Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

@bimmy-lee
Speaking about perfection, when i play DDR arcade, i try to get highest score as i can. By standard of DDR A, if i cannot get AAA (Score at least 990,000 or more) for songs under level 13, it will be shame on me.

@ThanosReXXX I don't think I would have minded how long perfecting games like Mega Man X would have taken me when I was a kid (though there still would have been some rage quitting, most likely. ), but I'm a lot more sensitive how long a game takes me to beat/make progress on now that my time is more limited. That's why I find fully open-world games to be a double-edged sword; I like the freedom that they allow for, but that same freedom is almost too unstructured and (sometimes) too lengthy for my liking. As much as I'm looking forward to BotW and am sure I'll enjoy the snot out of it, my OCD to explore everywhere alone will keep me busy for at least 200 hours. I'm not even sure if I'll bother with the DLC at this point lol.

Another irritation for me is the limited number of lives in the Mega Man platformers. Sure, these can be farmed, but it still takes time. It does use a password system, but I really wish there was at least a quicksave feature or something.

@Anti-Matter - I’ve been thinking about you and DDR during this “perfection” discussion. That’s a great example of someone challenging themselves to memorize very complex patterns and movements. I remember seeing a video you posted a couple years ago of you playing the game and getting a flawless score and it was pretty mesmerizing.

@HobbitGamer - Science lab is a great way to put it. All the controls are in place, it’s just up to us to work within the parameters of the code. It makes me thing of the speed bike section of Battletoads. Someone created a fiendish challenge, and yet it’s simply just a matter of memorization and trial to best it.

@Tyranexx - I played only BOTW for exactly a year. Ended up with a (near perfect) 360 hour save file, though some of that was me asleep while Link chilled on a mountain top. Other than a need to find and talk to all NPCs, that game was very, very relaxing. The lack of structure allowed me to just roam around. I didn’t do the DLC. Maybe I will if I get it on Switch. I would guess that if you end up obsessing over it, it’ll be out of love for the game as opposed to a need to complete everything. I could have cleaned out Hyrule castle after 80 hours or so, but I just wanted to keep roaming though I felt no need to find every shrine or Korok seed.

@bimmy-lee
Actually, i didn't memorize them. 😅
But i still have to memorize the song's characteristic (bpm changes, arrow patterns, stops, jackhammer arrows pattern, pivot, gallops, multi jumps, erratic melody, triplets, pseudo triplets, cluster, etc)
I just rely on my quick reading the arrows pattern before the white arrow bar.
I got the experience from playing other DDR songs with similar patterns.
I still could pass a lot songs i have never knew before as long still under level 17.

@bimmy-lee Yeah, we all like to win. But that's also programmed into the very core of all of us: humans are natural survivors, hunter/gatherers and conquerors. And video game developers have found an artificial way to address that primal instinct of ours, and turn it into an addiction to games and how to play them perfectly...
(edit: or at least try to play them as good as we can)

@Tyranexx Better stow it away and never play it then, because I can tell you from experience that BotW is indeed VERY addictive and entertaining. Trying to do a little bit for just a half hour/45 minutes often turns into an idea of also wanting to do this, and this, and now that I'm in the flow again, might as well finish that bit too...

For example: I've spent hours on end, just collecting ingredients and hunting and fishing, to be able to make and store food, and on other times, I've spent almost all afternoon or evening trying to (and succeeding in) catching a bunch of horses, and then taking my time to come up with some fitting names for them. And creeping up on Bokoblins and trying to kill as many as you can by using the environment is also loads of fun, so yes, you WILL enjoy the snot out of it...

But even though it's a time consumer, it's at least completely entertaining, and I've yet to find something that would make me want to throw my Pro Controller into a wall.

@ThanosReXXX - I agree. Deep down, games fulfill our latent and almost unnecessary (at this point) survival skills. BOTW is a great example. It was so fulfilling to have a huge surplus of something like hearty durians, and yet I was always on the hunt for more. Because... what if I NEED them. I laughed at your post above because nearly every session turned into a frolic. I’d mark a spot on the map and start heading that way determined to fully explore that area, and then... “Hey, a butterfly!” An hour later I’m on the other side of Hyrule wondering why I marked that spot in the first place.

I started a 10 day staycation yesterday, and the first order of business is do nothing at all for 48 hours. The plans start tomorrow, so I promise I’ll be done spamming this forum soon.

@Anti-Matter - Well, reaction speed like that is actually more impressive than memorization. You should become a kickboxer!

@bimmy-lee Well, far as I'm concerned, you're far from a nuisance, so don't stay away on my account...

The whole getting distracted thing is certainly something that BotW has down to a tee. The hearty durian story makes me think about one of those funny home videos of a hamster that stuffs an entire bag's worth of peppermint in his cheeks, which is probably less than comfortable, even though he can hold stuff in there, but they're just programmed that way. And in that respect, humans aren't any different from hamsters: neither of us can look into the future, so we might as well stock up for a rainy day...

@ThanosReXXX I like the new avatar pic!! It really sells the “get off my lawn” idea 😜

Other than @bimmy-lee, does anyone have anything planned this weekend? I’m going to try and beat Cadence after I power wash the house siding

@HobbitGamer Too bad it's so small. Here it is in it's original size:

@bimmy-lee Don't know how your Friday is coming along, but the US ladies soccer team just started their quarter final match against France.

@HobbitGamer not much on my end. I see you got mm2.. looking forward to seeing some of your levels 😜. Prob some yard work on the docket for me. Got an upcoming surprise party for my wife In a few weeks so I'm trying to get the yard in tip top shape.

@Link-Hero Well, it's not the pressure of having the idea of needing to do too much all at once, but simply just the idea of the moon that comes crashing down, and the fact that you have to play under that pressure.

That was already more than enough to turn me off. And by now, the N64 is safely stored away, and I've got such an ENORMOUS backlog, that I don't think I'll ever give it another go.

I appreciate the effort of you trying to put it all in a milder perspective, though.

@bimmy-lee 1-0 for us...

True and you can slow down time that also gives some extra time

@Link-Hero I reckon not everyone can understand, but I'll try to make it more clear: it's the feeling as if someone is hanging too close to your rear bumper on the freeway, or someone walking a little too close behind you. It's not real, I know, but for me, it is a perceived sense of urgency that I can't get rid of, and I simply don't like it. I play games to be entertained, moved, excited, and Majora's Mask does none of these things for me, so I simply gave up after several serious tries. It's that simple. Well, for me at least.

And although I do appreciate people informing me (and the others that don't like Majora's Mask) about how you can work around those mechanics, I'm not really looking for someone to try and convince me that I should give it another go, because I've already made up my mind anyway. And like I said, with the backlog I have, which consists of literally hundreds of games across 4 consoles and 2 handhelds, I'm not ever going to get around to it anyway, even if I would have wanted to.

@ThanosReXXX - Life just parted the curtain and allowed me in. Not sure if I’ll see the end without distraction, but fingers crossed.

@bimmy-lee It was a brilliant goal as well, but now, as you can probably see, the French are starting to push back. The first ten minutes, they were completely overwhelmed by us, but now they seem to have woken up.

Either way, it's a WAY more interesting match than the previous one.

@ThanosReXXX It makes sense to me. Similar to how I just cant enjoy things like endless runners or endless scrolling things.

@HobbitGamer Thanks for understanding.
Not that I mind either way. It's just my personal opinion/sentiment, and I'm not inclined to deviate from it.

@ThanosReXXX We've all got our boats, and they all gotta float, dood.

20 more minutes of dooooom at work. And I'm waiting on an estimate for a truck repair. The driveshaft seal is leaking trans fluid and I don't wanna put it on blocks and do it myself. Too hot.

@HobbitGamer Better get your wallet ready then. As for it being too hot: you should be playing a world cup match in France right now: it was 114 F on average during the daytime, and only mildly cooler right now...

They're having mandatory pauses for drinking every 30 minutes right now, or otherwise they might faint.