Play Like You're Five

[Sean Sands]

Play Like You're Five

Sometimes we're so focused on playing a game that we forget to stop and have fun with it.

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[Cpt_Oblivious]

I'm going to try this in every game I own now. Thanks for the idea.

 

[Say Anything]

While "acting like a five year old" may be fun to do when playing a game like Super Mario Galaxy or even the GTA series as you mentioned, I can't really think of ways to do that in a linear-style play (think Half-Life 2) or online (think Team Fortress 2, Call of Duty), and unfortunately, these are pretty much the only type of games I play.

Mind you, when I launch Knytt Stories I'm ready to explore and not focused so much on the goal of "win" but moreso "have fun". However, this is honestly the only game I have in my possesion that isn't as I mentioned before. Do I have a horrible taste in games? I wouldn't say so. I enjoy the titles for what they are. Yes, when I go over to a friend's house to play GTA, I will ramp my motorcycle off into the ocean as many ways as possible. But when I'm playing through Portal, I don't really see the need to stop and create some kind of little maneuver - the main goal is fun enough.

 

[scape]

Great idea, this will be my new outlook to gaming!

 

[Ursus Astrorum]

Part of it's because of the character I play, but in WoW I spend hours just riding lazily through Azeroth on the back of my Kodo (soon to be Talbuk). I really love the way Arathi Highlands looks. It's very nice.

 

[Krakyn]

In Fallout 3, I would often stand in a corner and throw frag grenades at the ground, or I would run up to the highest section of highway I could find and jump right the hell off. Back when I played Halo, I'd also hit my feet with a plasma grenade and run around yelling "Shiny SHOOOOEEEEES!" and had the joy of seeing myself explode on my friend's co-op screen.

I think this type of playing started because I had to impress my brother and sister when I was younger. I was the oldest of the three of us, and the only one who could handle the controls for games like Resident Evil, Megaman Legends, and Metal Gear Solid, so I had to do silly things to keep them interested - like setting 20 lbs. of C4 on a wall outside the Revolver Ocelot boss battle and blowing up every one of the endless, stupid guards that ran up to see what all the commotion was about.

Honestly, it's influenced my life so heavily, I couldn't imagine my gaming life without that perspective; some of my best memories in life are of those times with my siblings.

 

[Deguasser]

Great idea.

 

[Crazie_Guy]

Welcome to adulthood - where we get to look back and remember how fun being a kid was.

Glad to see that's no different even for people who make a living out of entertainment.

 

[Shnoogle]

I often get the opportunity in Warcraft to play like a five year old. Several members of my guild have taken the basic Hide & seek gameplay and enacted it when bored in Dalaran or Stormwind. Simply turning off friendly nameplates (for the seeker) and a change of clothing for the hiders enable a whole stealthy level of playing "in" the game.

Another old favourite was in Stranglethorn Vale, where there is a calm bay with a handy cliff which is begging to be jumped off. Many times in the past I have had competitions with friends and guildies to try the most "bodacious" moves in mid air.

The amount of hours I have "wasted" in these simple past-times would probably stagger me, but meh, I loved every minute of it!

 

[Brotherofwill]

LBP kind of was a similar experience for me. It's such a laid back game that just running around and occasionally messing with your coop buddies is great fun.

At one point me and my brother started doing a dance routine, rotating our arms at a certain speed in specific motions. The other 2 online players caught on and soon it was 4 sackboys standing around and dancing.

I laughed so much while playing the game, it was an incredible experience. I'd recommend any dad or mother to try this with their kids.

 

[Smokescreen]

It's always good to stop and remember why you were having fun. Appreciate what is, not what you think it ought to be.

 

[the_tramp]

Thank you good sir! You have made me realise why I am a gamer!

I have gamed since I was... 4 or something and in the recent 3-5 years I have felt myself grow bored of games and pondered what it was about them that have kept me hooked for the past 15 years. I, like you, have matured into a gamer that eagerly seeks the next goal and pushed forward without exploring and, how you put it, playing in the game.

Off the top of my head, I can complete Little Big Adventure 2 in about 3-4 hours... easily, but I spent months, years playing that game as a pre-teen and thus I know pretty much everything about the game... every secret, every hidden item, every hidden line of dialogue because I explored and actually played the game.

Thank you for solving this dilemma for me and reminding me about what I love about games.

 

[rohit9891]

nice idea...i'm also going to try this out
actually i never even thought about how i used to play when i was a kid

 

[Flap Jack452]

I already do this. I used to spend hours in WoW just exploring lazily, seeing the sights. Same with Oblivion and such. Goals be damned.

Who knows how many hours I wasted in Orgrimar (?) literally doing nothing. I wasn't AFK I just didn't do anything except chase people's pets and look at shiny objects.

 

[Gameguy151]

i feel bad for you man, sounds like you don't even get to play the game anymore. well, back to Fallout then, right?