What Casual Games Are Like For Someone Who Doesn't Play Games

I feel like most people start gaming by either watching someone else play or having someone teach them.

make her play horror games

I desperately hope this video or something similar will put a tutorial (bus or not) back into Stardew Valley because I so badly want my parents to not struggle with it, but it's simply inaccessible for them as is right now

I desperately hope this video or something similar will put a tutorial (bus or not) back into Stardew Valley because I so badly want my parents to not struggle with it, but it's simply inaccessible for them as is right now

It's important to note that one of my parents was and still is my constant gaming companion in some way while the other is very much not, but the biggest issue I had with both of them was that our relationships were built off of misunderstandings and trauma. It meant that even if I could help, i wouldn't know that because they don't realize what they need help with (mistaken what it is most of the time) and dont ask even if they do know.

My mom is inexperienced and so with it's lack of instructions for most things she needs my help with controls AND choosing what to focus on, which can be hard when I dont know what she'll like compared to myself and how I feel changes frequently (I mean I literally only play sometimes just to get material for writing, like-)

Both of them immediately got overwhelmed my the time in Stardew Valley, which mods arent available for them to change due to console, but I only recently got a new understanding.

My dad struggles with playing "lore-heavy" games at certain times so he has to plan it for himself which means I may not be available which was kinda the point of me introducing it. I'll be glad if they can play it themselves, but it's fun together.

It's good that I get the experience of learning about my parents better, but I wish it hadn't tainted the games even temporarily. I had a meltdown (autistic) over Stardew once trying to teach it to my mom. I hadn't had much experience facing my age and language biases in terms of video games yet, so I had little patience for her.

I learned and am learning, but I will keep hoping for a tutorial. I'll even help out if needed! I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind helping when free, either!

Ive been wanting to get into game development and have been replaying all the most impactful games ive played and replaying Halo CE,
the opening levels are absolutely incredible as a playable tutorial, nobody likes a "press a to jump" tutorial but Halo CE, with the way it takes you down a path and then blocks it forcing you to backpedal thus teaching you to explore your environment and the "press a to jump" just being a little message on the screen not a precalculated sequence leads to you feeling like you worked it out and solved the problem which further reinforces the lessons as a tutorial,

each major part of the game, aiming, heading to a destination, following a waypoint, it introduces you to shooting with 3 grunts and the halo pistol , allows you to indulge and shoot anyone with consequence for your actions which once again reinforces the mentality of playing the game how you want to play it, before sticking you alongside marines in a small scale assault on a location teaching you that you have allies that actually are capable of killing enemies (nothing worse than a companion that does 0.000000001% damage)

The entire first 3 levels of halo ce are a hidden tutorial on how to play halo and it paces you to each new thing, by the end of each level youre more than conpetent in the things they taught you even if youre still looking down to see where X is when you need to reload.

has she played any of the quantic dreams games? Curious how this style of game fairs with casual players.

There is a way to just build in sims 4. You just go to manage worlds

now i see why most granpa story is all about trauma. they are non soldier trying soldier things even tho they not interested in and they all running to the frontline screaming and confuse what to do even tho they were told what to do and trained to for sometimes like even tho i have play a lot of competitive game for many years i still cant reach mid rank of the game in many game. so them using guns for a month and fought the war is really hard for them now i get the feeling of why i should proud of ancester (here in thailand we get that line a lot since we were kids mostly from school morning routine where we sing the nation song as the flag rising up and we mostly get bored and the teacher tell us to hype up and sing louder)

Gotta say... The ending photo with your Animal Crossing characters posing together was touching

I loved the last clip

Lego games would be an interesting watch

The core of my Sims gameplay involves raising a family (keeping all the children well maintained indicated by the needs bar), and having them all have super high skills and achieve the best grades possible to streamline into a successful life and do perfectly in their careers. Along with building houses (I have a ton of fun decorating interiors), customising my sims (dressing them up, especially with custom content), there is never I moment that I was bored. In a way it is a reflection of a life I want for myself but could not get in a real setting, for different reasons.

But I do agree that purposes are self-defined for open ended life sim games. For me it was to achieve a successful career familial and academic wise, but others could have a totally different purpose. They may not see a point to some of the gameplay and goals gave to the players. For example, getting a degree with honors, or achieving the highest level of a career. Those give me satisfaction, but not for everyone.

Also - a big thing about the sims, is that a lot of content is locked behind DLCs, which costs quite a bit and could be a hefty investment for new players. For example, expansion packs like high school years and discover university would making schools actually playable with actual schools, clubs and activities you can go to, peers to meet and relationships to build, and other packs like get to work making certain careers playable in actual lots, and so much more. Therefore, when I first started the sims I found it super boring too, just like the lady you live with. I overtime found my purpose and core enjoyments in the game. I am not a huge gamer, but I find myself indulging it from time to time. Mods, Custom Content, Cheats and online gallery do exist though, so there is quite a bit of flexibility.

Last thing - as your wife mentioned in the final comments - community is a huge part too! Playing more popular games and watching videos made about them makes me somewhat parasocially connected to them, and enjoying content related to the game is a huge part of my motivation and enjoyment surrounding the game too.

I wish I could go back to March 2020 when Animal Crossing New Horizons released. Such a wonderful & peaceful time

Honestly I have to say that I love sims but lost interest in 4 when they took out a lot of cool features from 3. Sims 3 will always be my favourite Sims game in the series give the open world and some jobs actually being interactable.

You should try It Takes two, it's an amazing starting point I found and the coop aspect is 👌🏽

You can absolutely build lots with infinite budget in sims 4 without sims living there or using cheats. Many players exclusively play this way!

I visited your Patreon, and failed to see which tier mentioned granting access to the videos of your live-in wife playing. 😅

How long before, "Someone who doesn't play games," is regarded as a true and experienced veteran gamer?

This describes my boyfriends first experience with video games outside of FIFA. One of our core memories is playing stardew valley together on multiplayer. Really cool video!

I always find it easiest to introduce non gamers to games through stardew valley or Minecraft, this is due to the fact that both of the games can either be played very chill, or you could go and kill things. It always helps me figure out what kind of games they might also enjoy, for example if they enjoy going to the mines in stardew they will probably be more enclimed to adventure games but if they like building a house in Minecraft they might like sandbozes😊

For Sims your wife is clearly a builder which is one of the big selling points of the game. You can easily cheat to let her play in the house but maybe building is more fun. It is for me.

I'm quite sorry for what I'm about to say, because it can easily be misunderstood and I don't mean to insult anyone, but here it is: Of all the reasons to like Animal Crossing (or any other popular game) "everyone likes it" is the dumbest you can come up with. It's up there with "the internet said so". I'm sure Lady can find a way better reason to like a mainly singleplayer game.

Cheating in sims 4 is a right of passage rofl it's how you play the game. Even the devs know this

I understand Stardew Valley has the goals system in the top right, though... I think she'd like it more if she tried it more. But I'm glad she loves Animal Crossing!

EA encourages cheats in the Sims btw. It isn't considered cheating by typical standards, it's just how Sims players play the game they want to play (like the assist mode you mentioned)

I actually didn't really like Animal Crossing but I'm glad that she likes it

I asked a friend to explain the PlayStation control (multiple times) to me, and they just said “ just and enjoy the game” I couldn’t bcs I lost the whole time, cause no one tried to explain to me how to use the mechanics and controls. And I was annoyed, i needed an instruction, and never got one. To understand I needed the instruction before the game not while I am playing it, so I feel motivated. then they wonder that I got mad and sad, instant of helping me to understand.

you must monetize hobbies (painting, writing) to earn ridiculous ammounts of money in the sims, that's the real way to get rich imo, working is just to cover the basic expenses when starting out

seems she has the same view of the sim's that I have. just let me build the house and set it up rather then deal with the "Sim's". I might also be a werido as I don't play animal crossing... any of them. have never touched any of the animal crossing games.

This serie of videos is so cool ! It's a much watch for every game designer ! It teaches so many good lesson on how a game should be ! (at least for new players)

Something I think that's also important to note that relates to what you said about non-gamers not sticking with titles they don't immediately enjoy like gamers might is that gaming is an expensive hobby! As someone who just started getting into video games as an adult, I get nervous about buying a new game because if I don't seem to like it immediately I get scared I wasted my money. Especially when it's something that doesn't have an obvious goal or objective - I actually had that issue with slime rancher and so I stopped playing so I could play something I knew I enjoyed so I wouldn't feel like I was wasting more time and money. It's hard to get into these spaces and feel like we're making the most of the time and money spent in them when we don't have experience with them and society tends to look down on them.

If the Lady didn't remove ladders from pools or have a basement goblin, did she actually play The Sims?

The last interview bit was soooo heartwarming :)

Your wife sounds like the friendliest, most adorable human being on earth. You're a lucky guy

I bet your wife would LOVE House Flipper given how she liked playing The Sims 4

Never played animal crossing but i got over 3k hours in rimworld 😅

Interesting, I was a non-gamer and I enjoyed The Sims, but disliked Animal Crossing. Probably because I found the character interactions between my Sims the most fun part of the game

Have her play phasmophobia

Just discovered this series. I'm sorry you wife has to deal with simulation sickness.
I'm a gamer for 25 years or more and I have to deal with it too.
I collected a few tips that helps over the years but it's pretty much a case by case issue for those solutions.
- Larger FOV (more than 100° in a HFOV for a 16:9 screen)
- Windowed mode (you said that one)
- light in the room (and behind the screen)
- Play a bit farther from the screen
- A smooth and constant frame rate at least around 50-60 and with no big variation in drawtime during gameplay.
- Third person shooter are easier for my brain than First Person
- No head bob or jerky head movement during play (can't play Satisfactory because of this).
- Deactivate all graphical options that tends to smear the image and accentuate movement blur or TAA.
- Stop at first symptoms, never try to force through it. Recovery time can go from a simple 15 minutes to more than an hour.
- Slower paced games helps too

I’m pretty sure you can build houses without cheats you just don’t pick a family . Or am I thinking of sims 3?

These are my fave videos. I need an entire series of these videos

It would be interesting to see if she likes or how she plays Adventure point and click games , Pokemon games , Fallout 4 (for the settlements building) , It takes two (for the couples co-op) , Lugis mansion 3? (for the co-op) , Factorio/ (2d) satisfactoriy (3d) Subnatuica (for building)

Edit: I see that the RPG video she does the old pokemon

Tell your wife she can just build in the Sims. Go to manage worlds and you can build to your hearts content. Money will be unlimited as long as a residence doesn't have people.

Also... Cheat codes are a part of gameplay in the Sims lol... For building she should try bb.moveobjects for free placement. bb.enablefreebuild to build anywhere. And freerealestate on.

So AC Happy Home Designer is made for her 😂