Not now-now obviously but in the present continuous sense of the word. Are you replaying it, are you enjoying it, are you going for 100%, maybe you can't wait for it to be over but you're slogging though anyway because that's what we do? Are you cutting in with another game? Are you stuck in the endgame because it's too much fun to quite even though story's over?
I'm playing Echo Night right now. It's an "old" (PS) first-person adventure game with horribly outdated polygonal graphics, horribly uncomfortable controls (strafing and looking take up the four uppercase buttons from the controller), horribly translated dialogue with a side of horribly clipped delivery, horribly designed puzzles that fail for being too illogical or too easy, and a horribly nonsensical story.
It's also eerily entertaining. This is what games used to be like. I used to rub my character against the scenery looking for the next random bit of plot to interact with. Videogame logic to me was always: whatever works. Try combining every item, try using every item on every character in every situation. Pick up everything, inspect everything. Slowly do a 360 whenever you're teleported to a new location, just in case there's a secret behind you out of sight. And so on.
Here's an interesting thing - I think playing these games cultivates a sense of intelligence, you know? Not knowledge or wisdom but the proper definition of intelligence. "The ability to learn or understand things or to deal with new or difficult situations". It's not very profound but I think it makes a difference, forcing people to find connections between things that aren't obvious at first. I don't remember the last time I was genuinely stuck in a game. Most of them these days are more than happy to you with radars and waypoints and lead the way to the next shooty bit or jumpy bit.
I still think it's an awful game. And it's not even a nostalgia thing, because I'd never played this game in particular. I dunno, it got me thinking for a change.
Anyway those are my thoughts. What's up with you?
I'm playing Echo Night right now. It's an "old" (PS) first-person adventure game with horribly outdated polygonal graphics, horribly uncomfortable controls (strafing and looking take up the four uppercase buttons from the controller), horribly translated dialogue with a side of horribly clipped delivery, horribly designed puzzles that fail for being too illogical or too easy, and a horribly nonsensical story.
It's also eerily entertaining. This is what games used to be like. I used to rub my character against the scenery looking for the next random bit of plot to interact with. Videogame logic to me was always: whatever works. Try combining every item, try using every item on every character in every situation. Pick up everything, inspect everything. Slowly do a 360 whenever you're teleported to a new location, just in case there's a secret behind you out of sight. And so on.
Here's an interesting thing - I think playing these games cultivates a sense of intelligence, you know? Not knowledge or wisdom but the proper definition of intelligence. "The ability to learn or understand things or to deal with new or difficult situations". It's not very profound but I think it makes a difference, forcing people to find connections between things that aren't obvious at first. I don't remember the last time I was genuinely stuck in a game. Most of them these days are more than happy to you with radars and waypoints and lead the way to the next shooty bit or jumpy bit.
I still think it's an awful game. And it's not even a nostalgia thing, because I'd never played this game in particular. I dunno, it got me thinking for a change.
Anyway those are my thoughts. What's up with you?
