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[NEED ADVICE] My Girlfriend Wants to Try RPGS
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O==((==RedKnight=---
Sigh, someday we'll have it as good as we do with good old tabel top gaming.
I would suggest she learns about Paranoia and joins the forum games if she really wants "character affecting the outcome" play.
First of all, I would not reccommend FallOut.. I have played a lot of RPGs, but I only got my hands on this one a while a go.. I understand that many people love it, and it's probably good, but I found the control system to be outdated and frustrating.. When people play their first RPG, and this is probably twice true for girls, they would want instant gratification, not to sit through hours of reading cliche stuff, without having a clue about what is going on, thus Baldurs Gate and the like is in my eyes not a viable optin as a first RPG game. These are "hard core" RPGs, which requires a bit more experience, patience and "stamina".. She needs something like Zelda or FF IX, which are estethically pleasing, and an easy attainable storyline from the get go.. Go save/kidnap the princess.. Since none of these are widely attainable for old laptop machines however, this is more a tip of what to avoid, than what to get, I assume..
I could remark that the only game I've gotten a girl to play was the rope jumping part in FFIX and an arkanoid clone.. Girls seems to love those simple to understand, yet hard to master puzzle games.. /generalisation
My first experience with RPGs was BG1 and I thought it was amazing but then I had had a little experience with the system it was based on. Still, it's going to run well on a laptop and it has a very engaging story. Yes, 2 is much better, but it can be nice to carry a character through.
However, nearly everyone else is correct in that, if the laptop runs it, KotOR is probably your best bet. It's perfect: good length but not too epic, engaging, simple, feels like you have choice, and has a recognisable universe. Plus good romances.
Bioware has a huge female fanbase, if you want to talk generalisations. They did their research and their later games (KotOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect) cater really, really well for a female audience. Much better than any FF game.
Edit: I also think your best bets are to look into games that won't overwhelm her with the "system". Not because she is a girl gamer, but because her experiences with games aren't that in depth yet. Pick games where she won't get hung up on figuring out how to play, and she will just be able to get to the story even if that means her choices on effecting the story aren't as in depth as some other games may be. If she plays a game like Nox and doesn't like the story or doesn't feel that she is having as much as an impact as she would like in her games than she can find a new game that she might like better. If on the other hand you throw a game like Oblivion or even Baldur's Gate at her she may never get the chance to enjoy the story because she is too busy trying to learn how to play the system and not be able to get to the story.
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I think my first rpg experience was probably Daggerfall, followed by Shadows over Riva. My only concern with Baldur's Gate is still dependant on what the op's girlfriend is like with the interface (and the stats thingie). But only the op can tell us this.
And I still disagree with the hack 'n slash suggestions. They're a completely different genre.
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That stopped being true a long time ago, WoW is now so horribly top heavy that the largest guild in the most populated server(Deathwing) is incapable of doing anything except suck and die...
X-Com1(UFO Defense)/2(TFTD) is always a bit of a hit for this scenario(if you get a version that works), Those people who reccomend avoiding Planescape really need a reality check, she will probably like it after she plays her second game(Any of you idiots saying that it is not a beginners game fail to understand how fucking purposeless combat is, you are immortal)
Arcanum is fucking awesome(and is my only reccomendation that I can wholehartedly support, in any circumstance)(and it will run perfectly on her box)
V:TM:BL is okay once you get her hooked.
If you know any non-freaky friends who play PnP Paranoia is always good, oWoD is awesome(start with Changeling, girls get weirded out with everything else until they realize that PnP is not the devil(we know she is intelligent, just, social stigma))
Also, RAM is the easiest thing to replace on a laptop, tell the guys on this forum what make and model and they will tell you what to do.(eventually)
Also, that dumbass five or so posts below me fails to realize that she can tolerate the Sims, she can handle Fallout, if anyone reccomends MW or OB, ignore them, she wants consequences, not canned bullshit.
When you finally get her hooked, TF2 is sincerely the way to go.
God no, very newbie unfriendly. If you'd have said BG 1, I would have even thought you were being sarcastic. :P
Anyone recommending Fallout has got to be sarcastic. He's asking for an RPG for a newbie RPG player. I'd say games where its really easy to permanantly fuck up are not newbie friendly.
It had members of my family who do not play games interested.
I'm still recommending Planescape: Torment, though
Zelda would be my next guess.
This is true. The games are very basic battle systems but have an extra depth with timed attacks which are fun to me and I'm not too big on the turn based RPG.
But as someone said earlier, you aren't finding games for a girl, you are finding games for a casual gamer who wants something a little more meatier.
Satans..... hints.....
Before the BG series the only games I'd managed to play were Broken Sword and Duke Nukem 2D. That was it; never owned a computer before. But consider:
1. 2D interface, so no getting to grips with tricky controls and no motion sickness
2. Use the mouse for everything, combat is easily paused
3. Character screen simple to understand
4. Easy to quick save
5. Combat is 'difficult' in the sense that you have to plan and think in some instances, but it doesn't require any good hand-eye coordination or skill
It can get quite in-depth, I agree, but you may only really run into difficulties if you play a magic user; a fighter is straight-forward.
Now, I don't recommend it as much because I think it's less immediately engaging than my other suggestions. But what I really appreciated about BG was how accessible the gameplay was.
Here's the correct answer: The Myst Series
1. They will run fine on whatever computer you have.
2. No violence, which she seems to not be interested in.
3. Focused entirely on the player - your character makes no decisions without your input.
4. Largely non-linear, solved at the pace of the player, where you make your own decisions.
Alternate good answers include traditional adventure games, Sam and Max, Day of the Tentacle, Etc.
People here need to stop focusing on the phrase 'role playing games' that she used, and instead read about what she wanted. She obviously doesn't know the baggage that rpg's entail these days, since she doesn't play games.
I am disappointed in you G&T
For shame
If she can't slam with the best then she can jam with the rest. :winky:
It's never too late to impart my wisdom.
My lady LOVED it.
Shes awesome tho.
The HL2 engine runs on a lot of systems as well.