Zeros

agreed with the article, free games are a great place to start

Games that are free can be a great way to start gaming but it’s not always guaranteed to be a good experience because the quality varies a lot.

Nah sometimes free games are better than paytoplay games XD

Depends on the situation. I’ve had times where I would play free games and they just weren’t as fun, and that sometimes discouraged me from playing pay-to-play games (i.e. games that cost money, but could be played forever) which were much better in many ways.

In other words, starting off with free games, especially as a beginner, sets expectations for the player, and if you’re not into the game, that can discourage you from trying out other games whether they’re from the same series, the same genre, etc.

The best games for beginners would be highly-rated or highly-reviewed games, not necessarily free games. That way, beginners are exposed to all of the greatness of a game, and they aren’t discouraged to try out other games of the same series or genre. Having a good experience for a beginner is much better than a bad experience.

And honestly, the only “free games” I would recommend for beginners are demos. Game demos are free and they showcase many features of a game, and are great deciding factors into whether someone wants to ultimately purchase a game or not.

the number one reason for me is privacy

It really depends what kind of VPN you are going to use.

Privacy isn’t really a problem, when it comes to games; usually privacy is more of a concern with social media and other big websites, especially since companies try to get information about you so that they can market their products more effectively. So I think the real advantage of a VPN is to download games not available in your country or just circumvent limitations. Or maybe you want to play with friends across the globe and you just don’t have good connection, so a VPN can be good for that.

Preorder bonuses are also common in games like FIFA and NHL, they can be useful for building your squad but usually the cards aren’t tradable

Kickstarter backer in AQ3D you mean? Like preorder bonuses? Those are awesome, especially if it’s a game you’re really interested in. Even if you don’t get it right away it pays off in the end.

Bonuses are always nice!

You sure can get some perks by funding kickstarter games!

Good article

Loot Boxes are really getting looked down upon after that fiasco with Star Wars Battlefront 2.

I think game development varies. Small (successful) indie game companies can only do so much, and so it’s common practice for them to keep their games at a smaller scope. But bigger game companies are probably more likely to explore advancements, because they’re just better-equipped for large-scaled games.

Fallout: New Vegas is a very good game with many ways to approach situations.

I think most of it has to do with brand recognition. The Fallout series might be Bethesda’s “magnum opus” after all since it’s been around for so long and has a pretty strong fanbase. Even a game like Fallout 76, which has had criticisms and controversies during release, has done fairly well.

Gamification does sound like pretty cool term to use!

With the internet these days you can educate yourself on so much stuff

There are so many things to learn about and the internet can be a good tool for finding things to learn or improve your knowledge on things you already kinda know.

Technology can be both positive and negative in education. Just depends on how it’s employed.

For instance, in a learning environment, you would probably want children to engage in learning, and games can be helpful in some ways. Some examples would include “typing games” to teach children how to type, or a game like Minecraft: Education Edition to teach creativity, collaboration, or even STEM skills. But this sort of learning environment is more effective for children in elementary and middle school.

As for devices, Chromebooks and iPads are becoming popular in academia. However, mobile devices are also becoming popular, for both good and bad. Just like how in the 90s and early 2000s when teachers didn’t want students texting or calling people on phones, the smartphone industry has introduced “apps” which have opened more doors for both good and bad. There are apps that can be useful for the purpose of academia, but smartphones are generally still frown upon because kids can be distracted with mobile games or with social media.

Of course, I do agree that there are more positives with technology than negatives. For instance, I remember when teachers used to use projectors to present things, sometimes wasting time trying to calibrate the device during class session, and now schools have interactive white boards, or smartboards, for presentations. And that’s only one example of technology improving education; there are a bunch of other improvements out there.

Yea it’s funny cause i was just discussing this with a family member. My nephew is 6 yrs old and he has his own ipad he plays games on it. When i was 6 i didn’t play much video games, i was mostly outside. But times have changed

It just feels like that some people just have them glued on their hands.

One of the biggest problems with phones, especially with smartphones, are health problems, like poor posture. For instance, when you look at a phone, you usually look down, and so when you’re looking down at your screen all of the time, you develop a condition that’s dubbed “text neck”. Best way to combat posture issue would be to hold your phone up, but even that can feel uncomfortable, especially since a phone is like a piece of weight. Other health issues include eye strain, which is similar to prolonged PC use, and you can use “quality of life” software to mitigate eye strain using the phone’s built-in night mode, or an app like f.lux.

But aside from health issues, smartphones are becoming more of an addiction. Phone addiction wasn’t as bad back then when you mostly had the option to call and text, but because smartphones have apps which can access a browser, games, and media, more people are likely to be glued to their screens. This can have consequences, like health issues mentioned before (and also including sleep issues), but also poor performance in academia.

Personally, I don’t think children should have smartphones until at least 16. Some people might say 13 is more appropriate for children to own smartphones, but seeing that social media apps (which are the most commonly used smartphone apps) create behavioral and social issues in children, I think 16 is a reasonable age for children to own phones, especially without parental restrictions. But for introducing children to portable games, I’d say just get them a handheld (e.g. Switch / 3DS), or if apps are a must-have, just get them an iPod (with parental settings, so they don’t download apps that could harm them).

Unfortunately, there aren’t really phones designed for children. I mean, you could use a walkie-talkie, but that’s impractical. I think it’s good to have a device for emergencies, communication with real-life friends and families, and a few games, so an older phone could be useful for that purpose.

Yea in colleges you can take game design or programming courses if that’s something you are passionate, the college i’m thinking of going to has a game design program but i think i might go into video editing instead.

I’d love to stream but i don’t feel like i’d be a good enough commentator, but I think it all boils down to practice

To make something a career, you need to have some commitment to it or else it’s not going to work out.

I have heard about bitcoin but i still use paypal for online transactions

Yeah it’s another nice payment option

It also surprised me that it managed to get that high!

More people are going to be using Bitcoin because of the increasing popularity as well, so seeing such transactions take place is going to become more common.

Predict rare items and invest in them kinda reminds me of a method i used to use called buying low/sell high, you bought these virtual cards at a low price and kept them until their price went up in value

Play CS:GO -> get a good case as a drop-> sell it -> profit!

A VR mmo would be insane.

Yeah i’d expect VR will cost a lot especially at the beginning.

VR does make horror games more scary because it feels more like that you are inside the game!

I’d like to have a key 🙂

is it any good?

This looks like a useful tool it shows all the best games in one app. Just hope or wish it was on android.

Yea this app is good for people who are maybe new to mobile gaming and aren’t familiar with the games

Been a long time since I’ve used iTunes; last time I used it was for my iPod Touch, and not even for games. Honestly, I just download mobile games that I want to play from the Apple App Store instead; I don’t really know anybody that uses iTunes anymore, even in 2021.

Path of Exile is also f2p which is nice.

same here it looks like a game worth checking out.

Same here never heard about it until I saw it brought up a few times on this forum

Have you tried it yet?

It’s pretty good so trying it out wouldn’t be a bad idea.

If you like Diablo 2 then you should try Path of Exile!

The graphics look amazing.

agreed this is from 2013 i believe but it’s still really good.

Yea paid VPNs are preferable to use, free ones tend to be untrustworthy with personal info.

VPNs can be useful if you value privacy highly.

Holiday themed games for travelling this time of the year is good too.

Yeah it definitely keeps you occupied for a while

I used to play Solitaire a lot on my old windows desktop with the app pre installed. Even though it was confusing for me as a kid it was fun once i learned how to play.

Solitaire games are fun to play every once in a while. I don’t really keep up with all of the variations of the game since the differences are minute. And there’s always a different strategy depending on how the game is set up, with some versions allowing you to reshuffle if there are no possible moves left until you can make a move, some versions allowing you to use cards that you’ve already placed in one of the four foundations (in versions of Klondike solitaire), and sometimes even versions of Solitaire where you don’t have to alternative between red and black.

Yea the only issue with holiday games is that you only come back to it during the holiday it appears.

Me too, AQ3D is one of those games. Right now it’s frostval season