Trying to introduce Girlfriend to pc gaming

[draigan]

Hi this is my first topic on the Escapist and any help would be appreciated.

We have been going out for about 6 months now and have played quite a few games together but only old school games mainly on the SNES.
She has never played pc games before and has very little experience and patients for modern controllers.

I would like to show her some fun coop games on the pc but most of the ones i play or have played will be too advanced for a beginner or mainly involve pvp.
I have a decent laptop she can use so not restricted to just local coop any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[Liquidprid3]

I'm going to go for the obvious and say Minecraft. However, some other you guys could play would Portal 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and if you guys wanna get competitive I'm going to suggest Nidhogg.

 

[Exhuminator]

I've recommended this game here before, but I'll do it again:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lara_Croft_and_the_Guardian_of_Light

Extremely fun co-op game that got a PC port as well. You'll need decent controllers though.

If that's too complex there's always this oldie but goodie:

http://www.liero.be/#about

 

[Ratty]

Get her Portal and if she likes it you can play Portal 2's co-op together.

Since you like old school games you could also try playing through Doom 1 and 2 together. Just grab the Zandronum source port http://zandronum.com/ and a couple copies of Doom, Doom 2, Heretic[footnote]All available on Steam.[/footnote] or ChexQuest3 and you should be good to go. If you like that you could try the Samsara mod which allows you to play as different characters from various classic FPSs in Doom. Serious Sam Gold (now remade as Serious Sam the First and Second Encounter HD) also has really good, crazy co-op.

 

[Bertylicious]

Query: how interested is she in gaming? I mean, is this something that she really wants to get into or is this more something that you want her to get into?

It's just I can't help but think that if she was interested in gaming then she'd have found out about it already.

If she really wants to get into PC gaming because she's already into some other form of gaming then I would advise exploring the analouges of the kind of games she already likes on PC. The best bit about PC gaming is the wealth of choice, after all.

Otherwise maybe it'd be best to avoid a situation where your personal hobbies are in a kind of Barcode Battler confrontation and instead try to find a new, mutually enjoyable, pass time such as extreme sex or cooking.

 

[draigan]

She is interested in gaming just never had a pc, she owns the SNES and the games we are playing on and she can kick my ass in any mario game.

Thanks for the other suggestions will look into those, portal might be a bit too complex for someone who has never gamed with a mouse and keyboard and as a i said she is not too fond of modern controllers but mainly because its unfamiliar.

I think something a bit more basic to get her used to the control scheme and then seeing if she is interested in playing portal 2 with me

 

[porous_shield]

Pixeljunk shooter is a fun little couch coop game. It has old school sensibilities and isn't that complex.

Rock of Ages is fun coop as well. You can play versus against each other or another couple modes. I don't think it's too hard to get into.

Magicka is good fun but it's a difficult game and the control scheme is a little wonky and takes some getting used to.

There's always Diablo 2. I beat the game over a summer with my ten year old nephew playing through a lan connection. He only needed help with picking some of his gear and skills.

 

[L. Declis]

I know it's a strange choice, but I've had great success with Sid Meier's Civ 5; she can relate to the history and such, and the layout is actually very simple, and you can play it together and discuss (or threaten with nuclear war).

Portal and Portal 2; both great choices.

If she's a shooter person, maybe Left 4 Dead 2? That's fun, silly and co-op based, and hardly too difficult (shoot the zombies, run with the group).

 

[DrOswald]

She is interested in gaming just never had a pc, she owns the SNES and the games we are playing on and she can kick my ass in any mario game.

Thanks for the other suggestions will look into those, portal might be a bit too complex for someone who has never gamed with a mouse and keyboard and as a i said she is not too fond of modern controllers but mainly because its unfamiliar.

I think something a bit more basic to get her used to the control scheme and then seeing if she is interested in playing portal 2 with me

Portal 2 is actually a pretty good choice because very little of the challenge is time based and it is a very simple version of the typical FPS control scheme. This means that there is not much for her to keep track of and she is under no time pressure so she can take her time looking down at the keyboard and all that. In addition, the game makes no assumptions that the player knows the controls - each control element is worked effectively into the gameplay so the player does not mind being taught as they go along. Remember "press Space to say apple."

On the other hand, most of that old SNES stuff is pretty brutal gameplay so if she enjoys that you may be safe introducing her to a harder game like Beat Hazard (but with notably simpler controls than portal) to get her used to the idea of gaming on a keyboard.

If you want to try to get her to get comfortable with the newer controllers, a good place to start might be Super Meat Boy. It is a platformer so the basic concept will be familiar and she will be able to use only the face buttons like she is used to but it will teach her to use the left analog stick (if you play on a xbox controller.) This is, of course, assuming she likes difficult platformers.

If you need something simpler a Diablo like (say, torchlight II) might be a good idea - you can be successful in the early game with just clicking on the screen.

Edit: Torchlight, not torchwood.

 

[Brutal Peanut]

My husband and I originally bonded over Neverwinter Nights. Minecraft, Torchlight, Portal, as well as the other suggestions on this thread pretty good.

 

[Someone Depressing]

Nobody's said Popcap?

I'm ashamed of you all.

Plants v. Zombies. The XBOX version has a co-op versus mode. Peggle. Peggle is simply peggle. Not much more than that. You topple pegs. topple + peg = peggle. Pretty much anything Popcap has ever made, which were all designed specifically for this one purpose.

Try a fighting game. Fighting games are also simple by design. Press the buttons until someone dies a few times, see a victory taunt or something. I'd reccomend Skullgirls, due to the fact that it's got very extensie tutorials for pretty much everything, and it's available on Steam.

 

[Rose and Thorn]

One word. Minecraft.

I've used that game before to get someone into PC gaming, and for the most part it worked. You can also play co-op. Terraria could be fun to, although maybe a little more difficult.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Depends - are you trying to play with her or get her to play on her own? I'd recommend Dragon Age Origins (not on the hard levels) if it's the latter. It's not terribly technically challenging on the casual/normal settings but it has a lot of draw in for story and characters and while it doesn't totally hand-hold you do get quest markers and a journal so you never feel lost in it even if you are not big into gaming.

 

[Mattlore]

You know, if you want something that's fast paced, easy to hop in and out and is a really fun FPS experience: Try classic Unreal Tournament. It's very strait forward set of mechanics, but it still non stop fun!

 

[Robert Marrs]

Torchlight 2 is really easy to pickup for people that don't have a lot of experience with games and its a fun co-op. Same could be said for path of exile. My mom loves Civ 5. The multiplayer is broken but its easy to learn and get sucked into for hours. For shooters I would say left 4 dead 2 is a good place to start. Not to difficult and fun to play.

 

[babinro]

It's hard to say when we don't really know her game preferences.
- Plants vs Zombies (an amazing game but single player only and very casual)

- Don't Starve (a relaxing game that rewards persistence)

- Diablo 3 (great for introducing gradually more complex keyboard + mouse controls).

- The Walking Dead Season 1 & 2 (More about story then gameplay. An excellent choice driven game)

- Hearthstone (Mouse only card game that's extremely user friendly and doesn't allow for a toxic online experience)

 

[Lilikins]

donno why know one has said this yet hehe, if you have a PS3, defo get Little Big Planet 1 or 2...that is looooads of fun to play together and has some pretty hilarious scenes, we always play that together and seeing as people keep making levels etc it always gives you something new and fun to browse/try out.
(I know Ill be shunned for this) but theres alot of f2p mmo's out there..some better, and some not so. Rift is a pretty good one because you can freely play the game as everyone else yet at the same time it doesnt require you to 'pay' to play properly. Everything ingame you can earn through hard work and endurance.
Dead space 3 was quite alot of fun aswell for coop.
And sticking to you saying you have the SNES....1 game...rules all. Secret of Mana, old school but one of THE most fun games Ive ever played alone and with her Hope I helped.

 

[Mister K]

Well, I am not saying that I have experience in this matter, but maybe you can try showing your ladyfriend Portal and/or Portal 2. It's relatively easy to actually play, but requires puzzle-solving abilities, plus is fun.

Also, Telltales Walking Dead. I do not know about her tastes, but even a guy that isn't really into zombie stuff (i.e.) found this game amazing. Plus, relationship between Lee and Clementine.

 

[DanielBrown]

Trine, maybe? I played Trine 2 on PC a while ago(got it though a bundle iirc) and it was a shitload of fun. Fantasy with a fairy tale story, colorful, kind of old school, as in it's a 2D puzzle solving game, and from what I know it works really well in co-op. Never tried that myself.

Otherwise I'll throw another vote on Minecraft.