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I've learned something about myself that I didn't know until this week. I HATE DOGS!! I've reached the largest (so far) part of the mine complex. After the area where you have to get the generator going, past the code-enabled gate with the 2 dogs behind it. I've killed 4 dogs so far - 3 with the pickaxe, and one with a gas cannister. I am now facing 2 more, and the first one just keeps killing me. Of the 6 or 7 hours with the game I reckon I've spent at least 4 of them being reincarnated after death-by-dog.
I'm not (yet) finding this game either hard or scary, but the sloppy slashing control is most frustrating. And then there's dem damn dogs.
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
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Spike, I haven't played any Penumbras yet but when I read game tweaks/suggestions I write them down (10s & 10s of post-its).
Your comment rang a post-it bell. Cannot vouch, means nothing but here's what it says:
"Hidden config file, SimpleWeaponSwing - w/ options, change to single mouse click instead of hold + (look? can't make out this word)."
Maybe googling will find more info on (secret) resets. There is something at gamespot about editing config to enable save anywhere.
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Yapette said:
Spike, I haven't played any Penumbras yet but when I read game tweaks/suggestions I write them down (10s & 10s of post-its).
Your comment rang a post-it bell. Cannot vouch, means nothing but here's what it says:
"Hidden config file, SimpleWeaponSwing - w/ options, change to single mouse click instead of hold + (look? can't make out this word)."
Maybe googling will find more info on (secret) resets. There is something at gamespot about editing config to enable save anywhere.
I read that too, Yap. Good news is that as a bought-from-Steam purchase, I am playing on my Mac. Bad news is that config files can't be opened in Mac. I know where they are, but Mac OS doesn't know what to do with them. I could download the PC version from my Steam library, but at this point I don't want to start the game over. So I soldier on.
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
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Could you edit the config file on a PC and overwrite it on your Mac? That's what I'd do because the weapon swinging is a pain in the arse. Quick save is a nice thing to have as well.
Good effort on starting it anyway Spike. I'll be watching this thread with interest 😉
If you need any pointers, I'll try and help without spoiling anything!
Dog disposal tip: don't use the pick axe, use the hammer; it's quicker. Throw objects at them (by picking something up and right clicking), once they're dazed, charge them down and keep hitting them until they don't get back up.
Stick with it, the sequel does away with combat altogether...
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I ought to take another shot at Overture as well; I got stuck in the first damn cave with some ghost dog bastard and I'm completely lost, can't find an exit. Not comparing the two (not yet, anyway), but Penumbra reminds me a bit of Thief: the sneaking around in the dark, the use of ambient noise, the slow pace (at least I play at one).
If being wrong's a crime I'm serving forever
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A question for those who've played: will there be dogs in each new area I discover? Will I have to be dogged to death from now until the end of the game?
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
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xtal said:
...Penumbra reminds me a bit of Thief: the sneaking around in the dark, the use of ambient noise, the slow pace (at least I play at one).
Definitely. It's the steady pace, the lighting and sound design, as well as the sneaking about and rummaging through journals etc. that reminded me of Thief. Amnesia is probably as close to Thief as you could get without being directly related.
Spike said:
A question for those who've played: will there be dogs in each new area I discover? Will I have to be dogged to death from now until the end of the game?
Which area are you in? The dogs usually only roam the hub sections that lead to other locations.
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I killed 2 dogs when I opened the gates, just below the black, bold, vertical lines, with the key pad. Killed 1 or 2 (can't remember) in the open area just to the left and up a bit from those gates, through the door. Then I went to the storage area, upper left, where I got the saw and an auto save. As I moved down towards the excavation area on the left I found another dog, and I think I saw the gleaming eyes of a second one. There is also at least one in the open area just above the words "key panel", and through that door. That means that there are at least 6 dogs in this area that I'm aware of, 3 of which I've already killed. Oi.
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
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I wouldn't think that you would need to kill that many dogs. Seemed like I only had to kill a couple. You can sneak by some of them. Thief players do this a lot---watch their patrol and plan to avoid them. Too bad you can't edit that file. It makes it a lot easier.
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You've a fair way to go and there will be more dogs but as Pokey says you don't have to kill them all. I personally preferred to get them out the way so that I could focus on exploring and puzzle solving but a lot of people manage without having to do that. Beef jerky can be used to distract them so that you can sneak past or rush in for a surprise attack.
I seem to remember there being a vantage point above the dog above the key panel text. I reckon from there you can drop a crate or something on it if you time it right but I'm not sure because I killed it the normal way and noticed afterwards. :-S
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Duh! I was in the tool shed heading toward the storage. Got another dog though. [Image Can Not Be Found]
Oh, Toger...Toger...did you say you had this game? Or are interested in this game? There be spiders. One should know these things going in.
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
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Spike said:
Oh, Toger...Toger...did you say you had this game? Or are interested in this game? There be spiders. One should know these things going in.
Nope, nope and nope. I do not have this game. I have no intention of buying this game. Not only am I a-feared o' spiders, I'm not the bestest at tension-filled spooky, scary either. Fatal Frame cured me of that. But thanks for the warning, Spike. [Image Can Not Be Found]
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I played the first 1.5 of the Penumbra games and liked them. Scary/tense to me, unlike how they seemed to Spike. I remember the dogs. Pain.
I've seen a couple of trends I like recently: more scary games that aren't just in-your-face shooters. Koursakova or however it's spelled. The Penumbra games. Amnesia–which I'm finally starting again.
Also just a revitalization of indy games. I actually bought Alakabeth in a baggy. And I loved the indies from the 90s–something about Islands of Yendor, a couple of others. Exciting to see all the new games showing up.
Did I tell you guys this story? Ben who of course by now can make jokes about headcrabs, things hanging from ceilings wanting to suck you up, and even Ravenholm, was sitting on my lap while we started Amnesia. We came to that first door that creaked open by itself, and suddenly Ben, my brave little boy, said, "Dad, let's play something else."
We've since talked about it. I've told him that a whole lot of people have gotten scared by that creaking door.
I have a vague concern that it's not a good idea to expose him to some of this stuff, that it'll somehow desensitize him to something or other or stunt his growth or I don't know what. Chiefly I'm worried about his having bad dreams. But so far I haven't seen any reaction to it, really. Each night I put him to bed and he falls asleep with his cheek on my hand.
I think maybe possibly I'm overcoming my bad parenting at letting him play computer games beyond his years by being a massively hands-on parent in other ways. I don't really know.
But if I ever could get him interested in those Cars racing games I'd be really happy.
Thinking of reinstalling Psychonauts again just for him. I don't remember too much bad in there.
One thing I have noticed is that his vocabulary, which wasn't bad to begin with, has increased dramatically.
Err, sorry Spike. I kind of digressed.
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Not sure this is gonna work, but we'll see. It's a guy playing Amnesia while on Skype, with his buddies watching. I thought it must be fake at first, but not so convinced by the end.
In case it fails, here is the url:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....r_embedded
It's pretty silly, but...
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Ernest said:
I
I have a vague concern that it's not a good idea to expose him to some of this stuff, that it'll somehow desensitize him to something or other or stunt his growth or I don't know what. Chiefly I'm worried about his having bad dreams. But so far I haven't seen any reaction to it, really. Each night I put him to bed and he falls asleep with his cheek on my hand.
I think maybe possibly I'm overcoming my bad parenting at letting him play computer games beyond his years by being a massively hands-on parent in other ways. I don't really know.
One thing I have noticed is that his vocabulary, which wasn't bad to begin with, has increased dramatically.
Err, sorry Spike. I kind of digressed.
Didn't you know that "Digress" is Tap's middle name?
I don't know how old you are Ernest, but my kids are 32 and 39. With that age difference they were almost in different generations, and so in different child-rearing eras. With the oldest, folks were still quoting Dr. Spock (who was pretty good with the practical/health stuff, not so good on other stuff). With the younger one we were being told what to do to develop self-esteem in our kids. Yeah, right. I ignored it all.
I had really crappy parents. For the time, they were, at 36 and 37 years old, too old to be 1st time-one time only parents. They also hated each other. No violence. Lots of hands-off distracted parents. This left me to fend for myself in many ways, and with no siblings, and not a great many kids in my neighborhood, I got to structure life to my liking as a loner. But I digress….
With bad examples for parenting, as I grew up I told myself that I'd do such and such differently than my parents did. I would always remember what it was like being a kid, and parent accordingly. One of my kids will agree 100% with my ability to do that, and the other will go as far as 80% (but she's the family oddball). Not that we didn't make mistakes, but they weren't life-changers.
My point to you is to follow your own instincts and don't listen to naysayers. Relax. Ben is your barometer, not other people. Is he thriving? Is he happy? Is he healthy? Sounds like it to me. A good communicator? Yep, got that too. Talking to him about all manner of stuff will ensure he makes it to adulthood with all the good qualities you want him to develop. All that talking develops the intellect, as does tons of reading and being read to ( and there is also reading to be done in games). Always be honest with him, and always take him seriously – except when he doesn't want to you take him seriously. Oh, and sometimes, pretend to ignore the fact that you know he did something he shouldn't have (as long as it's nothing serious). Sometimes it's good for kids to think that they've pulled the wool over our eyes. You can discuss it with him when he's grown, and have a good laugh about it. A loving hands-on parent, as you seem to be, will prevent any warp-age. Really.
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
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From my vaunted not-having-children-and-not-liking-them position, I agree with Spike. My earliest memories are of playing Mystery House with my Dad, who'd ostensibly bought an Apple II+ for "work," but I think he really bought it to play games on. The games were obviously important, given that I grew up and now work in them, but having fun with Dad was more valuable. Me, my brother, and him would discuss the puzzles and take turns at the keyboard. It's how I learned to read.
All the time you're spending with Ben is more important than the games you choose. I do think Psychonauts is a great one. The truly horrifying parts of it (i.e., "Milla's Children"), he's too young to understand; the rest he'll find hilarious. It's always fun to have a gaming buddy and he'll never forget the fun you guys have.
You might not want to watch the video Armand linked to in his presence. Language and all. ; )
Life is the misery we endure between disappointments.
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Ernest said:
Did I tell you guys this story? Ben who of course by now can make jokes about headcrabs, things hanging from ceilings wanting to suck you up, and even Ravenholm, was sitting on my lap while we started Amnesia. We came to that first door that creaked open by itself, and suddenly Ben, my brave little boy, said, "Dad, let's play something else."
We've since talked about it. I've told him that a whole lot of people have gotten scared by that creaking door.
I think maybe possibly I'm overcoming my bad parenting at letting him play computer games beyond his years by being a massively hands-on parent in other ways. I don't really know.
Thinking of reinstalling Psychonauts again just for him. I don't remember too much bad in there.
One thing I have noticed is that his vocabulary, which wasn't bad to begin with, has increased dramatically.
Ernest you sound like an awesome dad; playing games with your son is exactly the sort of thing that parents need to be doing rather than being dismissive and pissing off to watch TV. I loved it when my parents joined in to play Curse of Enchantia or The Dig with me and Lewis when we were younger. We all fondly reminisce over those days and a part of me wishes I could still just boot up something like Machinarium and play along with our mum. My dad hardly ever joined in with games unless it was sports oriented but my mum was (and is) a lot more open. I remember her trying to play Golden Axe and she managed to lock up my Amiga. I remember er, 'rocking out' (air guitar and air drums) with my uncle on the Turrican title screen and playing Resident Evil for the first time with my dad's friend (despite technically being underage for it).
For me social gaming — and not necessarily competitive play either — is a joy, and thanks to my parents, Lew and our friends we enjoyed every moment of our childhoods because we were constantly sharing our experiences, something which can't be done on your lonesome! I remember getting a phone call late one night from my friend (who's now a royal engineer in the armed forces) when he found the pot in the kitchen in Monkey Island to use as a crash helmet at the circus to get some money. We'd been stuck at that moment for absolutely ages but when he phoned up he was bursting with excitement because he'd found the missing item. It's a great memory.
It's funny you mention the vocabulary thing; games introduced all sorts of words to me — rung, condiment and minutes are a few words that come to mind which were totally alien to me at the time.
And yep, that door. Brr.
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Apparently, I lied. At some point, I purchased a Penumbra game. It's sitting in my Steam library waiting to be installed. Well, it's going to be waiting an incredibly long, long time for that installation. Just because I don't remember buying it doesn't mean I'm going to play it! [Image Can Not Be Found]
And that video is hysterical!
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I totally thought he was faking being scared, but than noticed he paused the game EVERY time a monster showed up, as if to collect his wits. All while his buddies laugh at him. Poor guy...
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I can't watch that vid having not played Amnesia yet but your comments remind me of a video I saw some time ago of a guy playing Resident Evil. He did the same; pausing everytime anything moved. So so funny.
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