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Games that introduce you to something

SmokeScribe98

Minstrel
Games are amazing things, they tell us amazing stories, give us amazing characters and amazing fun, but they also introduce us and enchant us with things. Games can teach us and educate us as well, before playing Assassin's Creed 2 I knew nothing about the Renaissance and I didn't really care much about Italy but after playing I was completely enchanted by this new period and this country I knew so little about before. Not only did that game introduce me to the franchise but also to Italy and the Renaissance, something I was so enchanted by I felt I had to write about it. There was also the Elder Scrolls series which introduced me to the roleplaying genre and really got me hooked on RPG games as a whole.

So my question is, what games have meant so much to you that they changed your life as a whole for the better?
 
Legend of Zelda Oot introduced my brother and I to Roleplaying games, after a long list of them I found the elder scrolls series and now I can't play other RPG's cause it away's feels like something is missing in them.

Assassin's creed introduced me to enjoying other history besides ancient-ancient civilizations. To characters that although didn't say much, their personality dripped from every word.

Tales of Symphonia helped me become more creative. There was something about tales of Symphonia that was far more appealing then any final fantasy game, or any other of the tales games. I really liked the characters and the history in this rpg. Even the stuff that wasn't said was well done.

Minecraft introduced me to fear. I was like the most fearless kid ever I'd watch horror movies, play amnesia, walk down sketchy streets in my home city, and was perfectly fine. Then I played minecraft early in its development. With no clue how to do anything. I just jumped in and had the most hellish night in that game imaginable. I have never feared pixels so. XD

Age of Empires introduced me to tactics. I'd suck at all these games if it weren't for age of empires. This game made me think a head so I wouldn't waste resources.

Dreamfall:the Longest Journey, The best freak-en plot ever. It made me want to write. Want to dream up worlds where magic or science ruled. Where in the ordinary there could be extraordinary. It made me realize why I was depressed from school and how to over come it. It gave me a character I could easily relate to. A mystery I wanted to solve and creatures that I wanted to meet. I also still think the backgrounds in this game are just breath taking.
 

Leuco

Troubadour
Sounds strange maybe, but I think the original Sid Meier Civilization game helped me appreciate history a bit more. If anything, it kind of helps you see where things (technology, political and philosophical ideas) came from and what came before them. Things don't just magically appear in history. There's always some context--always some cause, or some predecessor. And after learning about what ancient people could accomplish without any cranes or computers, or calculators, it really makes you think. Of course, this is all a postiive humanist slant on history. I could easily say something morbid and depressing about the game's endless violence throughout the ages. At its core, it's really all about world domination and fun with nukes.
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Oh and Oregan Trail taught me all about the dangers of dysentery. :)
 

Daenelia

Dreamer
Awww, CivII, how many hours did you distract me from my university courses...? Many, many hours.

I think a recent game that really got me was Dragon Age: Origins. I am not sure if I learned anything from it, other than that I wasn't half-bad at the combat, and that the storytelling was awesome. I found a renewed faith in creating fictional characters that felt real, something I had not felt in a long time, in games or in books. I was pretty jaded, having read so many books and too many bad ones at that. Or played games that just didnt go anywhere.

I don't think games really introduced me to anything specific, since I usually picked games that matched my interest.
 

A. E. Lowan

Forum Mom
Leadership
I would have to say Shadowrun, the roleplaying game from the early 1990's. It was technically supposed to be a cyberpunk spinoff, but what it did was give me my first true taste of urban fantasy. After that I was hooked!
 

Rinzei

Troubadour
Final Fantasy VII introduced me to the world of RPGs, which took my storytelling off from there.

Games like TES IV: Oblivion introduced me to open sandbox. I was already hooked on customisable characters, but a world where it was all up to me? The possibilities became endless.
 

Bruce McKnight

Troubadour
Civ taught me how the world worked. Ah, how many nights did I crash face down on the keyboard? I distinctly remember playing Civ3 and some stupid little country in the desert right next to me wouldn't trade me oil, no matter how much I offered them. I was getting way behind because I didn't have access to oil, so I declared war on them and took their oil... the it hit me...

It's the most educational game of all time.
 
If you want to understand the immensely complicated feudal system, you might want to play Crusader Kings II. Your goal is to ensure the survival of your dynasty and increase your prestige. You can play as an emperor, king, duke or count in medieval Europe and work your way up and expand your realm.

It really helps you understand the feudal system.
 

Lawfire

Sage
If you want to understand the immensely complicated feudal system, you might want to play Crusader Kings II. Your goal is to ensure the survival of your dynasty and increase your prestige. You can play as an emperor, king, duke or count in medieval Europe and work your way up and expand your realm.

It really helps you understand the feudal system.
Looks interesting. Thanks for the recommendation.
 

Nobby

Sage
Fallout two when I actually realised that I really was trying to make the wasteland a better place :)

For the life of me I still can't understand why I can't play as an evil character in a game to this day.
 

Sam Evren

Troubadour
Valve's Portal on PC, for opening my mind to a whole new method of operation. There was a moment when I was playing in this space with altered physics and my mind just expanded to think under new conditions.

If you're not familiar with Portal, there's a PC demo on Steam.

The other would be the original Might and Magic, for introducing me to the idea of interacting with the fantasy world. I could actually face off against the creatures of myth and lore---and very often my knowledge of their lineage (from myth and fantasy) gave me insight into how to fight them! :)
 

Sam Evren

Troubadour
If you want to understand the immensely complicated feudal system, you might want to play Crusader Kings II. Your goal is to ensure the survival of your dynasty and increase your prestige. You can play as an emperor, king, duke or count in medieval Europe and work your way up and expand your realm.

It really helps you understand the feudal system.

There's a game called The Guild: Europa 1400, also sold now as The Guild: Gold (as opposed to The Guild 2, which I haven't extensively played), that simulates day to day life in the 1400's.

From establishing businesses, spying on neighbors and competitors, gaining "citizenship," politicking to be on the town council, it made me rethink some of my preconceptions of the time.

It also has dynastic succession, so that, as you play a game, your character will eventually die, but if you've married and had children that lived, you can pass the family name/business/fortune (and game) to that next generation.
 
Games in general have given me endless inspiration for my imagination, from the art design that go into the visuals, to certain story twists and interesting characters. Games like Fallout and Elder Scrolls give me great freedom to experiment, designing a character and then play testing them in a huge world.

But the Age of Empires series really deserves a shout out. It has given me some of the most interesting and memorable history lessons I've ever had. It's probably the main reason I know about (or am even remotely interested in) Joan of Arc, Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun (who especially fascinated me), Saladin, El Cid, and Montezuma. Not to mention all the trivia about the civilisations and technology. Thank you AOE.
 

Smith

Minstrel
I've always been fascinated by Renaissance Italy, ever since I self-studied Michelangelo as a child and completely fell in love with his work, but Assassin's Creed II definitely made me appreciate other elements of the era, the politics, the church, the powerful banking families, and gave me an even greater appreciation for the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci. This game has definitely informed other areas of my life, with the architecture and atmosphere infusing locations in my present novel. It's fortunate, too, that AC4 reawakened a dormant interest in the Golden Age of Piracy just as my novel took a turn toward pirates and privateers.

Up until I played TES: Skyrim, I was convinced the meaning of RPG was Final Fantasy-esque turn-based-combat-system monstrosities which deterred me from delving into the genre, and then when I picked up Skyrim, my life completely changed. It's thanks to the rich and amazing lore of the TES universe that I ever decided to focus on developing my own fantasy world and writing the stories that take place there.

And an honorable (pun intended) mention: without Dishonored, I wouldn't be writing the story I'm writing now. The world of that game completely consumed me, and trying to imitate some of what I loved about it is what set me on the track to the novel I have now.
 
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