Posted by 79 at 1:20pm Jun 4 '11i've always done this with computer games. once i get decent at it, i tend to set special goals for myself. the prime example of this is UT2K4, which i always play with bots (no way i was getting into a guild or anything, i didn't have that kind of time). so, for instance, i'd play Onslaught where i was only allowed to kill, or had to stay at least one wave back, or could only get a raptor and provide air support. or play bombing run where i wasn't allowed to leave my team's half of the map, that kinda thing.
i guess it started with Doom, way back when, and DoomEd. i could literally change around the rules, so i did, quite a lot. then at boarding school i'd run lithium servers for Q2, while playing around quite a bit with the config settings. i was by far the best in our group, so i'd try different strategies.
some stuff, like old SNES roms or Tie Fighter, i couldn't/can't modify, and some stuff i just didn't bother (like UT2K4). but i'd do things like switch on godmode or allow myself ridiculous savestates (Monopoly savestates make the game completely ridiculous) and, again, set different goals. Tie Fighter is awesome in so, so many ways, and part of it is all the secondary and bonus mission objectives - once you beat a level, it shows up in your combat training chamber, so i'd beat it in campaign and then try crazy things afterwards (using either Craft Invulnerable or Unlimited Ammo really, really cuts into your points). with Warcraft III, my friends and i would edit a lot of the maps before playing so we could try specific strategies. when i played just on my own, i'd do things like really, really boost the heros' power and spells, then see if i could win with just a hero or two.
i think a lot of it is based on really re-thinking the games, and/or testing its limits. plus, i am such a sucker for getting all the little bits - the secret areas in [private] Warrior were awesome.
it's like the allure of steam achievements, y'know? the good ones, at least. the ones that require actually doing different things in the game, or using different strategies, or finding neat little things. i get *very* annoyed when a game says something like "20 Steam Achievements!" and it turns out to just be something like "beat level 1" "beat level 2"...."beat level 1 on hard", etc. those are just stupid.
so, y'know, there's [private]'s morning ramble.
i guess it started with Doom, way back when, and DoomEd. i could literally change around the rules, so i did, quite a lot. then at boarding school i'd run lithium servers for Q2, while playing around quite a bit with the config settings. i was by far the best in our group, so i'd try different strategies.
some stuff, like old SNES roms or Tie Fighter, i couldn't/can't modify, and some stuff i just didn't bother (like UT2K4). but i'd do things like switch on godmode or allow myself ridiculous savestates (Monopoly savestates make the game completely ridiculous) and, again, set different goals. Tie Fighter is awesome in so, so many ways, and part of it is all the secondary and bonus mission objectives - once you beat a level, it shows up in your combat training chamber, so i'd beat it in campaign and then try crazy things afterwards (using either Craft Invulnerable or Unlimited Ammo really, really cuts into your points). with Warcraft III, my friends and i would edit a lot of the maps before playing so we could try specific strategies. when i played just on my own, i'd do things like really, really boost the heros' power and spells, then see if i could win with just a hero or two.
i think a lot of it is based on really re-thinking the games, and/or testing its limits. plus, i am such a sucker for getting all the little bits - the secret areas in [private] Warrior were awesome.
it's like the allure of steam achievements, y'know? the good ones, at least. the ones that require actually doing different things in the game, or using different strategies, or finding neat little things. i get *very* annoyed when a game says something like "20 Steam Achievements!" and it turns out to just be something like "beat level 1" "beat level 2"...."beat level 1 on hard", etc. those are just stupid.
so, y'know, there's [private]'s morning ramble.