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Things in gaming that bring you joy

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Clintizzle

Lord of Edge.
1, Fully realized worlds with offline single-player. An RPG or FPS that I can just chill on the couch and get lost in.

2, A great soundtrack - this really compliments point 1. IMO the most important thing a single-player game needs to create atmosphere.

 

Brigandier

Member
The first time entering a lush area in an RPG and the music is incredible to boot (hi xenoblade series).

The joy of setting up and turning new hardware on for the first time.

When kickass music kicks in on a boss battle, most recently FF16 wow.

Obtaining a super weapon like a RMEA from FFXI

Christian Bale Oooo GIF
 

SHA

Member
I don't usually play for this reason but I'm sure Nintendo games ,indies and classics are made for this specific reason.
 
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SmokedMeat

Gamer™
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1. Damage numbers, or scores tallying up from kills

2. The chirp from killing an opponent in Killzone. The Red X from a kill in Halo
infinite. Red skull from a headshot in Warfighter.

3. Single hit Assassinations in Assassin’s Creed

4. Jamming my katana into an enemy in Tenchu

Shit like that.
 

Trilobit

Gold Member
I love having a safe house to return to. A place where you can chill and relax before going out on adventures again. Could be a home or a hideout. I wish the Spider-Man games allowed you to go to your apartment whenever you wanted. Octavius' lab was the closest thing, I'd listen to music there and solve some puzzles to relax. The Sly games ignited this joy in me.

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Cooking and eating mechanics. When they are satisfying and cozy I feel at peace. Cooking a steak over the fire in RDR2 was awesome, but I wish you could bring a pot with you and make a stew also. Breath of the Wild came close as I would enjoy watching the ingredients jump and dance on the pan, but it lacked the cozy aspect for some reason.

I think the winner here is The Long Dark because it is vital and a core mechanic to eat. The sound design also elevates it, and makes you hungry irl. Hearing the water boil as you try to survive cold temperatures or the sizzling of meat as you cook it warms my heart.

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IAmRei

Member
for me:
- exploit gameplay, and abusing boss or grunts (FF tactics for me)
- see new town/city or new locations and their high fantasy details in jrpg especially
- visual effect in hack and slash games / action rpg
- explorable area, with some hidden details, i think metroid or darksouls style
- getting wet in some water locations, especially if you can swim, i love FFX just for that
- character creation with good customization options
- new game plus that adjustable so you dont do much OP, in Xenoblade Definition Edition, which you can decrease and increase your character level for example
 

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Three examples from a long time ago:




I love dumb stuff like this. Made more clips on the channel. I should get back to doing that.

Also can't leave out that sweet, sweet VICTORY ROYALE. I know it's a gimmick but oh man that delicious feeling knowing you came out on top out of 100. I feel like it would be cheapened if I just decided to grind until my skill level was past pubs, but keeping it casual and every now and then pulling it off through a sweaty top 5 is something else.
 

Trunx81

Member
When the area suddenly opens up and reveals a much larger scale. God of War did this, especially the second one on the island. Was blown away.

Back in the days: Footprints in sand or snow. I remember walking around the beach for a few minutes in Pokémon Ruby, just enjoying this. As well as the reflections of my character in the water.

Small details, like the melting ice cubes in Metal Gear. Things you know no one really needs but the developers put them there because they cared.
 

Raploz

Member
Unlocking something new with in-game currency or by doing something in a way that feels like you earned it, no loot boxes, microtransactions, or being showered with items for no apparent reason. Good examples of this are the classic NFS/Midnight Club games (new cities/areas, car parts), Gran Turismo (up until 4, maybe 5), Mario Kart (new circuits and karts), classic Zeldas (a new dungeon item), or classic RPGs like Chrono Trigger and the leveling-up mechanic.

The worst examples I can think of are mobile games and Forza Horizon. It's almost like they read somewhere that "the brain's reward system goes haywire when people get a reward" and apply that to the game without any understanding about creating a sense of progression. It feels meaningless when I get random stuff in loot boxes or when I finish a race in Forza Horizon and I get 300 cars and 200.000 credits.
 

Fess

Member
Stepping out in an open world and realizing how much there is to see. (Bethesda games in particular)

Experimenting and getting something to work or solve a puzzle in an unusual and unintended way. (Zelda TOTK)

Side-scrolling platformers and metroidvanias.

60 or more fps.

Physics on objects, clothes, hair, body.

A deactivate blood and gore option without having to use mods.

Localized audio so I don’t have to be a translator when playing with the kids.

Nice water, rolling waves, bonus joy if I can dive and see life below the surface.

Car damage.

Exploring a world and finding something cool without having any hints.
 
Stepping out in an open world and realizing how much there is to see. (Bethesda games in particular)

Experimenting and getting something to work or solve a puzzle in an unusual and unintended way. (Zelda TOTK)

Side-scrolling platformers and metroidvanias.

60 or more fps.

Physics on objects, clothes, hair, body.

A deactivate blood and gore option without having to use mods.

Localized audio so I don’t have to be a translator when playing with the kids.

Nice water, rolling waves, bonus joy if I can dive and see life below the surface.

Car damage.

Exploring a world and finding something cool without having any hints.
Despite previous souls games before Elden Ring not being Open World, the sense of scale and world design was absolutely on a different level. From Software are masters of illusion.

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elmos-acc

Member
Seeing wildlife in video games. I remember when I played Red Dead Redemption back when it came out and I just thought it would be GTA in the wild west - which is kind of true but my mind was literally blown away when I learned that there are animals. I don't think I had ever seen animals in an open-world game.

Nowadays animals are everywhere in games, but in many games they do not pass the "immersion test", like I do not see the hippos in AC: Origins as living breathing things, but as NPC's, enemies. But spotting a fox in RDR2 always brings me joy.
 
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