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Gaming during downtime while on the job?
harvest
By birthright,a stupendous badass.Registered User regular
By birthright,a stupendous badass.Registered User regular
My new job is pretty easy. I fix the computers that didn't get fixed during the week, and do some light remote administration. Nothing on-site, all here at the bench. I'm here alone for 8 hours and some days, like today, there's nothing left to do after lunch. I've been studying the documentation for the remote administration software we use but I've about read it all, and so coming Saturdays are likely to be less and less busy as I get everything tuned and working.
The boss doesn't care what I do on company time as long as all the work gets done and I don't break the law. At least that's what he told me.
So what gaming can I get done in here by myself with nothing to do? I don't have any workstation with dedicated graphics hardware and some of these machines are pretty ancient. The one I'm using now is newer, running Windows 7 with 3 gigs of ram and a E4400 (dual core @ 2.0ghz). None of them have any speakers.
It'd probably be best to play something turn based or easily pauseable, and also probably windowed, so I can attend to any admin alerts that come through and not miss the actual work of the job I do.
Any ideas, people?
EDIT: I own a DS Lite, a 3DS, and a PSP if that helps. And I have barely used the 3DS and PSP.
The boss doesn't care what I do on company time as long as all the work gets done and I don't break the law. At least that's what he told me.
So what gaming can I get done in here by myself with nothing to do? I don't have any workstation with dedicated graphics hardware and some of these machines are pretty ancient. The one I'm using now is newer, running Windows 7 with 3 gigs of ram and a E4400 (dual core @ 2.0ghz). None of them have any speakers.
It'd probably be best to play something turn based or easily pauseable, and also probably windowed, so I can attend to any admin alerts that come through and not miss the actual work of the job I do.
Any ideas, people?
EDIT: I own a DS Lite, a 3DS, and a PSP if that helps. And I have barely used the 3DS and PSP.
harvest on
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Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.
You will not have to worry about finding something to do in your downtime for a very long time.
All the chirps and weird voiced stuff is fantastic and you'd definitely be missing out.
Evidently, this is not what you were asking about.
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Still a valid query. Sex workers need to get their game on too.
Just because the boss doesn't care how you spend your time doesn't mean someone else won't.
If you're using a PC, I'd stick with games that'll run from a flash drive, or the handheld consoles. Leave no trace on company property.
10 employees, 1 boss, no managers. We have free reign of the PCs in the tech bay area.
Pretty much this. If you want to further your career everyone needs more skills, so if you've got downtime at work it's the best time to get into it. You get something out of it, you can apply it to your current work and the people around you will think you better of it. Also your downtime will be better for it.
It's much more crucial because it's IT, even if the team is over-shooting KPIs and keeping everything running it takes half a second for opinion to turn sour and either you get heat for not looking busy' or your boss does and has to defend you. Not saying it's right, it's just how the game is. I'm not trying to sound like an old fuddy-duddy - it's just something to consider. FWIW I'm just a DBA who routinely gets asked 'What I do' even from people internal to the IT department. Perception is everything.
Fair call, but I've been in the same seat as the original poster - then it was the graveyard shift on a support desk. I had ideas about gaming during the times when things were quiet and I did for a bit, but eventually stopped. With hindsight, I would have benefitted from someone laying it out like that early on.
But to contribute to the core question, handhelds are best. If you want to hit PC games then first you have to focus on the older stuff because they can be hid / minimized better and cost less system resources. I'd go Heroes of Might and Magic 3, since you can buy a downloadable copy for 10 bucks and the entire thing is turn based, thus can be picked up and dropped as your attention permits. Check out GoG because the stuff the sell is stuff that can be ferried around easily.
They'd all be tiny games, even ARPGs aren't generally that big. In GoG's case, cheap games that can be deeper than modern titles and are totally free of DRM, so they can be moved around on flashdrives.
In the case of ARPGs, I offer this as why you should go for them:
Click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click.
Click. Loot!
Sadly there is no windowed mode for SMAC.
It's perfect for short bursts
I know you love em.
Sticking first and primarily with the advice Shutdown said about learning skills in your downtime, more thread relevant advice on my part would be that Frozen Synapse sounds ideal, especially if you're going to be playing online (bear with me, the game is structured so that you can basically log in and out whenever you want to continue games. A bit like online chess).
Simultaneous turn based squad level tactical game, it is extremely good. Can run in windowed mode, resource light, and very in-depth. Because the online is effectively play by e-mail you can stop and start whenever you want for however you want. If you're playing an online game, you plan out your move and submit it to the server, your opponent does the same, and when both turns are in, you can both log in to see the results, and then submit your next move whenever you like. I think there's an overall time limit of 2 weeks to submit a turn though. Most games are played out in single sessions since they're relatively short, but you can effectively leave it whenever you want. A lot of people (myself included) often run several games simultaneously, so whilst you're waiting for moves in one match you're plotting out in another.
They key thing about Frozen Synapse as a tactical game is that it's completely deterministic. The core of the game is that not only can you simulate all the actions your units can do, but you can also completely simulate enemy actions as well. You plan out your moves, simulate the course of action that you expect your opponent to take, and see how the results pan out. You then submit your turn, and if your opponent did what you expected them to, things play out exactly as you simulated them. It's the most awesome feeling when you predict an opponent's strategy precisely and countermand it.
It genuinely is about out-witting your opponent, and can sometimes get into wheels-within-wheels thinking of "alright, if he expects me to behave this way because his obvious move is to do that thing, and he's actually going to instead work to countermand that instead, then maybe I should instead do this other thing instead to countermand his counter-plan and..."
TotalBiscuit did a pretty gushing review of it back when it came out.
It also has a badass soundtrack, if that matters to you.
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
It can suck a surprising number of hours from your life.
As far as the skills/gaming dichotomy go I do intend to do both. I can't game for 4 hours straight at work and feel good about myself. On the other hand I can't study for 4 hours straight and stay sane.
I suspect I'll end up playing some Roguelikes. Probably Stone Soup
oh god no not again no no no
Edit: Fallout 1. Then Fallout 2. Turn-based, fairly immersive.
Edit edit: This is why I hated IT, incidentally. You could use the time to study up to a more skilled/interesting position. Or learn Spanish. Rosetta Stone ftw.
I know that this is OT, but for Spanish, check out Michel Thomas Audio CDs. That's how I improved my spanish: it's like I was participating in a class.
I've worked in situations where the boss says "hey, it's okay, do whatever". Unfortunately it only takes one disgruntled co-worker to ruin it for everyone (or just for you).
That's just how businesses work - even stuff you are given permission to do can be used against you later if someone feels like it. At my last job, people were told that internet & email were for company use only, personal use was expected to be kept to a minimum. Of course everyone in the company used them for personal reasons to some extent, but it was never enforced so people did it without much care because the supervisors said "hey, as long as you get your work done it's fine".
Then when someone decides they want to fire you, all they need to do is pull up your internet history or your email and say "oh look, you've been using company resources for personal use, you're gone."
That's why I said if you gotta do it, even if the boss says it's okay, leave no trace. Use the handhelds or use a game that is completely contained on a flash drive.
My latest addiction is DoomRL, which is DOOM in a turn-based roguelike format. That'd be my recommendation.