# Video games and writing



## johnlmonk (Jul 24, 2013)

I'm just curious how many people here play or used to play video games, and what the effect is/has been on your writing.  I'll start off.  I used to play WOW, then quit for two years and wrote my first novel.  I totally, totally, totally miss WOW   Instant fun, instant gratification, instant way never to become the writer I am today.

Other games that get in the way, though not as much:
Civilization V
Fallout, New Vegas

Cheers
p.s., I totally, totally miss WOW.


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## RM Prioleau (Mar 18, 2011)

I play a lot of RPGs. Never played WoW, but I play all the free-to-play games that are just as good, if not better, than WoW. Almost all of the main characters in my books have been based on characters I've played in MMOs, or pen-and-paper D&D games.

My favorite console game is definitely the Assassn's Creed series. Also old school games like Dragon Quest, Breath of Fire, and Terranigma, if anyone remembers that one. 

Videogames definitely spark motivation and ideas for my writing. If I ever get writer's block, I just play some games to get my brainpower churning.

And people say videogames are evil! pfft!


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## Nicholas Andrews (Sep 8, 2011)

Who I am and what I write completely stems from The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Warrior. I was playing those early games before I even knew fantasy literature existed.


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## wilsonharp (Jun 5, 2012)

That is almost creepy, bizarre, John. Every morning I play 25 turns of Civ V to help me get my brain moving and almost every evening I play an hour of Fallout: New Vegas as a reward for hitting my writing goal.

Throw in a dungeon or two of DDO around lunch and that's my video game schedule. (I kinda miss WoW, but I think DDO is a better system now... and it's free!)


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## RJ Kennett (Jul 31, 2013)

I still occasionally play a little of the old-school games: Master of Orion 2, Thief: The Dark Project - I like games where I can play a whole game in a few hours, or games broken into chapters (like Thief). I try to avoid any that are time-sinks. Long ago, I would play weeks-long mega-games of Civilization III (custom map, 32 empires), but never got into Civ4 or 5.


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## Herc- The Reluctant Geek (Feb 10, 2010)

I had to stop playing LOTRO, and Civ V because they were eating all my time  I'm going to write another MMO themed book soon so that I can indulge in a little 'research'. Eyeing off a November start, and it's got nothing to do with the Helm's Deep expansion coming out on Nov 18


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## JezStrider (Jun 19, 2012)

Being a gamer is a huge part of who I am. I've played WoW since launch. Today I'm playing Skyrim. RPGs are my favorite... go figure, but I love something from almost every genre.


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## TRGoodman (Jul 9, 2012)

johnlmonk said:


> I'm just curious how many people here play or used to play video games, and what the effect is/has been on your writing. I'll start off. I used to play WOW, then quit for two years and wrote my first novel. I totally, totally, totally miss WOW  Instant fun, instant gratification, instant way never to become the writer I am today.
> 
> Other games that get in the way, though not as much:
> Civilization V
> ...


I've been huge into video games ever since the VCS 2600 days, and I've always tended toward RPGs like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest, Suikoden (seriously, Konami, we need another Suikoden game), etc. I would say that my favorite game of all time is Xenogears, despite its flaws. Right now I'm about halfway through the first Witcher game.

I see video games the same way I see any other media when it comes to writing. If I really enjoy a scene, I ask myself what it is I like about it and how it can be reshaped into something interesting. Video game writing gets a lot of flak, but there is great writing there if you look for it.



RM Prioleau said:


> I play a lot of RPGs. Never played WoW, but I play all the free-to-play games that are just as good, if not better, than WoW. Almost all of the main characters in my books have been based on characters I've played in MMOs, or pen-and-paper D&D games.
> 
> My favorite console game is definitely the Assassn's Creed series. Also old school games like Dragon Quest, Breath of Fire, and Terranigma, if anyone remembers that one.


Terranigma was a great game. It was overshadowed by the bigger RPGs of the day, but still great.


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## RM Prioleau (Mar 18, 2011)

TRGoodman said:


> Terranigma was a great game. It was overshadowed by the bigger RPGs of the day, but still great.


I am still waiting for it to be re-released on the DS or some other handheld device... or at least remade like all the other games during that time were.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

You can all play video games while I catch up on my reading.


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## johnlmonk (Jul 24, 2013)

wilsonharp said:


> That is almost creepy, bizarre, John. Every morning I play 25 turns of Civ V to help me get my brain moving and almost every evening I play an hour of Fallout: New Vegas as a reward for hitting my writing goal.
> 
> Throw in a dungeon or two of DDO around lunch and that's my video game schedule. (I kinda miss WoW, but I think DDO is a better system now... and it's free!)


Hehe, it's like, you're me with a beard 

Cinisajoy: 
You may be the devil, sent to tempt me...*panic*

Everyone:
I'm amazed at the response to my little question/confession. Thanks, I feel a little less lonely in my addiction.


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## RM Prioleau (Mar 18, 2011)

johnlmonk said:


> Everyone:
> I'm amazed at the response to my little question/confession. Thanks, I feel a little less lonely in my addiction.


There are plenty of geeks here. Many are simply in ninja-mode


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## Lizbooks (Mar 15, 2013)

I have a gaming schedule. I'm allowed to log into WoW on weekends and Wednesdays (raid night) only, and only if I've gotten all my writing and other work done first. It's actually pretty good motivation to get things done.


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## Teutonic0 (May 27, 2013)

I cycle on and off through gaming stints. 

I'm currently off (& am hopefully more productive for it) but one of my favorite games of all time is Morrowind. The cultures, locales, even the useful/useless aspects of the magic system still sometimes inspire more creativity for me.

But that sort of thing would probably be more useful if I was working on a fantasy project.


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## Matt Ryan (Nov 16, 2012)

I hear you John. I'm a recovering wow addict. I was a guild master and everything. I miss the relationships I made but don't miss the time sink the game required. I had a guild member that was an aspiring writer as well and we would always say we should log off and just write and eventually I did.

Civilization is one of my all time favorite games. 

I don't play games anymore. I spend all my spare time writing or writing related activities like WC. It's not as exciting as downing a new 25man boss but I think it's more rewarding in the long run, I hope.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

I've been a game addict since my first Atari 2600 in '78 or '79 (too old to remember exact dates). 

NES / SNES / Genesis / Saturn / PS1 / N64 / PS2 / Xbox / Xbox 360 / PS3 is maybe an incomplete list of consoles I've spent far too much time on. 

But PC games are my favorite. I played Eve-Online, an MMO spaceship game for seven years. Unlike most other MMO's, this one is fairly brutal, and makes the 'real' news on the internet sometimes for the things that go on (just google 'eve online goonswarm corporation alliance takeover' any of those terms and you'll see what I mean). This game is SO meta, that there has even been players seducing a rival's spouse and causing a marriage to break up. 

As we say in Eve...internet spaceships is srs bizness. 

Because of this game (and other favorites such as Interplay's Wasteland *1987*, Interplay's Fallout *original*, the Genesis version of Shadowrun, etc.) I've come up with many, many ideas. Not that I needed them to come up with an idea, but my love for certain games really puts me in the world the game takes place in, and I begin to imagine a good story with some of the best elements of these games.

I'm a HUGE post-nuclear war story/game lover (helps that I grew up with the Cold War threatening total annihilation). And I love spaceships and space battles.


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## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

I played Ultima Online from launch in 1997 until 2008.

I didn't read or write at all during that time. 

I missed the people for awhile, but now that I'm on Facebook I interact with friends from real life...


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## MsTee (Jul 30, 2012)

SIMMERS, UNITE! *fist in the air*

What? Am I the only The Sims (1, 2, 3 and the upcoming 4) lover in here?!?  

Then, there's my other love: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

For MMORPGS: Runescape, Silkroad, Rappelz (I think?) - I've downloaded far too many of these and given up, but the only one I stuck with for a while was Runescape (online).

The Sims are great for stories - but more for Sim Stories than fully fledged novels. I am also ashamed at the amount of money I've thrown at Maxis/EA for these games. Still...NO REGRETS!!!


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## Vivienne Mathews (May 7, 2013)

In terms of MMOs, I beta-ed Rift, SWToR, Aion, and Allods; dumped waaay too many hours into DDO, Warhammer, and LoTRO (which I still play from time to time); and played WoW from vanilla to Wrath, though honestly wish I'd stopped mid-BC.

Much prefer the single-player experience these days. Between Tomb Raider, The Last of Us, and working my way through the _infinite _number of Skyrim mods, it's been a difficult year for this geek's writing schedule. The Dishonored DLCs aren't helping, either. Too many games. Not enough time.


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## Austin_Briggs (Aug 21, 2011)

I used to play Europa Universalis and Shogun Total War... However! Back when we were still dating, my wife dropped a short yet intriguing sentence: “me or the games”. She hates computer games, see. 

I still sometimes want to play, but then I think of all the hours I’ve sunk into this when I was a gamer. How many books I could’ve written in the time it took me to conquer Japan... better not to think about it.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

I got the spark of fantasy from the classic RPGs/semi-RPGs: Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Secret of Mana.

These day, I can't afford to keep up with the awesome computing power required to run bleeding edge games, so I'm happy to play older stuff like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Knights of the Old Republic plus stuff like Civ, Age of Empires and the occasional round of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Free games are also getting my attention a lot, like Kingdom of Loathing (if anyone else here plays, I'm Raast on Kol. Kmail me and we can hang) and the all time king of imagination-stirring free games: Dwarf Fortress.


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## whatdanwrote (Oct 18, 2012)

I used to play Wow obsessively, but I burnt out on it. I still play a couple hours a week, but ... I don't know why. Mostly to chat with my one last wow friend.

My raiding guild collapsed, which ended up being a good thing, because I started writing again, and now I would much rather write.


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## Howietzer (Apr 18, 2012)

Started with table top RPGs in the early 80s. Played a few video games along the way but didn't get really involved until WOW. Got sucked into that vortex of false productivity for about two years, then I went cold turkey and haven't looked back. I still do table top gaming but avoid the video variety like the plaque. I know my weakness, and it knows me. 

The writing I'm doing currently is derived from my table top games, and the projects I have planned for the future will come from them as well. I guess it's my process for outlining/first draft.

Good luck with those still struggling with the video game monkey on their backs.


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## johnlmonk (Jul 24, 2013)

AngryGames said:


> Because of this game (and other favorites such as Interplay's Wasteland *1987*, Interplay's Fallout *original*, the Genesis version of Shadowrun, etc.) I've come up with many, many ideas. Not that I needed them to come up with an idea, but my love for certain games really puts me in the world the game takes place in, and I begin to imagine a good story with some of the best elements of these games.


Wasteland changed my life. Wonderful, wonderful game. Back when crappy graphics ruled.
I played Eve Online for a while - so glad I stopped  Fun though.


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## wilsonharp (Jun 5, 2012)

I have an original Wasteland 5 1/4 Floppy with the original packaging. One of the games that changed RPGs on computers.


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## C.F. (Jan 6, 2011)

Classic NES will always hold a special place in my heart. I remember thinking my dad was the coolest ever because he could beat Super Mario Brothers.

I recently picked up WOW again. I've been playing it off and on since 2005. I've come up with some of my best material while playing. It really gets my imagination going and sparks ideas I doubt I would have explored otherwise. My mind calms from the busyness of the day, and I can really think while I'm playing.


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## brie.mcgill (Jun 5, 2013)

OMG NERD HUG!!!!!!!!!

There would be no place for storytelling in my heart... if not for Hironobu Sakaguchi.

I'm hardcore. I have the FF sheet music books and everything. I do cosplay. I've bred so many chocobos, they should be coming out plaid by now.

And I refuse to play a video game in English.   

I adore oldschool games. The newer ones, generally speaking, seem to lack the heart and soul that the old consoles had--tough gaming and killer plots have been replaced by flashy graphics. (DmC was a recent pleasant exception, even if the controls were not as tight.)

I fell down an MMO hole once. After six months, I had the sense to take my life back. I still got up to go to the bathroom (instead of using the nearest corner), but, those days weren't pretty.

And hence... my serious, slobbering fantasies of writing enough to get a stand at SOME kind of nerdly convention. Maybe by next year I can do it.

I just did another playthrough of Castlevania: SOTN (all I've had time for lately). Oh, Alucard. <3 <3 <3


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

brie.mcgill said:


> And I refuse to play a video game in English.


Even the ones originally released in English?

B-But Bethesda! Rockstar! All the Lego games!


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## Vivienne Mathews (May 7, 2013)

Vaalingrade said:


> Even the ones originally released in English?
> 
> B-But Bethesda!


 

And also... _BETHESDA_!!!


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

I play a lot of games. I don't play computer games as much anymore because my hands get sore and I have to save them for writing, so I get my Starcraft 2 and DOTA 2 fixes by watching professional gaming (on Twitch or on Korean TV).  I can still console game since that doesn't make my hands hurt, so I mostly play xbox games these days.  My current favorites are Skyrim and Borderlands 2.


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## Vivienne Mathews (May 7, 2013)

Doomed Muse said:


> I play a lot of games. I don't play computer games as much anymore because my hands get sore and I have to save them for writing, so I get my Starcraft 2 and DOTA 2 fixes by watching professional gaming (on Twitch or on Korean TV). I can still console game since that doesn't make my hands hurt, so I mostly play xbox games these days. My current favorites are Skyrim and Borderlands 2.


Save your hands, mate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109243&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-PC+Game+Controllers-_-N82E16823109243&gclid=CLSP8bH1zLkCFQeCQgodijoA7w

No one should have to sacrifice the PC-gaming experience.


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## Edward Lake (Mar 11, 2012)

Video games are awesome. I play RE4 a lot. One of the best games ever made IMO. Shadow of the Colossus. The Metal Gear Solid series. Dead Space. I could go on forever. 

I'm really looking forward to The Evil Within. It's being made by the same guy that did RE4. As you can see I'm into survival horror games. 

Video games give me lots of ideas and inspiration. The ones that tell great stories at least.


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## HarryK (Oct 20, 2011)

I'ma jump into the nerd party! I played a bunch of different MMOs: WoW, EQ, Neverwinter, Tera, GW2, SWToR, etc. They're fine, but I tend to play them as single player games with lots of extra people clogging up my space since I tend to (a) be antisocial and not want to group and (b) just get impatient with other people on those rare occasions when I do group.

Or as I like to say to my friends, MMOs would be fine...if it weren't for all the other people. 

Other games I have mad love for include Skyrim, Last of Us, various Civ and 4x games, and the Saints Row series. Oh man, Saints Row 4 ate up so much of my time the first week it was out!

I have a lot of love for some old school stuff too. If they did a remake of the old X Wing or Tie Fighter games....oh man. I would kill to make that happen.

Big RPG fan too. In fact I have to switch off my inner gamer a lot of times when I watch TV or read a story because I'm constantly thinking "that's so not what a player character would do!"

A couple of the characters in my current WIP are gamer geeks.


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## RinG (Mar 12, 2013)

Why am I not surprised that there are lots of gamers here?

I'm not big into first person games, I just can't play them, but I love to watch hubby play them. My favorites are the Assassins Creed series, and Uncharted. And I have to say, is there some conspiricy happening that they come out at the beginning of October each time? At they trying to make me fail NaNo?

For myself, I play the Sims, and a lot of iPad games, plants vs zombies, and one of the old civ versions. I'm also big into minecraft right now.


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## HarryK (Oct 20, 2011)

Rinelle Grey said:


> And I have to say, is there some conspiricy happening that they come out at the beginning of October each time? At they trying to make me fail NaNo?


Yes. 

Don't tell anybody I told you though.

On the subject of the Sims...isn't it depressing how easy it is for your Sim person to write a book (and get paid) compared to real life?


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## lazarusInfinity (Oct 2, 2012)

Years ago, I was a total video game addict.  Metal Gear 4, Assassin's Creed and GTA IV were some of my favorites.  I quit games and television cold turkey back then and haven't regretted it.  Television alone tends to make a lot of people lazy, and I was a living testament to that.  Once I stopped watching TV and playing games, my work rate has shot through the roof and I couldn't be happier.


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

Ah, my people. I thought I recognized some of you as kindred nerds.

I'm a lifelong gamer, and have been a pretty serious player of CCGs, pen and paper RPGs, and a wide variety of computer games. Favorites would be D&D, Civ, Dragon Age: Origins, Skyrim, WoW, and EVE.

WoW's the big one, though. I was extremely good at WoW.

I can't think of a single area of my life or personality that hasn't been shaped in some way by gaming, but the truth is that I'll never write if I keep gaming. Folks joke about being gaming addicts. I really am. I would happily play MMOs 14+ hours every day for the rest of my life, except that I'd wind up living in a cardboard box. Seriously. I've come incredibly close.

At this point it's been seven or eight months since I've played WoW. I still dream about it. Reckon I'll always miss it, but there's nothing that can be done unless I become wealthy enough to quit reality for good.

I've actually been turning towards writing as a replacement for gaming. I need to have some kind of fantasy and storytelling outlet in my life, so in the absence of gaming, writing becomes an attractive possibility. My dopamine-addled brain wouldn't waste a moment on it if I still had WoL rankings, PTR testing, and progression to worry about (or ISK, for that matter...precious ISK).


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Ah, fellow Wastelanders...I got my start on Commodore 64 and 5 1/4's  Still have the Interplay 20th Anniversary CD-ROM around here somewhere and DOSbox to play it once every two or three years. 

I'm old too, and played pen & paper D&D, Shadowrun, Car Wars (Steve Jackson Games!), and whatever else I can't remember. Twilight 2000. Yeah, I that one. Because I love(d) anything post-nuke. 

Right now my wife, my editor, and I are all heavily into Borderlands 2, which is basically Dungeons & Dragons but as an FPS with guns. LOTS of guns. I think my Steam thing says 368 hours total, which is very frightening. However, Tiny Tina's DLC is incredible...it's DLC that makes BL2 into old-school D&D (but with guns!). And Handsome Jack, BL2's evil villain, is easily the best villain/character in any game I've ever played. 

I had to finally give up Eve to write, as after being a carebear for about four or five years, I finally got brave and decided to pvp. Then joined a pirate corp, which turned into a pirate alliance, and now the guys are participating in the Alliance Tournaments (they are doing quite well at that, probably because I don't play anymore haha). 

Wife and I played WoW for a year and a half. She wants to play again, but I got bored of it. There's no risk vs. reward like Eve, so it's just boring for me. If you want to know what Eve is, imagine that when you pvp in WoW, and you die, instead of just respawning and your gear taking a little ding, your killer (or killers) get to loot your corpse of a random amount of your loot. Not only that, but they can also kill your 'ghost' and make you lose XP. So those 19 weeks of raiding Deathwing for 410 Heroic Epics (or whatever the latest stuff is) = you might lose them to another player. That's how serious Eve is. As pirates, we've made people rage-quit the game (and we don't do it on purpose to be jerks, pvp/piracy is part of the game and some players don't like spending months getting the top equipment only to get their little spaceship blown up in forty seconds when they jump into our system haha). 

Oh, and Rock Band 2 for Xbox360. Freaking LOVE this game, and we have almost 1,000 songs for it. Yeah, I know, Guitar Hero / Rock Band games are now old and lame, but we still play regularly. Even have a real drum pedal and custom drums (the heads are made of the same material trampolines are made of). 

*sigh* I KNEW there were lots of nerds here. I'm glad this thread was created!


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## Clark Magnan (May 23, 2013)

My wife and I are gamers. I started with the Commodore 64 (Oregon Trail, Impossible Mission...) and now mostly PC and Xbox360. We rent games, so I've at least tried just about everything. Lots of RPG's, though I've never gotten into an MMO. I've learned most of my history playing Paradox's historical simulations (Europa Universalis, Victoria, Hearts of Iron) and I'm currently establishing a Scandinavian empire in Crusader Kings II.


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## Zelah Meyer (Jun 15, 2011)

I have a lifetime account on LoTRO - but I'm giving it a break at the moment.  I think the crunch point for me was finishing the Hytbold re-build (a very lengthy grind) expecting all, or at least most, of the un-finished plot threads from the various towns & villages to be tied up once it was done.  I thought there would be a bunch of follow up quests to find out how things worked out for the characters.  They tied up one... ONE plot thread.  So much wasted potential.  

I have a tablet now (an Asus FonePad) and I'm playing games on that instead.  I'm loving Nimble Quest (Snake meets RPG) & Gin Rummy at the moment.  For when I want something mindless to play so that I can think about plots, etc. - Coin Dozer and Paplinko work well.


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## johnlmonk (Jul 24, 2013)

wilsonharp said:


> I have an original Wasteland 5 1/4 Floppy with the original packaging. One of the games that changed RPGs on computers.


That's awesome 

I saw Wizardry on sale in Steam the other day. I wonder if it's still possible to enjoy these old games the way we did back then.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

johnlmonk said:


> I'm just curious how many people here play or used to play video games, and what the effect is/has been on your writing. I'll start off. I used to play WOW, then quit for two years and wrote my first novel. I totally, totally, totally miss WOW  Instant fun, instant gratification, instant way never to become the writer I am today.
> 
> Other games that get in the way, though not as much:
> Civilization V
> ...


I've played WoW for almost 7 yrs. I have taken six month breaks from time to time just because the game can captivate you. However, since Cata, I've not had this problem. Games that have the ability to pull you in for days at a time are a time-suck and affect your creativity. They are addictive.


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## RinG (Mar 12, 2013)

HarryK said:


> On the subject of the Sims...isn't it depressing how easy it is for your Sim person to write a book (and get paid) compared to real life?


LOL. Yes, I often play author sims. Wish I could write that fast!



AngryGames said:


> I'm old too, and played pen & paper D&D, Shadowrun, Car Wars (Steve Jackson Games!), and whatever else I can't remember. Twilight 2000. Yeah, I that one. Because I love(d) anything post-nuke.


I've played the pen and paper Shadowrun too AngryGames. Loved that game, but it's been ages since I played. The new Shadowrun Returns PC game isn't bad though.


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## Herc- The Reluctant Geek (Feb 10, 2010)

AngryGames said:


> . I think my Steam thing says 368 hours total, which is very frightening.


In the long ago, before the GFC, I owned a computer gaming cafe. On the day WoW launched, everyone who worked at the shop signed up and for two years, we had a blast. Surprisingly enough, no one ever quit good old Hack'n'Slash and one quiet night we decided to check up on how many hours we'd all spent in game since launch.

One of the lads had spent - I kid you not - over 300 _days_ in game in two years. Nearly half off all his time since that fateful November day in 2004 had been spent in a virtual world. When you factor in eating, sleeping, etc etc, he actually spent most of his conscious time _outside_ reality.


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## brie.mcgill (Jun 5, 2013)

I always get my work done BEFORE gaming, so, sadly, there's not a lot of time left for gaming these days... When there is, it's a game-cation.

(Shh... and now everyone knows the real reason I need to quit both my day jobs...   )


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

Herc- The Reluctant Geek said:


> One of the lads had spent - I kid you not - over 300 _days_ in game in two years. Nearly half off all his time since that fateful November day in 2004 had been spent in a virtual world. When you factor in eating, sleeping, etc etc, he actually spent most of his conscious time _outside_ reality.


That's impressive for two years. Not as much as I've logged over my seven years, but a fantastic effort in such a short time. 368 hours is a month of moderate play.

A lot of the time that I invested in WoW (and especially in EVE) wasn't even while logged in. There's so much to learn and analyze! That's most of the appeal, really. EVE taught me a lot about spreadsheets and XML/XPATH, and I was hardly a novice at the time.

Talking about these things makes me want to set another WoL record or try my hand at awoxing highsec carebears. Sigh.


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

Big gamer here too; I don't know how I'd relax without them. I've loved games like Civ, The Settlers, Spore, Sims. Played quite a bit of SWG, LOTRO and EVE, though I fall in and out of online games a lot of the time as I can't keep the interest. If I ever need some SF inspiration I hop into Mass Effect - BOY, I'm a HUGE ME fan. 

But I don't play a huge amount these days as I'm too busy with writing or trying to cram in paying jobs so I can make more time for writing. Vicious circle!

Geoff


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

I don't think a controller would work for the type of PC games I like to play. You need good hotkey set-up and a lot of APM to be good at things like Starcraft and DOTA. But thanks for the thought


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## Vivienne Mathews (May 7, 2013)

Doomed Muse said:


> I don't think a controller would work for the type of PC games I like to play. You need good hotkey set-up and a lot of APM to be good at things like Starcraft and DOTA. But thanks for the thought


Well, drat, that's a shame! I use a Nostromo for hotkey-heavy games, but that would probably pose the same problems as a keyboard, huh? Your poor hands!


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## beccaprice (Oct 1, 2011)

To all you gamers who write fantasy: do you find yourself using tropes or concepts that can only be understood by other gamers? (i.e. I know what a real-world paladin is, but not how it's used in gaming, for example)


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

Will everyone point and laugh at me if I confess to having had a major Animal Crossing addiction a few years ago?


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## A. S. Warwick (Jan 14, 2011)

I'm an old gamer here.  Been so since the early 80s, starting with the Vic20. Got a huge collection of video games that have built up over the years.

Also a major pen and paper RPG player - D&D basic, 2e, 3e, 4e, variants such as Dark Sun, Iron Heroes, Iron Kingdoms - also Cyberpunk 2020, Rolemaster, Shadowrun and a number of others.  Dark Sun is the most awesome setting ever.  It does influence my writing from time to time, though nothing that has yet made an appearance.

Used to play a lot of WOW too.  It was turning into too much of a time sink and with everything else going on in my life taking up time, it had to go.  I miss it, and may go back someday but for now I don't have the time.

Oddly, I think my favourite games are older ones - Master of Orion 2, Morrowind and Emperor of the Fading Suns.  MOO3 bombed hard and there hasn't been a space building game to match MOO2 since if you ask me.  And Morrowind is one of the most original fantasy settings put in game.  Oblivion was a major let down and while Skyrim is good, it doesn't quite match Morrowind.  Partly that is due to it having more railroading going on.


----------



## brie.mcgill (Jun 5, 2013)

I think the original MOO trumps all...   (says the Darlok that can't stop stealing things)


----------



## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Rinelle Grey said:


> LOL. Yes, I often play author sims. Wish I could write that fast!
> 
> I've played the pen and paper Shadowrun too AngryGames. Loved that game, but it's been ages since I played. The new Shadowrun Returns PC game isn't bad though.


I bought the new Shadowrun on Steam, but haven't played it yet. I tend to let a game simmer for a month or three so the major patches it needs gets taken care of, then I start grinding it.

Btw, anyone else ever spend far too much time playing SimCity on the SNES? I remember building a good-but-not-huge city then letting it run overnight so I could wake up to a few hundred thousand dollars (then drop the tax rate to 0% and start building like crazy). Except more than half the time, I'd wake up to a bunch of flashing zones and a LOT of burned rubble from the disasters that took place during the night haha.

Diablo II is another game that I spent far too much time playing. When I met my wife, I got her hooked on video games by loading up D2 and telling her, "See those monsters? Click on them until they are dead. Now see that loot? Click on it to pick it up."

She was hooked, and still is. Now she's a monster in Team Fortress 2.

*wipes away a tear* I love you guys


----------



## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

beccaprice said:


> To all you gamers who write fantasy: do you find yourself using tropes or concepts that can only be understood by other gamers? (i.e. I know what a real-world paladin is, but not how it's used in gaming, for example)


The entirety of the world of Ere is based on my bloody-minded homebrew retrofits of D&D to fit my idea of fantasy. There is literally no other reason the halflings have spiked chains or that every god have at least a dozen bickering sects that see them as a different aspect.

Does anyone else know what I'm talking about when I mention Pun-Pun? Because I took that concept and ran with it.


----------



## Kristine McKinley (Aug 26, 2012)

Lydniz said:


> Will everyone point and laugh at me if I confess to having had a major Animal Crossing addiction a few years ago?


I will not, especially since when the new one came out on 3DS recently I spent 60 hours in the first 2 weeks playing it.

I've played the Sims 1, 2, and 3 off and on since they first came out and I'm sure the number of hours I've put in is in the thousands. I played WoW for a time but prefer to play by myself and when I realized I wouldn't play unless I had a solid 8 hours set aside I decided to stop. I love time sink games, I've played and beaten several Harvest Moon games, love the Rune Factory franchise. I've spent many hours plotting world domination in Civ IV and V. I love Saints Row 3 and I've been looking for an excuse to buy 4 since it came out. I haven't played, or written either for that matter, much in the last year because I've been so ill/tired with my first pregnancy but I'm already looking forward to one day introducing my daughter to games.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

I prefer card games, match 3's, hidden object and word games.


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## brie.mcgill (Jun 5, 2013)

I do like if my books culminate in some kind of "epic boss battle."


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## Sarah Ettritch (Jan 5, 2012)

I've gamed for years. One of my novels grew out of the backstory I wrote for an Oblivion (Elder Scrolls) character. I mainly play RPGs. To touch on some of the games mentioned in the thread: I'm also a LotRO lifer that gave it a rest after rebuilding Hyboldt. Love Mass Effect (and Dragon Age, Baldur's Gate). Morrowind kept me busy for years. I'd say more, but I'm off to play Skyrim...


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## Linda Barlow (Jul 5, 2013)

Another LOTRO lifer here. I was seriously addicted to that game until about a year ago. Hard-core raider, even. Before that I spent a couple of years playing Guild Wars 1 (I had high hopes for GW2, but was disappointed) and Morrowind. The Elder Scrolls has an MMO coming out next year, but I've been burned by so many new MMOs that I'm not expecting much. Still hoping for a beta invite, though LOL.

I didn't grow up with computer games because they didn't exist when I was a kid. But I bought the first Nintendo for myself (while pretending it was for my daughter) and lost myself in The Legend of Zelda. I've been hooked on gaming ever since.

I'm using my gaming experience in the series I'm now writing. The main characters are college friends who stay in touch regularly via an MMO that the geekiest one of them designed.


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## wilsonharp (Jun 5, 2012)

beccaprice said:


> To all you gamers who write fantasy: do you find yourself using tropes or concepts that can only be understood by other gamers? (i.e. I know what a real-world paladin is, but not how it's used in gaming, for example)


Not too often. I might throw in something that someone who is familiar with D&D might recognize as following an obscure rule or odd convention, but I try to stay pretty generic. Inside jokes are fine if they don't let those who aren't privy know that they've missed something.


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## Lizbooks (Mar 15, 2013)

I STILL play Morrowind. It really is one of the best games ever made, and probably my favorite Elder Scrolls game. I created my own city with the Construction Set and though I don't write epic fantasy, sometimes I find myself coming up with stories about things in the city, and then I start considering a new pen name.  Also a Sims fan! Sims 4 is coming out soon too.


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## johnlmonk (Jul 24, 2013)

A. S. Warwick said:


> I'm an old gamer here. Been so since the early 80s, starting with the Vic20. Got a huge collection of video games that have built up over the years.


Hehe, I used to play "Pirate's Cove" on the Vic 20, and another game about a haunted mansion. "get book, go left, drop hat" kind of games, text games. Eventually joined the old MUDs when they came around.

One of my favorite games of all times, on the C64, was Bard's Tale. I loved Bard's Tale 3, my favorite in the series.

Cheers


----------



## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

Nobody told me there was a new Animal Crossing out! Aargh!


----------



## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

johnlmonk said:


> Hehe, I used to play "Pirate's Cove" on the Vic 20, and another game about a haunted mansion. "get book, go left, drop hat" kind of games, text games. Eventually joined the old MUDs when they came around.
> 
> One of my favorite games of all times, on the C64, was Bard's Tale. I loved Bard's Tale 3, my favorite in the series.
> 
> Cheers


Seriously dude...did an evil scientist clone me? Bard's Tale 3 on the C64 with the 'anti-piracy wheel' caused me to lose more than a few months of my life.

Also, Karateka. That is all.


----------



## Vivienne Mathews (May 7, 2013)

Sarah Ettritch said:


> Love Mass Effect (and Dragon Age, Baldur's Gate). Morrowind kept me busy for years. I'd say more, but I'm off to play Skyrim...


Lord, I was _obsessed _with Mass Effect (1 and 2). Then came the third installment...










Why, Bioware? Just... why? 

Bringing it back to Becca's brilliant question: The fantasy novel of which I'm most proud (released under a pen name) was based on one of my Warhammer characters. Healers, ftw?


----------



## Robert A Michael (Apr 30, 2012)

I have been gaming since the early 80s. Anyone remember Karate Kid? 

Coded my own Star Trek game (total flop, since I could not save it to a drive--Atari 100).

I have never been a WoW fan, but I have played TONS of PS2, XBox 360, and PC games. I would have to say that some of the most influential games for me were Bioware games. Baldur's Gate and its expansions. Dragon Age: Origins. Mass Effect Trilogy (haters gonna hate), KOTOR and even Neverwinter to an extent. I just don't know another developer that is better at telling an immersive story like they do. Maybe Bethesda. Maybe Square Enix. 

I also became an FPS fan. It started with playing 007 on the Nintendo and then SOCOM on the PS2.  I got addicted to Tom Clancy's other titles (including Splinter Cell--which I love to play to this day. There has never been a better "stealth shooter" ever) and of course I have played every CoD since #3. I have logged a year of playing time (yes, 360+ days) on CoD and spent a month of play time on Battlefield 2, 3, and Medal of Honor 1 & 2--and am still no better than a 1.0 KD player. And yes, I have Nov. 5th circled on my calendar.

I have also gotten much enjoyment out of simple games like Age of Empires and Rome Total War (and several of its spin-offs). These are HUGE time sinks for me, though, as I will try to "win" the game in one sitting, typically. Not good. Especially if you are Parthia. 

I also raised my kids playing D&D with their friends. I was usually DM. I have loved Beta testing the new DnD Next. We have had a blast just tweaking stuff. It even spurred me to write a story based on our most recent game session. The first of the four novellas (160 pages or so) is due out before the end of September, called Stone & Blood. Sorry for the shameless plug.

I have learned to cut back some on my gaming and limit the time I spend playing. When juggling a day job, writing, four kids, a wife, reading, and an active faith, gaming seems to pale in comparison. Yet, it can dominate your life if you let it.

The question, though, was whether or not our writing reflects our gaming. The answer for me is: definitely.


----------



## xoxo (Sep 6, 2013)

I don't play video games much, just the occasional button masher to unwind (I like beat-'em-ups).

BUT I do play _computer games_, my great love being the old LucasArts adventure games like the Monkey Islands, the Indy games, Grim Fandango, Full Throttle etc. There's also a special place in my heart for the Discworld games (based on Pratchett's books and narrated by Eric Idle? What's not to love?). 
There's the cheesy Gabriel Knights (the only Sierra games I play), the Kyrandia series, the Syberias, the Broken Swords, the Simon the Sorcerers... Point being, I'm an adventure game girl. They are all about the story.
I don't like shooters, I'm too nervous for platforms, strategy games bore me, RPG's are too...turn based, survival horror is too scary, and I'm not social enough for MMO's. 
But I do enjoy watching someone else play, though.

Cinisajoy, I also like card games, and casual games like match-3 and HOG


----------



## Vivienne Mathews (May 7, 2013)

Robert A Michael said:


> Mass Effect Trilogy (haters gonna hate)...


----------



## johnlmonk (Jul 24, 2013)

AngryGames said:


> Seriously dude...did an evil scientist clone me? Bard's Tale 3 on the C64 with the 'anti-piracy wheel' caused me to lose more than a few months of my life.
> 
> Also, Karateka. That is all.


Haha, I remember that piracy wheel  Other games I loved on the C64:

Ultima 5 (or was it 4?) - I loved waiting for nightshade to bloom at a certain hour, then getting it for a potion. And I loved going around in a boat and finding new locations

Dragon Wars - kind of like Bards Tale
Defender of the Crown - I got pretty good at not hitting the other guy's horse when jousting.
Neuromancer - simply amazing.

Cheers


----------



## kwest (Mar 16, 2013)

I feel like I'm in a race against time to finish my series before the Elder Scrolls Online comes out. I know, once it does, that bad things could very well happen.


----------



## Sarah Ettritch (Jan 5, 2012)

Linda Barlow said:


> Before that I spent a couple of years playing Guild Wars 1 (I had high hopes for GW2, but was disappointed)...


I felt the same way. Loved the first Guild Wars and looked forward to the second one, but found it lacking. I missed heroes and henchmen, and coming up with my own builds (I often ran with a beastmaster who used a staff, rather than a bow). Oh well, fortunately there are plenty of other great games to play.

I'm not sure about the Elder Scrolls MMO. I find most MMOs bland, and the Elder Scrolls is my favourite series, so I suspect I'll be disappointed. But I might check it out for a month.


----------



## Herc- The Reluctant Geek (Feb 10, 2010)

kwest said:


> I feel like I'm in a race against time to finish my series before the Elder Scrolls Online comes out. I know, once it does, that bad things could very well happen.


I've already resigned myself to losing a little life when that releases. Ditto with Star Citizen and Shroud of the Avatar. Thank the Gods Blizzard cancelled Titan.


----------



## timskorn (Nov 7, 2012)

I've played a lot of games, even worked in the industry (SSSI, Ironlore)...when I started writing seriously, I pretty much gave them up. The only time I *might* play is some quick games with some friends (Orcs Must Die, L4D).

I've love to devote time to seriously play again but...at this point, it's honestly a huge time sink with little benefit. I was lucky enough to get a few jobs in the game industry, but for everyone else, what is there to show for the time invested? Not much!


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## Howietzer (Apr 18, 2012)

Pax Imperia, Warlords I and II, Dune, X-com and X-wing were some of the coolest games I played in college, but the pen and paper RPGs we use to play blew them all away. Ah, to have no responsibility again.


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## Linda Barlow (Jul 5, 2013)

We should start a Kboards guild for Elder Scrolls Online when it launches to remind each other to get back to writing!


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## RinG (Mar 12, 2013)

AngryGames said:


> Diablo II is another game that I spent far too much time playing. When I met my wife, I got her hooked on video games by loading up D2 and telling her, "See those monsters? Click on them until they are dead. Now see that loot? Click on it to pick it up."


How could I forget Diablo? Loved 1 & 2, haven't played three.



Kristine McKinley said:


> I haven't played, or written either for that matter, much in the last year because I've been so ill/tired with my first pregnancy but I'm already looking forward to one day introducing my daughter to games.


Introducing your kids to games is the most awesome fun. We play a lot of three player minecraft in this house, as well as a lot of Wii/WiiU games.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

*sigh* Defender of the Crown...how I miss all of those old C64 games (probably not other than Wasteland, but still...nostalgia). 

We regularly get 3-4 of us in the house playing games together, from Mario Kart Wii, to Rock Band 2, to Borderlands 2, to TF2, even did some WoW raiding and Eve pirating together. We all sort of gave up competitive multiplayer games like CoD and Battlefield as I got tired of hearing 94 different ways to copulate with my own mother. Totally into co-op games though. 

Torchlight 1 & 2 is another game we all like to spend a few mindless hours playing. Diablo III...just didn't have the magic that D1 and D2 did, but Torchlight 2 captures that Diablo feel (and loot...so much loot!)


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

Vaalingrade said:


> Does anyone else know what I'm talking about when I mention Pun-Pun? Because I took that concept and ran with it.


Oh God. What does he do with his unearthly munchkin powers? I'm not sure I even want to know....



kwest said:


> I feel like I'm in a race against time to finish my series before the Elder Scrolls Online comes out. I know, once it does, that bad things could very well happen.


Yeah, aren't they planning on 2014 now? I had figured it'd be late 2013, but good for Firor, Sage, et al. for sticking to "When It's Done." I hope ESO works out, even if I manage to stay away. After playing EVE, my main fear is that it'll be another theme park retread.

Apparently EverQuest Next is going to be sandbox, though, so that's-but no. Must be strong. Must work and write instead of being homeless MMO addict.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

All the writers who are jocks are just circling this thread, waiting for all the nerds to identify themselves.

Then the Great Wedgie-ing shall begin.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Vaalingrade said:


> All the writers who are jocks are just circling this thread, waiting for all the nerds to identify themselves.
> 
> Then the Great Wedgie-ing shall begin.


I've been expecting to be de-pantsed and punched in the stomach for a few hours now. I've actually been expecting this from myself, since I was both a nerd and a jock in school.

Anyone still hopeful that the Fallout MMO will ever see the light of day (and won't be fecal matter)?


----------



## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

AngryGames said:


> Anyone still hopeful that the Fallout MMO will ever see the light of day (and won't be fecal matter)?


I'd lay money on Fallout 4 as Bethesda's next title. I doubt we'll ever see a Fallout MMO, though.

Personally, I'm more interested to see what comes of Titan.


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## Deena Ward (Jun 20, 2013)

Vaalingrade said:


> All the writers who are jocks are just circling this thread, waiting for all the nerds to identify themselves.
> 
> Then the Great Wedgie-ing shall begin.


LOL! Now I'm afraid to answer -- almost. I don't play video games much these days, but I'm a long-time fan of games like Civ, SimCity, The Sims, Tropico, Starcraft, Theme Park, Zelda, etc. My favorite console games were from KOEI, specifically The Romance of the Three Kingdoms series. I shudder to think of how many hours I spent besieging the strongholds of Chinese warlords and trying to bribe the brilliant and invincible Guan Yu to join my side. And when they made it possible for you to create your own heirs, even as a ronin ... ahh, loved that game.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

Dolphin said:


> Oh God. What does he do with his unearthly munchkin powers? I'm not sure I even want to know....


I was part of the argument that led to the original Pun-Pun thread.

Imagine for a moment that someone then caught Pun-Pun in a pokeball and you have Rune Breaker.

Except, you know, he's not a kobold. Or a sandwich*. Gods alive, that was a weird thread.

*I can't remember how, but apparently Pun-Pun gets more broken if the DM allows you to shift him into an inanimate object and still use his psionic powers. The example was that Pun-Pun turns himself into a sandwich and then starts inscribing spells or something into his bread.


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## kwest (Mar 16, 2013)

Yes, ESO is definitely Spring 2014. It looks very promising, as it looks like to play more like an Elder Scrolls game than an MMO.

Maybe by that time, I will have be more responsible. I'm starting to realize that video games, while fun, don't really profit your life much in anyway. Wasted way too much time on them when I could have been writing and making money.


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

Linda Barlow said:


> We should start a Kboards guild for Elder Scrolls Online when it launches to remind each other to get back to writing!


Haha, SO true. Perhaps we can take it in shifts...group and kill, relax and write.


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

kwest said:


> Yes, ESO is definitely Spring 2014. It looks very promising, as it looks like to play more like an Elder Scrolls game than an MMO.
> 
> Maybe by that time, I will have be more responsible. I'm starting to realize that video games, while fun, don't really profit your life much in anyway. Wasted way too much time on them when I could have been writing and making money.


It's definitely hard to earn decent money from gaming (and often requires a lot of activities other than "gaming," strictly speaking), but I wouldn't trade the experiences I've had. The trouble is usually that nobody can relate to them, other than fellow gamers. Probably why we're happy to see each other here.


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## Guest (Sep 16, 2013)

Linda Barlow said:


> We should start a Kboards guild for Elder Scrolls Online when it launches to remind each other to get back to writing!


 

I am so much of a gamer that my gaming is inspired by gaming. I currently run a Skyrim-themed D&D game every Monday night. And our annual all-nighter this year for New Year's Eve is probably going to be based on Dragon Age.

I recently returned to WOW after a two-year hiatus. Also play SWToR. I also had the ill-fortune of discovering Steam and ended up playing Skyrim for a THIRD time now that we have the computer version and the Steam Workshop with thousands of mods (marriable Ulfric!)

I will say, however, that gaming helps me write. When I am frustrated (either with a project or work or real-life stuff) I can't write. But gaming for an hour or so and taking out hostilities on unsuspecting dragons and orcs can be very relaxing.   And sometimes that immersion into another world helps shut off the real world and let me jump into MY fictional setting easier.


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## brie.mcgill (Jun 5, 2013)

As a lady gamer, I never got wedgied, only monstrously hit on.  

My dad tried to kickstart my gamer tendencies with the old King's Quest games... ahh, those were good days.

I think the occaisonal story-rich gamecation is totally important. Joss Whedon talks about the importance of gorging on stories in your downtime to keep the creative mind well-stocked with ideas.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Well, just in case anyone cares, my Steam username: angrygames

if you play Team Fortress 2, my wife would dig being your Medic or if you are a Medic, she'll be your Heavy


----------



## jnfr (Mar 26, 2011)

I met my husband on a MUSE. We spent our courtship playing Magic the Gathering.

That was nearly 20 years ago, and there's hardly a game mentioned in this thread that one or both of us haven't played, usually for years (and that includes Animal Crossing  )

In spite of playing WOW on and off for years, I found that when I started writing I couldn't play much any more. I was very much into the lore there, but I've found that once I fill my head with my own stories, I have a hard time letting someone else's stories in (I read less, too). Hubby still logs in for dailies and raids, but I mostly stick to Sims and Warlock and PvZ these days, games where there's not much story or I make up my own.


----------



## avwrite (Feb 11, 2013)

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Bioshock.  In my personal opinion, the writing and story telling of Bioshock usually get talked more about than the actual gameplay.

Other personal favorites of mine are for story and gameplay:
The Fallout series
The Persona series
The Dead Space series
Blazblue & Guilty Gear (the only fighting games that actually have a story)
Castlevania (though the story is cheesy, I love those Metroid-vania games.  I wish they would make more of them)
Chrono Trigger & Cross
and even though the series has been nosediving, I'll have to give Final Fantasy credit for getting me into games in the first place


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## Vivienne Mathews (May 7, 2013)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> I also had the ill-fortune of discovering Steam and ended up playing Skyrim for a THIRD time now that we have the computer version and the Steam Workshop with thousands of mods (marriable Ulfric!)


And marriable Brynjolf!



Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> I will say, however, that gaming helps me write. When I am frustrated (either with a project or work or real-life stuff) I can't write. But gaming for an hour or so and taking out hostilities on unsuspecting dragons and orcs can be very relaxing.   And sometimes that immersion into another world helps shut off the real world and let me jump into MY fictional setting easier.


It's like you plucked the words directly from my brain, you lovely thief, you!


----------



## William Stacey (Jul 7, 2012)

johnlmonk said:


> Wasteland changed my life. Wonderful, wonderful game. Back when crappy graphics ruled.
> I played Eve Online for a while - so glad I stopped  Fun though.


I may burn in hell for pointing this out now that you've broken away from it, but Wasteland 2 is coming out.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2


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## William Stacey (Jul 7, 2012)

Does anyone remember the old Pool of Radiance for the C64? It was (I believe) the first ever dungeons and dragons game for the PC. The graphics are totally dated, but man was it a ton of fun. What a blast.

These days The Secret World and the Total War games are my addition. There is nothing better than flanking an enemy army--especially when it's bigger than yours--and watching it start to crumble and route.

Good times, good times.

I wonder if I could ever use the battle stuff in a novel?


----------



## johnlmonk (Jul 24, 2013)

William Stacey said:


> I may burn in hell for pointing this out now that you've broken away from it, but Wasteland 2 is coming out.
> 
> http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2


Dang you William Stacey....! Dang you to heck...!
(jk, that's awesome, I'm so there)

Also, I totally remember Pool of Radiance


----------



## Lizbooks (Mar 15, 2013)

avwrite said:


> Chrono Trigger & Cross
> and even though the series has been nosediving, I'll have to give Final Fantasy credit for getting me into games in the first place


The Chrono games are amazing--truly classic. And the music, particularly in Chrono Cross, is so good. I got the soundtrack when it was re-released a few years ago and I write while listening to it all the time. Scars of Time is a great, great song.

After reading this, I really want to dig out my copies of FFVII and VIII (which is very underrated, IMO).


----------



## brie.mcgill (Jun 5, 2013)

Chrono music fans, has anyone listened to The Brink of Time? It's 10 different tracks, played acid jazz style. Definitely on my list of guilty pleasures.


----------



## MitchHogan (May 17, 2013)

I've played RPG's from way, way back and am still playing. From Bards Tales to Baldurs Gate in the beginning etc. Trouble is they're a great way to not get any writing done! I gave up WoW (was a raid healer, some heroic raids), and switched to SWTOR but got really annoyed when I went on a 4 week holiday, came back and all my gear was obsolete.
Now I play Guild Wars 2 for the WvW and minimal gear ladder. I can just jump on anytime, even not play for a month and it's no big deal. Not having to keep up the gear progression is a huge plus.


----------



## Mark Philipson (Mar 9, 2013)

I used to play Silent Service and Zaxxon in the 80s. Most of writing influence is from reading or life experience.


----------



## Herc- The Reluctant Geek (Feb 10, 2010)

Talk of all these old games has sent me on a nostalgia trip. Good ol' Pool of Radiance. It's abandonware now and you can download and play using Dosbox. I'm not sure how you get around the copyprotection because here in Aus, you needed the manual.

http://www.myabandonware.com/game/pool-of-radiance-1u2

*Warning. There are many golden oldies on that site and visiting could lead to serious procrastination.

I should have heeded my own warning.

http://www.myabandonware.com/game/sword-of-aragon-s5

There goes the day...


----------



## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

*cough*










*cough*

I used to be able to play for over an hour on a single quarter at my local 7-11...


----------



## wilsonharp (Jun 5, 2012)

Here is how you get around the copy protection; you find a site where someone has scanned the manual.

http://www.c64sets.com/pool_radiance.html


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## Herc- The Reluctant Geek (Feb 10, 2010)

wilsonharp said:


> Here is how you get around the copy protection; you find a site where someone has scanned the manual.
> 
> http://www.c64sets.com/pool_radiance.html


And there goes another day...


----------



## jnfr (Mar 26, 2011)

Good Old Games. For all your MOO2, Master of Magic, and Alone in the Dark 1,2, and 3 needs. They'll help you sort out the DOSBox issues, too.


----------



## donnajherren (Mar 7, 2013)

I used to play table top RPGs, and that really affected the way I write in that now, everything for me begins and ends with the characters.  As for video games, I've been playing Skyrim these days.

Conversely, being a writer has made it difficult to play some video games.  I can't touch recent Bioware titles because all I can see are the numerous ways they're falling short and breaking my solid-plot-loving heart.  *shakes fist*


----------



## donnajherren (Mar 7, 2013)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> I am so much of a gamer that my gaming is inspired by gaming. I currently run a Skyrim-themed D&D game every Monday night. And our annual all-nighter this year for New Year's Eve is probably going to be based on Dragon Age.


  I want to play both of these, especially the D&D. What edition do you play? You know what, I'll just invite myself over. Should I bring pie? LOL


----------



## Christina Neely (Sep 17, 2013)

I'm a huge Final Fantasy fan and most of my writing is in the fantasy genre with characters traveling to other worlds.  I also tend to have my characters band together to fight a common enemy or accomplish a goal.  So Yes I would say playing video games has influenced my writing.


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## Guest (Sep 17, 2013)

donnajherren said:


> I want to play both of these, especially the D&D. What edition do you play? You know what, I'll just invite myself over. Should I bring pie? LOL


Bribery for the GM is always welcome.  I use to reward bonus XP by the pound of chocolate...until my friend Mike baked a chocolate cake and brought it over one evening (he's a professional chef by trade). The cake was amazing, but you know that ended up a lot of bonus XP and he ended up jumping two levels. 

3.5/OGL. I still hold a grudge for some things WoTC tried to pull pre-4th edition launch, so I refuse to change.

All my Skyrim notes are actually posted on my blog. Feel free to use them: http://bardsandsages.com/**********/2013/05/20/skyrim-homebrew-campaign/


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## NicWilson (Apr 16, 2011)

I'm looking forward to being able to game again. I've been procrastinating on even starting to play Skyrim, because I know it'll suck several months out of my life, and I need to get a few more books out before that happens. For my birthday, I put in a preorder for the new Batman game, and it'll be painful having to wait to play it until I've finished my writing goals for November.

Honestly, I find games a bit inspiring. I think it's easier for games to create much more depth to their setting, and a more engrossing feel than movies, even when the story is a house of cards. So playing games puts me in different mindsets that can make me more receptive to engrossing myself in my own writing.

I'm playing small chunks of Silent Hill 2 right now, in anticipation for a psychological thriller/horror project I hope to start writing after I've gotten my next two novels revised.  An hour of the game, with those jarring sound effects, and the continual sense of threat... It gives me several paragraphs of outline, just because I'm so anxious, I'm already in my character's head.

I played WoW briefly, but there's no way I'm getting back to it. It's not fun unless you WANT it to be a time-suck. Plus, my wife would divorce me the day she saw me playing it. She games right alongside me, but she has family members whose WoW use has developed into a mental illness.

GoG is addicting. The wife keeps insisting she's going to take me through The Dark Seed, the Gabriel Knight series, and the Chzo series. We did get through The Dig, and I enjoyed it. Not sure I have her nostalgia for the art style, though.


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> 3.5/OGL. I still hold a grudge for some things WoTC tried to pull pre-4th edition launch, so I refuse to change.


I don't blame you, but how have you dealt with all of the broken bits of 3.5? Stuff like Pun-Pun, chargers dealing four and five figures of damage in a single round, super-gishes with 9th-level spells and better melee attacks than earnest warriors, &c. Do you and your players simply avoid munchkinism by tacit agreement?

The biggest problem for me was always that 3.5 spellcasters are godlike and nobody can compete against them at high levels. Except for Rogue-based skill monkeys, most characters who can't cast spells are only good at combat, but spells like _Contingency_ mean that casters always act first and need only act once. It bothers me at low levels too, in the back of my mind.

Your Skyrim homebrew looks pretty ballin. Tamriel started out as a D&D campaign, as I recall, so that seems quite appropriate!


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## A. S. Warwick (Jan 14, 2011)

johnlmonk said:


> Hehe, I used to play "Pirate's Cove" on the Vic 20, and another game about a haunted mansion. "get book, go left, drop hat" kind of games, text games. Eventually joined the old MUDs when they came around.
> 
> One of my favorite games of all times, on the C64, was Bard's Tale. I loved Bard's Tale 3, my favorite in the series.
> 
> Cheers


I remember Pirate's Cove and the haunted house one. From memory we had four of those text based adventure games, but i can't remember what they were called now.

Ah, google-fu is my friend. 5 actually - Adventure Land, Pirate's Cove, Mission Impossible, Voodoo Castle and The Count. Ah, memories. My dad actually started writing a game for the Vic20 in the same style - saved on cassette tapes of course.


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## A. S. Warwick (Jan 14, 2011)

Dolphin said:


> I don't blame you, but how have you dealt with all of the broken bits of 3.5? Stuff like Pun-Pun, chargers dealing four and five figures of damage in a single round, super-gishes with 9th-level spells and better melee attacks than earnest warriors, &c. Do you and your players simply avoid munchkinism by tacit agreement?
> 
> The biggest problem for me was always that 3.5 spellcasters are godlike and nobody can compete against them at high levels. Except for Rogue-based skill monkeys, most characters who can't cast spells are only good at combat, but spells like _Contingency_ mean that casters always act first and need only act once. It bothers me at low levels too, in the back of my mind.
> 
> Your Skyrim homebrew looks pretty ballin. Tamriel started out as a D&D campaign, as I recall, so that seems quite appropriate!


4E had plenty of problems - but 3.X had more for me, which you pretty much covered. 3.X is far too easy to break and makes melee second class citizens, which I hate. My preference is for melee, in the vein of Conan, Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, Lord of the Rings and the like. 3.X just doesn't get that balance right. The Iron Heroes ariant of 3.x is good in that regard but it turned out a bit over-complicated and not really finished.


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## Guest (Sep 17, 2013)

Dolphin said:


> I don't blame you, but how have you dealt with all of the broken bits of 3.5?


I just say "no."

My players know that I am more than a GM. I am God. Correction, I am EVERY GOD IN THE SETTING PANTHEON! And if they tick me off enough with broken uses of rules, I return the favor. Nothing stops an argument faster than me saying "Just remember, if I let a PC do it, that means NPCs and monsters can do it as well." Then I gently place my hand on the Monster Manual IV, and they back down.


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## johnlmonk (Jul 24, 2013)

A. S. Warwick said:


> I remember Pirate's Cove and the haunted house one. From memory we had four of those text based adventure games, but i can't remember what they were called now.
> 
> Ah, google-fu is my friend. 5 actually - Adventure Land, Pirate's Cove, Mission Impossible, Voodoo Castle and The Count. Ah, memories. My dad actually started writing a game for the Vic20 in the same style - saved on cassette tapes of course.


Voodoo Castle! Oh yeah. I got stuck on this one for the longest time: "wave juju" - had to wave a juju bag to open a door. Sigh...


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## DRMarvello (Dec 3, 2011)

I've wanted to write a fantasy novel since I played D&D in the late 70's and early 80's. I was a DM and often thought about turning my campaign notes into stories. I went a couple of decades without any gaming, and then got reintroduced with PC games like Unreal Tournament, Mount & Blade, Half-Life 2, and Counter-Strike. Playing Elder Scrolls/Oblivion was what finally inspired me to sit down and give fiction writing a try. The detail was so engaging that it made me want to create my own story world. 

When I started writing, I gave up gaming. I often miss gaming, but not enough to trade writing time for it.


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## HarryK (Oct 20, 2011)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> I am so much of a gamer that my gaming is inspired by gaming. I currently run a Skyrim-themed D&D game every Monday night.


I have one of those going too! I guess it's not actually Skyrim themed as much as it is Viking/Norse themed, but I used Skyrim as an example of something that would be kinda similar when talking to my players about it. We're using Basic D&D (B/X) rules. Old school, yo!


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