My name is Brandon, and I'm on a journey to find balance between my love for games and my desire to live an intentional life. I invite you to join me as I share my progress and perspective. Hope to see you there!
I am definitely a fan of save states. Their existence does not force anyone to use them, but they are a great accessibility option. I agree with the points you've made here. At the end of the day, if I want to challenge myself without save states, I can. But if I want to experience a game without losing time because I don't care to essentially waste my time to "git gud", that should be an option for me. A more recent example for me is Jet Force Gemini, which came to NSO fairly recently. I never could beat that game as a kid - and now that I have beaten it (thanks in good part to save states), I discovered how much of the game I was missing out on because some parts were just too tough for Little Eightbit. I'm all for making games more accessible to more people. Developers go through everything that they do to make a game, so why wouldn't they want more people to play their creation? Great video, homie! Stay awesome! <3
Who has time to git gud?! Not I! I love how effective save states are at improving accessibility. Also, Jet Force Gemini was such a treat back in the day. I never got anywhere close to beating it, but I remember having a lot of fun with it with friends.
I respect your adherence to habits and tackling the challenge of forming them in the first place. Semi-related: a thing that I strongly believe that we as humans do is act in line with our values. When our actions don't match up with our values, it creates conflict within us. So, to take your three habits that you mentioned here a step further, it could be worthwhile to assess what values you hold close that promote your adherence to your habits. Food for thought for you, just as your video was food for thought for me :) <3
I completely agree! I got to a point when working on this one where I felt like I needed to dive into that topic in depth, but it started ballooning out of control, and I bailed out real fast 😂 It’s important. And incredibly complex. 🫠
Difficulty is the most important thing in any videogame for me personally. Rewinding makes games easier = bad in my book. I don't care about QOL that much tbh. When I played SMT 3 Nocturne I loved that I couldn't just save anywhere and I also liked the random encounters. There was a moment when I was playing for an hour without saving, used an item that prevented encounters with lower level enemies and right as I was about to be able to save, I encountered higher level enemies and got one-shot. That was one of my favorite videogame moments of all time...
I love this. Everyone enjoys different aspects of games. That would utterly wreck my motivation to pick it up again 😭 If I a game had a rewind option, would that be a negative for you? Would you want it locked behind a setting you have to choose before you start a playthrough? Also, Nocturne is amazing 😍
@@IntentionalBrandon That would be one solution. Though I should probably get used to restricting myself from using certain mechanics instead as most games nowadays introduce mechanics with the intention to make games less frustrating. So I'm not necessarily against it when it comes to single player games.. Fighting games are a good example where I think it can be damaging though. Many modern fighting games having 'easy input' as an option with little drawback will lead to newcomers not being able to play older fighting games (or games like Tekken that don't have easy input) and also invalidates the practice veterans had to go through
@@hyde_stopStealingMyUsername, I find that if a game has a mechanic, it’s hard for me to stop myself from taking advantage of it. Usually not a problem, but for people who don’t want it to be easier, I could see that causing issues. Fighting games have always been interesting in that respect. The barrier to entry is so high for a lot of them that I wonder if the input method is holding them back from reaching a wider audience. Not something I’ve ever looked into, really, but I have wondered. They can be tons of fun, but for a lot of them, you really have to put in work to get to the fun.
If it wasn't for savestates fighting games wouldn't be the same, aside from uses in training modes, it's also the basis of he most popular netcode variant, rollback. Instead of delaying your inputs to match up to the opponents, the game predicts you next input for you in real time and rewinds to a snapshot if it predicted incorrectly
Love to hear about the steps you've taken to prioritize what you want from your days! I've tried a few systems, like Bullet Journal, but nothing sticks just yet. But tomorrow is another day and another chance to try again 💪
I definitely struggle with balancing my life and gaming habits, so I'm right there with you. I need to be better about prioritizing my habits and ensuring that I'm making sure to take care of the ones that matter most. Gaming is important to me and deserves its dedicated time, but not at the expense of other habits.. I'm looking at you gym time >_<
This is why I exercise at home. No way am I going to be able to get myself to take that much time out of my day to go to a different place to move around 😂
Please for those who want to play something that isnt "Steam Deck Verified", check Proton DB to see if there is a quick and dirty way to get an unverified title running.
Love the channel, dude! I immediately reacted to your content like that 2010 meme of a stereotypical gentleman going like, I see you're a man of culture... That said, consider this comment as a nudge of the destiny saying, go play Neon White, you'll probably like it.
This deserves more views. I never understood why my elders treated video games like a waste of time, but not movies, books or literally any other form of media. And to add to #1: one of the best lessons I've ever learned from being a Steam user -- _something being on sale is not a good enough reason to buy it._ You have to ask yourself, do I actually want this? Am I actually going to use it? Or is the incredibly low price tag just making me feel FOMO?
The FOMO is tough! Being intentional with purchases can be a challenge for me when I see a really low price, so I get lots of opportunities to practice 😂
All men are mortal Socrates is a man therefore Socrates is mortal Steam Deck is a video game machine JRPG is a video game genre therefore Steam Deck is a JRPG machine
As a trophy hunter with a massive backlog I'm working through I feel like shorter games are becoming my go to. I look at a game that is 100 hours and I know it's going to be great, but I'm going to get exhausted after 50 or 60 usually. I feel 25-35 hours if the perfect length for most games I play these days and only rarely do I think longer than that is going to be worth it. I did play Ys 8 last year and that was 75 hours and I never once felt like "this could have been over 20 hours ago" but those are few and far between.
That exhaustion you mention is always such a strange feeling for me. I love the game, so why am I so burnt out on it? This is something I’m still exploring and trying to find a better way of handling. Because I know I’m going to keep buying the long ones 😂
This is an awesome video with really good points. I used to achievement hunt hard, but now I use it more or less as a "journal" that marks milestones, and that has helped my mentality with my game catalog significantly.
@@IntentionalBrandon Much less, it became something I felt I needed to do so even if I didn't like the game or lost interest, it became an obligation. Very unhealthy mindset for me.
This lines up with my own experiences on the rare occasion that I’ve tried going for all achievements. Somehow a game I was enjoying became a chore. Not ideal!
Lunacid is absolutely incredible. The kings field games were so good, and they nailed the esthetic with this one. For a single dev, it's really impressive.
I’ve actually not played them either, but I want to. Last I looked into them, I heard that the Steam versions were pretty solid and not inferior to the console versions. Just yesterday, I saw the bundle went on sale on GreenManGaming, and it’s so tempting, but I just bought a few games the day before 😭 Oh well. It’s a good opportunity to practice patience!
Its utterly ridiculous when you look at the SNES, which was the best JRPG Console ever made. And then the followup console the N64 had what, two RPGs, Quest 64 and Aidyn Chronicles? The N64 failed so hard in what the SNES excelled, its ridiculous! Chrono Trigger, Terranigma (Quintet games), Treassure of the Rudras, Secret of Mana's, the FF roaster, Dragon Quest's, Mario RPG, Lufia's and dozens more. The best of the best JRPGs ever made were on the SNES.
I love seeing you continue to enjoy your dungeon crawlers! It's been nice to see more and more come out lately, and they always make me think of your Grimrock streams. I prefer the ones like Etrian Odyssey with interesting puzzles and player mapping tools (as opposed to auto-mapping). Are the DCs you showed similar to that? I also appreciate that EO isn't *too* scary/spooky 😅
@@desocietas I’m finding that I want to try more dungeon crawlers! Etrian Odyssey has had my eye for a little while. Maybe one day! Grimrock was so well named. Grim. Those games beat me down bad 😂 I’d say both Undernauts and Wizardry are lighter on the puzzle elements, and they both map it out for you automatically. Probably not so similar to your preferences.
I love your sporadic assortment of videos. Whether it be video essays like "Game Localization: Why Everyone is Wrong", shining light on hidden gems like this video or casual life updates and anecdotes like your "collecting games is [REDACTED]" video; your videos always lead me to knowledge which i wouldn't have sought out otherwise. While your channel currently has less than 200 subscribers, I hope you keep this free spirited approach as your channel grows and continue to do what you personally enjoy. I'm certain that I'll be looking back at this channel in a year and, perhaps, it will have amassed houndreds of thousands of subscribers, but I hope that you see this comment before that. Keep doing what you enjoy! I really appreciate your work!
Dang. That’s… 😭 Thank you! So much! It’s all still so new to me, and I’m slowly finding my way, but the experimentation and exploration part of it is something I truly value. Having an outlet like this has been incredible, and I look forward to making many “failures” along the way! Please bear with me when I stumble 😂
@@IntentionalBrandon To quote your passage from your game localization video, the times when your work doesn't resonate with your audience aren't necessarily "faliures" no matter how much resonating with your audience may be the intended goal. "It is not necesarily bad, it's just... different 'chigaimasu'". Please don't let the fear of catering to your audience prevent you from taking risks. It is precisely that diversity that creates the beauty in art. Create what you like and I, and many others, will be here to listen!
You want an action RPG? Try out the INCREDIBLY underrated CrossCode. One of the best indie games ever made to which I'm surprised as to why not many talked about it
Awesome! I will look more into these for sure. I don't think I'm a good fit for all of them, but a couple caught my eye. Thank you for the detailed and spoiler-free overviews! I would love to see more of this type of content periodically too, as you play and discover more games. Keep up the great work, man! 🙏 Appreciate you!
I absolutely LOVE this reframe. Excellent points made throughout. I particularly adored: "We're built on failure. Failure is the essential nutrient for growth." and of course, "SO GET IN THERE AND FAIL!" 😂 I definitely think that there's a stigma associated with "wasting your time" playing video games, but as you've concluded here, there is genuine value in how games teach us and influence who we become. Particularly salient for me in my work with folks in therapy - I would love to paraphrase some of your verbiage and / or perspectives from this if the situation arises, if that's okay with you. Thank you as always for the great content, homie! 🙏 Keep it up! 💜
I have access to multiple gaming PCs and all nearly all consoles. Still, I keep reaching for the Switch and Steam Deck. The ability to sleep quickly is essential for me now. Switch still has the best sleep mode, then Steam Deck, then PS4/5. No suspend for games on PC really stops me from playing unless I have a lot of uninterrupted time.
The Switch is insanely fast at getting you back into your game. It’s crazy just how big of an impact that slightly reduced friction has on my gaming habits. I eagerly await the day all PCs can consistently and reliably suspend games.
Well for me, as a console player, the Deck has all the thing i don't like about PC, and it lacks the thing i like the most on console, buying my games physical.
This is probably one of the biggest downsides to PC gaming in general. It alienates a fairly substantial base of people who like physical media. It’s a shame the massive PC game boxes we used to have as an option disappeared.
got one to play all the Trails games, love my switch but the lag is getting to me even with a QLED and mclassic its just time to get something that runs games more smoothly. so i will be busy knocking out ALOT of jrpgs cant wait =)
I bought steamdeck when it launched.. 3 months later i had to order another for my girlfriend (that had never played on pc) because i rarely got to play it my self. she got kickstarted by steam familyshare testing games from my 250 steam games. now she already has like 40 games on her account (damn sales) But atleast i get to play my own deck now lol.
As an Adult: Factorio or games like that, helped me develop the ability to be as efficient as possible or try to optimize things. Other games like Portal got me to think outside of the box since I usually think inside the box (now getting into Entropy Centre to break the inside the box thinking again). Cod or shooters and Beat Saber definitely help me with reaction time and I mainly play controller, so that's another thing to get used to (my dad and uncle tried to play a game using a controller and it was funny to see them try using 2 thumbsticks at the same time😅). As a child: I remember playing Spider-Man 1 on PS1 and how challenging it was, but fun to keep pushing through the game. Then much later Minecraft hooked me and getting into the creative side and thanks to my dad playing games too, he loved NFS Most Wanted and that's where I learned to do races. He also played Hitman Silent Assassin, but we weren't aloud to play if he is not there, so when he did play I watched and listened to his strategy in the missions (got me to like games with different ways to play). So, I will say that games got me to develop skills and I am now away from competitive games since I was starting to not make it fun.
Satisfactory got me thinking in a methodical, organized way very quickly. I have yet to take the plunge with Factorio, but it's always piqued my interest!
There's definitely a lot focus on demanding AAA gaming when it comes to the Steam Deck here on RU-vid. Personally I don't get it, because that's not really what PC gaming is about, we don't have "generations" and games don't have "due dates" (I also find most modern AAA games bland and uninteresting... having mass appeal but never taking creative risks anymore). For me it's more about playing all the good games I have missed out on over the years. Even though I have had Steam for 20+ years I seldomly find the time and dedication to startup longer gaming sessions on my gaming PC, or even worse, shorter bursts of gaming. On the Steam Deck however, with its sleep mode, I'm playing in small bursts ALL the time, taking shorter breaks throughout the day and get 10-20 minutes further into a game. It has made me play games like never before. And that's not because I am ecstatic about new hardware either. I pre-ordered a 64GB model back in 2021, and was lucky to receive one from the second batch in Q2 2022. It has been a FANTASTIC machine and I am still using it daily. Honestly, even if a Steam Deck 2 comes out down the line. I will probably just be happy with the one I have... I want to play games. not be in a constant hunt for new hardware.
Yes! Appreciate what you have and make the most of it. Sometimes new hardware opens up new possibilities, but for many games, it's simply not necessary.
Steam Deck verification often isn't a good way of determining if a game will work on the Steam Deck. ProtonDB is a much better source, especially if the game does require some tinkering (in my experience for JRPGs, very few do). Use the ProtonDB Badges extension from Decky Loader to see community ratings on each game.
I am an all jrpg player as well, went from switch to steam deck lcd but I find myself back on a switch oled, it's just so much smaller to hold, carry, feels less awkward to have out around people than the steam behemoth
Actually? I own both, got my Switch at launch, and they’re pretty much about the same size, at least if you use something like the Hori Split Pad Pro. And if you’re not… I hope you’re using at least some sort of grip. Carrying is the same too, neither are pocketable so they were both just thrown in my bag. And I find most people just assume it’s a Switch. It’s not until they look closer that they realize it’s not.
Great points! As I get older and think about video games, I liken them more and more to books. The experiences we get out of the stories can have so much power and potential; we have the opportunity to immerse ourselves into another character's role and situation and consider how we as the player can relate (and if not, consider why we can't relate). Love seeing all these clips of the old RPGs - I still think fondly about the platforming puzzles of Valkyrie Profile. I always enjoyed that they gave me time to experiment and play around with that ice skill while not stressing much about time or enemies for the most part. Solving the puzzles felt so rewarding!
Yes! The enemies don't respawn endlessly in VP, so if you want to explore a room, you can just clear them all out and take your time. It's so nice! No random battles interrupting your train of thought while you try to figure out the solution to a puzzle.
@@IntentionalBrandon All the Xbox's we have ever owned, was for my son and I to play together. Once he got bitten by the PC at the age of 7 it was wrap. He is 9 now and refuses to play on any console lol. Hence the Steam Deck I bought for myself. Now until my pc gets built, am going to try and run it like a PC with a monitor and docking station for now.
I wasn’t sure how much I would use my dock when I bought it, but it’s been great! I only use it here and there, but as soon as I want to use a mouse and keyboard, it makes everything so much easier. I’m glad the Steam Deck has helped you and your son stay connected!
I remember when I played Person 5 Royal on the PS4 it took me over 100hrs to complete one because of the puzzles and the other is figuring out what is needed to defeat the final boss during the true ending route. I beat Persona 4 Golden several times and racked up over 230hrs on my PSTV back before Persona 5 was released. With shorter RPGs like the older Dragon Quest titles for example I like to grind enough lvls to make the games easier. Yeah I can see why Elden Ring is a time sinker being a Souls and an RPG at the same time you really need to grind to make your character stronger to make the game easier.
If a game has multiple endings, I’m very unlikely to go through it multiple times unless it’s on the shorter side. While I love having different endings based on what you do, it’s a huge time commitment to go through an entire game again for a relatively small amount of new content. The ending I get from playing through the game normally is part of my personal experience with the game. It has weight in that way.
What I hate about some Localizations is where they drop the honorifics because it loses the cultural significance of where it came from. I love the honorific system. However there is one form of media where I will give it a pass and it is the Phoenix Wright games because the Localization it more geared to America rather than Japan. Also with some localizations and translations the translation is so wrong that's is borderline disrespectful. Look at the Anime Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid the translators made up their own translation. With me as long as the translator sticks to the original source material as best they can when translating on top of putting their own personal spin on it I can get behind that.
I don’t blame anyone for choosing to drop honorifics, but I do enjoy having them sometimes. As long as it’s not voiced. I don’t think I could ever get used to that 😂
@@IntentionalBrandon That's exactly what I mean. They speak the honorifics but the text does NOT include them that annoys me to no end. However if the piece of media does not have them then it is not needed I agree with you there or if it's not spoken which is very rare in my experiences. The characters speak them but the English text does not have them is some of the media that I have played.
That's a tough one! I think Trails in the Sky FC (that stands for "First Chapter") is a great starting point. Strong story, engaging combat that isn't overly complicated, and not ridiculously long. Persona 4: Golden is another fan favorite with incredible characters, but it's definitely more complicated and much longer.
