A game to play with my mother.

WAR-THERAPY

Skeletron Prime
SO...
i did the impossible.

i made my mother enjoy and get intherested in videogames.
lucky me, considering most people go trough a decade or two having to deal with parents demonizing games.

the thing is... what to play with her?
she has very specific tastes, and if you could point me up in some directions, i would be really thankfull.

1 - she dislikes violence. she can withstand it for as long as it is not excessive. like, in Prince Of Persia she doesnt really get too annoyed for killing monsters, but killing actual PEOPLE makes her shun the game immediately.
2 - she prefers games in which we can play both in the same time. personally, i also prefer this.
3 - she is very demanding in artistic content. she loves good scenery, accurate or stylized architecture, good story and narrative, and believable gadgets and or vehicles.
4 - she doesnt really do well with fast paced / complicated controllers / competitive games, because she lacks dexterity. for now.
5 - she loves exploration.
6 - she is creative and enjoys building things and playing in a constructive manner, and she has shown a degree of interest in Terraria and Minecraft.
7 - if possible, she prefers third person games. playing in 1st person still makes her confused and lost spatially - she never played videogames until now, i suppose its normal.
8 - she has interest in medieval and sci-fi settings, but little to nothing else. modern settings bore her to death.

so, any suggestions?
 
Hmmm... I don't have many multiplayer games at all so I'm not sure. Heroes of Might and Magic 3 I play with my father sometimes, but I wouldn't say it has a good story or narratives but it is a turn based strategy game so no need for complicated controls and reflexes and there's lots of exploring the map and collecting resources to build various buildings in your towns. Not only that but I know the complete version comes with a both a map editor and a random map generator so there are infinite variations of maps to explore. And there is websites out there where people uploaded their custom maps and some of them got good stories.

-If you do consider this game though, stay away from the steam version, because the steam version is both incomplete and more expensive than the complete version.
 
I've been enjoying the updated version of old favorite, Heroes of Might and Magic III.

There's a Humble Bundle* deal for it and (nearly?) all the previous Might and Magic series now, including an "HD" version of HOMAM3 (improved graphics) and I picked it up. $15 gets over 20 games, including adventuring-party games (Might and Magic series), turn-based strategy (Heroes of Might and Magic), and card collecting games based on the characters and so forth. $15 is what Steam charges for just HOMAM3 alone. [eta: Some games in the bundle are redeemed via Steam, others through Ubisoft's Uplay platform.]

You have command of one or more heroes, each of whom leads an army of creatures raised in your cities or recruited/hired elsewhere. Combat takes place on a zoom-in tactical screen and is also turn-based.

1: It's a war game, but comparatively "clean." Death in combat consists of a brief sound of dismay plus the animated figure crumpling to the ground. Enemies can be human, monstrous, or animal.
2: Uses the Steam lobby for multiplayer. The original had both cooperative and PVP scenarios, I think. Don't know about the HD version.
3: Figure, landscape, and building graphics on the adventure map are about halfway between realistic and a really good set of toy knights, monsters, castles, etc. Lots of terrain types, each with its own kind of city and creatures. City view buildings are fanciful but believable enough.
4: Turn-based so fast reflexes aren't required.
5: Scenario maps are prepared, but you have to explore to push back the "fog of war."
6: City building involves picking from a list of specific available buildings, and they appear in fixed places on the city view. However, the included map editor lets you create whole adventures. Here again it's like the world's best box of swords & sorcery miniatures or toys.
7: Check.
8: Pseudo-medieval milieu with fantasy/tech mixtures here and there.

I'm having a grand time. Improving the graphics didn't wring the charm or the "just one more turn" quality out of a best-in-its-class classic. As good as ever.
_______________________
* A Humble Bundle deal last year is what got me to try Terraria. I still haven't played the games I actually bought that bundle for. Having too much fun playing Terraria.
 
-If you do consider this game though, stay away from the steam version, because the steam version is both incomplete and more expensive than the complete version.

We were both typing at the same time. :dryadsmile: Are you talking about the HD version or is there another? So far I haven't noticed anything missing from HOMAM 3 HD as included in the current Humble Bundle.
 
Call of Duty.







Try looking up space exploration games.
Rodina might interest her (though no multiplayer functionality yet) There's an hour demo for it too.
It might get a little violent though, but as long as you avoid those red dots that indicate enemies and doesn't plummet down into planets she MIGHT enjoy it. (Though landing on planets might be really hard for someone like that)
 
We were both typing at the same time. :dryadsmile: Are you talking about the HD version or is there another? So far I haven't noticed anything missing from HOMAM 3 HD as included in the current Humble Bundle.

HD version is only Restoration of Erathia
Complete Version comes with the 2 expansions Armageddons Blade and Shadow of Death as well. I can't remember if the random map generator was introduced in an expansion or not but they do add an extra town type a handful of new heroes, new artifacts, combination artifacts, I think the ability to revisit map locations without moving off of them and back onto them, and a bunch of campaigns. Oh and certain special terrain types as well, some creatures were rebalanced and the map editor got more stuff.
 
Well I mean, what consoles are available? Because I can think of plenty of games (Like Super Metroid and Symphony of The Night) But I don't know if you can Virtual Console or PS Classic or anything. Or what either of you think of emulating.
 
If we're talking emulators, you can get a controller of some sort from a local game shop.

Her best option would probably be PS1 era platformer games, some actually have multiplayer too.
My personal suggestion? Spyro games, the 3 original ones (though I personally played the second and third ones the most) if you can get your hands on a controller for PC, you can uh, discover a convenient option that will allow you to play the game if you don't have a PS1. Since I'm not too familiar with consoles or game shops I'm not entirely sure you'll be able to find such old games around.
 
If we're talking emulators, you can get a controller of some sort from a local game shop.

Her best option would probably be PS1 era platformer games, some actually have multiplayer too.
My personal suggestion? Spyro games, the 3 original ones (though I personally played the second and third ones the most) if you can get your hands on a controller for PC, you can uh, discover a convenient option that will allow you to play the game if you don't have a PS1. Since I'm not too familiar with consoles or game shops I'm not entirely sure you'll be able to find such old games around.
All you have to do is have a PS3/PSP/PSV/PS4/PSTV that can access PSN and buy them to be able to get them, from the PS Classics. I know for certain the 3 original Spyros are on there, $6 each. Though I suppose a word of caution is that Sony is well aware of which games were best sellers, games like Final Fantasy VII and SOTN are $10.

In short, they are not only around, they might be around forever.
 
Fantasy Life for 3DS is really fun, and it doesn't take a lot of skill, as well as it's multiplayer + it has a good narrative. The only downside is that you can't do the story in multiplayer, so you can only do the exploring in multiplayer, but that's still a lot of fun. It has cartoony violence, but it's really hardly violence at all.

If you both have 3DS's, then this game is a must-have.
 
HD version is only Restoration of Erathia
Complete Version comes with the 2 expansions Armageddons Blade and Shadow of Death as well. I can't remember if the random map generator was introduced in an expansion or not but they do add an extra town type a handful of new heroes, new artifacts, combination artifacts, I think the ability to revisit map locations without moving off of them and back onto them, and a bunch of campaigns. Oh and certain special terrain types as well, some creatures were rebalanced and the map editor got more stuff.
Okay, thanks. I thought you meant it wasn't the full HOMAM3 itself.
 
If you're going to play Heroes of Might and Magic III, do only so with the HD mod and Horn of the Abyss.
It's really a milestone in gaming history. You're not playing a "video game with monsters fighting", you take part in a grandeliquette game of chess.
A triumph of gray matter and sophisticated logic.
 
I'd say Portal, Journey, or possibly Crypt of The Necrodancer, but that can be a bit too quick when it comes to bosses like Death Metal.

You could also try Space Engineers.
 
I 3rd the option of Heroes of Might and Magic series, 2 and 3 (complete)

Both are great. Complete version of 3 is better because it has Original HoMM3 and it's 2 Expansions Armageddon's Blade and Shadow of Death. Screw the "HD" bull on Steam, go for GoG. And I'll throw in a Launcher that will make it less likely to crash on Windows 7 , the HD they did on Steam/Humble version is C-R-A-P.
- https://sites.google.com/site/heroes3hd/ (I double checked to make sure it's safe, it is)
http://www.gog.com/game/heroes_of_might_and_magic_3_complete_edition

Heroes 2 is pretty great, not as big as 3, but it's got a map editor, lots of choices to play, and beautiful music.
http://www.gog.com/game/heroes_of_might_and_magic_2_gold_edition

Portal 2 if you're willing to buy 2 of em is Multiplayer.
Dungeon Keeper 2 is also a viable option, god game, rts, and strategic builder in one game, playing as a Keeper who lays out a dungeon to lay siege upon to goodly humans or other Keepers.
(This game has very minimal if ANY gore, just corpses that will get flies on them, nothing big, and there is some crude humor, but nothing bad)
http://www.gog.com/game/dungeon_keeper_2
 
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You could try Synergy, which requires Half Life 2 (a singleplayer game of the decade) but is co-op.
But it has a lot of violence, which, as specified, probably isn't the best.
 
Games I know of that meet a lot of these:

- Planetside 2. Yes, it's a first person shooter with guns and stuff, so it might be a bit fast-paced, but the backstory is very believable, the scenery is gorgeous, and the game is pretty light on violence, since there's no blood and characters canonically don't die.

- If local multiplayer isn't a problem, Spelunky. Pace is kinda slow-ish (except for the ghost mechanics) and there's an interesting variety in environments, enemies, and items. You do regularly kill cavemen, though, and there's certainly enough blood in the game to be unnerving.

- Crypt of the Necrodancer also has local multiplayer, is low on violence (you don't kill any humans), and is kind of interesting from an artistic standpoint. The rythmn mechanics might be a bit much, though.

- I know everyone here hates this game, and with good reason, but Starbound probably captures you mother's tastes perfectly. It's dry on content, yes, and has plenty of flaws, but it's slow-paced, light on violence, and still has some of the best environments I've been to in any game.
 
*looks at list* *can't recommend the Mother games* *sad*

Hmm, all I can think of are the already recommended Super Metroid along with Zero Mission. Don't know how well that fits the pace, though.
 
Space Engineers could work well.
If she's taken an interest in Terraria and Minecraft, and likes sci-fi style environments, why not a space sandbox game?
Heck, the game is apparently getting a release on the Xbox One at some point.
 
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