Best moments in a game

[Epaminondas]

"Funny. That was your first wish."

[LadyCrimson]

Clicking to move Xan over and over to hear him say "Our quest is vain" 50x, laughing like a loon the whole time.

 

...I don't really have "best gaming moments." It's mostly those sudden, inexplicable and wholly random times where I can't stop laughing for some reason that I remember most in terms of years later.  Not that I haven't had satisfying moments of beating a boss or finding an item or liking a chr. arc or whatnot. But none of those compares to a good bout of hysterical laughter.

[Epaminondas]

"*Know* that when death comes for you, *know* that I shall meets its blade with mine. *Know* that when all dies around you, *know* I shall live for your sake."

 

"When we die, Dak'kon, it shall be the same death. It shall be the Pronouncement of Two Deaths As One."

[LittleArmadillo0]

Clicking to move Xan over and over to hear him say "Our quest is vain" 50x, laughing like a loon the whole time.

 

...I don't really have "best gaming moments." It's mostly those sudden, inexplicable and wholly random times where I can't stop laughing for some reason that I remember most in terms of years later.  Not that I haven't had satisfying moments of beating a boss or finding an item or liking a chr. arc or whatnot. But none of those compares to a good bout of hysterical laughter.

I find that some of my favorite memories come pure spontaneity of a game. And by Spontenaity, I mean bugs

[Triple - A Foxy Lad]

This, above all others. I'm at work and I'm fighting back tears so people don't ask questions.

 

 

'Another World' meant many things to many people, but for me it's a compelling portrayal of the loneliness and exhaustion of creative obsession. It's a barrage of broken communication, impressions of odd shapes. You've no choice but to progress via trial and error. And what's the reward? There isn't one.

 

From what I remember, Chahi storyboarded Lester becoming ruler of the aliens, but after two years of solitary graft, the game simply ended with pain, depletion and... some kind of release - maybe death, maybe not. I've got this notion that Chahi was so burnt-out and hermetical by the end, the game wound up mirroring his own state.

 

But obviously this is just me projecting, hoping someone else out there "gets it". I suppose it doesn't matter whether anyone gets it. The fact Chahi created such an outlet is enough.
 

The wonderfully naive John Carpenter-esque ending theme floors me every time. Eight notes that unspool into a clumsy melody. For me, it drives home that the game was made by flawed humans plucking beauty from... somewhere, rather than a process.

 

Chahi got this on some level, and he was a relentless champion of Jean-François Freitas's minimal score. He famously sabotaged Interplay's fax machine to deter interference.

 

And on top of all this, you have the alien. Someone who doesn't understand you perfectly, but is loyal and caring enough to reach through all that and stay with you to the bitter end, like a befuddled yet supportive partner.

 

Man, I could go on about this for so long. I was also going to mention the end of Arkane's Prey. "I need to know if you see us. If you really see us. Take my hand if you do." But I think one rambling, reflective essay is enough for now.

[SonicMage117]

While I love the idea of this thread, it's a spoilerfest

[pmp10]

The ending of original Fallout.

One of rare moments in gaming when I got upset at game world and characters and not writers and designers.

[melkathi]

Meeting the Bane of Kree with Torian Kel in my party.

 

Also what Epaminondas said.

Following up on that: dying in the siege tower.

 

Celes waking up alone in FFVI.

[Epaminondas]

I don't know if this counts as a favorite moment or a favorite item. Pale Justice from Icewind Dale 2. I didn't even realize that it was magic the first run. The second run, I was more careful. Plain looking sword that is brutally good. Best back story too:

 

"Justice always pales in comparison to vanity and ostentatious displays of power. I expected Tyr to manifest his divine will in this blade with lightning and fire. I should have remembered how the blade was given to me... with simple charity and humility. Justice is the right of every man, no matter how rich or poor, no matter how educated or ignorant. It should be found as often in the fields of farmers as it is in the fields of battle."

[Malcador]

[bugarup]

"A slave obeys" -- was spoiled on this one, yet it still was so very powerful;

 

SOMA's end -- the moment right after launching the Ark and then Earth's reveal later. Love when fiction hurts me that way; 

On the other end of the spectrum -- showing the dead cat to random people in Icewind Dale 2;

 

Meeting the first Controller in Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl;

 

Leaving Doc's house in New Vegas, looking around thinking "I'm home".

Edited December 14, 2018 by bugarup

[Hawke64]

Dragon Age: Inquisition. Entering dragon's (Fereldan Frostback) lair for the first time. The dragon survived our encounter.

Dark Souls II. Defeating the Fume Knight, Raime.

Hate Plus. Sort of baking a cake.

 

Edit. The most obvious best moments were excluded and the best "moments" that lasted the whole game.

Edited December 15, 2018 by Hawke64

[Epaminondas]

I remember exiting the vault in Fallout for the first time. I liked they way they did it in Fallout 3, but it had much more impact for me in Fallout 1. Also, Hello Sailor. Good God, finally saying "Hello Sailor" and having it actually do something was just... tremendous. The death of the robot friend in Planetfall. There are so many great moments in games. I think my favorite moments in the aggregate are when I can act noble and good in a way that my meager real life mental and moral powers don't allow.

[marelooke]

"A slave obeys" -- was spoiled on this one, yet it still was so very powerful;

 

SOMA's end -- the moment right after launching the Ark and then Earth's reveal later. Love when fiction hurts me that way; 

On the other end of the spectrum -- showing the dead cat to random people in Icewind Dale 2;

 

Meeting the first Controller in Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl;

 

Leaving Doc's house in New Vegas, looking around thinking "I'm home".

 

I can only nod at those, SOMA was such a great great game.

 

Oh god, the first of those invisible guys in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. in those underground tunnels certainly left an impression (and a bunch of empty clips). And those labs... *shiver*

 

In the same vein the original Ishimura from Dead Space really left a mark. I strolled through Dead Space 2 being rather unhorrified in general but...

 

...when the game made you go back into the docked Ishimura I felt all the terror from the first game came racing right back at me.

 

Edited January 14, 2019 by marelooke

[Chilloutman]

Vampire the Masquerade - many good times, but that haunted hotel..

 

S.T.A.L.K.E.R - a lot of brown undies in that one

 

Playing F2 for first time when I was 13 with vocabulary in my hand as I was not speaking english and being blown out that there are primitives in same world as guns

 

Seeing intro to Age of Empires for first time, listening to sounds of those units

 

Finally sending all my tanks one by one to enemy base in Dune 2 only to realise half of them was eaten by worm on the way there

 

chrusing peons by tower golem in Battle Chess

 

seeing Skaar in Unreal first time on the ship and those sounds when you step out....

 

Figuring out that all those followers in Torment are actually following me for many lifes (well at least those inteesting ones)

 

Playing on LAN parties first DOTAs

 

playing leagues with friends in CS

 

Fresh meat! and all that atmosphere in D1

 

First time playing Morrowind, discovering first open world RPG and how fantastic it looked

 

 

All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain

[injurai]

Age of Mythology, getting turned into pigs by Circe.

 

Probably my favorite moment in an RTS.

[Malcador]

Listening to people rage on Overwatch reminded me of playing Natural Selection back in 2002 or so, some guy raging at me for not giving him the gear he demanded and that culminated in him calling me a "Catholic Jew ****".  Memorable for everyone falling silent and one guy asking "How is that an insult, exactly?"

[Fenixp]

Listening to people rage on Overwatch reminded me of playing Natural Selection back in 2002 or so, some guy raging at me for not giving him the gear he demanded and that culminated in him calling me a "Catholic Jew ****".  Memorable for everyone falling silent and one guy asking "How is that an insult, exactly?"

I actually enjoyed online interactions with random people back when I was still playing online games in 00s. Still remember the dude who totally whooped my and my friend's arse in Dawn of War just to let us live, build back up a bit and lead a war on two fronts against his Necron hordes (we almost got him, but ... Then he got the revive thing for his Necron Lord before it was nerfed. Damn.)

 

'Spose it might be just me getting old, but cool interactions like that felt increasingly sparse when I was trying to play MP with randos, all the way to me ... Well, not doing that anymore.

[Chilloutman]

 

Listening to people rage on Overwatch reminded me of playing Natural Selection back in 2002 or so, some guy raging at me for not giving him the gear he demanded and that culminated in him calling me a "Catholic Jew ****".  Memorable for everyone falling silent and one guy asking "How is that an insult, exactly?"

I actually enjoyed online interactions with random people back when I was still playing online games in 00s. Still remember the dude who totally whooped my and my friend's arse in Dawn of War just to let us live, build back up a bit and lead a war on two fronts against his Necron hordes (we almost got him, but ... Then he got the revive thing for his Necron Lord before it was nerfed. Damn.)

 

'Spose it might be just me getting old, but cool interactions like that felt increasingly sparse when I was trying to play MP with randos, all the way to me ... Well, not doing that anymore.

 

 

Normies ruined internets

[Fenixp]

Normies are a bunch of phallic-shaped objects

[Malcador]

 

Listening to people rage on Overwatch reminded me of playing Natural Selection back in 2002 or so, some guy raging at me for not giving him the gear he demanded and that culminated in him calling me a "Catholic Jew ****".  Memorable for everyone falling silent and one guy asking "How is that an insult, exactly?"

I actually enjoyed online interactions with random people back when I was still playing online games in 00s. Still remember the dude who totally whooped my and my friend's arse in Dawn of War just to let us live, build back up a bit and lead a war on two fronts against his Necron hordes (we almost got him, but ... Then he got the revive thing for his Necron Lord before it was nerfed. Damn.)

 

'Spose it might be just me getting old, but cool interactions like that felt increasingly sparse when I was trying to play MP with randos, all the way to me ... Well, not doing that anymore.

 

 

Oh yeah, there are tonnes of good memories even playing with random people.  Just that story makes me crack up when I remember it just for how outlandish it was.

 

But for toxic behaviour, I think it's SSDY, well, at least in MP FPS games.  From Quake 2 with people claiming everyone else were hacking homosexuals with prostitute mothers, to CS where I got to hear that (along with nice porn sprays mind you), to DoD with everyone thinking them playing "Wollt ihr den totalen Krieg?" over voice chat was witty and so on.  

Edited January 14, 2019 by Malcador

[injurai]

I like how normies is itself such an outdated concept on the internet. It's proper old***. (I self censored that btw, give me internet points for much consideration.)

 

I think internet culture shifting from mostly university professionals and enthusiasts, to mostly kids with free-time still working out their behavioral issues is mostly why the internet started to such so much. Eternal September and all that. This forum is oddly reminiscent of the older days to be honest.

Edited January 15, 2019 by injurai

[Malcador]

I like how normies is itself such an outdated concept on the internet. It's proper old***. (I self censored that btw, give me internet points for much consideration.)

 

I think internet culture shifting from mostly university professionals and enthusiasts, to mostly kids with free-time still working out their behavioral issues is mostly why the internet started to such so much. Eternal September and all that. This forum is oddly reminiscent of the older days to be honest.

 

And I had thought it was chemtrails.

[Chilloutman]

I like how normies is itself such an outdated concept on the internet. It's proper old***. (I self censored that btw, give me internet points for much consideration.)

 

I think internet culture shifting from mostly university professionals and enthusiasts, to mostly kids with free-time still working out their behavioral issues is mostly why the internet started to such so much. Eternal September and all that. This forum is oddly reminiscent of the older days to be honest.

 

I don't think so, I was using internet on high school (old days of first counter strike) as most of my classmates and it was much more... familiar? It was days when you didn't needed ad block, corporations where not all over the place and oversensitive people were still mocked and not in power.

[Triple - A Foxy Lad]

Hey ive still got behavioural issues and im 35 now.