5 Games to Introduce Somebody to Gaming

[MisterDyslexo]

Say you wanted to introduce somebody into gaming, and you want to make it recent games (lets face it, its not a very good idea to introduce somebody into gaming by handing them a 15-20 year old game),which games would you pick. Games that you feel highlight the best a game can offer and creates a unique experience that you don't get elsewhere. 5 games that you think should help them set a standard for what games should be like.

Personally, after a lot of thinking, I could really only come up with two for sure:
-Portal (witty humour that is entertaining, challenging but rewarding gameplay, and the immersion you have when you start "thinking with portals")
-Far Cry 2 (amazing variety of choice in a game that you don't need a PhD to play)

I thought of this question because I was wondering what games would be the best examples to a newly-aspiring game developer on how to make a game, which you gain a whole new perspective for gaming. The same happens when a non-gamer becomes a gamer, and you can't overload either with the technical stuff.

Edit: I don't mean about getting used to controls either. Its a bump in the road I overlooked in the original post. Lets just pretend they can get used to controls as quickly as the average gamer.

 

[Elsarild]

Portal

Fallout NV (since I can't pick Fallout 2)

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Mass Effect

Assassin's Creed

 

[King of the Sandbox]

I can't introduce someone to games without going back tot he classics, so they appreciate them more. To be honest, that's what results in most kids today being spoiled with their games.

So, here'd be my list.

Ms. Pac-Man
Super Mario Brothers
Street Fighter 2
Battlefield 1943
Grand Theft Auto 3

 

[KiloFox]

Portal i think is the obvious and unanimous choice,

Halo for it's simplicity and (in my opinion) EXCELLENT difficulty curve (Easy is F***ING EASY, normal gives a meh challenge, hard is a bit difficult, and legendary is damn insane)

Mass Effect 1&2 for the RPG aspects, great story, and just enough complexity

Disgaea for it's wit and general hilarity, pls to cover the turn-based strategy section

then definitely Fallout 3 or Oblivion (or Skyrim in a few days) for the full-on RPG effect.

and Pokemon (HG SS at the LATEST) but that's kinda obvious... but so's Portal so who am i kidding?

 

[lacktheknack]

Portal (75% of responses will have it) (combine FPS with puzzle)

I agree with you on Far Cry 2, too. If only there was a way to fix ever-respawning outposts. (story-driven FPS)

Myst IV (Yeah, it's seven years old, but it's still some of the best that Adventure games have to offer. And it still looks fecking amazing.) (Adventure and graphics whore exposure)

Starcraft II (strategy and isometric)

Dragon Age Origins (tactical/third person and RPG, better choice system than most)

(If I'm allowed to dip further back, I'd toss in the original Myst, Geneforge II, and Silent Hill 3 for good measure.)

 

[Simon Pettersson]

Say you wanted to introduce somebody into gaming, and you want to make it recent games (lets face it, its not a very good idea to introduce somebody into gaming by handing them a 15-20 year old game)

Actually thats not a very bad idea at all. The games from 80s 90s are very good and some from 2000. The zelda games, Mario. In PC we have starcraft, Quake and Sim city series (and the sims)

If you want to give them a good game to start with I would say. Sims you can play it forever, and if he/she wants a better story driven game I would say Sims medival.

Another game that has aged well and has a good story is Baldurs Gate 2 and Never winternights 2 I can´t stop playing those

As for shooters I would say Quake 3/Quake live, Half life 1 or 2.

In RTS we have civilisation 5. 3 and 4 works as well. 4 Has the best mods so

Edit: Oh 5 games well then.
1. Civilisation 5
2. Quake 3/Quake live (same game really)
3. Baldursgate 2
4. Neverwinternights 2
5. Sims Medival

 

[Nami nom noms]

Introducing my partner to gaming has come up with some surprising results to games I felt sure would help, the first being portal 2, which was apparantly way too confusing with the controls and so forth.
This is despite prior experience with halo (the original on easy) that they found boring (kinda agree tbh lol) and perfect dark.

The most successful games are ones with an established premise in real life... for example, racing games like burnout, sports games and co-op action rpgs like champions of norrath.
Also the lego series of games are a great way to start someone, remember that platforming games create gaming skills that most people take for granted... but are required in nearly every game since. Things such as timing of jumps, judgement and even simple things like angling the control stick correctly.
If a person is truly new to gaming they will have no concept of these things, and throwing them into a complex title may just put them off completely. (though of course it all depends on the person).

After those you can branch out into others such as fighting games and fps.

 

[DustyDrB]

For someone new to gaming, I'd say the original Fable is a good choice. For one, it is fun. For two, it can acquaint someone to choice in gaming (moral choice and choice on how to build your character). An it can do that without putting them in over their head.

 

[Matrixbeast]

Portal (Given. Not only covers FPS's, but it's also a really good puzzle game)

Okami (I'd assume everyone knows basic fantasy/adventure, so guy running around with a sword may seem a bit cliche even to a non-gamer. So it gives something different)

Super Street Fighter 4 (Covering fighters. I think this is the best example for a fighter, since many other fighters aren't pick up and play (Most 3D fighters), and others offer little variety in terms of characters (Like BlazBlue))

Super Mario Galaxy (A pretty fun platformer, plain and simple)

Dragon Age Origins (For RPGs. Yeah)

 

[Penguin_Factory]

A lot of these choices are a bit..... well, surprising. Is someone who's never played a game before really going to get the hang of FPS controls on their first try, even for a game like Portal? Far Cry 2 seems even more far-fetched, I imagine a newbie gamer would be completely overwhelmed by that.

My first choice would be iPhone games. Stuff like Angry Birds don't seem to require any specialized skills at using a controller or mouse/ keyboard (remember, to a non-gamer even using an analog stick for the first time is going to seem difficult).

In order to hit as wide a range of genres as possible I'd recommend Facebook games like Cityville or that military one whose name I can't remember (for a basic introduction to strategy) and Echo Bazaar (ditto for RPGs). Next would be Minecraft, to get them used to mouse and keyboard FPS controls. If I had a spare DS handy I'd also try Professor layton.

Once they had the basics down I'd start recommending less casual stuff. I think Mario Galaxy could potentially be a good gateway into "real" games. After that it would depend on what genre they're into.

 

[MisterDyslexo]

Halo for it's simplicity and (in my opinion) EXCELLENT difficulty curve (Easy is F***ING EASY, normal gives a meh challenge, hard is a bit difficult, and legendary is damn insane)

I thought about putting Halo Reach up here mostly for its Forge Mode. Halo has its own set of physics that really can immerse somebody into the game (see OP about "thinking with portals), and Forge is a good way of projecting that learning experience. But great point with the difficulty, its always been something I loved about the series.

Say you wanted to introduce somebody into gaming, and you want to make it recent games (lets face it, its not a very good idea to introduce somebody into gaming by handing them a 15-20 year old game)

Actually thats not a very bad idea at all. The games from 80s 90s are very good and some from 2000. The zelda games, Mario. In PC we have starcraft, Quake and Sim city series (and the sims)

People who aren't already gamers don't want to play "ugly" games. If we were only given visuals, we'd both rather play something that looks like Crysis 2 rather than Fallout 2. We're already gamers though, and look at gameplay as a much more important element. People who aren't gamers, well, don't. We should all know that, they haven't grown an appreciation yet. Thats why I said recent games, because availability is the best its ever been, and the average game in the past five years looks better than the best looking games ten years ago.

If you want to give them a good game to start with I would say. Sims you can play it forever, and if he/she wants a better story driven game I would say Sims medival.

See I considered that, but I thought it would be too hamster-on-a-wheel-ish. I mean, your goals in that game are whatever you want, whatever you feel like, but newer gamers would need direction to do something I figure, right? They don't really have a standard of what a playing experience should be yet. Love the franchise though, Sims 2 was the last game I played.

 

[TacticalAssassin1]

Civilization 5/Company of Heroes
Fallout 3
Far Cry 2
Call of Duty 4
Battlefield 3

You got some RPG in there, some strategy, and three very different types of shooter.

 

[Elijah Ball]

extra credits did a video on this, i think.

 

[Pieromancery]

Portal 2
Starcraft II (The campaign for introduction, multiplayer for later)
Bastion

All three are fun straight up and give a great first impression.

 

[KiloFox]

Halo for it's simplicity and (in my opinion) EXCELLENT difficulty curve (Easy is F***ING EASY, normal gives a meh challenge, hard is a bit difficult, and legendary is damn insane)

I thought about putting Halo Reach up here mostly for its Forge Mode. Halo has its own set of physics that really can immerse somebody into the game (see OP about "thinking with portals), and Forge is a good way of projecting that learning experience. But great point with the difficulty, its always been something I loved about the series.

i actually rarely ever mess around in Forge mode, instead for local gameplay i use a custom gametype my friend used (i think he designed it too) called Merrow Row... it was originally made for Halo 3 and i tried to replicate it as best i could in Halo 3 and Reach... essentially it's random map weapons, no shields (but about a second of 2x over-shields for spawn-protect) 1 point for normal kill, 5 or 6 points for leader kill, random starting weapons (i cannot TELL you how many times i got grav hammer/sword combo... AARGH) no grenades, and i think only 80% damage resist (100% being normal) just enough so that a magnum round to an arm is lethal, but it takes about 3 or 4 plasma pistol rounds... makes for very fast and fun games. and VERY close games too... a pro can play a noob in that mode and the scores will be very similar... great for messing around in.

and i rarely actually hear people talk about how well done the difficulty curve is (some people say it's TOO steep...) but it's a great curve for training... i will admit that when i started Halo 3, i had immense difficulty on EASY difficulty (i was SO TERRIBLE) but now... i regularly play on hard and even got the Reach achievement for beating it on Legendary solo... (100% vanilla Reach achievements actually... i'm a little proud of that)

 

[Simon Pettersson]

Say you wanted to introduce somebody into gaming, and you want to make it recent games (lets face it, its not a very good idea to introduce somebody into gaming by handing them a 15-20 year old game)

Actually thats not a very bad idea at all. The games from 80s 90s are very good and some from 2000. The zelda games, Mario. In PC we have starcraft, Quake and Sim city series (and the sims)

People who aren't already gamers don't want to play "ugly" games. If we were only given visuals, we'd both rather play something that looks like Crysis 2 rather than Fallout 2. We're already gamers though, and look at gameplay as a much more important element. People who aren't gamers, well, don't. We should all know that, they haven't grown an appreciation yet. Thats why I said recent games, because availability is the best its ever been, and the average game in the past five years looks better than the best looking games ten years ago.

If you want to give them a good game to start with I would say. Sims you can play it forever, and if he/she wants a better story driven game I would say Sims medival.

See I considered that, but I thought it would be too hamster-on-a-wheel-ish. I mean, your goals in that game are whatever you want, whatever you feel like, but newer gamers would need direction to do something I figure, right? They don't really have a standard of what a playing experience should be yet. Love the franchise though, Sims 2 was the last game I played.

Well I can understand about the old graphics vs new graphics, still if you would take an old game with crappy graphic and play it multi player (I know I didn´t have any in my list bad call v.v)
And about the Sims thats why I said Medival if you wanted a story, You build a kingdom. Hire some heroes and control them as they progress in the game. It´s not open ended as the other Sims games, and you make your own story but more linear (and it works pretty good).

 

[ColeusRattus]

Most of you fail to see a very important point when introducing someone to gaming: They're not gamers, so most things that are natural to us will confuse them. Navigating alone in a three dimensional space, no matter of you use keyboard and mnouse or controllers, will be an obstacle. Also, the choice of games relies very much on the person you want to introduce to gaming. My girlfiend for example strongly dislikes guns and "realistic" violence, so she couldn't enjoy watching me play uncharted, even though I thought that the quite movie-like nature of it would make for an easy entry.

So I can't give you exact titles, but only general ideas and genres:

Start with something simple, like a downloadable game. It doesn't matter if the game is difficult, as long as the controls are simple and easy to grasp. Even if the "new gamer" fails a lot, it's still fun because he fails for the right reasons, as in, the games difficulty, rather than the wrong reasons, as in, not being able to control it.

Then, go for something more complex, yet not unfamiliar. Like a racing game with an "against the clock" mode. There, the new gamer can familiarise himself with controls, look at great graphics without having to fear to lose.

Once the new gamer isn't afraid of the controller anymore, you can start to venture out to different genres of your and his/her liking, especially if they offer a coop mode.


And on a sidenote, I think Portal is one of the least advisable choices, despite it's rather non-violent nature. It's puzzles are quite demanding on gamer skillsets and nigh unfathomable for people who don't play games.

 

[Bordersane]

Diablo 2 anyone? A good and simple introduction to the RPG games...

 

[dayjack01]

I cant beleive nobody has put this up yet
BATMAN ARKAM ASYLUM OR BATMAN ARKAM CITY (there both good games for both action/steath gameplay)
Doom 3 if you want a good classic shooter
Dragon age origins for some rpg gameplay
Super Mario galaxy 1 and 2 for both platform action and has one of the best soundtracks ever
King arthur colection is a strategy/rpg game i had fun with not sure if anyone elso has
And a good sandbox game is GTA San Andreas