Help! My Girlfriend Is A Noob!!

[Dragonbums]

My personal opinion- if she hasn't really touched a controller outside of DDR I suggest not even starting out with shooters. I mean, we don't really have much background knowledge on her, but I'm assuming this will be the first time she's picking up any serious controller? The first thing I would do is start her off with a simple platformer or indie game so she can at least memorize the layout of the controller. Then ease her into more complex types of gameplay.

Then you can start off with Portal and Lego games, AND THEN ease her into the more intense stuff.

You'd be surprised how difficult even figuring out to move can be. My dad quit Portal one because he didn't understand the basic concept of analog/D-pad to move that wasn't pixel by tiny pixel. (Let's not even talk about camera angles.)

 

[ecoho]

let her play her way through mass effect and keep your mouth shut unless she asks you a question, and if she does ask you a question explain it in a way that doesn't sound like shes stupid for asking it. honestly in my experience its the back seat gaming of a seasoned gamer that really puts off new people to the genre.

 

[KB13]

I was a wee lass when my father sat me on his lap and taught me to play DOOM. The best advice I can give you is PATIENCE! Don't start her with a game with complete auto-target (BORING), auto-assist is fine, say L.A. Noire or Boarderlands. Since she wants to play Mass Effect don't go for a FPS as aiming from over your character's shoulder verses looking through their eyes can feel different.

let her play her way through mass effect and keep your mouth shut unless she asks you a question, and if she does ask you a question explain it in a way that doesn't sound like shes stupid for asking it. honestly in my experience its the back seat gaming of a seasoned gamer that really puts off new people to the genre.

Smart take his advice too.

 

[SonataFanatica]

Portal is a good game to learn shooter skills. It teaches you movement as well as how to shoot while jumping and falling, and eases you in by starting easy with very simple concepts and controls and ramping up the difficulty each level.

This!

My girlfriend did have a little bit of practise before I showed her Portal because she had played a bit of Assassin's Creed, Anno, Rayman 3 and Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, but Portal was when her interest in gaming was re-awakened. After that, I showed her Half-Life 2 which she managed quite swiftly. Nowadays she's a huge Skyrim nerd and loves Bioshock Infinite to bits.

 

[Doom972]

I know what you're going through. I suggest Portal as her first game because it lets the player get accustomed to the 3D environment and controls without the pressure of a shooter. It worked well for my girlfriend, as later on we played TF2 together.

 

[Beliyal]

She wants me to teach her how to use a PlayStation Dual Shock controller. Now, this is a hard enough challenge when she has none of the reflexes and dexterity that we all learned in childhood.

You should probably give her the benefit of the doubt with this. It's not that hard to learn how to use a controller later in life. I never had a console growing up and used it first when I was 20+ years old. Of course, it's a bit confusing in the beginning, but I learned not to be a complete idiot with it after several hours of play. Like with anything, you just need some practice. And I found out that people get used to controllers much more easily than keyboards and mouse. So just give it to her and let her try it out, she'll get the basics well enough quickly, I'm sure.

As for the game, I'll agree with most that Portal would be a good choice. Also Mass Effect on easy mode. Though, ME1 is a bit frustrating so maybe be there with her so she can ask for help at first. But ME1 combat, aside from being a bit clunky, is fairly slow and basic in my opinion.

 

[edudewired]

Minecraft on consoles would probably be a fairly easy way to learn how to use the controller in a relatively stress free environment

 

[DrOswald]

Portal 2 is the perfect match for what you are looking for.

Edit: Don't play the co-op with her unless you have the patience of job, you will just get frustrated at how slow she is and she will learn less because you will end up doing everything.

 

[snekadid]

Killing floor. Its simplistic, easy to play and has a difficulty settings to grow with your skill. Its team based so you can support her and of she never becomes a headshot superstar, theres plenty of class variety to accommodate her pefered play style. Plus dying is hilarious so less rage on death.

 

[Pseudonym]

let her play her way through mass effect and keep your mouth shut unless she asks you a question, and if she does ask you a question explain it in a way that doesn't sound like shes stupid for asking it. honestly in my experience its the back seat gaming of a seasoned gamer that really puts off new people to the genre.

This is indeed a thing to consider. Games aren't really that hard or complicated to beat and enjoy unless you plan to recommend her FTL, dark souls, crusader kings or other hardcore stuff like that. Being a noob mostly means she will get through mass effect slower. Just put mass effect on easy if she really finds it that hard. (I put the first one on easy simply because I don't like the combat) If she really has questions or difficulties playing it that prevent her from getting through it you can explain isolated mistakes one at a time with a healthy space in between various advices. But if somebody is merely playing through the game inefficiently, it can be rather frustrating to have you implying she is bad at it too much.

As for games. One option might be team fortress. This game has the distinct advantage that it is damn near impossible to miss if you play the heavy, the pyro or the medic. Sure, she won't get the tactics as fast but this is where you can come in to just medic her all the time so she can play the game on easy mode.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Portal is a good game to learn shooter skills.

Better still, Portal 2 since then you can both play together. But Portal is a brilliant answer for a brand new FPS player.

I'll definitely second this. I have a friend that was almost completely new to FPS mechanics- even simply moving in one direction while looking in another was a skill she needed to learn- so I got her to play the Portal games. Now she and I occasionally play Payday 2 and Interstellar Marines together, and she's not a bad shot.

 

[ecoho]

I was a wee lass when my father sat me on his lap and taught me to play DOOM. The best advice I can give you is PATIENCE! Don't start her with a game with complete auto-target (BORING), auto-assist is fine, say L.A. Noire or Boarderlands. Since she wants to play Mass Effect don't go for a FPS as aiming from over your character's shoulder verses looking through their eyes can feel different.

let her play her way through mass effect and keep your mouth shut unless she asks you a question, and if she does ask you a question explain it in a way that doesn't sound like shes stupid for asking it. honestly in my experience its the back seat gaming of a seasoned gamer that really puts off new people to the genre.

Smart take his advice too.

let her play her way through mass effect and keep your mouth shut unless she asks you a question, and if she does ask you a question explain it in a way that doesn't sound like shes stupid for asking it. honestly in my experience its the back seat gaming of a seasoned gamer that really puts off new people to the genre.

This is indeed a thing to consider. Games aren't really that hard or complicated to beat and enjoy unless you plan to recommend her FTL, dark souls, crusader kings or other hardcore stuff like that. Being a noob mostly means she will get through mass effect slower. Just put mass effect on easy if she really finds it that hard. (I put the first one on easy simply because I don't like the combat) If she really has questions or difficulties playing it that prevent her from getting through it you can explain isolated mistakes one at a time with a healthy space in between various advices. But if somebody is merely playing through the game inefficiently, it can be rather frustrating to have you implying she is bad at it too much.

As for games. One option might be team fortress. This game has the distinct advantage that it is damn near impossible to miss if you play the heavy, the pyro or the medic. Sure, she won't get the tactics as fast but this is where you can come in to just medic her all the time so she can play the game on easy mode.

lol thank you for the support its how I coverted six girlfriends, five cousins and my sister into gamers. All you need is patience

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

First of all, thanks to everyone who replied. There are a lot of good ideas here. She's actually excited to see so many people taking the time to help.

Second, to everyone saying that I'm overthinking it, that games aren't actually that hard to learn, and that I should just drop her into an easy game and let her sink or swim... Well, the issue is less that I don't think she can learn, it's more that she is intimidated. She's convinced that she has no coordination and will need weeks of intense training to take on a game as complicated as the ones she wants to play. And if she doesn't improve quickly, I don't want her to get discouraged. Hence the parameter that I want games that are easy, simple, and low-pressure.

Third, it looks like Portal is my best option. I should have thought of it, but then I've never played Portal, so thanks for reminding me of it. I think it will offer the best mix of low difficulty and fun atmosphere, and will be a good way to get accustomed to a 3-D environment.

 

[Tilly]

It's weird to actually imagine someone being incapable of working a controller. Best to start with something simple like Mario that you can play with just 3 buttons.

 

[NPC009]

Learning to use a controller is a hard challenge? It's a fucking controller, not a nuclear sub. Unless you think she's some kind of absolute moron, she should be able to handle it just fine.

Also, doesn't Mass Effect have a very generous aim assist on the easier modes?

I think modern controllers can be kinda intimidating if you aren't used to them. I mena, have you looked at one recently? Really looked? There are buttons on several sides, practically all of 'em if you're using some of Nintendo's stuff. And there are over a dozen of them total. Some of them have different shapes, or the same shape and are placed on different parts of the controller. There are symbols on the buttons but what do they mean?!

A newcomer sees that and thinks: I need to use those? All of those?

Of course, we know it isn't all that bad and that games rarely require you to use all of them all the them, but to someone who doesn't know and worries about messing up, modern controllers can be pretty scary.

(My parents used to game in the eighties and early nineties. My mom used to help me solve difficult puzzles in Zelda-games and she played a mean game of Tetris. Now, they will only touch Wii-games where you have to put the remote sideways (and you only need to use the d-pad plus A and B). They don't want to play anything on Xbox or PlayStation, because they think they'll be bad at it anyway.)

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Learning to use a controller is a hard challenge? It's a fucking controller, not a nuclear sub. Unless you think she's some kind of absolute moron, she should be able to handle it just fine.

Working out the movement both for your character and the camera can be disorienting at first.

 

[wings012]

I would throw her off the figurative cliff. If she wants to play, let her play and let her figure it all out.

Coddling, trying to explain and imprint your experiences on her will just turn out mighty weird.

A controller is less intimidating than a bloody keyboard. Look at all those keys! I can reassign them? What?

Games these days already do a mighty load of coddling without you having to do it anyway.

 

[DeimosMasque]

Talk to my own lady about this and we are both in agreement. She wants to play Mass Effect? Set it to casual, help her pick the class and level up, help her when she asks. Otherwise... treat her like a person with reasonable hand-eye coordination who can pick up rather easy on a control scheme.

Heck my 55 year old dad picked up Left4Dead in five minutes and he hadn't played a video game since Doom 2. It's not that hard and you are honestly short selling her for thinking she can't do it without 'training.'