Games you play with your own rules

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Computer games by their very nature are rigidly defined pieces of maths/code*. This is compared to the likes of tabletop role playing where a fudge or two so as to keep the story, experience, or whatever you wish to deem it, moving are expected parts of the process, or in board games where house rules and mechanics external to the game (meta gaming being a term here but it can go further than that) are commonly in play.

"The Algorithm" however decided I would like a series of videos from a channel called FailRace called Survive the Hunt. The general premise is that a single player attempts to either blend in with NPCs in some measure of "living world" for a certain amount of time, or whilst having to complete a series of objectives. Various rules for the hunters and the hunters are enacted depending upon the game (typically they use one of the Forza titles or GTA5) to make it a viable mode of play. Ordinarily I am no fan of watching footage of such gameplay but it turns out we do indeed dance for our machines these days and it was massively compelling. But for the honking great yellow arrow various people I had met expressed an interest in such a mode as far back as GTA 1 (as in the 2d efforts), and things like Watch_Dogs had similar modes in its "randomly draw you into multiplayer" thing it did, but that series did well. Similarly if you wanted an example of the "asymmetric gaming" concept that was an E3 buzzword in years past then this is that, and a far better glimpse into what it can achieve than many of the offerings we ultimately saw.

Of course it goes beyond that and we have game mods (whether with developer made tools, or the likes of ROM hacking), the humble house rule (don't shoot a player without a weapon in Goldeneye), simplistic savestate efforts (in EA's Skate series the ability to designate a spawn point and play the pass the controller was almost universal), the increasingly large number of "challenge games" wherein emulator savestates and memory viewers are set up to create challenges for people, various communities make their own challenges (the Pokemon Nuzlocke Challenge being a good example), and even speedrunning could be argued to be a version of this.

*at least for now. While we have hidden rules in games they are just that. Eventually we probably will have some kind of self learning and altering code make a game, first likely coming in the form of rewards and weapon statistics being honed by an algorithm similar to suggested videos on various video services, but that is a discussion for another thread (feel free to make such a thing if you want though).

Previously we discussed the state of VR and 3D and whether they had once more failed to take hold.


You are invited to then discuss things such as your house rules, own games you made within others that you and yours play, ROM hacks/cheats to alter games such that it would fit here, and times where you take a small facet of a game and have things fall from that.
 

Issac

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As some might have seen in my signature, I enjoy RetroAchievements which I think is a way to add a few rules to a game. Sure, some games have lazy achievements that just follows the story of the game, but then there are a few more interesting ones that limits you as a player. Beat Zelda without picking up some specific item, or beat some specific stage in Super Mario World without touching a wall, block or enemy. Those are fun ways to have some meta rules that you don't have to come up with yourself :)

Then I've seen a lot of videos of trying to beat Mario games without touching any coins, or without pressing right, and so on. Never tried it myself but it sounds like a fun challenge.

House rules are fun. Especially once you feel that you've beaten a game as it was intended, in my opinion.
 

cracker

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I usually tend to get sucked into starting the 'game' of messing with a game's code/values and/or writing tools to assist in it. Sometimes I have more fun altering code/values on 'closed systems' than playing the games themselves.
 
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DarthDub

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In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories in Reverse/Rebirth mode, I would limit my Map Card use to exact number and make higher amount/later in list the priority. For Dragon Ball Xenoverse/2's 1 vs 1 online battles, me and my buddies have an unwritten rule where you don't use items.
 

hamohamo

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All I need to say is: Mario Party Drinking Game

  • Landing on a Red-Field = Drink!
  • Loosing a minigame = Drink!
  • Loosing a 3 vs 1 minigame as group = Each Groupmember drinks whole glass!
  • Loosing a star = Drink whole glass!
  • Bowser-Field = Drink whole glass!
  • You got coins stolen = Drink!
  • You dice a 1 on the Gameboard = Drink!

... This list can be expanded to you own needs.

Cheers !
i mean cool but that will result in intoxication in abt 3 minigames
 

Vhestal

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Every Pokemon there is;

-Female/male only Dex with the exception of single gender Pokemon.
-Use only disadvantageous Pokemon.

Every JRPG there is;

-Do not use any of the items that you can get from the Overworld/chests/events unless absolutely needed and use one the ones that you can buy or loot at monsters.
-Use only the Protagonist.
-Reach every nook and cranny of the immediate area unless its impossible to do so.
 

Taleweaver

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Hmm...I can recall three, but I'm sure I'm forgetting many.

One is somewhat mentioned: monopoly. We always played that you can't buy stuff the first round. While it evens out for the advantage the first player has (you'd always see: the first player goes and buys a street; the second throws exactly the same thing and has to cough up money for the very same action), it isn't any less lucky.

Then there is doom 2, and a rather specific one. You see, the game didn't really feature Z-axis because it auto-aimed up or down when an enemy was in front of you. The exception was the end boss: you had to time your rockets perfectly fine so it'll flew in some giant goatskull's brain. This was pretty hard...unless you "cheated" by taping a crosshair on your monitor. I had done this...but come to think of it: I still hold a lifelong grudge to my brother because he must've hit the screen with a knife or a scissor or something...because at one point the monitor had a small hole in it at EXACTLY THAT LOCATION. :angry:

The latter was rollercoaster tycoon and its sequel. Sure, you COULD build a nice and friendly park that aims to entertain the guests. But it was more fun to me and my friends to make the most dangerous and vomit-inducing ride possible.

Heck...me and my friends had conversations that went like this (spoilered because it's quite long):
Friend: that's interesting...let's see how high it'll go.
Me: ...and then a complete vertical drop to the lowest possible point to the map.
Friend: immediately followed by the sharpest u-turn possible?
Me: I have a better idea: we'll then make them ramp up and catapult them into the air.
Friend: right on! Let's do it. <*clicks around*>
Me: that's not the highest point: we'll have to elevate the terrain to make it go EVEN HIGHER!
friend: nice! And we'll add a photo part just before it flies off the rails! :D

<*undisclosed time later*>

Us: let's go for a test drive! :D
Game: <*shows carts flying off the track, over three other rides and then crashes in an explosion against a hill.*>
Game: your rollercoaster goes faster than the flash, is more extreme than waterboarding and more nauseating than a Hanson concert.
Me: yes! Let's open it up for business. :D
Friend: Not yet! To limit fire hazard, we better put a lake there.
Me: okay...Oh, and can we then sell that piece of land? Y'know...so we can say that we're not legally responsible for them dying, as they won't be in our park then.
Friend: <*does as suggested*>
Park guests: <*as the carts are still being rocketed over the park*> this "ultramegasuicide rollercoaster that will KILL you and your family" is finally open for business. I better queue up. :-)
Me: <*with a grin*> oh, no...those foolish peeps. What can we do?
Friend: we can name them.
Me: good idea. This one's Bob.
(note: not really...but I forgot which school teachers we enacted petty revenge on)
Friend: Okay...there he goes. Climbing...climbing...climbing...

<*fast forward a bit*>

Me: okay...there they gooooo...
Us both, at screen: oooooOOOOOOOOOOO....WHEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Game: <*shows nineties pixelated explosion and a "BOOM" sound*>
Friend: OUCH! :D
Me: that's got to hurt!
Friend: poor Bob.
Me: Yeah...but at least he didn't crash in our park so we're not liable for any injuries. :P
Friend: Indeed. Hey! More peeps want to ride this coaster!
Me: quick: put some thematic trees in there. Perhaps that'll boost the score for this coaster a bit! :P
 

Foxchild

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When my daughter plays Fortnite, she immediately goes for a hamster ball, then rolls off in search of some hapless soul to grapple onto. Also, for her, Breath of the Wild is basically a horse raising sim.
 
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