Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with computergames

Video game suggestions for a preschooler who loves Braid

nanojath — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:16:09 -0800

Beautiful, open world platformers for the pre-school set? Does such a thing exist? Also open to general video game recommendations for the 5-7 age range. My 5 year old son spotted me playing Braid and was immediately drawn into the world of this game. He has a budget of "screen time" with various elements of reward and negotiation but I like him to have a decent amount of control over how he spends that time as long as he stays within our set boundaries of content. He's wanted to play Braid a lot but he's pretty much wrung all the pleasure he can out of it.

The thing is, what he seems to like best about Braid is the art, exploring the worlds, and the characters that pop up. Though he took to the platformer mechanics very naturally, he can't negotiate difficult jumps and such, too much enemy danger frustrates him, and of course the time manipulation puzzles are beyond him. Since the focus in Braid is the puzzles rather than the worlds themselves there is not much to explore: the worlds are pretty small and brief.

It made me wish there could be a more open-world sort of platformer game that was focused on exploration and discovery rather than stomping enemies and making tricky jumps. Natural as this sounds to me it seems to be a tall order of the game design world but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask.

I'm generally finding it tough to find good games for him at this age. He is becoming bored with the super-simple point and click and scroller fodder we've found at websites like PBS Kids or for his increasingly dust-gathering Leapster 2 handheld. Too-high difficulty curves and too violent content are my main problems with the next level up. I don't mind a game requiring my assistance (reading, explaining, helping on difficult moments) but he gets satisfaction out of self-motivated success and when the game is too difficult, confusing or text heavy it tends to end up with him sitting in my lap watching me play. I'd really like things with a fair bit of content that aren't so crush-enemies or get-to-the-end-goal-oriented.

In addition to the Leapster 2 (which I've been kind of underwhelmed by the software for, which tends to combine too-easy and somewhat buggy games with too-advanced and pasted-on-feeling educational content) we have a newer iMac, a Wii and a Nintendo DS (which I plan to give him when I upgrade to the DSi by and by). I don't want to buy any more platforms or computers. Suggestions of good games for the younger player on these platforms are welcome.

computer/video games incorporating astrology?

voltairemodern — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:06:42 -0800

Video/computer games that incorporate astrology? I'm just looking for some titles of video or computer games that use elements from astrology, or even games that make use of their own fictional astrological system. (I'm expecting that there are a bunch of jrpgs that do this, but I couldn't actually think of any instances of it!)

Can I get a 3X game?

JDHarper — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:29:21 -0800

I want a 4X game, but without the warfare. Are there any such games? I really like 4X games like Master of Orion II, the GalCiv series, Sins of a Solar Empire, Civilization, Alpha Centauri, etc. But what I like about them is the empire building, the first 3 of the 4 X's. I'm not as keen on the eXterminating of your opponents, if only because at higher difficulty levels it's *my* empire getting conquered.

What I'm really looking for is the video game equivalent of a Euro-style board game like Agricola, Puerto Rico, or Le Havre, where the competition is based on who can build the best empire/farm/company, rather than who can conquer the other person's stuff. There's still competition in these games, so I don't find them as boring as SimCity, but opposition is more indirect.

Graphics are mostly irrelevant here; I'm looking for fun. Are there any good video games like this out there?

Favorite racing games?

clorox — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:37:20 -0800

I need a new driving/racing game to play on my computer. What are your favorite racing games, and why? I'm a huge fan of racing games, but I've played the crap out of the ones that I have. Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, Gran Turismo 1 and 2 (emulated), and the Colin McRae series are all familiar enough to me that I'm not enjoying them as much as I used to.

So does anyone else enjoy driving and racing games as much as I do? Which games have you spent countless hours playing? What did you like about them?

(I'm looking for something a little more realistic than, say, NFS: Underground, but more arcadey than the likes of Grand Prix Legends and Richard Burns Rally, but I'd love to hear about games from all parts of the spectrum.)

Help me choose a game

CautionToTheWind — Sun, 17 May 2009 05:17:23 -0800

I would like some suggestions for a game to play with my girlfriend. On the computer would be nice, for free would be great and there can be no killing of stuff. I'm trying to find a game to play at home for 2 players. Cooperative play would be a plus, so i thought of computer games where we would face the AI. I know many such games, but it seems they are all about killing and destroying stuff. Nothing wrong with that but it is not what my girlfriend wants, not even in very abstracted forms like Moonbase Commander (great game, try it out!). I guess board games could do but we would have to buy those and that would be a disadvantage. We play Monopoly and she is playing Sudoku right now, but Monopoly is getting old and Sudoku is single player and not my kind of game.

Obviously Deus Ex 2 and 3 are out...

Artw — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:50:11 -0800

What recent(ish) games offer a Deus Ex like experience?

What to play on an X31?

pilibeen — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:02:16 -0800

What are some decent offline games I'll be able to run on my new (to me) Thinkpad X31? I just got an IBM Thinkpad X31 off ebay to replace my even more ancient T22.

I'm going to have a lot of time over the next few months w/ no internet connection, and I was wondering what sort've fun offline games I'll be able to run on this thing without causing it to overheat and desolder itself.

I don't game too much, but I like puzzlers along the lines of Crayon Physics and Incredible Machine, and also enjoyed what I played of The Longest Journey.

I was thinking I could probably run some of the older Myst titles...where in the series would be a good place to start?

The PC specs are 1.6ghz Pentium M, and 512 mb ram...I'm guessing these things were just integrated video.

Thanks in advance...

Importing German video games to the US

jedicus — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:20:53 -0800

Where in the US can I buy German versions of PC, PS1, and PS2 games? As part of my efforts to maintain my German skills, I've taken to playing the German versions of text and dialog-heavy video games (RPGs, mostly). Unfortunately, I only have access to a few, and I can't find a source for more, reputable or otherwise.

The best solution would be a direct download site like direct2drive or Steam. Next best would be used physical copies, to save on costs. Are there any import shops in the US that specialize in European versions?

Alternatively, what games include the German version in the US version? X-COM 2 did and so did the Quest for Glory Anthology. I think Fallout 3 does, too.

I haven't had any luck with eBay. I know I could buy the games via amazon.de but between the currency conversion and shipping costs, I would really prefer a local solution.

(If any German mefites want to liquidate their game collection, send me a MefiMail.)

How do Computer Games Companies work?

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:11:19 -0800

I'm looking for information on how computer/video games companies work. Basically I'm looking for details on how computer/video games development companies are organised, how they operate, how games are produced and their relationship with distribution companies. Not so much gritty coding issues, as how things work on a higher, business, level. I'm biased towards more recent/current games and British companies but I'm not looking exclusive in that direction. Also web would be preferable but I'm not adverse for recommendations for any suitable books that might be out there.

As an example this is sort of the thing I'm after: Yahtzee Visits Valve

Gaming for the new oldbie

vizsla — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:39:28 -0800

I'm 40ish. I know nothing about modern gaming. I used to love adventure games back in the 80s like Zak McKraken, KGB and Thermonuclear Wargames. I have some time on my hands and want to take the plunge into the modern world of gaming. Where do I start? I had a look at those role-playing multi-user games like Second Life and I just don't see the point. Maybe I'm missing something. I like games that involve some (if not, a lot of) thinking. I guess I used to enjoy SOME games that involved a lot of manual dexterity - I did play Wolfenstein 3D when it first came out. I am not a huge science fiction fan. I like games that teach you something maybe. But again, I shouldn't put too many restrictions down - I might surprise myself. So I guess I'm looking for ideas for games and platforms to play them on. Again, I know nothing - never owned any gaming equipment before so please don't assume I actually do know what I'm looking for!

Lightweight gaming.

flibbertigibbet — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:45:48 -0800

I want some computer games that have high replayability, are relatively cheap (0-20$ CAD/USD), NOT need a CD to play, and most importantly, take up as little hard-drive space and processor power as possible. Possible examples including good pieces of IF (especially mystery, who-killed-X ones), Fallout 2, Rogue-likes, games of the lightweight Boomshine/Peggle/Bejweled group, any RTS or turn-based strategy games, and anything by Nifflas. I'd love blogs that recommend good games, too. Any recommendations? I've seen the all of the 'Best indie games of 2006/2007/2008' etc. posts on the blue, but I don't care about the source so much as it being lightweight and fun, and that's a whooole lot of games to go through, so I'm hoping you guys can help me filter the wheat from the chaff.

My current favourite games, but which may not suit all of the requirements above, include Portal, Half-life 2, Grim Fandango, Starcraft, Civ 2/4, No One Lives Forever, and Alpha Centauri.

How Do I Make A Fake Loading Screen?

RokkitNite — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:42:49 -0800

What's the easiest way to create a fake ZX Spectrum/Amstrad/C64 loading screen? So I'm helping put together a stage show based around computer and video games, and it'll involve a digital projector and whitescreen. I want to look at the possibility of faking up a loading screen that brings up the show title at the beginning like on an old cassette-based game, you know, with flashing borders, the data noise, and then the picture being drawn.

What's the most straightforward way of somebody with limited technical aptitude accomplishing this? At the moment I see two possible methods: a fake flash-based recreation of a game loading, or running an emulator with a custom-written programme in it that brings up said screen. While the latter would look more authentic, my programming skills don't extend beyond making the word 'POO' appear when you press any key.

Is there a way I should be approaching this? Please note: I'll consider 'No, you are a moron. This is not possible,' answers perfectly legitimate if this is, indeed, a ridiculous idea.

Ad Astra Per Aspera!

Rhaomi — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:27:13 -0800

Seeking recommendations for some great space exploration/simulation games. I tend to be an observant, introverted, imaginative person, so any game that offers a rich universe to explore is right up my alley. I'm more of a sci-fi fan than a fantasy one, though, so I prefer space exploration games over the more popular "fantasy world" franchises like Ultima, Oblivion, Fable, and WoW.

Unfortunately, few games in the space sim genre have struck my fancy, so I humbly turn to the Hive Mind for some advice on new titles to explore. Here are some of the games I've seen that have come closest to my ideal, to give you an idea of exactly what I'm looking for:

Noctis - Probably the best example. A staggeringly huge persistent galaxy, with billions of planets and moons to wander. The art style is evocative and spare. First-person, 3-D, and with an emphasis on open-ended exploration. See this review for an excellent description of this game's appeal.

"The real joy of Noctis lies in setting eyes on alien landscapes that nobody has ever seen before. From verdant rain forests to bleak, blasted deserts, the worlds of Noctis never fail to engage the senses. In my voyages I have found icy planetoids so distant from their parent stars that it is impossible to tell where the ground ends and the darkened sky begins. I have swum upon giant worlds with liquid-rock surfaces whose temperatures extend into the thousands of degrees Kelvin. I have watched triplicate stars rise above placid green meadows, their light refracted by a high canopy of crystalline trees. From mountainous peaks extending thousands of meters above rolling oceans, I have gazed down at my distant landing pod and marveled at my own precious insignificance."

Unfortunately, the game's graphics are not the best, there's no sound, and the long-awaited sequel is pretty much vaporware at this point.
Spore - Not out yet, I know, but its vast galaxy of traversable planets teeming with life has more than caught my attention.
Infinity: The Quest for Earth - Also not out yet, but a good example of what I'm after. Persistent universe, billions of planets, ability to land and explore on foot, realistic scales, etc. Developer's page is here, Wiki article here.
Battlecruiser: Millenium - A laughably bad game in most respects, this one captured my imagination as a kid for its large catalog of planets and the ability to enter their atmospheres and walk, swim, and fly across their surfaces. Click here for a decent write-up of the game.
Celestia - Really more of a glorified planetarium than a game. Once you leave the Solar System there isn't much visual stimulation to be found, but I still love this space sim for its great interface and the way it conveys the immense scale of the universe.

And, just to clarify things, here are the types of games that I am NOT looking for:

Space flight simulators - I'm not too keen on having to pilot the orbital equivalent of a Boeing 747 just to get around. The aforementioned Battlecruiser lost a lot of points in this respect. Noctis hit the sweet spot of navigation, with its point-and-click interface and the ability to name and leave notes on locations in a shared database.
Space combat games - Combat can be present, but it shouldn't be the game's primary component.
MMOs or subscription-based games - There are plenty of "WoW in space!"-type games (EVE, Anarchy Online, Star Wars Galaxies), but most of them don't quite fit the bill. The focus in these games is usually on player interaction (trade, combat, role-playing), while exploration is an interesting novelty, or even unavailable. Infinity (mentioned above) comes closest to my ideal MMO exploration game.

So, bottom line: I'm looking for a persistent 3D universe, preferably procedurally generated (millions of worlds or more), that permits open-ended exploration both in-system and on-planet. Something solitary, relaxing, and beautiful, with plenty of visual variety. Online/offline functionality doesn't matter.

Thanks in advance!

Simplified baseball video game for PC?

c:\awesome — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 11:29:50 -0800

I've been playing Baseball Superstars 2007 on my phone for the last few weeks, and I love it (despite the frequent freeze-ups on the loading screen)! Are there similar simplified baseball video games for PC? I know I can get all kinds of robust, full-featured baseball games for my computer, but I want something with the same sort of simplicity as Baseball Superstars. Hell, I'd even be happy with a baseball game for the PC that was easy to play with just a keyboard and mouse.

Any suggestions?

Embodied cognition computer or video games?

irregardless — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 19:03:22 -0800

Computer or video gamers: Help me find a game that I can use in my psychology experiment. For an upcoming psychology project on embodied cognition, participants will need to play a game, either video or computer, that meets all (or most) of the conditions we'd like to test.

The two necessary features of this ideal game:
(a) the player's character could not move in a front-back manner. Ideally, the player would be static or be restricted to horizontal left-right motion;
(b) some sort of object would be approaching the player

In a perfect world, the game would also:
(c) require a high level of motivation (the player is highly motivated to complete a task);
(d) be experienced from the first-person perspective.

To give an example: The type of game I have in mind might be something where the player is, say, in a canoe on a river. The player's canoe is on the bottom of the stream and the player must dodge dangerous objects coming toward him or her (logs) while trying to pick up good objects (fish), only by shifting in the horizontal left-right plane.

I know games like this must exist, but I'm not a gamer and I don't know where to start looking. Wii games that satisfy these requirements would be optimal, but anything will work. Thanks!

Where have all the web emulators gone?

bigcheesegump — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 11:35:29 -0800

What are the good web-based emulator games? I have been looking for some good web-based (Java mostly) emulator games. I have found NES ones but I haven't been able to find any others either for Game Boy or Playstation.
I seem to remember playing the orginal Command & Conquer on a web emulator. I know there is a way to download the old copies of C&C and Grand Theft Auto but I am looking for JUST the web emulator of any games like this.

Pre-pre-pre Sims game from the early-mid 1990s?

gatorae — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:18:02 -0800

Help me remember the name of an old DOS or Windows 3.x computer game! The entire universe of the game took place inside a cross-section of a 3 story house. I think the only character was the man who lived inside the house, although I believe there may have also been a pet. It was basically an extreme prototype of a Sims game; you had to feed him and provide water, etc. The screen was totally static except for the man walking around inside it, so the only part of his world that I ever saw was the inside of his house.

The bottom floor had the kitchen where he had cabinets with food. I think he had food delivered and if I didn't feed him enough he would turn green. There was also a water-cooler and (I believe) he had water delivered as well. The front door to the house was on the right hand side, the kitchen on the left.

The second floor had his bedroom on the left, a bathroom in the middle, and something on the right that I cannot recall.

The third floor was a library/den type of thing, and you could play cards with him. The only game I remember playing with him is War, but that may have been because I was too little to understand how to play anything else. There was also a typewriter on the right-hand side (wow, typewriters in a computer game? How quaint.), and he would write angry letters to me to tell me what awful care I provided him. I remember that he had a lot of attitude, but maybe I was just overly sensitive.

This game would have been out circa Leisure suit Larry (I remember my parents making me play this instead of Larry since I was very young). Unfortunately, my parents can't remember the name anymore either. Does this sound familiar? This has been driving me nuts for years, and my googling can't turn up anything.

Do they make turn-based role-playing computer games any more?

happyturtle — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:23:23 -0800

I'm trying to find turn-based role-playing computer games that don't have any real time combat. My favorite set of games is the old Dungeons and Dragons Krynn series: Champions of Krynn, Deathknights of Krynn, and Dark Queen of Krynn. Please recommend any games like this. The Krynn games I've been playing on a Dos emulator on my PC. I remember that I enjoyed a few Super Nintendo games of my brother's way back in the day... I'm thinking they were The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and something with the word Dragon in the title. I'd love to find these original games for the PC, or anything similar.

Criteria:

1. NO real time combat requiring quick reflexes and pushing buttons in the right order to do tricks. I want to choose 'Attack X enemy with Y weapon' from a menu and let the computer make it happen.

2. Low computer processing/graphics requirements, although the first criteria probably guarantees this.

3. Has to be for the PC. I'm not going to buy a console. (Oh okay, I *might* get an old Super Nintendo off ebay if that's the only way to get this type of game, but I'd really prefer not to add any more clutter to the tv cabinet.)

4. Cheap is good, free is better, but price doesn't matter as much as playability.

5. It's okay if the graphics and music suck. I just want to have fun killing monsters, learning spells, and fighting evil.

6. I really really really hate real time combat. Have I stressed that enough?

Help me become a general!

aeighty — Tue, 22 May 2007 12:13:47 -0800

How do I become better at real-time strategy games? I want to dust off my copy of brood wars and play again. The problem is, I suck. Whenever I used to play my friends online I used to have my butt handed to me. Not everyone is born a tactician I guess.

So, what do I do to remedy this problem? Read Sun Tzu? There's gotta be a way to better my RTS-fu. I don't expect to win any tournaments but I want to be at least a bit of a challenge to my friends.

Suggestions?

Help me find a good game to play over the internet with my friends.

zenja72 — Sun, 06 May 2007 11:38:32 -0800

Help me find a good game to play over the internet with my friends. I would like to host a series of gaming tournaments with my friends, probably 3-6 people besides myself. The game should be online, not LAN, as we don't have a place to host a LAN party. It should be free or damn cheap, and it should be able to run on XP, OSX, and Vista would be nice but not necessary. It should also not be requiring too much from a system, because my hosting computer is not anything special (4yr old Dell Machine). The game should also allow some specific server tools; password protection, banning, etc.

As for the genre, any game that is good for several 2-3 hour tournaments is good, but shoot-em ups and RTS games are what I have in mind. Thanks!

What are the best miniature-golf videogames?

box — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 06:04:52 -0800

What are the best miniature-golf video and computer games? Video games (current-generation and otherwise), full computer games and even Flash and Web games are candidates. And it's okay if the mini-golf is part of a larger game--just a mode or a mini-game or something. I'd prefer multiplayer console games, but I'd happily make exceptions.

Good games for a word nerd?

tastybrains — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 17:48:05 -0800

What are some really fun computer-based word and/or trivia games for one player? Online or desktop-based are fine. (I did search for word games in the archives and didn't find anything, so I do apologize if this has been answered already...)

I've played PopCap's Bookworm Adventures through twice and already do an online crossword puzzle everyday. I need some new ways to have some geeky, brain-exercising fun. I am a word nerd, NOT a numbers nerd (e.g. I cannot stand Sudoku).

I love word games and general trivia as well. I like to play a quick round of something while I'm drinking my coffee in the morning and sometimes as a mental break at work or at night. Hit me with your recommendations!

Which game has a museum, an elevator, and Napoleon?

NewGear — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:57:06 -0800

A friend of mine is looking for the name of a computer game he played maybe 14 years ago. Any clue which game this is? It takes place in a museum, and at one point you have to give Napoleon a pastry. So my friend Kit asked me this question: "I played a game on the class computer. The other games were Number Muchers and the sequel to The Oregon Trail: The Amazon Trail. However, the game I'm currently trying to remember was about a boy trapped in the History Museum. You get to move him across the screen (right and left) and use the elevator and whatnot, and eventually you can go to the top floor, which is the Automat. One of the doors is unlocked, and inside is a Napoleon pastry, which you can take with you, and you later give it to Napoleon to keep him from killing you(?)."

I thought it was Museum Madness, but he says "that isn't it. If you can believe it, the graphics are too good to be the game I'm referring to."

My Googling of various combinations of the lean clues he's given me have come up with naught. Anybody actually remember this one? Apparently the "giving a Napoleon pastry to Napolean" is a key point in his mind.

Nethack-like copper mining game? In space?

cobaltnine — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 07:14:45 -0800

Help me identify a computer game! Mid-late 90s, Windows, visually a Nethack or Roguelike but thematically entirely different: you were sort-of mining for copper nodules, crystals, oxygen bubbles, and possibly seeds for plants. There were high ASCII symbols for the copper (other metals, too; I think silver would show up later) nodes, which kind of looked like paisley shapes, or a teardrop with a hook on the end. There were three different representative sizes and it would tell you how many grams each was.

I am pretty sure you had to get oxygen bubbles to survive, and that there was some sort of plant or seed involved as well. I say 'sort-of' mined because I don't think it gave you any sort of personality. You may not have actually mined - it might have been 'absorbed' or 'eaten' or something instead. There may also have been crystals. It was not an online game. (Most definitely not Motherlode, although the theme is similar.) I'm pretty sure I played it in college, which means it was downloadable in the late 90s. Serious bonus points if you actually find me the game.

Help me pick an RTS to play

rks404 — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 18:17:38 -0800

I'm looking for an interesting and fun Real Time Strategy game to play. I love the concept, but have never really found one that I enjoy - too much dirt farming or bizarre interfaces or complex strategies that bewilder my Quake-addled brain. So I'd like to find an RTS to play. My criteria is that there isn't a whole of peasant commanding or city building. I'd also like to see something that is fairly approachable for strategy newbies and I'd like big huge special effects and tons of eye candy. I have a fairly new system and play a lot of FPS, so I'm not too worried about system requirements.

So what to do and which game to get? Company of Heroes looks good, but the WW2 setting looks a little dull to my scifi/fantasy loving eyes. Warhammer 40k looks pretty good but I've heard that it is fairly hard. The Lord of the Rings RTS looks pretty and the familiar setting might attract my wife to play against me, but it seems to have gotten a bad rap for its actual gameplay.