Coelacanth

Coelacanth , 2 days ago to showerthoughts in Technically, almost all video games are puzzle games.

That was in my OP though, that most games can be thought of as puzzle games with extra steps.

I just don’t get where you’re getting “most games” from. If you would have phrased it like “many games can be viewed as puzzle games if you really think about it” you would have maybe had more people agree with you.

I understand your reductive approach - it’s just that there are so many games it doesn’t apply to that I can never agree with “most games”.

Coelacanth , 2 days ago to showerthoughts in Technically, almost all video games are puzzle games.

If you have 2 minutes to solve a puzzle, is it no longer a puzzle game?

Yes, clearly. It still behaves the way a puzzle - or puzzle game - would: knowledge of the solution trivialises the content. It’s just a puzzle game with a timer.

If moving certain colored pieces requires a button combo or sequence, instead of a simple action, is this no longer a puzzle game?

Depends on how the combo works. Is there an element of skill involved? If it’s like a rhythm game I would just call it a puzzle/rhythm game. Otherwise it’s just a puzzle game with extra steps.

For me, if the main challenge of the game is figuring out the puzzle, then it’s mainly a puzzle game. If a measure of skill is required in the actual execution of beating the game it is no longer a pure puzzle game - but it can still contain puzzle elements of course.

EDIT: I would agree that Tetris is not a puzzle game.

Knowing the optimal thing to do can be seen as but a higher order puzzle.

But knowing the right strategy and item build in DotA or LoL means fuck all if you can’t mechanically execute your hero properly, which - in my opinion - disqualifies them as “puzzle games”.

Coelacanth , 2 days ago to gaming in Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of June 23rd

I’ve been mainlining Esports Godfather, which is the surprise hit of the year for me so far. The title is nonsensical and on the surface it looks like it can’t be good, but it’s been so much fun.

It’s a MOBA-themed sort of deckbuilder/autobattler/management game - which sounds like a hot mess but plays so much better than you’d think. At least after you get over the initial information overload.

I wish the AI was a little smarter, but even with the game being a touch too easy it’s incredible how much fun it is. Loads of cards and heroes to build synergies with and rotating version rulesets keeping things fresh even within a single run.

At just €16 on Steam I’d easily recommend it to anyone with an interest in the genre, and there is even a free demo that covers the first couple hours of a run.

Coelacanth , 2 days ago to showerthoughts in Technically, almost all video games are puzzle games.

I think your definition of puzzle games is pretty flawed, to be honest. A puzzle does not provide additional difficulty once you’ve identified how the pieces go together, consequently a game should behave similarly to qualify as a puzzle game. The dichotomy is between conceptualisation versus execution.

Puzzle games can be solved or “won” by identifying the solution. Not-puzzle games require execution.

Guitar Hero and OSU! are not puzzle games. Games like RTSes and MOBAs can be argued to have puzzle elements in terms of strategy and meta, but knowing the optimal thing to do will still not give you victory which imo disqualifies them as outright puzzle games.

Coelacanth , 5 days ago to games in Elden Ring – Patch Notes Version 1.12

I suspect uncapping FPS would break physics and damage calculations. FromSoft are fond of tying those to FPS.

I’m not surprised about the rest either, though they really should start getting criticized for it in my opinion. No DLSS in 2024 is especially hard to excuse.

Coelacanth , 8 days ago to gaming in favorite gaming medium?

For sheer versatility you can’t beat PC, so that is going to have to be my choice. Having flexibility between KB+M and controller, having access to mods and tweaks and (typically) having a wider array of graphics/performance options to tailor to your preferences makes for an unbeatable package.

That being said (and it pains me to say this given my distaste for Nintendo), I absolutely loved the 3DS. The dual screens were cool, it had good ergonomics for me and a nice weight in your hands and there was something very satisfying in the mechanics of flipping it open or listening to the click as you slam it shut. It’s just a really nice device to use.

Coelacanth , 10 days ago to games in $843 million lawsuit against Valve already has its own website: "The Steam Claim" accuses the biggest store in PC gaming of "overcharging" players

Can we not go after one of the few good guys in gaming? Please? If you want to hound someone Nintendo is right over there.

Coelacanth , 11 days ago to games in FINAL FANTASY XIV: DAWNTRAIL Launch Trailer

This is why the game lost me to be completely honest. I felt like the type of storytelling changed into more of a Sunday morning cartoon type vibe where the gang always wins and nobody ever dies.

There was a point during the story (probably Post-ARR through the beginning of post-Stormblood patch quests?) where it felt like there were actual stakes and risks of consequences and the lives of beloved characters were actually in danger and I loved that.

But instead more people seemed to come back from the dead than actually die.

Coelacanth , 11 days ago to gaming in Hidetaka Miyazaki 'knows for a fact' other FromSoftware devs want a Bloodborne PC port: 'If I say I want one, I'll get in trouble, but it's nothing I'm opposed to'

For sure. Will probably be even more likely if the Elden Ring DLC does really well and further propels FromSoft into a true mainstream household name.

Coelacanth , 14 days ago to games in Dragon Age: The Veilguard | Official Gameplay Reveal

I’ve played only Origins but this trailer is not doing a whole lot for me. Even visually I don’t like it (which is bizarre because I think Origins looks like shit and still I somehow prefer it). Don’t really like this art direction, personally.

Coelacanth , 15 days ago to fediverse in PSA: You can paste the link to a Lemmy post in the search bar of your instance, and you'll be able to access the post from your instance

Yes, definitely! Using the !community works well for communities, but linking to posts is a bit of a headache honestly.

Coelacanth , 15 days ago to games in Starfield's latest update draws player ire by sticking a bounty hunting quest behind the Creation Club paywall

Impressive that enough people still care for there to be a backlash.

Coelacanth , 17 days ago to games in Sid Meier’s Civilization VII - Official Teaser Trailer

That really is one of the biggest flaws of Civ. It’s so hard to find a breakpoint where the gameplay “feels good” but still is challenging. If you’re at a difficulty level where the gameplay is mostly intact, the AI is just too dumb, and if you bump it up it becomes a meta game of playing around the AI bonuses.

Coelacanth , 18 days ago to fediverse in PSA: Alternatives for the most popular lemmy.ml communities

Sounds like programming.dev might be a good fit, or perhaps dbzer0?

Coelacanth , 19 days ago to games in Galacticare Has Got That Old Bullfrog Spirit

I don’t know, I never saw it as a meme but rather just shorthand in cases where no other term existed that efficiently communicated the genre or style of a game.

Do you have a replacement term available for Souls-like that sums up what you can expect of a game within that genre using two words or less?