Today I finish the past two days posts based on the survey from Cannot Be Tamed (part 1 here and part 2 here) about my gaming history. Let’s get started
15. Scariest moment in a game
This really couldn’t be anything besides Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I played this game for about a half hour, I had not even seen a single monster, but the atmospheric horror the game exuded caused me enough real world stress that I had to walk away. I have not played the game since, but those thirty minutes have stuck with me as an example of how atmosphere is really capable of creating a mood of horror.
16. Most Heart-wrenching moment in a game
So, Belghast hit on probably the biggest one of these with Mordin Solus death, but Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep definitely ranks up there.
You might be surprised to see DLC of a rather silly game show up in this category, but Tiny Tina deals with some heavy stuff. This is a preliminary spoiler warning. So don’t read if you care about either Borderlands 2 or Tiny Tina’s DLC spoilers.
During the course of Borderlands 2, you meet up with all of the main characters from Borderlands 1, with one of the earlier members being Roland, the leader of the resistance force on Pandora. At a point in the game, the main villain Jack kills Roland, leaving all of his friends to try and fill his shoes and deal with the loss. In Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep you are playing as characters in a tabletop roleplaying game, as controlled by the remaining members of the Borderlands 1 crew (Lilith, Brick and Mordekai).
During your adventures you keep encountering a white knight who is there to save the princess. This knight is portrayed as Roland, and everyone at the table is clearly uncomfortable with the fact that Tina is injecting their dead friend into the game, trying to encourage her to take on a different tack. Eventually Tina has to come to grips with the fact that Roland is dead, and everyone has to come to realize this is her way of dealing with the grief. It’s a really poignant story a midst the goofy D&D references.
17. What are your favorite websites/blogs about games?
I get my video games news aggregated by various social mediums, but the video game site I use the most is Escapist, just for it’s various web shows. I also am a huge fan of Extra Credits, and watch both Extra Credits and Design Club whenever they launch.
18. What’s the last game you finished?
Wolfenstein: A New Order. This game is way better than I had any expectation for it to be. It’s story is fantastic, the gameplay is varied and rewarding, the soundtrack is fun and the graphics are great. You get to experience a very well thought out version of what the world would look like if the Nazi’s won World War II. Killing the bastards has never been as sweet as in this game.
19. What future releases are you most excited for?
Destiny is a game that is so up my alley. I picked up a PS4 specifically for this game because it sounds like a combination of Halo and Borderlands with a more fleshed out realization of both of those games. It was a toss up between that and Civilization: Beyond Earth, but Destiny is certainly a thing I’m excited for.
20. Do you identify as a gamer?
Yes, but I feel that’s because so much of my personality and hobbies are wrapped up in playing games. Video games are just one small part of the variety of games I play: board games, tabletop roleplaying games, live action roleplaying games, video games, traditional card games, collectible card games, miniature games. If it is a game, I will probably give it a play. This label is kinda toxic right now because a lot of people who bear it are asshats, but I feel like it’s part of my identity and it would be dumb to hide from it.
21. Why do you play video games?
That’s a hard question. I’ve always played video games, and I just never stopped. I think it’s the feeling of agency they provide, being able to take action and watching the consequences of those actions unfold. It’s a feeling that is very rare in the real world, and I love watching the impact I can create in a game.
I also think that there is a very different take on how stories can be told in video games thanks to you being an active participant. The Stanley’s Parable is telling a very distinct story and that story could only be told in the form of a video game.
But ultimately, it’s a way to do something with friends who are very geographically disparate, and I love that experience more than anything else.
That wraps this up. For more Blaugust stuff, check out the Nook.
Source: The Keen Gamer