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The Last Games You'd Play?
Posted by
Cliff
on Sat Nov 25, 2006 06:58 PM
from the a-gamer's-last-hurrah dept.
from the a-gamer's-last-hurrah dept.
Rigor Morty asks: "I am an older man (44), an avid fan of video games, and I am faced with a problem; my hands are becoming arthritic as I get older. I fear I will soon have to completely give up the console games I have loved over the years. To that end, let me ask the Slashdot Nation — if you were going to give it up, what games would you insist on playing before you had to quit? I'm willing to make some effort to do this, and spend some cash; I will buy the new consoles if I need to, or try to find obscure titles."
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Me..? (Score:4, Funny)
Its' 110+ hours. If I'm not sick of gaming after that, I'll never get sick of games
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd play whatever I want, via emulators, with a user input device that doesn't aggravate my arthritis.
Dance Dance Revolution (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re:Dance Dance Revolution (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, getting a lot of exercise is one of the best things you can do [arthritis.org] for arthritis.
I'm 30, I also have arthritis, and it's worst in my fingers. Good muscular support around my major joints is one thing that keeps me from feeling the effects there. I'll never be able to play golf, but if I keep in good shape I should be able to swim, bike, and run well into my 70s.
Parent
Re:Dance Dance Revolution (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re:Me..? (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
Re:Me..? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Think outside the xbox. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Think outside the xbox. (Score:4, Interesting)
Or "Go". Easy to learn, difficult to master.
Parent
Re:Think outside the xbox. (Score:4, Informative)
All you need to do to get better in Go is to play more games. A large part of its allure is that playing more games increases your strength, starting from the very first game you play right up until you've played for 60 or 70 years straight. You always get stronger at Go with each passing game, and even this generation's top professionals are much stronger than last generation's.
(To respond to the two examples the parent gave above: As far as learning when regions are alive and dead, you should learn as part of your initial instruction into the rules exactly what makes a group alive or dead. A group with at least two 'eyes' is alive. Although you will know that definition, it takes a reasonable number of games for that to be internalized, as do many of its other niceties.
And as far as knowing when the game is over, that is something else that takes time to fully grasp. Within two months of playing, you will probably be able to say for certain, without any outside help, when the game is over. Of course that statement is a bit simplified, as lower-ranked players will miss certain plays that could gain them some points in the end-game, but the point is that true beginners often feel like they do not know when the game should be ended, whereas somebody who has play for one to two months semi-regularly would have a very good idea when to end it.)
Parent
Re:Think outside the xbox. (Score:4, Interesting)
Chess can be just as aggravating.
Parent
Re:Think outside the xbox. (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Think outside the xbox. (Score:4, Insightful)
Insightful??
Did nobody consider that rock climbing with early onset arthritis, would be a pretty fucking seriously extreme sport?!
Parent
this has got to be (Score:5, Funny)
Hold on there Nic. (Score:4, Insightful)
I won't bore you with all the injuries I've suffered in my life from sports to Vietnam to the fire service or tell you about my arthritis or skin cancer and other minor problems. I will tell you that I am a month and a few days shy of 62, I run 6 miles every other day, surf whenever I can get to an ocean and I can sport a nice rod just thinking about shanking my neighbor's girlfriend; I'd never do that because he is a brother firefighter....on the other hand......
Sorry to get off on a tangent. My point is, you can not let pain or the disability that comes with older age rule your life. It can be overcome with spirit and determination.
Parent
Re:this has got to be (Score:4, Funny)
Yeah, but this is Slashdot, so we know you aren't.
Parent
zelda (Score:5, Interesting)
I've got happy memories which will last me a life time from these games, I feel happy recomending them.
Ms. Pacman (Score:3, Interesting)
-Charlie
P.S. You can probably play it with arthritic hands too, just modify the screw on joystick head and play it with your palm.
What about fingering your wife's vagina? (Score:4, Funny)
You should give her at least one shocker. Two in the pink, one in the stink. I'll let you figure that one out on your own.
But really, video games should be the least of your concerns. Fingering your wife is what really matters in life.
Re:What about fingering your wife's vagina? (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:What about fingering your wife's vagina? (Score:4, Funny)
girls have cooties
and they're way more expensive than the latest video game system
Parent
Re:What about fingering your wife's vagina? (Score:4, Funny)
I bought a PS3, you insensitive clod!
Parent
What about the Wii? (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Other good options: (Score:4, Informative)
DDR. No fingers required.
Light-gun games. Use one hand to aim and the other to pull the trigger.
RPG's. Most menu-based games play fine with feet controllers, or without fine motor movements.
Point-n-click adventure games like The Longest Journey.
Singstar.
As for last games suggestions it would really depend upon what kinds of things you enjoy playing. I'd go Ikaruga on the GC (not Dreamcast), and Radiant Silvergun on the Saturn. I'd plug Guitar Hero, but it's usually enough to induce arthritis in most people. Katamari Damacy (PS2). Ore no Ryouri [pandora.be] (PS1). Bionic Commando [thealmightyguru.com] (NES). I'd get some interested friends together and throw some Saturn Bomberman parties.
Really, what you should do is grab your gaming friends, have them bring over their NES / Atari / whatever old systems they have around, and just play as many different things as possible one night a week every week. By the time your hands go, you'll have played through a slice of history, and you'll have some very close friends.
Parent
Advanced Gaming (Score:4, Insightful)
What are you talking to us for? (Score:3, Funny)
In 20 years stem cell technology will have progressed so that you can grow a brand new Wii controller right in the palm of your hand anyway.
The only game that matters... (Score:4, Funny)
I was assuming he already had the masturbation angle covered.
Parent
Go out gracefully (Score:3, Insightful)
44 = old? (Score:5, Funny)
44 is "old"? Oh shit!
Re:44 = old? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Arthiritic? At 44? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Arthiritic? At 44? (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
The first game you played? (Score:4, Insightful)
Playing the first game you played last at least seems poetic. Nostalgia may help for a pleasant send-off.
For me, though it I'd want to play the original Super Mario Bros for the NES. First game and first console I owned.
Forget consoles... (Score:4, Funny)
Do a LOT of masturbating now, before the arthritis takes away the ability.
LK
Game (Score:5, Funny)
More info (Score:5, Insightful)
Generally, if neither hand controllers like traditional joysticks nor shoulder-and-elbow controllers like the Wii suit you, then persistant speed-driven games and twitch games are pretty much out. No more tetris, no more street fighter, no more heli attack. On the other hand, timing based games like You Don't Know Jack and Jeopardy are largely unaffected, if you can type. Most turn based games - not just civilization, but traditional games like chess and poker, untimed puzzle games like bejewelled and bookworm, puzzles like sudoku and crosswords, et cetera.
It's more productive to ask which games are removed, and then to just look at a game catalog or a game site, than it is to ask which games are left. All of the console manufacturers have lists of games on their websites. The internet game sale sites have lists, too, unsurprisingly. Look for games which work with input devices you can still use - mice, keyboards, the microphone, et cetera. If you can use the joystick in some situations but not others, figure out what those situations are. Sure you can't play Tekken anymore, but is that because these two specific fingers are hurting, or all of them? What about your wrists? Can you play Wii Sports? There's only one button press anywhere in Wii Sports, namely letting go of the bowling ball.
The disease you have is terrible, but it's also very different for different people. There are a lot of games that are probably still open to you, but until we know what you can and cannot do, as well as what you do and do not enjoy, we can't give you good advice.
I feel for you, man. It's awful. I'm starting to feel it; I'll be where you are in five, maybe ten years if I'm lucky. There are a lot of games left for you, but you get any five people in the room and you're lucky to find two games in common. We need more data.
Heh. (Score:5, Insightful)
I know it's predictable... (Score:3, Informative)
Two (Score:3, Informative)
1) Thief: Deadly Shadows (actually any of the Thief series but you specified console)
2) Oblivion.
Mouse replacements (Score:4, Interesting)
Consider a flight sim (Score:4, Interesting)
Tempest (Score:4, Funny)
When you become to arthritic to play it though, you have to give it to me.
You didn't really say what kinds of games you like (Score:4, Insightful)
Additionally, you haven't described the limitations of your medical issue.
Firstly if you like playing games, why stop? Is it only the button mashing games that you like? There are so many games that you don't need to stop playing. Just find something you enjoy that doesn't aggravate your condition.
Second, forget consoles. They are more likely to cause CTS or other issues than support a medical issue. Go PC. Just PC. Unlike consoles, PCs have hundreds of interfaces designed for everything from people with disabilities through to being ergonomic to support sufferers of similar ailments. Even without knowing what your issue is, if you can move a part of your body, you can buy something for a PC that lets you emulate mouse and keyboard.
PCs cost more, and you'll need to aim high for a games box, but the disadvantage of consoles is that they are designed with a difficulty level around the controller for normal people. This is something you clearly are not (by your own admission). So if you already have problems, then why waste it playing games on a controller designed for hands without medical issues.
Also, use the benefits of age. If you don't want to mash buttons, play more adventure games, where reaction time isn't critical. And when you play action games, choose games where you can play in a way that suits you.
As an example - consider BF2 for the PC. Even if you were nearly crippled, you could still play commander online, without any difficulty at all... Just with a voice interface alone. No keyboard or mouse. Of course, you'd probably want a Push To Talk button set up for your headset, although you could just use VOX. And if you want to get into the action, play sniper... Just sit, wait and take your time on each shot.
Additionally, for flight sims, you can use full size controllers... Joysticks. No rapid movement needed there. If you can still drive a car, you can use a wheel interface. Again, nothing complex there. (And Wheel interfaces are available on most consoles.)
But as I mentioned, console games tend (though not always) be designed around the console controller and controller limitations to provide an element of difficulty. PC games are designed around a keyboard that no two people seem to have the same one of, mouses that vary from house to house and the odd USB connected device that someone bought on special. The only thing left for PC game designers to challenge is your mind.
Avoid games that require precise timing and button mashing. They cause issues for those older players amongst us that don't have arthritis too!.
Finally, don't take the attitude of playing games quickly while you still can. That's pessimistic and you're setting your own limitation. Work to enjoy games for as long as you live and while you still enjoy them. For most of us, that's as long as we live.
Anyway an opinion. I'm not that far of where you say your are. I am starting to feel something in my fingers that I suspect is the onset of age. But unless I end up so crippled I can't live a normal life anymore, I don't ever think I'll stop playing games, and often I remind myself they are one of the few things I can still enjoy even if I do.
GrpA.
Zelda, Ocarina of Time (Score:4, Informative)
That said there are plenty of other games other than video games. You can't beat a game of cards with friends.
If you haven't travelled, get your buzz from seeing other cultures before little things get too difficult.
Fallout 1 and/or 2 (Score:4, Informative)
O RLY? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:44 is "older"? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Change what you eat, drink more fresh water. (Score:5, Funny)
Me : They said if you eat healthy foods like fresh fruits and veggies, and give up caffeine, salt, fatty foods, spicy / hot foods, tobacco, sugar and meat - you should be fine.
OP : So basically I'm fucked.
Me : Pretty much, yea.
Parent