Best posts made by SwampCreature

This topic is going to date a lot of us, but I’m curious what everyone’s first gaming system was! What was your experience with it? Any fond memories to share?

My first system was the original NES, and I had all the classics: Super Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, Legend of Zelda (with the gold cartridge!!), etc. I specifically mention Zelda because I used to spend a lot of time playing Zelda II, only if I got a game over I’d have to turn the tv off really quick because I was really young and TERRIFIED of the game over screen. It looked like this:

And had a sound file of very deep, menacing laughter. It scared me real bad when I was a little kid but now I think that’s pretty funny of me.

Please share your stories about when you first started gaming!

Excellent subject, and one that I've put a lot of thought to recently. I 100% agree that TTRPGs (and, in my case, MMORPGs as well) feel like a safe way to explore my identity. It's an unfortunate reality that the world isn't always a welcoming place for LGBTQ+ people, but in a world created by me and my friends, I'm comfortable being myself. I can also experiment - I'm only very recently feeling comfortable acknowledging that I'm nonbinary, but for a long time I was creating and playing androgynous (or otherwise gender non-conforming) characters in MMORPGs. It made me happy while also helping me better understand who I am.

Congratulations! You're an extremely talented and high-level bard! You can play any type of music you like on any type of instrument. What do you choose to play?

Personally I'm going with the old standard acoustic guitar, only it's completely out of tune but that doesn't matter because I play folk punk so it's ok that it sounds bad because that's just the genre. Because my music is....audibly unpleasant...all of my spells are DOTs.

Share what you'd play and how that contributes to your party!

@Mariano LOVE the shoebox of game cartridges, what a cool thing to give someone! I remember going to a garage sale in my neighborhood when I was a little older and someone was selling a box of all different game carts - if I recall correctly it was a mix of Atari Jaguar, N64, and Sega Genesis, for dirt cheap. Lots of duds, but a few treasures (Clayfighter!). That’s something I’m really going to miss as gaming moves away from physical media.

@Ezra Ooooooooooooooooohhhhhhh I was gonna talk about Spyro (it was so so so so fun) but the mention of FFIX tosses that out the window. I think we’ve talked before about VII being my favorite but IX is neck-and-neck, and for a long time I considered it my favorite...I also have a tattoo of a FFIX moogle. I think I just really loved Zidane as a protagonist. It was so refreshing having a protagonist who was kind and charismatic and funny after how moody Cloud and Squall were. The world and music were also gorgeous. Definitely a huge FFIX fan here.

Partially inspired by the new Dungeons & Dragons movie, tell me about your favorite movie based on a game! Any game, be it TTRPG or video game or uh. I guess board games? Clue rules and everyone knows it!!! Anyway...

My all-time favorite is the Silent Hill movie, I think it's a rare video game movie that holds its own if you're not familiar with the source material. I'm also obligated, as a FF7 fan, to love FF7 Advent Children...regardless of things like quality or comprehensibility.

Share your favorites!

@TableTopProphet “female Danny Devito Pennywise” is so cool I don’t even know what to do, love it

@merlin I love all the details, it’s clear you have a very distinct mental image of him. Do you have any particular actors or otherwise real people who you picture as Severin?

@Ezra wowwwwwww EXTREMELY cool, I’m so envious of people who can craft whole universes like that! I don’t have the imagination for it myself but I’m always in awe of others who do.

@Alexander-Salkin didn’t expect to see a webcomic as a response but I’m geeked!!! That’s so awesome! Cool concept and I love that art, thank you for sharing!!

@Alexander-Salkin that’s a cool idea, like the Voynich manuscript but readable! Love that.

If I had unlimited time I’d for sure work on cosplays (I have one I’ve been “working on” since last year that’s only about a third of the way done - Testament from Guilty Gear Strive) and probably I’d get back into playing music. I actually tend to have more free time than most but I work in healthcare so when I get home after a shift I never really want to do anything. It would be very nice to be able to focus on my creative passions!

@Alexander-Salkin ooooh I've seen some really well done pixel-style tattoos! I really like Zelda heart pixel tattoos, like this:

To nobody's surprise, I am a huge Nobuo Uematsu fan! Uematsu is the composer of the majority of Final Fantasy music and is responsible for some of the most gorgeous compositions I've ever heard. Two of my favorite pieces of all time, "Aerith's Theme" and "Lifestream", were composed by Uematsu for the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack.

I also love the music from the Silent Hill series and Legend of Zelda series (BoTW in particular).

Tell me about your favorite music from a video game!

I looooooooooooove love love to cook! I cook for myself and my partner fairly often, I love to bake, I watch a lot of cooking shows, all of it. I wouldn’t say I’m an extraordinary cook but I think I’m pretty good (my partner would say I’m Michelin Star-worthy). I try to challenge myself: I’ve made multiple full Thanksgiving dinners (5+ dishes and dessert), whole prime ribs, Beef Wellingtons, racks of lamb, pho, homemade cheese, layer cakes, meringues, crepes, all sorts of bread…I think the only things I haven’t had a go at yet are macarons (intimidated) and homemade pasta (no pasta roller…yet).

I think it’s really sweet that you learned from helping your spouse!! I consider cooking to be one of my love languages, it’s a very tangible way for me to show people I care about them and want them to be happy, so I think sharing that with a partner and learning from/with them is wonderful!!

@Mariano The Uzumaki anime is FINALLY dropping - I don’t think there’s a solid release date yet, but before the end of the year. And there’s a new trailer!!! I’m so geeked ahhhhhhhh

Other than that I don’t really have anything in particular I’m watching at the moment, but I’m going to Youmacon (anime convention) in November and we’ll see if anything catches me eye.

And I have no idea when the new Berserk anime is releasing but the teaser looked pretty decent! I’ve been burned before by Berserk anime so hopefully this one is better.

@K-O Thank you so much for the thoughtful post! Speaking as a queer gamer, I am so proud to be involved with LiveTale. I truly couldn’t ask for a safer, kinder, more accepting community. Thank you to everyone for all that you do to make LiveTale so accepting.

I'm really enjoying the Fate system - it's more casual and fun with more room for creativity

@Kendall me too me too!!! Sign me the HECK up

Choosing a name is typically the very last thing I do with a character and usually by then I have a feel for what they're like. I played a no-nonsense warrior and gave her a short, guttural name. I played a Tabaxi rogue and named her Felix......after Felix the Cat. In my current game I'm playing a bard who always has her guitar with her. Her name is Ruby Soho. A little on the nose maybe but I like to have some fun with my characters' names!

I want to hear some funny DnD stories! A personal favorite moment for me was when I rolled so well that I was able to bodily lift up another player character in my party and throw her javelin-style at the enemy. It wasn't graceful or um...wise, but it worked! Share your own funny moments!

@mianngu I had the Lion King game for SNES!!! And yeah, it was super hard, I don’t think I ever got past the elephant graveyard.

I loved Echo the Dolphin but not for the game itself, i loved the weird creepy music.

@Hanzilla Ah yes, I remember getting together with my cousins and getting real cutthroat playing Mario Party or Super Smash Bros. We for sure acted like we were trying out for nationals or something. Good times.

@Kismet I used to play OoT just to explore Hyrule and ride around on Epona jumping fences and stuff. I actually can’t remember if I ever beat it, but I logged a lot of hours messing around. I remember it felt like such a huge open world, and now it’s minuscule compared to Breath of the Wild. It’s really cool looking back on how big these older games felt at the time vs how big games are now. Gaming has come a long way!