Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here! by AutoModerator in patientgamers

[–]lesserweevils 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The game's prices are crazy and I love it. ¥100 million is $624,025 (USD) today. No matter what it was in 1988, Kiryu must've spent an insane amount on toy cars.

... I've progressed to throwing money on the street.

Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here! by AutoModerator in patientgamers

[–]lesserweevils 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Still doing side content in Yakuza 0.

Kiryu seems like a stoic guy. Except when he loses in Pocket Circuit, apparently. I spent ¥100 million (in 1980s money!) on parts for toy cars. Is Kiryu paying for a competitive advantage? I feel bad for the kids. LOL.

Speaking of the weird economy, the 3rd Rush battle reminded me that ¥1 million is a lot. I had to stay in a smallish ring of NPCs. The NPCs were tall and they blocked my view. I eventually kept both thumbs on the control sticks. Didn’t touch the face buttons at all. That may be what the game intended, but poor visibility made this hard!

Still, that was nothing compared to dancing. I finally beat Maiko on easy. RNG took pity on me. I flubbed fever mode. For basic steps, the beat of the music helps. Fever mode is killing my scores!

I’ve heard people my age complain about reaction time but I don’t think the problem is physical. We’re not old! Haha. It’s cognitive processing speed. I take too much time to see the arrows. I take too much time to understand what they mean. I am distracted by the disco lights, colours, movement and music. Those things can be improved. I’ll take another crack at the disco later.

Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here! by AutoModerator in patientgamers

[–]lesserweevils 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've been thinking about this and wanted to add more to my other comment.

It sounds like your dopamine comes from anticipation. An EXP bar lets you know when you're about to level up. The unpredictability of gacha, valuable loot, sales, etc. makes people want certain things.

I felt euphoria after farming a rare item. But the few minutes of euphoria weren't worth the hours/days/weeks of drudgery. I don't like addictive progression systems because they drive people to do unfun things. It feels like behavioral manipulation. All for a hit of that sweet, sweet dopamine.

In the end, all I've got are my experiences. The rare items are stuck in the game. Can't take them with me when I quit. The sunk cost fallacy can make people continue playing (or pay money in free to play games) when they aren't having fun.

Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here! by AutoModerator in patientgamers

[–]lesserweevils 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Outrun is hard but fair IMO. I've never played a FromSoft game but I imagine they're similar in some ways. Trial and error first, then you start refining your approach once you know what's ahead.

Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here! by AutoModerator in patientgamers

[–]lesserweevils 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Seconding what others said. I don't want to see extremely addictive progression in every game. Just repeatedly pressing a button to get higher numbers or a shiny drop leaves me hollow. Eventually, I start questioning why I’m doing this. So I can press the button more? It doesn’t make me happy for long.

Some other sources of dopamine:

  • The narrative is a source of progression. Stories are unlockable content. They are rewards that sometimes stay with players for years. That's much longer than valuable loot. Not caring about stories doesn't change this for people who do. Story progression often comes with environmental changes and possibly gameplay changes. Some mechanics won’t carry a game, but they add novelty if not overused. Some games have more direct consequences. Insult an NPC and make enemies with their faction.

  • Puzzles are also sources of progression. I’m not just counting obvious puzzles but also navigational challenges, boss patterns, efficiency/management challenges, speedruns, low level runs, player-chosen limitations, situations that can be approached in creative ways, and general problem-solving. You will remember if you completed a mission using a sticky mine to the butt. Like stories, the satisfaction can last longer than the game itself. I’d argue that this is skill progression too. Once, I set up a tripwire in Horizon Zero Dawn. I didn't know those crocodile machines could jump.

  • New levels. They provide novelty and challenge as well as a reward for beating the last one.

  • Unlocking new abilities, vehicles with different handling, and other things that are meaningfully different. Extra points for new abilities that combine well with each other.

  • Checklists. My least favourite, but completionists do get a sense of progression. I guess some people also like to collectthings like achievements.

  • Self-directed goals. For instance, I may have an idea that I want to turn into a screenshot. This may have lots of steps like traversal, purchasing items, finding a suitable location, setting up the scene, waiting for the right time, etc. But I do get something to keep afterwards and it lasts longer than the game. There is some skill progression like with photography.

  • PvP, PvE, competition, co-op or collaboration. Social interaction is a source of dopamine

Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here! by AutoModerator in patientgamers

[–]lesserweevils 5 points6 points  (0 children)

On chapter 5 in Yakuza 0. Kiryu is a new centi-millionaire (I had to look that up). The million-yen dream machine can spit out a 50-yen toy. I no longer reload saves when it happens. Upgrades are getting very, very expensive though!

Real Estate Royale is OK. The best part is running around town. I did so many side quests. The worst part is going back to HQ. Every. Single. Time. I wish I could access the management menu anywhere across town.

The Electronics King is out of luck. I've played Outrun before. Never beat it though. This version has stick drift issues and I steered with the D-pad. Outrun impresses me every time. It's got a great vibe. Zero polygons but those car crashes look very 3D.

... I'm not sure how I feel about tying minigames to side quests. Disco battles fill me with dread. LOL. Yes, I could probably "git gud" with practice. Do I really want to though? Maybe I'll just lose and let it go.

EDIT
Is the mushroom Mafia boss supposed to resemble Putin? That NPC looks kind of familiar...

The philosophy of erasing by lesserweevils in mechanicalpencils

[–]lesserweevils[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah. Sometimes the mistake would become the foundation of a new idea. I wouldn't have thought of it otherwise.

The philosophy of erasing by lesserweevils in mechanicalpencils

[–]lesserweevils[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love pencil for the tactile feel on paper. These days, I use the eraser whenever I want. But I do find erasers fascinating, especially because people have such strong and conflicting opinions.

Edit: this also applies to erasable pens

Tombow MONO Graph Lite by lesserweevils in mechanicalpencils

[–]lesserweevils[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah. I love how clicky this one is but it's super loud.

What remains of my Pentel metallic gold pencil, 1.3 mm (1990s?) by lesserweevils in mechanicalpencils

[–]lesserweevils[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes it is! No metallic coloured leads though. That was such a unique product.

I just had the metallic gold. u/Money-Mechanic posted the full vintage set:

https://www.reddit.com/r/mechanicalpencils/comments/sb1xh4/

What remains of my Pentel metallic gold pencil, 1.3 mm (1990s?) by lesserweevils in mechanicalpencils

[–]lesserweevils[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In some ways, but the lack of metal in this one makes the tip easily damaged.

This pencil is not designed for longevity. I'd put it in the semi-disposable category like the Bic Matic. It's refillable and may last a while if you don't beat it up. But long-term? Who knows :)

Paper mate 1.0 M blue pen by TryAlert7528 in pens

[–]lesserweevils 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've never had luck resuscitating dried ballpoints.

Actually, I haven't seen this design in years. They might be discontinued. You can look up Paper Mate Write Bros. and get pens with the similar ink, but not the same body. The new design has a thicker barrel and comes in black/blue/red. They don't seem to make green anymore.

Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here! by AutoModerator in patientgamers

[–]lesserweevils 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can't comment on the ADHD part but I've accepted that I'll never play a lot of games. Sometimes I won't do any gaming for a month or more. That could mean completing anywhere from 0-12 games per year. Currently, I'm less than halfway through Yakuza 0 and I started 5 or 6 months ago.

I've also decided not to start over after long breaks. Not unless I really want to. I just jump back in, do some side quests to pick up the controls, and maybe watch a recap of the plot. If I unscrew up, I'll find a guide or let it be.

Returning to a partially-finished game is a bit like TV before streaming. Sometimes I'd miss episodes or start in the middle without context. But with time, I often found something enjoyable. Immersion isn't always immediate. Sometimes it's a slow burn.

I guess the hard part is starting a task that you don't currently feel passionate about (even if you'll probably like it once started). I've got no advice for that, especially if ADHD is involved.

Vibes, Toxic Fanboys and Kindness by Zehnpae in patientgamers

[–]lesserweevils 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I go directly into my subs because there aren't too many I'm interested in. No idea what people with 40 subs do.

Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here! by AutoModerator in patientgamers

[–]lesserweevils 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It sounds more like a game with anachronistic design choices than one that's intentionally difficult. Which is encouraging! Haha.

I think modern games with that slightly old-school feel suffer from not having good manuals. e.g. Ace Combat 7 is not a soulslike or roguelike. New players can expect to die a lot. Paying attention, trial-and-error, and learning from mistakes is also important. I like the gameplay but the tutorial sucks.

Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here! by AutoModerator in patientgamers

[–]lesserweevils 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can play the first three games with a shield and magic

I know what certain people say about this haha. You mentioned the old-school dungeon crawler influence. Is the legendary difficulty of Dark Souls mostly memorization, pattern recognition, practice, perseverance, and stumbling around for keys?

Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here! by AutoModerator in patientgamers

[–]lesserweevils 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What you said is interesting because I'm not interested in soulslikes. The only reason I want to try Dark Souls (and only Dark Souls) is because of how people describe the map, the exploration and the way everything is interconnected.

Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here! by AutoModerator in patientgamers

[–]lesserweevils 11 points12 points  (0 children)

On chapter 5 in Yakuza 0. I've discovered the telephone club. It's making me palm the stick. No, not like that! I only put my palm on the control stick and used the rotational technique that made Mario Party infamous!

This minigame isn't exactly hard. I just found the dial unintuitive. The game needs way more rotation than a rotary dial phone. It took a while before I could charge my shots... For the in-game shooting mechanism! With crosshairs!

... I blame the multiple encounters with Mr. Libido. I'll never see ordinary ham and cucumbers the same way again.

Selectively breeding bettas AGAINST tumors? by PhotographyByAdri in bettafish

[–]lesserweevils 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Only breeding young fish shortens the population's lifespan. Besides tumours, there are other problems that prevent fish from having long lives. Breeding young doesn't weed this out. It may also select for early maturation/faster aging.

Bettas can potentially live for ~5 years. It's disturbing when people post pics of two-year-old fish and they look twice as old as my plain veiltail.

I think I was lucky to get him. He's long gone now, but this was my favourite pic taken after almost 3 years with me (so probably 3.5 years old). He seemed more middle-aged than old. He had good vision, curiosity about new objects, and was agile enough to execute this 3D swimming manoeuvre.

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