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N00b in need of a sponsor... *bites lip*
4M3THYST
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm staring at that "Submit New Thread" button... fearing the inevitable taunts that n00bs always get in other forums... but somehow, I have a feeling this forum isn't like that. I've been lurking for a while, and found that most people here are really personable and nice... so I hope that's the case...
With that being said, I guess I'll launch into my dilema:
...I'm not really a gamer... :oops:
I want to be... as "poser" as that may sound... but I promise you my efforts are genuine. My boyfriend (whom I've been with for 3 1/2 years, and known as friends since we were 14... or roughly 8 years) is. I find it all very interesting, and want to jump into the gaming scene head first, but I know it would be at the risk of looking like a total douche. I've always been into watching others play, and I do already know that my preferances lean more to the RPGs... but beyond that: I don't seem to know a thing!
Y'all seriously don't realize how much there is to LEARN when you do it all upfront! You guys seem to have been into gaming as far back as you can remember... but I grew up poor and never had a console of ANY SORT... I was a late boomer to it all. And, to try and play "catch-up" these days is mind numbing. It's like when you walk into a room with 100 people, and are introduced to them: They only have to remember your name, but you've got a hundred names to remember. You know what I mean? You all know so much about the gaming world because you've been at it so long and learned things as they came... but I'm jumping into this with no background in it, at all.
I would always try to follow along with my BF when he talked about games... but it got to where I would zone out, and it seemed like he was speaking in a strange space language full of "clicks" and "clucks". I'm sick of not knowing what he's talking about! I'd love to really learn this stuff, and surprise the hell out of him! But I've got a long way to go... *slumps*
Just so y'all understand where I'm coming from here.... here's a sample conversation (granted this is only skimming the surface of some of my confusions):
HIM: So I leveled up my Rogue in WoW, today.
ME: Oh, you made a new character? I thought you had a Bloodelf?
HIM: My bloodelf is a rogue....
ME: Oh.........
I'm not that bad anymore. Infact, I've come a long way since then. I can even look back at that and laugh at myself and how little understood it at the time. But there are so many, many, MANYYYY more things I want to learn!
And to help me along... I was wondering if there would be anyone here willing to act as a "sponsor" of sorts? Someone I could go to with dumb questions like "What's an MMO?" Someone that wouldn't laugh at every little thing I wonder about. You know? Foriegn echange students get a sponsor when they go to another country... somebody to guide them through the "new-ness" and help translate things for them... and that's what this is like (no joke!).
So, do I get an "A" for effort on this one?
And is anyone willing to volunteer? It wold be sooooooo appreciated!
With that being said, I guess I'll launch into my dilema:
...I'm not really a gamer... :oops:
I want to be... as "poser" as that may sound... but I promise you my efforts are genuine. My boyfriend (whom I've been with for 3 1/2 years, and known as friends since we were 14... or roughly 8 years) is. I find it all very interesting, and want to jump into the gaming scene head first, but I know it would be at the risk of looking like a total douche. I've always been into watching others play, and I do already know that my preferances lean more to the RPGs... but beyond that: I don't seem to know a thing!
Y'all seriously don't realize how much there is to LEARN when you do it all upfront! You guys seem to have been into gaming as far back as you can remember... but I grew up poor and never had a console of ANY SORT... I was a late boomer to it all. And, to try and play "catch-up" these days is mind numbing. It's like when you walk into a room with 100 people, and are introduced to them: They only have to remember your name, but you've got a hundred names to remember. You know what I mean? You all know so much about the gaming world because you've been at it so long and learned things as they came... but I'm jumping into this with no background in it, at all.
I would always try to follow along with my BF when he talked about games... but it got to where I would zone out, and it seemed like he was speaking in a strange space language full of "clicks" and "clucks". I'm sick of not knowing what he's talking about! I'd love to really learn this stuff, and surprise the hell out of him! But I've got a long way to go... *slumps*
Just so y'all understand where I'm coming from here.... here's a sample conversation (granted this is only skimming the surface of some of my confusions):
HIM: So I leveled up my Rogue in WoW, today.
ME: Oh, you made a new character? I thought you had a Bloodelf?
HIM: My bloodelf is a rogue....
ME: Oh.........
I'm not that bad anymore. Infact, I've come a long way since then. I can even look back at that and laugh at myself and how little understood it at the time. But there are so many, many, MANYYYY more things I want to learn!
And to help me along... I was wondering if there would be anyone here willing to act as a "sponsor" of sorts? Someone I could go to with dumb questions like "What's an MMO?" Someone that wouldn't laugh at every little thing I wonder about. You know? Foriegn echange students get a sponsor when they go to another country... somebody to guide them through the "new-ness" and help translate things for them... and that's what this is like (no joke!).
So, do I get an "A" for effort on this one?
And is anyone willing to volunteer? It wold be sooooooo appreciated!
4M3THYST on
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Don't trust raccoons.
Fo' real. If you want to play with him, I'd wager the boyfriend would be more than happy to get you started. It's like any hobby - if you're interested in it you'll get into it as you go. If he's a gamer, you can probably snag his DS on a WoW raid night. Do that and just start playing...something. Get a feel for the type of game you like by playing a lot of different ones. Learn it by doing it - they're games, you know, for fun. If you're not having fun, maybe it's not for you.
You'll pick things up as you go. If you have specific questions, well, you did find the H&A Board, right?
Anyway, I'll volunteer. I'm patient, I've been playing games since I was like... 4, and I'm a chick. PM me or something.
Btw, get a pink DS. They're sexy.
And then you and the boyfriend can have silly fights over WoW and whatnot. I tease my boyfriend for having an easy character (Hunter), and he bugs me for being a useless shadowpriest. Then he gets mad when I occasionally out-DPS him in instances.
It is addictive tho, so watch out
Why not ask him if you can rent a multiplayer game for whatever system you own?
Tell us what you have to work with and I'm sure we can reccomend something good to start with.
Please?
I guess I was also looking for a chance to network and get to know some people... which Wiki can't offer. I do use it, but I wanted to try this too.
I have a DS. The BF got it for me for my birthday... and he got me Yoshi Island and Brain age to go with it. He was aiming for baby-steps... and they worked. Lol. I've yet to get any other games though (my birthday wasn't that long ago). I'll check out Animal Crossing though.... and I'll beware of the raccoons (????).
Pretty much exactly what i was going to say. Guess you can just count this as another vote for the idea.
I don't have Nintendogs, but it might be another good one as well.
Super Mario Brothers
The Legend of Zelda
Also, take a look at these
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360
Might i suggest you look into Fable for the Xbox.
The more thieves and robbers there will be.
-Lao-tzu
If you're thinking specifically of WoW, then the best place to ask about things is usually in WoW, joining a good friendly guild is advisable but most people tend to be pretty nice in game*
*I'm used to European servers, I hear america is full of assholes though.
If you're superbrave, you could try the PA vent server but it's been a while since I've hung out on there, but chances are you'd get an answer there, a slightly less scary version would be the PA IRC channels, but sometimes they're a bit quiet.
Playing WoW with a significant other is a great deal of fun. I played with my gf for quite sometime. It does start to suck if one person starts playing more than the other because then you end up playing at different levels of the game and can't really do a whole lot together. If you do choose to do this, remember to learn a bit about the game and the social interaction because your playing with thousands of other people, certain actions are frowned upon.
Be advised: Any type of gaming costs way to much money. Good luck and god speed.
I have started some... I've got a couple DS games (and by "couple", I mean exactly that.... TWO. Ha)... and I've dabbled in some stuff for older consoles... Zelda on the 64 (the controller is less confusing for the 64! Lol. It's a start!) and Xenosaga for PS2???
I do like it... it's just overwhelming how much there is to take in! I know this is a hobby that will stick, because I do have fun... I was just looking for an ali that is someone other than my BF. Him and his buddies will be having an in depth conversation about some newly relased game, and the the type of game it is, critiquing the graphics and stuff... and I'm like the retard that blurts out "I have Yoshi's Island!" I bring him down sometimes when I know he'd like to just take off and do his thing. For instance, when he's playing WoW... and I'm looking over his shoulder asking "what's that?", "how'd you do that?", "what does that abbreviation mean?", "why are some people talking in yellow, and others in green?", "how come that item was a different color?".... I'm sure he gets sick of it! Ha.
Almost everyone on these boards will be happy to answer any video game questions for you, I'm sure. Xenosaga might not be the best starter RPG though, it's pretty indepth. But, hey if you get it, you probably don't have as much to learn as you think you do. The Zelda's on the N64 are by far the best games in existence though, so I applaud your taste.
Mine is pink!
This is also why there is disdain for WoW as Shazkar mentioned. It's not that it's not a good MMORPG, it's just that it's an MMORPG -- which are antithetical to most "games," and are, to many people, glorified MUDs and MOOs. But that's more debate & discourse. Suffice to say, the big problem with simply playing one game over all others is burnout. If you get really into WoW because your boyfriend plays it, if you burn out, that can lead to serious problems with your relationship -- and you also lose interest in the game you were most acquainted with. If you become a gamer by playing games by yourself in addition to the occasional 2-player game with your boyfriend, you not only develop an interest in the hobby, but you also build up your own bits of experience and knowledge.
It's really no different from any hobby, when you get down to it. Just like someone looking into making music shouldn't just go buy a guitar with no direction -- the potential musician should have an interest in music, see what kind of music they wish to make, and decide the best way to create their own interpretation of that music. With games, you should determine what kind of games you like, explore those, and go from there. There will be the occasional dud, and that's how you determine the kinds of game genres you enjoy.
My wife loves text adventures, for example. Any game that has a pretext of a text adventure she just eats up. She has explicitly told me to not let her even start playing Phoenix Wright 2 because she has no free time right now. She told me this as she was spending every waking hour playing Hotel Dusk. But I let her develop that on her own, by simply introducing the game to her and then letting her play it by herself. It's more fun that way.
Okay... I understood some of what you just said... I know (from watching my BF play) that Hunters are pretty simple (er, not simple exactly... but I guess more "self sufficient"?), and Priests are more specialized... but I dunno what "out-DPS" means???
See what I mean?
A lot of confusion for beginners comes from getting used to the lexicon, especially for MMORPG games which have been around for decades and started much more archaiccly as MUDs (Multi-User-Dungeon, and online rpg that is text-based). A lot of the lingo that still remains today originated or has evolved from conventions that started long ago with games that don't at all resemble current titles.
The good news is that more or less every western RPG game system is at least in some way related to the mother of RPGs, Dungeons and Dragons, which invented the whole system of classes and races and leveling that so many games use as an archetype. The longer you stay exposed to these games the more they all begin to make sense, so just stick with it.
But, back to what I have access to: I was considering buying the stuff to upgrade my computer and get WoW... but after some people's responses on here, I think I'll chill out on that and invest in some games for what I've got. *shrug* All the suggestions so far have been really helpul, though!
As for game recommendations, the new Pokemon game for the NDS comes out in less than a week. If you're not too stuffy to buy a pokemon game then it'll probably be right up your alley.
Guitar Hero is also a good way to start! Don't be afraid of bombing songs, *everyone* did on their first tries too, I'm sure. See if you can find some time to play through the in game tutorials on your own, or when only your boyfriend is around to help.
It really sounds like you're getting a good start - but all the advice I have is find the games that YOU want to play, don't just play the same stuff he does. Don't play competitive online games until you're comfortable doing so.
I'd also recommend reading sites like this, Kotaku, and 1up for general "gamer culture". There are also quite a few women-focused gaming sites. Last but not least, there are quite a few books on the history of games and game design that cover some of the more influential games, explain the types of games, the lingo, and other things you may have questions about.
Feel free to PM me as well.
Thank you for the compliment on Zelda. Lol. The little fairy thing gets hella annoying.... I forgot her name... but she's my only complaint in that game!
And I do plan on sticking with it, so it's good to know that will pay off eventually. :P
"Hey, Listen" "Hey, Listen" That's Navi. No one likes Navi.
If you want to try a simpler RPG, someone above recommended Pokemon. They lack in the story department, but are excellent simple RPGs. Pokemon is usually classified as kid's stuff, but they are in fact, good games.
And I am trying to be very independant and what I get into. I wasn't interested on wow just because of him. I have a ton of friends that play it... so I thought it'd be a cool way to get rolling... but I'm seriously re-evaluating that now!
I'm noticing that he and I do have differences of opinion on games... for instance I like all the cartoony/easy/kiddie games.... and he enjoys the more complex/serious/grownup games. That may only be because I'm favoring the things for begginers at this point. May change, eventually. I'm also running accross a variety of games because he has two roommates... one who's a total "shoot-em-up" type of gamer, another who's a complete "sports-game" junkie (football, tennis, etc), and then my guy is the RPG type (he's alot like Tycho, actually). So I'm being exposed to a bunch of stuff, and getting a handle on all kinds.
My problem is more or less the culture to gaming, I guess?
If you're just getting into it, getting a second rig to network play with the BF is a good way to keep communication open and have fun together as a couple. Very little togetherness to be had when someone is hogging all the action.
So far that's been two shout-outs for Pokemon... so I guess I will deff/ investigate it now. Thanks!
BTW: just wanted to say I dig the Vash profile pic!
I'd start by picking up some gaming magazines and keep reading Penny-arcade. Start posting on the Games and Technology forum. Read the rules first though. Immerse yourself in people who play games. You might get weirded out sometimes, but we're mostly toothless. At some point trying playing games online, but beware, people are viscious and blood thirsty, which incidently, is also part of the culture. It's not complex and you'll be fine in no time.
You also have the upper hand as a girl, you can use that to your advantage if you'd like. Girls who play games are still a rare sight.
That was the reason I was interested I WoW... because I could hook up with guilds where I knew the people in real life, and it might be a little easier to get going than just starting out on my own in another game full of strangers... but as I've said in a couple post so far, I fear that I'll hold back my friends who know what they're doing and just want to cut loose to have some fun... so getting into something that's similar but smaller certainly appeals to me! Thanks for the suggestion!
I have noticed the bloodthirsty thing already... I browsed a few other forums for a few months before joining in on any... and alot of the others were sooooo not noob friendly. That's why I picked this one. So far I feel very welcome! *grin*
And I have noticed the female-to-male ratio. I notice it mostly when I go in game shops... Even if there's upwards of a dozen people in there: I'm ussually the only chick in the store! Infact, I went w/ my bf and his roommates to a midnight release party at Game Stop when the most recent FF came out a few months ago... and of the 100 or so people in there... only 3 or 4 were girls... Yikes.
Firstly it's neat you want to take interest in your boyfriends hobbies, that's really cool of you.
Secondly I've been playing video games since I was 6 (owning my first gameboy at 10) and I'm now 24 and I still don't know everything about video games. For instance fighting games the depth of some is completely lost in me, and I have a reasonable idea of turn based rpgs but I don't play them enough to feel I'm really full bottle on them. You don't need to know everything, shit you don't even need to know everything about the games you like. TheSonicRetard over in the G&T forum posts some crazy stuff about the Sonic games which no one else in the forum really knew. People just become knowledgeable about stuff they like.
I'd say find out what games you like and just learn about them, if you then here something about another game you don't know anything about, just ask. If anyone bites your head off about it then they really are a tool and should realise you're just trying to learn.
Satans..... hints.....
If he's never played FF VI, you can also use it to make fun of him for the rest of his life.
edit to add: also, don't sweat the details like graphics in games. I'm an adult male and I still prefer cartoon-looking games to hyper-realistic ones. I'd rather play Wind Waker than Splinter Cell and enjoy good gameplay over an exhaustive sports roster or attention to gun detail (bleugh). You can describe your current interest in games as liking games that have good gameplay and are fun.