ES IV Oblivion Remaster

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Appreciate your insight.

And yet you play Gemstone? If any game is meets the definition of doing the same thing over and over again, it’s that game. Just curious.

Sorry I took so long to answer your question. I really had to think about it and this is what I came up with.

First it has really good mechanics. Progression takes years but the rewards are recognizable as you go. From combat to spells to stats to skills Gemstone really nailed it with the basic framework for a game.

That it is a text game is another big reason. When I want to read something I'll read it and imagine it the way I want to imagine it and when I don't want to read it I'll just look at the combat numbers scroll by and enjoy seeing flares go off, lucky hits, set up interesting combos, and everything else that goes along with combat. Crafting too for that matter.

With graphic games you're seeing someone else's vision and while it may be pretty seeing it again and again and again gets boring for me. When I do want to read in GS I may imagine it differently every time.

Another huge factor is the super dedicated staff and player community. That staff continually cranks out content really makes this game worth playing. I've played so many other games where there is never any game master interaction at all. You'll get updates to mechanics, nerfs, and whatnot with other big money games but having live storytelling and a constant output of new areas, weapons, mechanics, items, stories, paid events, and everything else they produce consistently every year really makes a big difference. In fact this may be the biggest reason Gemstone is still alive today. The staff are just amazing at keeping content fresh.

Last of all I think nostalgia is a huge factor in my coming back to it every once in awhile. It definitely has a place in the history of gaming in general and that's huge. I know when I log in I'll see things that I remember from 30 years ago that gave me enjoyment then. I'll see names, places, mobs, areas, and items that take me back to when I first started playing which at the time was a cutting edge game format. For anyone who had the experience of playing Zork and Dungeons & Dragons, GS was mind-blowing.

If Fallout or other graphic games had active game masters doing events, making new items, new areas, new skills, and all of that I think they would be much more replayable in my opinion.

[Suppressed Poet]

Sorry I took so long to answer your question. I really had to think about it and this is what I came up with.

First it has really good mechanics. Progression takes years but the rewards are recognizable as you go. From combat to spells to stats to skills Gemstone really nailed it with the basic framework for a game.

That it is a text game is another big reason. When I want to read something I'll read it and imagine it the way I want to imagine it and when I don't want to read it I'll just look at the combat numbers scroll by and enjoy seeing flares go off, lucky hits, set up interesting combos, and everything else that goes along with combat. Crafting too for that matter.

With graphic games you're seeing someone else's vision and while it may be pretty seeing it again and again and again gets boring for me. When I do want to read in GS I may imagine it differently every time.

Another huge factor is the super dedicated staff and player community. That staff continually cranks out content really makes this game worth playing. I've played so many other games where there is never any game master interaction at all. You'll get updates to mechanics, nerfs, and whatnot with other big money games but having live storytelling and a constant output of new areas, weapons, mechanics, items, stories, paid events, and everything else they produce consistently every year really makes a big difference. In fact this may be the biggest reason Gemstone is still alive today. The staff are just amazing at keeping content fresh.

Last of all I think nostalgia is a huge factor in my coming back to it every once in awhile. It definitely has a place in the history of gaming in general and that's huge. I know when I log in I'll see things that I remember from 30 years ago that gave me enjoyment then. I'll see names, places, mobs, areas, and items that take me back to when I first started playing which at the time was a cutting edge game format. For anyone who had the experience of playing Zork and Dungeons & Dragons, GS was mind-blowing.

If Fallout or other graphic games had active game masters doing events, making new items, new areas, new skills, and all of that I think they would be much more replayable in my opinion.

Word. I agree Gemstone is a great game and on a many of the points you mentioned. I sold my main years ago. Every now and then I get the itch to play again, but for whatever reason I just can’t get immersed like I used to. Also my available time and attention span to video games has severely decreased as I have aged.

Asmongold also talks about this phenomenon. After so many years of playing WOW (especially Classic), once he took a long pause from the game he just could not find the same enjoyment from it whenever he tried to return. It feels daunting and tiresome whenever he attempts to do so.