3309

I got more amusement out of this than I ever could have bargained for. Alas, if I had guessed from minute one, it would have been the choice of Steins;Gate.

Sonuvabitch.

3310

My god, that took a while! It is Steins;Gate, of course. It’s yours Otagan.

d2REqiR.jpg960×544

One of the very, very few non-adult visual novels translated to English, and I think a great story, and (and this can be controversial) a great game.

Why?

Well, remember all those discussion about agency when Phoenix Wright came out. Ultimately, Phoenix Wright is a game in which a player has little choice but press forward. There’s some gameplay, but that gameplay is just hiding non-decisions to make them seem like decisions. It’s the illusion of agency.

So… Steins;Gate is the opposite. You can get through more than 10-15 hours in the game thinking you have never made any significant decision, yet you have made decisions, without fully realizing they could be very important. Some of the ways you make those decisions are indeed obfuscated (you need not to do stuff it’s hard to realize you can not do). So basically it’s the illusion of a lack of agency (or more precisely, unaware agency). Which is a mechanic that fits the theme and narrative of the game so perfectly I think it’s genious.

Make no mistake, this is still a looooooooong game consisting mostly of text with little interaction. But I’m loving it and I though it needed a little exposure.

Also, I like to describe this game as the japanese anime version of Primer.

3311

I didn’t exactly have anything ready but couldn’t let S;G go unguessed if I could help it, so this is what you get. Second one’s going to be a dead giveaway for a handful of people that I know lurk around here, so the first one’s intentionally vague (but still feasibly guessable).

3312

Hexcells Infinite?

3313

Guess I could’ve gone more obscure.

3314

Never heard of Steins;Gate, I guess I have a hole in my gaming knowledge (except I’m not really into anime or anything). Why is there a ; instead of a : though? What’s the significance of that?

3315

Here is shot 1

3316

I’m gonna go with Trouble with Robots!

?

3317

Nope!

3318

Steins;Gate - Never even heard of it. Clearly “obvious” to some is “never heard of it” to others. :)

3319

I probably haven’t heard of at least half the games in this thread.

3320

The PS3 and Vita ports of Steins;Gate come out on 8/31! You should all buy it so we can get the sequel! But seriously it’s amazing and definitely one to play if you want an awesome time travel story.

There are a few other VN’s that I believe are loosely connected to Steins;Gate that share the semicolon such as Robotics;Notes and Chaos;Head. I think the answer to why is, cuz Japan.

3321

I can’t see robc04’s image. Is it just me?

3322

Ooops, sorry. I can’t either if I set my browser to private mode. I’ll host it elsewhere and try again.

3323

OK, can you see the image in my original post now? It shouldn’t be all black.

3324

Yeah I can see it now. I don’t know what it is though. Looks kinda familiar?

3325

I’m posting the first image again just so it’s easier for people to view it as a new post since I had a problem with my original one.

Here is shot 1

3326

I do not see any picture… :|

3327

Are you messing with me or do you really not see it? I see it even if I’m browsing in private mode so it shouldn’t be a permissions thing.

3328

I see it.