What are you playing?

[GuyfromAndromeda]

Sure, I play as a fighter/paladin right now, and I will most certainly start right over as a thief when I'm finished with Dragon Fire :)

[BlockMaster]

I play Minecraft, replay Minecraft, replay Minecraft and play even more Minecraft!!! I also play Kyrandia and King's Quest right now.

[Troels Pleimert]

My next jaunt is going to be through Agustin Cordes' "Scratches." I've been talking to the guy for ages on Twitter, and knew that he is a much-respected horror game designer, but I've never actually played his game. My shame brings me to rectify this.

 

I just gotta find time to light a few candles, dim all the lights and play that sucker loud on my tv.

[MusicallyInspired]

Right now I'm going through the Monkey Island games again. Breezed through 1 and 2 but slowed down at Curse as I've only beaten it once.

[Intendant S]

Right now I've been suckered into playing Guild Wars 2 with friends. While fun, it's better to play with friends than solo.

 

I'm also planning on checking out the Romulan faction in Star Trek Online after being away from the game for the past few years. Despite being a huge Trekkie and having a lifetime account, I've had some major problems with Cryptic and found myself banned from their forums. That's...a long story. It involves a lot of expletives, name calling, and complaining. You know me, being "two-faced" and "evil" and all... :wacko:

 

When not playing MMOs, I've been slowly trying to work my way through my ever growing backlog of adventure games. :blink:

[MusicallyInspired]

Really need to get back to STO. I've been wanting Romulans for a long time. They're my favourite Star Trek aliens.

[Intendant S]

For me it was the Klingons. It hurt so much to see them relegated to the "other" faction for so long that I kept beating the drum. Perhaps a bit too much. I wonder if they ever fixed the glaring problems there.

[PurpleTentacle]

I just played the free "Serena" game, which has some voice acting from Scott Murphy.

 

Murphy is a natural!

 

Mandel provides most of the voice acting, as most of you probably know. I don't know if I could ever get comfortable with hearing Mandel's voice in new game roles, though. His voice is just TOO familiar to me after playing all the King's Quest games (AGDI's included) and is one of those instantly-recognizable voices. He also seems to switch between "chest" and "head" voice (as in singing) and it comes across as if he is reading a story in a sing-songey way. That's just not how most people speak unscripted. I think it would be better if he tried to use less inflections (would sound more natural) and avoided using "head" voice which could reduce the nasally sound. Mandel is a great talent, but I think a slower speaking style, with more pauses and a more neutral/less eager or less energetic delivery would suit him better in acting.

[drdrslashvohaul]

To my eternal shame - Dwarf Fortress and Total Extreme Wrestling (not at the same time... although...)

[Troels Pleimert]

I just played the free "Serena" game, which has some voice acting from Scott Murphy.

 

Murphy is a natural!

 

Mandel provides most of the voice acting, as most of you probably know. I don't know if I could ever get comfortable with hearing Mandel's voice in new game roles, though. His voice is just TOO familiar to me after playing all the King's Quest games (AGDI's included) and is one of those instantly-recognizable voices. He also seems to switch between "chest" and "head" voice (as in singing) and it comes across as if he is reading a story in a sing-songey way. That's just not how most people speak unscripted. I think it would be better if he tried to use less inflections (would sound more natural) and avoided using "head" voice which could reduce the nasally sound. Mandel is a great talent, but I think a slower speaking style, with more pauses and a more neutral/less eager or less energetic delivery would suit him better in acting.

 

Yaaaay! It was such a treat working on Serena and I'm so glad that people are enjoying it. The response on Steam and in (most of) the reviews has been overwhelmingly positive and we're digging all the crazy interpretations of the story that people are churning out. It's been one of the most rewarding creative experiences I've ever had.

[PurpleTentacle]

Serena is definitely a game you'll remember playing. I really liked the concept. Kind of Twilight Zoney or 6th Sense-ish.

[PurpleTentacle]

Also, did they make the "Skin Quest" (I think it was) magazine cover in that way to resemble a Sierra game or "Kings Quest" cover? When I first saw that magazine I thought it said "King's Quest." Am I the only one who thought that?

[Datadog]

I finally got around to playing "Serena" myself. I was impressed with the overall production quality - the graphics, music, and writing are all very sharp. But nothing could have prepared me for the chills that came around the halfway point when the whole tone changed. A small, subtle shift in atmosphere is all it took to cross the line into nightmare territory. Now I can't get to sleep. So well done to everyone involved!

[Fronzel Neekburm]

"Safeguards? Don't be such a weak sister. There ARE no safeguards! This is the fifties."

 

Harvester is back and I'm loving every twisted minute of it!

[Troels Pleimert]

Yaay! Someone's always been a kidder, and I think we know who it is. ;)

[JubalBarca]

I finally finished Space Quest 3 and reviewed it today :)

[Datadog]

I played about 20 minutes of "Dear Esther" before looking up an FAQ just to see what I was doing wrong. Turns out it's not so much an adventure game as it is a "walk around and listen to narration" game.

 

So now I'm playing "Grand Theft Auto IV".

[MusicallyInspired]

The visuals in that game are gorgeous and the little clues you pick up on with each playthrough are neat. But yeah, prepare to exercise sustaining a constant keypress for pretty much the entire game and nothing else. In the way of gameplay, it's got absolutely none. I'd call it an exploration game, except despite the wide-open feel of the areas, it's fairly on-rails. Still, I enjoyed it for what it was. You can't enjoy it for anything else.

[pcj]

That somehow reminded me of "The Stanley Parable", a lovely little game which I recommend.

[MusicallyInspired]

Stanely Parable, on the other hand, is quite interactive! I discovered and was a fan of the original free mod a few years ago. Always hoped it would become a full game like Dear Esther did. I still have to get it.

[Intendant S]

For that style of game, I'm rather partial towards Gone Home. That one really resonated with me. For obvious reasons.

[Frede]

Or, you know, that other free adventure game ;)

 

I've been playing a lot of FTL lately. Very addictive. Definitely one of my favourite strategy games and a definite Kickstarter success. I'm looking forward to the free expansion pack that'll be released this year.

[drdrslashvohaul]

I've seen FTL, but never yet been tempted to get it. I'm holding off on a number of games like that until I've got a new PC (and a full-time job...), but that and Rimworld really appeal to me as potential purchases. I love those sort of kickstarter/indie games that are much cheaper than the AAA titles and focus primarily on gameplay rather than flashy shit.

[Troels Pleimert]

I was playing a bit of Anastronaut II the last time I, uh, had time to play a game. It's challenging -- drops you right into a darkened room with a visible timer counting down from 15 minutes right off the bat. It's also really pretty, very well animated, and fully voiced. And it's got some very Space Quest-y humor to it.

 

I did, however, get massively stuck on a tricky anti-gravity puzzle and haven't gone back since. The old grey ones don't do well with three dimensional thinking.

[pcj]

@Decaffeinated Jedi just reminded me of the dystopian document thriller Papers, Please. I highly recommend it.