to tired' for games. And thats not a euphamism for wrecked on substances either, I just want to watch/read a story. But when you are in the mood to be the story-maker well. Well well well. I'm whistling a dixie theme as I load up on guns and head out to do battle. Sporting a fetching hat, swinging an arcane shotgun and followed by a hound called Julius. When the man comes around.


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## ska invita (Oct 31, 2016)

whats the story though? kill someone, jump over something, score some points, collect something, do some other premeditated task. Its just work with a scoreboard for me.

I get how a football match is a story...every time its like an unscripted improvsied bit of story telling. But ultimately the stories follow a pattern. The stalemate, the drubbing, the comeback, the underdog, etc.

Dont really see how any of that makes you think.... you have to concentrate yes - thats a kind of thinking - doesnt actually make you think as in question anything though.
Computer games are games. A bit of fun at best. Most of them feel like work to me rather than fun though. Ive got enough problems on my plate to have to solve some problems a puzzle maker has set


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## mauvais (Nov 1, 2016)

ska invita said:


> whats the story though? kill someone, jump over something, score some points, collect something, do some other premeditated task. Its just work with a scoreboard for me.
> 
> I get how a football match is a story...every time its like an unscripted improvsied bit of story telling. But ultimately the stories follow a pattern. The stalemate, the drubbing, the comeback, the underdog, etc.
> 
> ...


Then you've not played the right games, basically - but, and no offence intended, what's the point of trying to illustrate that if you're never going to play them?

Nonetheless for example, Firewatch, Gone Home and Life Is Strange are primarily story and exposition. All are great. It's not a new quality either - Final Fantasy 7 sticks in the mind as a fine bit of storytelling albeit mixed in with some repetitive mechanics.


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## mauvais (Nov 1, 2016)

Here you go ska invita, this piece is basically for you. From the sadly defunct Grantland, and looping back to LA Noire:

Press X for Beer Bottle: On L.A. Noire


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## ska invita (Nov 1, 2016)

Will def read later, have to get up, but i remember when Charlie Brooker was writing all these excited articles how computer games are the new cinema, and an art form that will dominate the next century etc....
I dont think it came to pass and i think he got over excited...maybe in the future though.
If theres one thing i have no patience for in a computer game though its a cut scene 
LA Noire did look pretty special....i feel a bit burned by investigating type adventures of old though, where youd get quite far and not know what to do next and get stuck as a result. All seemed a bit futile...

Anyhow i didnt start this thread to put down computer games...the opposite, i like to see interesting games and ill check out the ones you mentioned. check them out on a review that lasts 10 minutes when im trying to go to sleep.  Ive got no desire to actually play them...too much of a time sap and too much like hard work, is basicaly where im at.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Nov 1, 2016)

ska invita said:


> I dont really follow computer games but its getting quite amazing how games look
> Ive come across a couple today that really shocked me in the way they look
> 
> cuphead - which looks like a vintage cartoon
> ...



Still just boring platform games. Nothing new game wise except advancements in graphics technology.


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## ska invita (Nov 1, 2016)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Still just boring platform games. Nothing new game wise except advancements in graphics technology.


yeah true enough, and thats why i dont feel fussed about playign them....feel like i a lready have. However the mechanics on Unravel are ingenius - but both do something new in that they push the artistic aspects of a platformer to new levels. Its hard if not impossible to be totally original, but theyre definiltey trying something a little *different*


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## ska invita (Nov 1, 2016)

mauvais said:


> Here you go ska invita, this piece is basically for you. From the sadly defunct Grantland, and looping back to LA Noire:
> 
> Press X for Beer Bottle: On L.A. Noire


From your link:
"Other, and quite possibly wiser, players have a simpler reaction. “Why am I doing all this?” they ask, and stop playing" 

and
"Playing _L.A. Noire_, one cannot help but wonder whether an involved, character-driven story even belongs in an open-world video game. If a game like _L.A. Noire_ is unable to pull this kind of thing off, can any video game?"

its actually quite a critical review that one...


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## mauvais (Nov 1, 2016)

Yeah, of course it is. And it's a flawed game. But the very fact that you _can _write a critical, complex review of a game - akin to that of film - should already be a strong indicator that the medium isn't all shoot-things-for-points.


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## Artaxerxes (Nov 1, 2016)

What about This War of Mine









> In This War Of Mine you do not play as an elite soldier, rather a group of civilians trying to survive in a besieged city; struggling with lack of food, medicine and constant danger from snipers and hostile scavengers. The game provides an experience of war seen from an entirely new angle.


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## tommers (Nov 1, 2016)

9.03m is a game about the tsunami which hit Japan.  You walk around a beach and find artifacts which link to stories about people who died in the disaster.  There isn't a vast amount of gameplay and it's short but it's certainly different and makes something that happened on the other side of the world a bit more real.

To The Moon is a game about 2 scientists going through the memories of a dying man to fulfill his final wish.  It is a great story, it's sad and emotional and lovely.

The Banner Saga is a viking saga about leading a group of villagers to safety in a dying world.  The battle system is familiar (although parts of it are certainly novel), but the story is epic and the artwork is amazing.  The ending is... affecting. The artwork is based on Eyvind Earl.


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## Crispy (Nov 1, 2016)

DotCommunist said:


> How hard can it be to make a port goddamit


In the case of RRR, very hard indeed. The production was a mad crazy crunch and the engine was a semi upgrade of the old GTA4 engine with some bits of the GTA5 engine strapped on, all done by the San Diego studio, who don't handle the main engine development. No PC version was maintained during development (as it was for GTA4 and 5) and it would be a horrible job to go and unpick the mess.

Red Dead Redemption coming in 2017 according to Dev

RRR2 will almost certainly have a PC version. They're just not announcing it now.


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## mauvais (Nov 1, 2016)

Another Grantland piece for your reading library, btw, this time about _Spec Ops: The Line_.

Again this is a flawed game, that at times is indistinguishable from the usual on-rails shooters like Call of Duty. And it's not always very good at that.

But the story it tells is remarkable, because it's Conrad's _Heart of Darkness_, translated to Dubai. That doesn't work perfectly either - like I said, it's flawed - but fundamentally, it exists, it's doing something different and it certainly gives you cause to think - or write about it.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Shooter


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## Crispy (Nov 1, 2016)

I really really enjoyed _Inside_ recently.











Nominally, it's a platform puzzle/adventure game, but it has a fantastic atmosphere; oppressive and intriguing. The animation is top-notch too. But it also has layers of themes to do with control and agency, and once you've reached the end you look back on the whole thing with a completely different perspective. Fairly short (you could do it in one sitting if you cleared an evening) and pretty cheap too.


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## mauvais (Nov 1, 2016)

Another way of looking at this whole thing is the inverse - what isn't innovative, and what isn't novel.

For some people's money, _Half Life 2_ (2004) was the last first person shooter to do something new, either in terms of serious mechanics or in experiences. Personally I'd argue a couple of exceptions, like _Superhot_ (SUPER! HOT!™), and _S.T.A.L.K.E.R._ - you might exclude either from the genre I guess - but it's actually a surprisingly difficult argument to counter.

Then there's the overwhelming number and volume of certain pattern-moulded games, like the Ubisoft favourite of collect-em-up open world games (Assassins Creed etc), or overlapping with that, any franchise that puts out a version every few years.

So if you focus on those - the genre of FPS, the market of AAA games - you will experience something stagnant and conservative, in large part thanks to the very moneyspinning nature of it. But obviously, my advice is: don't do that.


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## tommers (Nov 1, 2016)

My mate buys FIFA and COD every year and that is all he plays. 

He's a fucking weirdo.


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## Johnny Vodka (Nov 1, 2016)

Farming Simulator 2017?


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## moon (Nov 3, 2016)

I just saw this. 'The Oustiders' is being developed by an ex Battlefield designer, you play as a hunted creature rather than the Viking human hunter and your abilities change as you grow from a baby to adult
Battlefield designer reveals promising-looking Viking monster game


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## tommers (Nov 3, 2016)

moon said:


> I just saw this. 'The Oustiders' is being developed by an ex Battlefield designer, you play as a hunted creature rather than the Viking human hunter and your abilities change as you grow from a baby to adult
> Battlefield designer reveals promising-looking Viking monster game


I think the Outsiders are the company.  The game is "Project Wight".


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## moon (Nov 3, 2016)

ahh ok thanks..


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## Artaxerxes (Nov 5, 2016)

mauvais said:


> Another way of looking at this whole thing is the inverse - what isn't innovative, and what isn't novel.
> 
> For some people's money, _Half Life 2_ (2004) was the last first person shooter to do something new, either in terms of serious mechanics or in experiences. Personally I'd argue a couple of exceptions, like _Superhot_ (SUPER! HOT!™), and _S.T.A.L.K.E.R._ - you might exclude either from the genre I guess - but it's actually a surprisingly difficult argument to counter.
> 
> ...




I think mods have been remarkably innovative for fps games. Operation Flashpoint/Armed Assault was quite unique on its own but Day Z has spawned and entire generation of imitators, and Day Z itself was inspired by the hard core STALKER mod scene.


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## mauvais (Nov 5, 2016)

Well, Op Flashpoint and especially ARMA are basically military sims rather than FPS. I'm not sure what to call DayZ, it's possibly an FPS again.

All of them are a good examples of interesting games outside the AAA mould though.


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## ohmyliver (Nov 15, 2016)

Lost Ember looks worth a punt.... err albeit in 2018 when it comes out... a bit like journey, open worldish, and it looks suitable for playing with children
Beautiful creatures animate Lost Ember


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## mwgdrwg (Nov 15, 2016)

mauvais said:


> Another way of looking at this whole thing is the inverse - what isn't innovative, and what isn't novel.
> 
> For some people's money, _Half Life 2_ (2004) was the last first person shooter to do something new, either in terms of serious mechanics or in experiences. Personally I'd argue a couple of exceptions, like _Superhot_ (SUPER! HOT!™), and _S.T.A.L.K.E.R._ - you might exclude either from the genre I guess - but it's actually a surprisingly difficult argument to counter.



What about the glory that is Splatoon!?


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## mwgdrwg (Nov 15, 2016)

Nintendo is always good for new experiences. In the past few years I can recommend Super Mario Maker, Splatoon, Nintendoland, and The Wonderful 101.


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## mauvais (Nov 15, 2016)

mwgdrwg said:


> What about the glory that is Splatoon!?


I'd never heard of this before, so  - but: third person shooter, and an arena platformer as compared to e.g. Half Life's serious FPS.


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## mwgdrwg (Nov 15, 2016)

mauvais said:


> I'd never heard of this before, so  - but: third person shooter, and an arena platformer as compared to e.g. Half Life's serious FPS.



Well, it's doing something new in the realm of "shooters" anyway. Even if it is in third person/inkling, you get the same kind of fun playing this as you would with Quake III


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## Artaxerxes (Nov 15, 2016)

RIOT: Civil Unrest


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## mauvais (Nov 25, 2016)

^ That thing's been in progress for a very long time - I'm not sure it'll ever be released.


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## SovietArmy (Nov 25, 2016)

Great topic as myself only played Tomb Raider level Editor games online I enjoyed but I want something different too.  Any suggestions not much fighting maybe more intellectual games and like long games.  I have no clues at all.


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## NoXion (Nov 27, 2016)

ska invita said:


> its a tetchy subject for me...i banned myself from playing computer games about 10 years ago....found them too addictive and too much of a time waste (in a bad way)...ive done more than my share of watching tv and playing computer games - more than enough for a lifetime. life is too short, and most of it is spent working and sleeping and nowadays i like to make the absolute most of my free time.



Doing what?


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## Brainaddict (Nov 27, 2016)

This thread brings up some of my problems with games. The running/flying around, shooting things, even walking around solving things, involves a lot of boring if skilful twiddling. I've never been interested in doing all that. I can do it for 5 mins, then I wonder why I'm spending time on such a useless skill.

I read the other day about a game where you didn't directly control the play. There was a character wandering round, but you don't control it, you just make decisions on certain things and that has effects on how the game unfolds. It sounded kind of interesting but I can't remember the name of it 

Are there also games that are about solving narrative problems, rather than having a narrative, then you do some shooting to advance the narrative, or solve a word puzzle to move on or something? I might find the former interesting.


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## mauvais (Nov 27, 2016)

Brainaddict said:


> This thread brings up some of my problems with games. The running/flying around, shooting things, even walking around solving things, involves a lot of boring if skilful twiddling. I've never been interested in doing all that. I can do it for 5 mins, then I wonder why I'm spending time on such a useless skill.
> 
> I read the other day about a game where you didn't directly control the play. There was a character wandering round, but you don't control it, you just make decisions on certain things and that has effects on how the game unfolds. It sounded kind of interesting but I can't remember the name of it
> 
> Are there also games that are about solving narrative problems, rather than having a narrative, then you do some shooting to advance the narrative, or solve a word puzzle to move on or something? I might find the former interesting.


That's a fair description of what you don't get on with, but I'm not clear on what you do want yet. Can you expand on the last bit about solving narrative problems? What would that look like?

It probably exists, although I might not be the person to point you at it.


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## Brainaddict (Nov 27, 2016)

mauvais said:


> That's a fair description of what you don't get on with, but I'm not clear on what you do want yet. Can you expand on the last bit about solving narrative problems? What would that look like?
> 
> It probably exists, although I might not be the person to point you at it.


I'm not sure what it would look like because I've never seen it  I suppose on a basic level a narrative problem game might look like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel, but I'd hope the nature of computer games (rather than printed paper) could make it considerably more complex than one of those.


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## mauvais (Nov 27, 2016)

Brainaddict said:


> I'm not sure what it would look like because I've never seen it  I suppose on a basic level a narrative problem game might look like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel, but I'd hope the nature of computer games (rather than printed paper) could make it considerably more complex than one of those.


Hmm. There are a few good games where your choices significantly affect the outcome but generally they're connected by having to do normalish game stuff in between.

The closest thing to what you're after is perhaps the genre of interactive fiction (IF), which is not something I'm into - someone else may have good suggestions. Unfortunately a lot of it is crap too, because the bar to entry is low.


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## mauvais (Nov 27, 2016)

As an aside, here's a silly throwaway example of IF that doesn't really diverge based on what you do - I include it because it's funny and at least demonstrates the mechanic.

The Temple of No by Crows Crows Crows


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## Brainaddict (Nov 27, 2016)

Also I think the type of games I'm imagining would get more interesting in multiplayer versions.


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## mauvais (Nov 27, 2016)

I can't quite envisage how that would work other than turn-based and probably local play.

80 Days is another bit of IF I enjoyed. It does have a multiplayer element in that you can watch other people's progression but I doubt that's what you had in mind.


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## Crispy (Nov 27, 2016)

Brainaddict said:


> I'm not sure what it would look like because I've never seen it  I suppose on a basic level a narrative problem game might look like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel, but I'd hope the nature of computer games (rather than printed paper) could make it considerably more complex than one of those.


You might enjoy Kentucky Route Zero

Review of Act I : Wot I Think: Kentucky Route Zero Act I


> I had a dream about Kentucky Route Zero a couple of nights ago, which is an entirely appropriate reaction to its magical realist landscape and locations. In the dream, the dilapidated farmhouses and cut-away basements were stranded with seaweed and rotten fish, having been lost underwater for years. The sea that covered the state eventually retreated when the tide went out one day and never stopped going, whispering away over the horizon. I’d conflated its world with Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ Autumn of the Patriarch. That’s grand company to be in and the game sits comfortably there. Both works sashay around surrealism, in an emotionally and intellectually cohesive fashion.



You can play just act 1 and still get a satisfying experience. (the final act, V, is not out yet)

In terms of multiplayer, maybe The Yawhg is what you're looking for?
It's a sort of co-operative storytelling story game for 2-4 players



Review: Review: The Yawhg - Gets Better With A Little Help From Your Friends



> Afterwards, my group gushed about how much fun they had, and I was subsequently besieged with requests, as my compatriots exclaimed how much they wanted me to later host another session for them and their friends. See my gameplay video below…
> 
> I’ll leave you with one of my favorite stories we found while playing:
> 
> ...


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## FridgeMagnet (Nov 27, 2016)

Brainaddict said:


> This thread brings up some of my problems with games. The running/flying around, shooting things, even walking around solving things, involves a lot of boring if skilful twiddling. I've never been interested in doing all that. I can do it for 5 mins, then I wonder why I'm spending time on such a useless skill.
> 
> I read the other day about a game where you didn't directly control the play. There was a character wandering round, but you don't control it, you just make decisions on certain things and that has effects on how the game unfolds. It sounded kind of interesting but I can't remember the name of it
> 
> Are there also games that are about solving narrative problems, rather than having a narrative, then you do some shooting to advance the narrative, or solve a word puzzle to move on or something? I might find the former interesting.


It's hard to say. As mauvais says, most of the games that are about narrative are in the IF genre, but that's kind of tautological; the term IF generally implies a narrative that the player affects in some way. It's exploded in the last few years with a number of low-entry-barrier tools being developed that have easy web export, particularly Twine which I love, but people have been messing with this stuff for years before that, often in parser-based IF (i.e. N / GET ROCK / THREATEN MUFFIN WITH ROCK). Some of it is pretty traditional, some mess with ideas of observers and agency, some satirise or explore existing game tropes, some are really just mood pieces, blah blah. I find out about this stuff by following other people who are interested in it on social media and checking out their links; I've never found any better way. Emily Short's blog is one of the best for info on the latest items - she herself has written some really groundbreaking things.

80 Days, as mentioned above, is a good jumping-in point to the modern CYOA style.


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## tommers (Nov 28, 2016)

Sorcery! series are also very good

Sunless Seas is probably worth a look .  Not played Fallen London but maybe?


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## Fez909 (Nov 29, 2016)

The man who made a video game inspired by escaping the secret police


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## Brainaddict (Nov 30, 2016)

FridgeMagnet said:


> It's hard to say. As mauvais says, most of the games that are about narrative are in the IF genre, but that's kind of tautological; the term IF generally implies a narrative that the player affects in some way. It's exploded in the last few years with a number of low-entry-barrier tools being developed that have easy web export, particularly Twine which I love, but people have been messing with this stuff for years before that, often in parser-based IF (i.e. N / GET ROCK / THREATEN MUFFIN WITH ROCK). Some of it is pretty traditional, some mess with ideas of observers and agency, some satirise or explore existing game tropes, some are really just mood pieces, blah blah. I find out about this stuff by following other people who are interested in it on social media and checking out their links; I've never found any better way. Emily Short's blog is one of the best for info on the latest items - she herself has written some really groundbreaking things.
> 
> 80 Days, as mentioned above, is a good jumping-in point to the modern CYOA style.


Thanks for the ideas. IF seems mostly text-based. Something more image-based seems appropriate for computer games. Kentucky Route Zero seems interesting, and I'll have a look at the others too.


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## Fez909 (Jun 12, 2017)

This looks interesting: 



The idea is you're part of a clean-up team who have to sort the mess out after a bloody alien invasion.


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## mauvais (Jun 12, 2017)

I've played that. It's kind of what you'd expect - fun, silly, shallow. Like themed mods or total conversions for FPS games used to be.


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## dessiato (Jun 13, 2017)

I enjoy playing Mexican Train, I recently came across a free app. The graphics are not great, but it's a great way to nose a few minutes.


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## Fez909 (Feb 3, 2020)

And relax … the joy of video games where you do almost nothing
					

More and more people are using games like quiet background experiences, requiring minimal attention while they sew, cook or study




					www.theguardian.com


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## mauvais (Feb 3, 2020)

I've been playing a platformer called Horace, which was briefly free on Epic. It's _extremely _British. It's got all kinds of subtle little jokes in it, like the set from The Day Today.


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## RTWL (Feb 7, 2020)

Double post .


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## RTWL (Feb 7, 2020)

Artaxerxes said:


> RIOT: Civil Unrest



This game is a lot better than I thought it would be !
Only been playing it for 30mins and I am in love. It is classy ! the 8 bit photorealistic graphics work really well.  The game play is simple... but if you have experience in this area... quite realistic.

Im playing through global mode which starts out in Valsusa, Italy resisting a high speed train track.  All the stories are from real events in story which got me well involved . I'm definitely going to buy this.


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## mauvais (Feb 8, 2020)

mauvais said:


> I've been playing a platformer called Horace, which was briefly free on Epic. It's _extremely _British. It's got all kinds of subtle little jokes in it, like the set from The Day Today.


This is the sort of thing I'm on about:


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## Fez909 (Jun 9, 2020)

More a demo/concept than a game, but love the look of this:


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## Rosemary Jest (Jun 10, 2020)

Superhot is amazing, weird and trippy, addictive and fun. Leaves Xbox gamepass soon, so would recommend it if you haven't already played it.


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## Steel Icarus (Jul 3, 2020)

Rosemary Jest said:


> Superhot is amazing, weird and trippy, addictive and fun. Leaves Xbox gamepass soon, so would recommend it if you haven't already played it.


SUPER!
HOT!

Started that last weekend, must have another go on it this.


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## Rosemary Jest (Jul 4, 2020)

Yep, it's a great game. Not too long either, so doesn't get boring.


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## Fez909 (Aug 26, 2021)

> Season, a third-person atmospheric adventure bicycle road trip game. Through the eyes of a young woman from a secluded community, explore the world for the first time. Collect artifacts and memories before a mysterious cataclysm washes away the world...


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## Brainaddict (Oct 31, 2021)

I finally played Journey but was defeated in the end by all the running around and jumping, and needing to jump in just the right way, having found the right energy boosters first, and needing ten attempts to get it right, then having to do the same again a couple of minutes later. Very boring, however beautiful the game is.


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## hitmouse (Oct 31, 2021)

Since it doesn't seem to have been mentioned, I'd say Night in the Woods is probably my favourite example of this:








						Night in the Woods is the Working Class Fiction I’ve Been Waiting For
					

Fans of Raymond Carver, Andre Dubus, Bobbie Ann Mason and Breece “D’J” Pancake will love Night in the Woods.




					www.pastemagazine.com
				




Great mix of deindustrialisation, cutesy cartoon animals, teenage/early twentysomething ennui, and Lovecraftian horror, there's parts in it that feel like a really obvious commentary on Trumpism but iirc pretty much the whole thing was written and developed before the 2016 election so it's actually not so much a commentary on Trumpism as the underlying social forces that led to it. This scene is not really a spoiler for anything:


Just started Disco Elysium, which is also great so far, and I can see does have a thread on here, but also I really don't want it spoilered, so I'll wait until I've finished it before I read it.


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## Steel Icarus (Oct 31, 2021)

I cried at the end of _Night in the woods_ Brainaddict and its characters will stay with me for a long time. _Disco Elysium_ you'll love


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## hitmouse (Oct 31, 2021)

S☼I said:


> I cried at the end of _Night in the woods_ Brainaddict and its characters will stay with me for a long time. _Disco Elysium_ you'll love


Not sure if that was actually directed at Brain or me, but yeah. Got to the first dream sequence in Disco today (a similarity between both games, I suppose, they don't stop when you go to sleep), that was pretty fucking intense. DE is a bit like Bojack Horseman, there's something quite therapeutic about seeing all the worst aspects of your personality intensified to grotesque proportions.


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## Steel Icarus (Oct 31, 2021)

hitmouse said:


> Not sure if that was actually directed at Brain or me, but yeah. Got to the first dream sequence in Disco today (a similarity between both games, I suppose, they don't stop when you go to sleep), that was pretty fucking intense. DE is a bit like Bojack Horseman, there's something quite therapeutic about seeing all the worst aspects of your personality intensified to grotesque proportions.


Oh yeah it should have been you tagged


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## Brainaddict (Dec 28, 2021)

So I did actually like Disco Elysium. This is a first. Thanks for the recommendation. Are there any other games like it?


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## Brainaddict (Dec 31, 2021)

Brainaddict said:


> So I did actually like Disco Elysium. This is a first. Thanks for the recommendation. Are there any other games like it?


After some research I've realised the answer to this is 'not really'.


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## tommers (Dec 31, 2021)

Brainaddict said:


> After some research I've realised the answer to this is 'not really'.


There are lots of RPGs out there, but nothing really like DE.


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## ska invita (Jul 28, 2022)

made aware of this thanks to Limmy

Embrace Cattiness


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## DotCommunist (Jul 28, 2022)

ska invita said:


> made aware of this thanks to Limmy
> 
> Embrace Cattiness



I've downloaded this but have yet to install it. A cat sim, meh. A cat sim  where a stray walks through a dystopian, decaying city to find its owners? sold.


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## ohmyliver (Jul 28, 2022)

Stray is very nice.   Sort of proggy space synth noodling soundtrack.  Really accurate cat animations/sounds.  Robots surviving in a crumbling closed off city.  Achivements for miaowing enough times (which was unlocked by the kid hammering the miaow button in the first 30 mins of gaming), and scratching doors/trees/etc.  Me and the kid have greatly enjoyed it. 

Our cat _much_ less so.  He went and grumped off to next doors garden, and now we've stopped playing is back with us. 

Oh, one thing. The cat doesn't have owners at any point in the game.


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## Storm Fox (Aug 1, 2022)

I have played Stray through to the end, I thought it was a fantastic game. Loved the soundtrack*, and the visual aesthetic, It's got a melancholic feel to it and draws you in a make you wonder what happened in the past. 
I hope there is a sequel, or some kind of follow even in a different form of media.

* I'm Listening to the soundtrack on Spotify as I write this.


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## ska invita (Yesterday at 8:42 AM)

the voices seem like they would get annoying fast but good to see someone trying something a bit different visually


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## AverageJoe (Yesterday at 3:07 PM)

This looks like an even madder Borderlands. 

Right up my Strasse.


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## Brainaddict (Yesterday at 11:09 PM)

I tried Last Stop, which is set in London and has a choose your own adventure vibe with choices of what to say to people. Three storylines gradually converge into something a bit bonkers. What I liked was it was set in quite a real London. No central London landmarks, just ordinary streets and tower blocks that often felt vaguely familiar. What I didn't like was a lot of the 'choices' you were given were a bit fake, and it wasn't clear how much they affected the flow of the story. Overall it was more like watching a long film unfold than a computer game, but quite enjoyable if you're in the mood for it.


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## Ranbay (Yesterday at 11:12 PM)

ska invita said:


> the voices seem like they would get annoying fast but good to see someone trying something a bit different visually





great game


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