The Last Games You'd Play? 529
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."
Me..? (Score:4, Funny)
Its' 110+ hours. If I'm not sick of gaming after that, I'll never get sick of games
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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)
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By switching to PC games she freed herself from having to hold the controller. Now she simply rests her hands on the mouse and keyboard to play.
The type of game also seems to matter as to how often she can play as does the weather. First Person Shooters (twitch games) aren't her thing. An
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.
Re:Dance Dance Revolution (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:Me..? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Me..? (Score:4, Interesting)
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This way, I can play for a few minutes at a time, or get sucked in for an entire weekend now and again.
p.s. I don't have arthritis, but I do prefer a full-sized keyboard to a VG controller. I also assume that the ability to pause whenever you want is a plus.
p.p.s. You can borrow my Power Glove
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Think outside the xbox. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Think outside the xbox. (Score:4, Interesting)
Or "Go". Easy to learn, difficult to master.
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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.)
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A good AI algorithm for GO has not yet been discovered. The number of states is extremely high and a board configuration is hard to evaluate, which make it hard to write good (and fast) AI for it.
Wikipedia has an entire article [wikipedia.org] explaining it in details.
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Re:Think outside the xbox. (Score:4, Interesting)
Chess can be just as aggravating.
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Re:Think outside the xbox. (Score:4, Insightful)
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?!
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Well yeah, that's kind of the poster's point. While he can still use his hands, he should try and do some stuff that needs 'em. Video games are for when you're stuck inside.
also, speaking as a person who paid extra for the opportunity to dive with sharks, It's not as dangerous as you'd think, and then you have the story. (the reason I paid extra is that you almost never see sharks while diving under normal circumstances. Similarly, you almost never see bears or coyotes w
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If you think going outside is so terribly dangero
this has got to be (Score:5, Funny)
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What gets me...the into saying he is an old man at age 44.
I used to think that was ancient...but, man...you get closer to that....it ain't ancient. I pretty much think like I did as a kid or in my mid 20's....I just have more money now!!! Ok...so, that hangovers are a little worse...and thing creak a little, but, other than that....I don't fee
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.
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I'm 41 and I know that if I agree that 44 is old then I will be paying for it in three years time. The fact is that this has little to do with age. I am in better shape than I was when I was 20 and I plan to be in better condition by 60.
The poster may have an overuse injur
Re:this has got to be (Score:4, Funny)
Yeah, but this is Slashdot, so we know you aren't.
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.
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-Charlie
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)
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Or just find/make an input device that fits your mobility and keep playing.
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
Re:What about fingering your wife's vagina? (Score:4, Funny)
I bought a PS3, you insensitive clod!
What about the Wii? (Score:5, Informative)
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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.
Advanced Gaming (Score:4, Insightful)
Depends on the type of games you enjoy (Score:2, Insightful)
[And if you don't want arthritis, (1) give up meat and (2) improve your elimination -- I take senna leaves daily.]
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.
Go out gracefully (Score:3, Insightful)
Eight Ball Deluxe! (Score:2)
44 = old? (Score:5, Funny)
44 is "old"? Oh shit!
Re:44 = old? (Score:5, Funny)
Arthiritic? At 44? (Score:5, Interesting)
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if he has arthritis at 44 it's not wear and tear
That's completely untrue. I've had osteoarthritis (the wear and tear type) since I was 25. Traumatic injury, various diseases, bad genes, bad luck, or some combination of these can all be responsible for early onset osteoarthritis.
Re:Arthiritic? At 44? (Score:5, Informative)
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.
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Roger that. The 2600 is the first console I really got to play, but I moved on to the C64 after that. Of course if you want to give up gaming, you could always get ahold of a 2600 and go back and play E.T. until you have no further desire to touch a gaming system. Should take about 10 minutes.
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Ditto. And I'd have my wife wrap it and put it and the NES console (in original box) under the tree so I can scamper down the stairs all bleery eyed and shred it like I was 7 again... ah, good times.
But I don't think they make footie pajamas for folks my size... and if they do, well... that's just creepy.
But for the original poster - man get a Wii and play for the next decade, don't give up.
Forget consoles... (Score:4, Funny)
Do a LOT of masturbating now, before the arthritis takes away the ability.
LK
no need to despair (Score:2)
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.
Acupuncture (Score:2, Interesting)
Tales of Phantasia on PS1 (Score:2)
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.
get a wii (Score:2)
Secret of Mana (Score:2, Informative)
I swear, it is the most beautiful game in the world.
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If it's possible to emulate, or to run on the Wii, that might
Mouse replacements (Score:4, Interesting)
Consider a flight sim (Score:4, Interesting)
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My favorites... (Score:2)
None of them involve the whole if-it-moves-shoot-it thing. Maybe that's your cup of tea, but if not...
Flight Simulator.
Syberia.
Chess.
Ballance (rare, but fun).
MS Train Simulator.
Civilization (or FreeCiv).
Zork (sometimes the imagination is better than any graphics).
wii!? (Score:2)
Resident Evil 4 and Goldeneye (Score:2)
Tempest (Score:4, Funny)
When you become to arthritic to play it though, you have to give it to me.
Last games (Score:2)
A: All.
Games I would want to play (Score:2, Insightful)
Katamari Damacy (PS2)
Lego Star Wars (Various)
Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1)
Final Fantasy 7 (Various)
If you're partial to older consoles (and in particular, RPGs):
Secret of Mana (SNES)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Final Fantasy 6 (SNES)
Contra (NES) [Not an RPG]
You seemed to specify console gaming. If you somehow haven't yet had the opportunity to play first person shooters on a computer, that is also something
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.
eliminate the time factor (Score:2)
For the future, let me take the chance to plug my favorite turn-based MMORPG, Kingdom of Loathing (kingdomofloathing.com). This game may seem very "silly" at first glance, but the game has two wonderful leve
My top 5 (Score:2)
I suppose it says something about me that my recommended games are mostly platformers on the Playstation2:
Okay, I said I'd post 5, but here's another few for you. Consider it a
Strategy (Score:2)
Fallout 1 and/or 2 (Score:4, Informative)
Descent!!! (Score:3, Interesting)
A really terrible one (Score:3, Funny)
That way, you won't regret it at all when you quit.
- RG>
Change what you eat, drink more fresh water. (Score:3, Insightful)
That way you can be dealing more directly with the arthritis, which may allow you to game for much longer.
Eat everything as fresh as possible. Start with more calcium (dodge meat, the calcium & acid ratios suck). Sulfur-containing foods are helpful (asparagus, eggs, garlic, & onions) as they help calcium assimilation as well as repair in general, as is fresh pineapple for the bromelain in it. Stick to green, leafy vegetables, oatmeal, whole grains (especially for the Vitmain K). Add potatoes, lots of veggie juice, bananas, food with histidine (wheat, rye, rice), & some vitamins (B-12 & C, at least).
Avoid milk, fatty foods, salt, caffeine, anything really hot, tobacco, sugar & of course avoid meat as much as possible, since they all do nasty things to arthritic suffering. It helps to view arthritis as a class of diseases instead of just one way of suffering; what you’re trying to do here is axe the whole class.
If you can do that, a lot more than the games will benefit, but they’ll be amongst the first.
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.
Solution (Score:3, Interesting)
On a more serious note, the Wii controller is very nice for a variety of games because it takes the focus off the hands, but I'm actually wondering if using a controller might actually have some therapeutic value for you. The drawback of most controllers is that the range of motion is, by design, made as small as possible, but with arthritis, what you actually want is fuller range of motion to articulate the joints as fully as possible.
Personally, I think moving to a Wii will be nice for you--and hey, what about games like Dance, Dance, Revolution, which is really great for fitness and does not require your hands at all? Also, I'd say get yourself into some kind of physical activity that uses your hands through a full range of motion. Keeping your hands active is the best way to fight off the effects of arthritis although, yes, it is painful. The alternative is a rapid decent into limited range of motion and a large amount of pain.
In combination with those measures, we're probably not that far from further control innovations like retinal tracking for targetting (Wii is already tracking your controller; it won't be long before we're watching head movement or even hand waving with a wristband). Wii is really paving the way for the entrance of these advancements in controllers, so the future is brighter than you may think! I think you will be able to happily play games for your entire life, if you take some preventative care steps now and ride the wave of technology innovations that are on the way.
The only game you need to play (Score:3, Funny)
Drop consoles, go PC (Score:3, Informative)
Deus Ex (Score:3, Insightful)
1) Deus Ex. The original (NOT Deus Ex 2) For PC, probably the best game I ever played and although it's six years old I still play it once a year. It's been superseded in graphics, but not in depth of the story.
2) Oblivion, Xbox 360. Since I got this two months ago I haven't played anything else. It allows you to pause during fights so you can pick spells, change weapon,etc., so you dont have to be Quick draw McGraw on the controls.
3) Half Life 2.
4) Tron 2.0. Probably the most colorful game you will ever play. And it's fun too!
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Linky (Score:2)
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Like DDR? (NT) (Score:2)
O RLY? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:44 is "older"? (Score:5, Funny)