03-04-2018, 02:36 PM
I've been struggling with my usual reading lately and these posts were invigorating. Well written and fun!
As for difficulty and iron man.... I usually start any game on the hardest setting and only fall back if it seems "impossible." Ironman in the old games, sure, sometimes. In the modern ones? I find the quirkiness (read: my lack of knowledge) of the mechanics make it harder than it should be. I'm happy to die in game because of a mistake or even bad luck, but when it's just a lack of utilizing game mechanics to their strongest, I sometimes get irritable and that's when I'll reload to an earlier point.
All that said, I've probably played every XCOM game in every way except this XCOM2 (which I stalled) and X-Com Apocalypse. I even played Enforcer and the flight simulator one quite a bit.
One thing I learned from tabletop RPGs is that big deaths (important player characters or hilarious moments) not only make the best stories over time but they also force the rest of the group to find new ways to work together. Some of the best character development is after the death of a powerful ally everyone leaned on.
In a computer game, does that still stand true? Certainly I want to succeed in every XCOM mission, but as Groo shows us, it can be pretty awesome to fail and keep moving forward.
As for difficulty and iron man.... I usually start any game on the hardest setting and only fall back if it seems "impossible." Ironman in the old games, sure, sometimes. In the modern ones? I find the quirkiness (read: my lack of knowledge) of the mechanics make it harder than it should be. I'm happy to die in game because of a mistake or even bad luck, but when it's just a lack of utilizing game mechanics to their strongest, I sometimes get irritable and that's when I'll reload to an earlier point.
All that said, I've probably played every XCOM game in every way except this XCOM2 (which I stalled) and X-Com Apocalypse. I even played Enforcer and the flight simulator one quite a bit.
One thing I learned from tabletop RPGs is that big deaths (important player characters or hilarious moments) not only make the best stories over time but they also force the rest of the group to find new ways to work together. Some of the best character development is after the death of a powerful ally everyone leaned on.
In a computer game, does that still stand true? Certainly I want to succeed in every XCOM mission, but as Groo shows us, it can be pretty awesome to fail and keep moving forward.
"Save inches for the bathroom; we're using feet here." ~ Rob Kuntz (2014)
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