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For what it's worth, 360 does have the option to turn off notifications, that includes achievements as well as alerts for stuff. I found that I wind up doing that during atmospheric games like Alan Wake or FEAR quite a bit, and for a solid month just had them off entirely for everything.
I love my Gamerscore to death, 91473, or something like that, and I usually actively go for achievements that fall in with my usual play style. Sometimes I'll go back and grind out ones I missed, I'm sorta doing that with DXHR right now, but usually I'll get whatever I can on a single run and move on to the next game. And the only games I've 1000 pointed (Platinum'ed) were ones that didn't require complexities or choices that took course over the entire game.
I appreciate that the achievements cover all play styles, and it's usually worth some cred if you complete a game multiple times, but sometimes it's just silly. Deus Ex's 'multiple endings' didn't rely on any choices outside of the last level. If you found these 2 guys, you had 4 options at the end as opposed to 2. Pick one, watch, load, repeat. I did that partially for achievements, but also because I genuinely wanted to see those endings. Unfortunately all of the endings were just philosophical rantings about the nature of humans with a few sentences changed where the characters in question had opposing views.
On topic: I assume PS3 has a way to disable notifications too, though I never play mine so I wouldn't know for sure.
I love my Gamerscore to death, 91473, or something like that, and I usually actively go for achievements that fall in with my usual play style. Sometimes I'll go back and grind out ones I missed, I'm sorta doing that with DXHR right now, but usually I'll get whatever I can on a single run and move on to the next game. And the only games I've 1000 pointed (Platinum'ed) were ones that didn't require complexities or choices that took course over the entire game.
I appreciate that the achievements cover all play styles, and it's usually worth some cred if you complete a game multiple times, but sometimes it's just silly. Deus Ex's 'multiple endings' didn't rely on any choices outside of the last level. If you found these 2 guys, you had 4 options at the end as opposed to 2. Pick one, watch, load, repeat. I did that partially for achievements, but also because I genuinely wanted to see those endings. Unfortunately all of the endings were just philosophical rantings about the nature of humans with a few sentences changed where the characters in question had opposing views.
On topic: I assume PS3 has a way to disable notifications too, though I never play mine so I wouldn't know for sure.
@DimmuJed... I actually did get the offer to be features writer on Dtoid.. essentially a fast track to the front page. I turned the offer down for a few reasons... one being that it was an unpaid posiiton and frankly if I'm going to write well and properly format and edit my work, then it's not worth my time unless I get some compensation. With my husband retiring next year I actually seriiously considered trying to find something in the game writing area that made me around $200 a month, but it's probably easier to just get a part-time job at Walmart! The second reason I turned it down was that I want to stay on the c-blogs. I like this part of Dtoid and feel this section is my "home" here.
That being said, if Andrew Kauz ever moves up and there is a vacancy as a c-blog community manager, I would do that for free in a second! I hate that advertising/spam blogs aren't nuked right away (3 of them have been sitting there all morning) and that the "topic of the week" still isn't posted yet (it's already TUESDAY) and I would love to see more of the excellent c-blogs people produce promoted to the front page.
... but chances are strong I'll end up working at Walmart before that opportunity comes along! LOL!
@Panda... the 360 has that option?? AWESOME!! I did not know that! Well, that's definitely something that the PS3 should copy. As far as I can tell, there doesn't seem to be a way to disable them ingame and actually hide the trophy listing. :(
That being said, if Andrew Kauz ever moves up and there is a vacancy as a c-blog community manager, I would do that for free in a second! I hate that advertising/spam blogs aren't nuked right away (3 of them have been sitting there all morning) and that the "topic of the week" still isn't posted yet (it's already TUESDAY) and I would love to see more of the excellent c-blogs people produce promoted to the front page.
... but chances are strong I'll end up working at Walmart before that opportunity comes along! LOL!
@Panda... the 360 has that option?? AWESOME!! I did not know that! Well, that's definitely something that the PS3 should copy. As far as I can tell, there doesn't seem to be a way to disable them ingame and actually hide the trophy listing. :(
crap.... correction... I see I missed the topic of the week was posted on Monday, I must have missed it (though I checked the sidebar this morning... it must have been updated.) Online passes... me... I may give this week's topic a pass.
For the record, a quick email to Support or a PM/tweet to me or Kauza is all it takes to get rid of spammers. Otherwise we kill them as soon as we see them, which is the best we can do.
@Andy... I'll start using the PM system... or maybe even tweeting you! (damn twitter... I hate it, but I hate the spammers more! LOL!) Didn't know you could nuke em Andy! (and now you'll likely come to hate me!)
... thanks for letting me know! I really, really, really hate those Peru/travel spammers for some reason. Nothing against Peru, I just find them so obviously spammy with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
... thanks for letting me know! I really, really, really hate those Peru/travel spammers for some reason. Nothing against Peru, I just find them so obviously spammy with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
@Elsa
Hit your guide button and scroll to the right until you see notifications. From there disable all pop ups. It will also kill anything that appears during movies, etc.
Hit your guide button and scroll to the right until you see notifications. From there disable all pop ups. It will also kill anything that appears during movies, etc.
@manasteel.. will I still get party invites? (when I get gold again, though I could certainly use it right now for playing Tomb Raider as it's a single player game)
@Elsa
RE: Notifications
No, unfortunately disabling notifications disables all of 'em :(
RE: Spammers
Kauza does a great job of keeping up with this stuff, but he actually enjoys his day job, so I try and help out whenever possible :) I'd guess that 3/4 of my Dtoid "work" time is spent deleting spam blogs from the cblogs, spam posts from the front page, and changing people's usernames. (And the rest of the time I'm working on FNF stuff :D)
Seriously, any help people can offer us in reporting spammers is much appreciated. I normally only have time to check the blogs a few times a day, and on the weekends I'm rarely on the site save for a front page comment or two, so a quick tweet is the best way to get things taken care of if we're not on top of it right away. (The only reason I got rid of the latest batch of Peru blogs when I did is because knutaf tweeted me about it, in fact.)
RE: Notifications
No, unfortunately disabling notifications disables all of 'em :(
RE: Spammers
Kauza does a great job of keeping up with this stuff, but he actually enjoys his day job, so I try and help out whenever possible :) I'd guess that 3/4 of my Dtoid "work" time is spent deleting spam blogs from the cblogs, spam posts from the front page, and changing people's usernames. (And the rest of the time I'm working on FNF stuff :D)
Seriously, any help people can offer us in reporting spammers is much appreciated. I normally only have time to check the blogs a few times a day, and on the weekends I'm rarely on the site save for a front page comment or two, so a quick tweet is the best way to get things taken care of if we're not on top of it right away. (The only reason I got rid of the latest batch of Peru blogs when I did is because knutaf tweeted me about it, in fact.)
@andy... yeah, I knew that Andrew was pretty busy and whenever I did send emails about spam to the support site I often got a reply from Niero or Hamza and felt a bit like I was bothering them with trivial stuff (though they never treated it that way at all, it's just I know they have other things going on). The option to tweet you is somethng I may well do... because I like you and love the idea of tweeting you at 1am on a Saturday night asking you to remove some Ugg boots blog! :)
Elsa and Andy, you guys almost feel like family. <3 <3 <3
I'd kill (a bad guy in a video game) to do some kind of interview / blog with you guys, voice wise. Hmm....
I'd kill (a bad guy in a video game) to do some kind of interview / blog with you guys, voice wise. Hmm....
Great blog as always Elsa, but I actually disagree with this one. Now this is probably because I really don't care all that much about achievements or trophies in the first place so I don't place much emphasis on them in my gaming life, but I actually prefer content driven achievements over grindy meta-game stuff. When you have a gigantic game like Fallout or Dragon Age and its quite possible to blow through an entire play through and miss half the content the devs made, I don't mind a little incentive to either slow down and explore out a bit or to give it another play through.
What grinds my gears are when achievements are either relegated to annoying fetch quests or gated behind multiplayer content. I don't care about tracking down and exterminating every pigeon in Liberty City, and I sure as hell don't want to have to play some online mode where I have to spec my character for PvP or any of that rubbish. Being a huge nerd, I tend to play through RPGs like Fallout with multiple characters with different value systems and styles anyway, so I tend to pop those story content or decision achievements naturally. I like to see a few different stories come out of these games.
Although I can totally agree with the hatred for spoiler achievements. Its always a little disappointing to have a major story twist ruined by a sloppily obvious achievement name. Its the reason I generally don't read through them before I beat a game.
What grinds my gears are when achievements are either relegated to annoying fetch quests or gated behind multiplayer content. I don't care about tracking down and exterminating every pigeon in Liberty City, and I sure as hell don't want to have to play some online mode where I have to spec my character for PvP or any of that rubbish. Being a huge nerd, I tend to play through RPGs like Fallout with multiple characters with different value systems and styles anyway, so I tend to pop those story content or decision achievements naturally. I like to see a few different stories come out of these games.
Although I can totally agree with the hatred for spoiler achievements. Its always a little disappointing to have a major story twist ruined by a sloppily obvious achievement name. Its the reason I generally don't read through them before I beat a game.
@Wrenchfarm... I to like content driven achievements, especially if it relates to exploring the game more and finding little quests that might otherwise be missed... but I do hate when they want us to replay a section of a game to make an alternate choice. I don't mind this as an option for those that are curious, but I especially hate it when they note key choices in the trophy/achievement listing and basically giving away some pretty big spoilers as to where the plot of the game diversifies.
I also think that in Fallout, finding and talking to all of the possible companions should have been enough for the trophy rather than dumping your loyal companion and doing the revolving party members thing. :(
I like Boone!! There nothing that makes a man more attractive than loving a dead wife that he killed! :)
I also think that in Fallout, finding and talking to all of the possible companions should have been enough for the trophy rather than dumping your loyal companion and doing the revolving party members thing. :(
I like Boone!! There nothing that makes a man more attractive than loving a dead wife that he killed! :)
What a lovely read, but I don't really care much for achievements or trophies. Some trophies are pretty stupid like the "save at every location" trophy in Shadow of the Colossus.
I've been playing Dark Souls for over 30 hours (still haven't beaten the game!) and I don't remember the last time I saw a trophy notification. :/
Also, Fallout 3 > New Vegas.
I've been playing Dark Souls for over 30 hours (still haven't beaten the game!) and I don't remember the last time I saw a trophy notification. :/
Also, Fallout 3 > New Vegas.
The thing with New Vegas is that there aren't just alternate endings -- there are entire alternate games. Reloading saves either doesn't really capture those stories, or it's near impossible to even get all the endings by simply reloading saves.
The choices you make early on, especially when first confronting the Legion, can radically alter the entire story and the quests you do, opening and closing other different minor factions depending on what you choose to do.
There are really 4 different stories in that game, though following House or putting yourself into power are pretty similar. Incredible game really.
The choices you make early on, especially when first confronting the Legion, can radically alter the entire story and the quests you do, opening and closing other different minor factions depending on what you choose to do.
There are really 4 different stories in that game, though following House or putting yourself into power are pretty similar. Incredible game really.
I've been playing New Vegas over the last few weeks, ploughed about 50 hours into it but I've been having so many crashes that I'm going to put it aside for a while until I get a new PC. That being said, wondering around the desert with Cass and EDE is still going to be a fun thing for me. I actually put the main story to one side so I could just wonder around the wastelands. That being said I do want to finish the game and then have the Lonesome Road as my final piece of DLC before I finish with the game.
For me part of the problem is if I ever go back and make different decisions it “lifts the vale” and kind of ruins things for me if I see through the mechanics, making choices again just to see what happens or to get a trophy has a kind of emptiness to it, there’s no more satisfaction, maybe because it’s not really a choice anymore.
There’s also the occasional trophy that really annoys me, SPOILER ALERT FOR ENSLAVED there’s this part where a character called Pigsy dies and it’s supposed to be this dramatic and sad brave sacrifice, and then he dies and the screen goes black, and then PING! you got a trophy called smoky bacon! Isn’t that funny, ‘cause his names Pigsy? And it just completely ruins the moment.
There’s also the occasional trophy that really annoys me, SPOILER ALERT FOR ENSLAVED there’s this part where a character called Pigsy dies and it’s supposed to be this dramatic and sad brave sacrifice, and then he dies and the screen goes black, and then PING! you got a trophy called smoky bacon! Isn’t that funny, ‘cause his names Pigsy? And it just completely ruins the moment.
I try not to care about trophies but I always catch myself looking at them and somewhat intimidating myself from certain games. I still haven't beat New Vegas partly because it's a huge game with lots to do but also due to the fact that it wants me to play through that more than once. Even with Warhawk there would be stretches where I didn't want to play it solely because I calculated how long it would take for me to hit max rank and knew I'd never hit it. But then in the same breath, some of those achievements I'm actually pretty proud of....though I guess those could be canceled out by the ones obtained through shame by suicides/teamkills haha!
Of course, I'm probably mostly saying this because I'm emasculated by the size of other people e-weiners that I'll never ever catch up to :P
*stares at Moosehole's score in awe*
Of course, I'm probably mostly saying this because I'm emasculated by the size of other people e-weiners that I'll never ever catch up to :P
*stares at Moosehole's score in awe*
Agreed, just give us the option to be able to disable achievements. Getting immersed in a videogame is such a fragile thing something like a phone ringing, a cat meowing, a loud neighbor or a family member can ruin that immersion. It's a really amazing thing when devs make it so you get lost in their gameworld, and forget that your sitting at your home staring at a T.V. screen. When I hear that little dip or bell noise I always remember that I'm playing a game, and it takes me another 10-30 minutes to get lost in the gameworld again. I just find it abit counterintuitive at times, games are striving more and more at full immersion and this new immersion breaker has become popular.
If the game has an arcadey feel then it doesn't bother me, but everywhere else it bothers me. I also agree with Handy I've started to refrain from replaying different sections of a game and choosing alt paths because sometimes it feels like I'm learning how the magic trick was pulled off, and I start to notice the game more from a mechanical gameplay level which kind of ruins things.
If the game has an arcadey feel then it doesn't bother me, but everywhere else it bothers me. I also agree with Handy I've started to refrain from replaying different sections of a game and choosing alt paths because sometimes it feels like I'm learning how the magic trick was pulled off, and I start to notice the game more from a mechanical gameplay level which kind of ruins things.
Achievements and my desire to strive for them pretty much vary from a game by game basis, but i really follow with what you're saying. When i'm actively and emotionally invested in a game the last thing I want is to be 'awarded' for simply playing the story. I try to make it a rule to do my best to ignore any of the extra or unseen content that the trophies are telling me are out there unless i can come across them through my natural progression of the game. It's only when I really enjoy the game and then go through it for a second time that i start looking out for all the things I missed.
This usually works well enough for me for most games, with the exception of a lot of rpg's, largely due to the time investment that most require and that it's possible to completely miss or screw yourself out of certain parts of them if you don't always know what you're doing. But thats a whole different arguement there...
That, and some behaviour I should really shake myself out of with trophies is simply pursuing some of them 'because they're there.' Damn my OCD tendencies!
This usually works well enough for me for most games, with the exception of a lot of rpg's, largely due to the time investment that most require and that it's possible to completely miss or screw yourself out of certain parts of them if you don't always know what you're doing. But thats a whole different arguement there...
That, and some behaviour I should really shake myself out of with trophies is simply pursuing some of them 'because they're there.' Damn my OCD tendencies!
I love alternate endings - and I usually try to get them all, not for completion's sake, but because I want to see every possible end to a story. I suppose that comes from my love for choose-your-own adventures as a child. Even now, I download all those silly Kindle choose-your-owns and spend hours upon hours building every single type of character and finding out every single ending.
@Venus... yeah, Fallout 3 actually was better than New Vegas and when I initially played the game it didn't have trophy support which made it incredibly immersive (which is likely why Fallout 3's trophies annoyed me so much). I did go back to try and replay Fallout 3 to try for different endings but never even made it out of the vault because I kept making exactly the same decisions as my first playthrough and found myself getting bored. :(
@Revuhlooshun... and it's fine that there are entire alternate story lines for those that want it, but there is the occasional person that only wants to play the one story... the unique one that they create. I like that everyone's story is very different and it makes for fun conversation about the choices everyone makes... but when everyone makes the same choices over a variety of playthroughs then there is no unique story anymore. :(
@AliD... yeah, it's a pretty long game and I grew pretty attached to my companions. I found all the other possible companions but didn't want to abandon Boone. I don't like that the game has a trophy for trying them all out (or in Dragon Age for sleeping with various different people). It just feels like I"m being manipulated instead of having free choice in my open world game.
OH... and I LOVE just wandering around finding new locations!!
@Handy... exactly! It makes it seem much more like a "game" or even a meta-game of get all the trophies... where the story is shoved aside in favor of seeing all the options the devs created. I do hope that the PS3 eventually has the option to disable trophies, or at least disable the ingame notifications!
@Celica... some of the trophies in Warhawk were a lot of fun and actually taught people new things (who would think of trying to run over a player in a jetpack with their plane to get the bug on your windshield one?... or using the lighting strike to disable a bubble shield... this is likely how most of us found out about disabling the bubbles! The platinum being dependent on the rank was a huge mistake though because by the time trophy support came to the game, they must have known the time investment required to reach that rank. I bet to this day that less than 1% of Warhawk players have the platinum.)
@Sissors... "a fragile thing" exactly.. and to see a trophy pop up, then I'm reminded that not only is it a game, but it often alludes to a key point/choice in the game. It would be nice if each game had an option to leave trophy notifications on or off.
@Kaggen... yeah, I guess PC is the last place where there is no gamerscore/trophies/achievements! (or does Steam have a system set up for this? I don't know... )
@Smurfee mcgee.... I'm done. I only want the one story. If the trophies didn't contain spoilers, I wouldn't be so opposed to replaying the game again (because the trophies basically tell you the choices you "should" make) and if the trophies didn't require me to dump my companion and try them all out... meh... I have no problem with the game being replayable, I just don't want to be held by the hand and led around by the devs with their map of specific trophies.
@jjenigma... yeah, it feels so wierd to see a trophy randomly pop up. Maybe if they at least kept them all hidden trophies on the first playthrough so as not to ruin the game, and then they all unlocked after completing the story the first time... that would seem to be the best option.
@Caitlin... I definitely have no problem with the alternate endings, that's the joy of these type of games. I don't even have a problem with those that go back to find all the alternate endings... but I don't like the roadmap that the trophy system supplies. It seems like it would be far more fun to make mistakes and discover alternates on our own - like in the old days. (or remember when we had to talk to people on forums to find out the various endings everyone got and to try and replicate what they did to get there! So much more challenging and fun.)
@Revuhlooshun... and it's fine that there are entire alternate story lines for those that want it, but there is the occasional person that only wants to play the one story... the unique one that they create. I like that everyone's story is very different and it makes for fun conversation about the choices everyone makes... but when everyone makes the same choices over a variety of playthroughs then there is no unique story anymore. :(
@AliD... yeah, it's a pretty long game and I grew pretty attached to my companions. I found all the other possible companions but didn't want to abandon Boone. I don't like that the game has a trophy for trying them all out (or in Dragon Age for sleeping with various different people). It just feels like I"m being manipulated instead of having free choice in my open world game.
OH... and I LOVE just wandering around finding new locations!!
@Handy... exactly! It makes it seem much more like a "game" or even a meta-game of get all the trophies... where the story is shoved aside in favor of seeing all the options the devs created. I do hope that the PS3 eventually has the option to disable trophies, or at least disable the ingame notifications!
@Celica... some of the trophies in Warhawk were a lot of fun and actually taught people new things (who would think of trying to run over a player in a jetpack with their plane to get the bug on your windshield one?... or using the lighting strike to disable a bubble shield... this is likely how most of us found out about disabling the bubbles! The platinum being dependent on the rank was a huge mistake though because by the time trophy support came to the game, they must have known the time investment required to reach that rank. I bet to this day that less than 1% of Warhawk players have the platinum.)
@Sissors... "a fragile thing" exactly.. and to see a trophy pop up, then I'm reminded that not only is it a game, but it often alludes to a key point/choice in the game. It would be nice if each game had an option to leave trophy notifications on or off.
@Kaggen... yeah, I guess PC is the last place where there is no gamerscore/trophies/achievements! (or does Steam have a system set up for this? I don't know... )
@Smurfee mcgee.... I'm done. I only want the one story. If the trophies didn't contain spoilers, I wouldn't be so opposed to replaying the game again (because the trophies basically tell you the choices you "should" make) and if the trophies didn't require me to dump my companion and try them all out... meh... I have no problem with the game being replayable, I just don't want to be held by the hand and led around by the devs with their map of specific trophies.
@jjenigma... yeah, it feels so wierd to see a trophy randomly pop up. Maybe if they at least kept them all hidden trophies on the first playthrough so as not to ruin the game, and then they all unlocked after completing the story the first time... that would seem to be the best option.
@Caitlin... I definitely have no problem with the alternate endings, that's the joy of these type of games. I don't even have a problem with those that go back to find all the alternate endings... but I don't like the roadmap that the trophy system supplies. It seems like it would be far more fun to make mistakes and discover alternates on our own - like in the old days. (or remember when we had to talk to people on forums to find out the various endings everyone got and to try and replicate what they did to get there! So much more challenging and fun.)
I can see what you are saying, and I agree with your sentiment that it can be annoying to be reminded that other content you did not want is there telling you you're not done when you feel done.
On the other hand I can see where3 for other seeing the undone portions of the game can act as an incentive to see other facets of the story they had not seen.
I also see the practical point of view the Trophies/Awards can at as handy markers to measure the metrics of game completion for developers. They are handy hooks into the game code that developer can study to see what people performed, what they played, and what choices their audience choose. I cannot say this for sure, but I feel that developers seeing the choices you made will help them make new games with similar choices. If most people choose a certain type of option the developer might say to themselves they need to make other options more clear or more desirable next time to get the feeling of choice in balance…it is not a choice if nobody seems to choose the other direction.
That’s how I see awards; they act as a way to measure player involvement and desires. They provide a window into how I play and what I like. I’m hoping the developers and looking and I hope my date tips the balance. One day I hope a developer looks down on a spread sheet and say, “Look everyone loved that we allowed players to choose the gender, style, and attitude of our lead character”, so let’s do that again. They might see that only 20% of players chose to craft a character, but they might also see most of that 20% played more often completed more of the game.
On the other hand I can see where3 for other seeing the undone portions of the game can act as an incentive to see other facets of the story they had not seen.
I also see the practical point of view the Trophies/Awards can at as handy markers to measure the metrics of game completion for developers. They are handy hooks into the game code that developer can study to see what people performed, what they played, and what choices their audience choose. I cannot say this for sure, but I feel that developers seeing the choices you made will help them make new games with similar choices. If most people choose a certain type of option the developer might say to themselves they need to make other options more clear or more desirable next time to get the feeling of choice in balance…it is not a choice if nobody seems to choose the other direction.
That’s how I see awards; they act as a way to measure player involvement and desires. They provide a window into how I play and what I like. I’m hoping the developers and looking and I hope my date tips the balance. One day I hope a developer looks down on a spread sheet and say, “Look everyone loved that we allowed players to choose the gender, style, and attitude of our lead character”, so let’s do that again. They might see that only 20% of players chose to craft a character, but they might also see most of that 20% played more often completed more of the game.
@MonkeyKing... I never considered the use of trophies for metrics and developer information, but you are probably right! Still, I wish they had the tech to unlock the trophies after an initial playthrough so as not to influence the story, and also the ability to disable trophy notifications when playing the game.
... still, you raise an interesting point I hadn't considered!
... still, you raise an interesting point I hadn't considered!
Don’t leave the Mojave just yet, you’ll be missing a lot of interesting content! It is worth doing at least three play troughs, as while the NCR path gets you onto Hoover Dam and the pledges of many outposts (Kimball’s visit, Chief Hanson’s agenda, the Misfits troubles, the ongoing fight against the fiends), the main plot of the Platinum Chip and Mr. Houses plans and back story is lost, and you’ll never get to know a lot about the four casino families and the creation of the robots; while Yes Man, though an “emergency ending” path, does tell you a little more about Benny and his original plan, and finally, Caesar path shows you a lot about their society (decimation, the burning man, why there are no women), and the big danger they could be to the Mojave.
I know it can be hard to start from scratch, but you CAN make each path a completely new game, try new builds (I like myself to have a Cowboy character for the NCR, a Mad Scientist who uses Energy Weapons one for House and a Melee-Unarmed Legionarie), take a new companion with you to hear their thoughts on events you already played, see all the world has to offer (Radscorpion Queen!), there is really a lot to do on the Wasteland.
On a side note, I like somehow to see the game as a “ground hog day”, where the evens restart but you still have your previous knowledge (have you played 9-9-9 or seen Steins Gate? Something like those), “breaking sequence” at the very beginning and heading straight to Vegas, each time in less time and better armed… it adds to the fun somehow!
I know it can be hard to start from scratch, but you CAN make each path a completely new game, try new builds (I like myself to have a Cowboy character for the NCR, a Mad Scientist who uses Energy Weapons one for House and a Melee-Unarmed Legionarie), take a new companion with you to hear their thoughts on events you already played, see all the world has to offer (Radscorpion Queen!), there is really a lot to do on the Wasteland.
On a side note, I like somehow to see the game as a “ground hog day”, where the evens restart but you still have your previous knowledge (have you played 9-9-9 or seen Steins Gate? Something like those), “breaking sequence” at the very beginning and heading straight to Vegas, each time in less time and better armed… it adds to the fun somehow!
@Siegfried... I just prefer using the web if I want to know about alternate paths. When playing a game or even re-playing a game I just prefer to make the choices more randomly without the trophy roadmap of quests I should complete to see various endings. As noted, I wouldn't even mind if these opened up on a second play through, I just hate that they are there on the first. :(
... Exploring and playing the game is fun... but I want to feel that it's MY story... and not just distinct paths that the devs want me to take (especially with the switching out of companions... yes, I know they have their separate little quests/stories attached, but I do tend to form an attachment! I wouldn't mind choosing a new companion on a second playthrough, but feel I would likely keep that second companion through the entire game... I'm nothing if not loyal!)
... Exploring and playing the game is fun... but I want to feel that it's MY story... and not just distinct paths that the devs want me to take (especially with the switching out of companions... yes, I know they have their separate little quests/stories attached, but I do tend to form an attachment! I wouldn't mind choosing a new companion on a second playthrough, but feel I would likely keep that second companion through the entire game... I'm nothing if not loyal!)
@Elsa I've never too much of an inmmersive gamer, and that's maybe where the difference in our playstyles comes, I don't see New Vegas as my history, but rather as like I'm an actor following a script: the lines are recorded, but how you deliver it's up to you... maybe that's why I can't get onto Oblivion :(
I think the same happened to me but with Catherine, I was enthralled by the idea of the game testing my resolve and fitting the story to me, while it all came to a rather bland of "Do you want Catherine or Katherine points this time?" at the end of each level.
It's amazing that your remained loyal to one companion, by the end of my playtroughs I tend to have a large enough cast to make a sitcom on the Lucky 38 suite >.<
I think the same happened to me but with Catherine, I was enthralled by the idea of the game testing my resolve and fitting the story to me, while it all came to a rather bland of "Do you want Catherine or Katherine points this time?" at the end of each level.
It's amazing that your remained loyal to one companion, by the end of my playtroughs I tend to have a large enough cast to make a sitcom on the Lucky 38 suite >.<
I don't know about PS3 but the 360 lets you disable achievement notifications. You still get points, just without a pop-up.
Myself, I stopped using my original Sir Legendhead profile when the score wound up at 44777. I liked the synchronicity too much to ruin it. What makes it even cooler is that the last game played on it was Batman. Ha!
Myself, I stopped using my original Sir Legendhead profile when the score wound up at 44777. I liked the synchronicity too much to ruin it. What makes it even cooler is that the last game played on it was Batman. Ha!
@Elsa I agree it would be nice for the Trophies to tabulate out of your sight if you do not want to see them. Thus, the publisher/developer can see the metrics, but you do not have to see the choices, trophies, or anything else popping up on the screen.
Sometimes, I do not go for a Trophy but I still want to see the content or outcome...or cut scene. In that case, I just watch YouTube. Even stuff I have opened up and that I could do in a game I sometimes do not play with. I played LA Noire in color...I could have played in b/w, but I just watched a few clips. I could have romanced someone else in Mass Effect 2, but I settled for watching the videos for most choices.
Sometimes, I do not go for a Trophy but I still want to see the content or outcome...or cut scene. In that case, I just watch YouTube. Even stuff I have opened up and that I could do in a game I sometimes do not play with. I played LA Noire in color...I could have played in b/w, but I just watched a few clips. I could have romanced someone else in Mass Effect 2, but I settled for watching the videos for most choices.
Elsa, this was brilliant! I played Fallout in exactly the same, and still to this day refuse to play through again. I loved the story that I experienced and it was 100% my story. Granted, it was not a very nice story - I was playing the role of a serial killer - but alas, it was fun!
More games should give you the freedom to craft your own experience, while still following a narrative path. Achievements are probably the most bitter-sweet inclusion to game, ever.
More games should give you the freedom to craft your own experience, while still following a narrative path. Achievements are probably the most bitter-sweet inclusion to game, ever.
Best feature ever? You summed up what I've tried to say a thousand times perfectly, without mentioning space nazis and Star Wars nearly as much as I have. Elsa, you're the best writer here.
I feel the issue goes deeper with these "alternate endings." It has to be part of that checklist problem I've talked about before, that in order to ship a game it requires all these parts for a checklist. Multiplayer, alternate endings, or whatever other trends are popular, like crappy motion control support. All I can do is yell about it as loud as I can on the internet with my arms crossed.
I feel the issue goes deeper with these "alternate endings." It has to be part of that checklist problem I've talked about before, that in order to ship a game it requires all these parts for a checklist. Multiplayer, alternate endings, or whatever other trends are popular, like crappy motion control support. All I can do is yell about it as loud as I can on the internet with my arms crossed.
