Huber Syndrome - Episode 21: Gaming Habits

I use to beat A Link to the Past every year for like 10 years straight. Only other ritual I have is that I like long game sessions: 2+ hours to get myself immersed.

GW Fawkes

Hey everyone, please take your time to check out to check my channel..

Beautiful video man!

Don's anecdote and pictures were beautiful!

Brad Grenz

More than a habit for every session, I had the habit of beating Super Mario Bros. 3 at every school year end. Single sitting, beat every level, no magic flutes. Kind of a liberation ritual. Then just prior to back to school. I did the same with Super Mario World. Haven't done that in a while. Now I want vacations!

César Villa

Hi, can I ask where I might find a cool gaming wife like yours? Where did you guys meet for instance.. I enjoyed the snapshot in your life ^^

Steven

I would subscribe to a Huber & Don channel - I absolutely love you guys, and Don @6:17 ... just melted my heart .. I had a beautiful friend too, her name was baby, she passed away and I was completely devastated, but seeing this interaction makes me feel maybe it's time I can adopt another after all these years. Thank you for being you guys.

Steven

I always seem to be at my best in the early hours of the morning- something that's less important to me now but was a must when i was younger. I would wait until at least midnight to play a game i was really stoked about, because i had the living room to myself and no distractions from family. I was the same with co-op games - there was nothing better than having a friend over, ordering pizza, and staying up WAY too late playing games. It meant for hard days at school the next day, but was worth it. Now that i have my own set-up i don't really do that as much, and this episode has made me crave a gaming ritual of my own. I definitely need to make more of an effort to put myself in the right mood for a game. PS. Don's gaming habit is the best! My cat was never as docile and preferred trying to nudge the controller out of my hands during crucial moments haha

The first few moments of a game ? Aren't that usually tutorials and how to play's ?

Randy Verschueren

Huber, what kind of wine do you drink when playing games? Do you have different types of wine depending on the game. I would imagine a red wine while playing something like Bloodborne, and a white wine for playing something like Abzu, perhaps a fruity rosee with some Uncharted 4?

I have three young children and this really limits the number of long stretches I can commit to gaming. I have to play most games in very short spurts. A half hour here, 20 minutes there. This dynamic has created one of my favorite game rituals. I call it, "Ok, honey, have a good trip." This ritual can only occur when my wife is taking all of our children on a trip with her. This is typically a trip up to New Jersey to visit her mother. It must be said, I love my wife and children very much, but anybody in my situation knows that time alone in the house is just the best. As soon as the garage door closes the ritual begins. Step 1: Do everything my wife asked me to do while she's gone right away. Sink fixed. Dog bathed. Hedges trimmed. Boom, done. I don't need this stuff weighing on my mind later. Step 2: Order way too much food. I can't be bothered trying to come up with something to eat in the middle of my gaming binge. Step 3: Get back into my PJ's regardless of time of day. Step 4: Close the blinds. Get the controller and headphones off the charger. Move the coffee table to make room for my comfortable chair. Step 5: Put in the game I picked out weeks ago when my wife first told me I was going to have the house to myself. The last one was an easy choice (Uncharted 4). The family will be out of the house again in early November and I'm having a difficult time settling on my next binge game. It was going to be FFXV. Right now it's between Mafia 3 and The Last Guardian. Suggestions are welcome. Step 6: Settle in.

Good game to get night weird to, Year Walk on the Wii U. Single sitting playthrough is quick but keep that box of wine by your side and flowing.

Don is my hero.

If I were to watch a movie I used to read a synopsis. I wanted to know what that movie was about. Not just a genre or a score. Same with games. Essentially I needed the guarantee that it was worth my time. But in that process I destroyed much of the experience and I didn't even realize it. I changed because of a movie called Perfume. There are going to be spoilers about that movie from this point on. The full movie title is Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. I did not know this. The movie starts off showing the murderer on a square facing public execution. I did not see this. I walked into the living room, finding my parents sitting on the couch watching this movie. I grabbed a chair. The first thing I saw was the birth of the protagonist as the movie places you back in time to the start of his life. I felt bad for the protagonist. He lived in a shitty place in a shitty time. No love and respect. So when he discovered his passion and talent for working with scents I was happy for him. I felt so happy that he found a purpose, a way out, something that worked for him: perfumes. A purpose that most of us are still looking for in life. As the movie went on and he survived through hardships and started living with this perfumer who wanted to take all the credit for his work I was strongly expecting this to close as a standard feel good story. You know, him having to confront his 'master' and become successful on his own. But, as you probably know, he starts killing someone. Killing women to try and find the perfect scent. This twist in this movie is probably one of the most memorable twists in a movie that I've ever seen. It completely undermined my expectations. I felt both sorry for him and very angry for what he had done, for his passion. He had everything going for him and this greed of his heart made him throw it all away. Normally I don't feel very emotional watching a movie. Now I don't think that -overall- this was the best movie I've ever seen. Not by a long shot. But I thought that twist was genius. Well played. Until I discussed the movie with my parents and found out that the producers had spoiled this twist in the title, in the trailer AND in the intro of the movie. Maybe I'm wrong but as it appeared to me they meant for you to watch the movie, fully aware that this protagonist was a murderer and not someone you should root for. If you watch the official trailer it gives the impression that this is a murder movie in which he's going to be all smart about it and killing people left and right throughout the movie, and that he keeps getting away with it until the very end. While watching the movie you would think 'when is he finally going to murder someone?' and I wouldn't have felt much for him, let alone rooted for him until he suddenly reveals how far his passion takes him. If I had seen that trailer I would not have liked this movie. The ingenious twist was not even meant to be much of a twist at all. It just became so much better because I watched this movie in this very peculiar set of circumstances. I was a little taken aback by this realization. It dawned on me how much this information would have changed this emotional ride. Maybe nobody else would experience what I loved about this movie. It made me realize how fragile these moments are. And now I take great care in setting up the right vibe, and expectations for movies and games that I really care for. I do media blackouts and play games that I normally wouldn’t have. Games I have almost no expectations for. And I love it. Before I play a game I clean my game space because that also clears the mind. Sometimes if that doesn’t work I write down every thought I have on a piece of paper. Maybe I make some tea and make sure the phone is off and that nobody will disturb me. I will wait until I really feel like playing it. But it’s mostly a mental preparation. No prejudice. Like you said, the purity of that first moment you interact with a game. And if you are a gaming enthusiast and you don’t do anything like this? Give it a shot. Because it’s probably worth it.

Bart Spits

dark souls should be a ritual! it's the only way to get through it, really.

confusedhulk

I pretty much warm up with a few games of rocket league and then if i have an art game like inside or journey or abzu i sit on a cushion on the floor in front of my tv. If it's dark souls i literally plan my whole day after work around it with beer and snacks. I've been Kyle Bosmaning the heck out of No Man's Sky, playing exclusively with some kind of podcast or stream on (usually Easy Allies related) and just kind of zoning out. It's the perfect game for that. Lately i've been playing BANNER SAGA HUBER. I love it! I ususally sit on the floor in front of my tv with the shades drawn so i can easily read the text, but I'm looking forwared to daytiming it. What a great fun game.

confusedhulk

The only ritual I can think of is when I'm grinding in RPGs. When I know I'm going to stay in an area and train my characters, I switch off the sound of the TV and play music from my laptop instead. Just set it on random and go. I do this because I know I'll get tired from listening to the same tracks over and over on the game, and want to keep my enjoyment of the soundtrack intact (particularly when it comes to Final Fantasy games). I also do this when I'm deliberately trophy hunting after I've completed a game. Great episode once again, loved the Don guest appearance. You guys know how to make my week even more awesome. Love and Respect.

Alex Bowcutt

Oh man, I have a weird one. So my first session with Dark Souls was fairly memorable. I had figured Demon's Souls was all we were gonna get so I had no idea what to expect going into Dark Souls. I was legitimately scared to start playing actually. I got to that first boss (that stupid thing on the bridge) and after dying several times as expected, I put the game down, went to bed, and didn't touch the game for like...6 months! When I confessed this to my buddy, he wasn't having it. So I made a deal that I would beat the game by the end of the month. I played this game religiously twice a week. Sundays and Tuesdays all day. (I also played on other days when I had time, let's be real). But having this ceremony - this ritual - almost felt too perfect for a game like Dark Souls. I would wake up EARLY, make coffee, turn OFF my phone, close all the blinds, and play that damn game until the sun came up the FOLLOWING day. It was a disease and I loved every moment of it. Well...except for Ornstein and Smough. Those bastards can eat it.

Matt McCarthy

Not sure if we have rituals per se, but I suppose we do follow similar patterns with certain games. We do have a general rule that if its a horror game, or a "dark, gritty" game such as Dark Souls, we generally hold off on playing until night as well. In general though, this is how gaming works in our household: For games with a story, my wife likes to watch me play. She doesn't generally like to play the games unless it's something functionally easy like DK Tropical Freeze, although she enjoys playing MMO's with me (WoW, GW2, B&S)...go figure. Anyway, using Dark Souls as an example, she acts as a bit of a lookout for me, searching for the glow of items, praising me for my prowess at boss battles when I win easily, mocking me when I lose horribly, and making me read just about every message people put down on the ground. Once the game is complete, if we enjoyed it enough, we go into Platinum mode. She will pull the trophy list up on her phone, help me figure things out when we get stuck, and we work as a team to knock out all the trophies we didn't get during our initial play. We've platinum'd Demons Souls, Dark Souls 1-3, and Bloodborne using this teamwork. In games like the Witcher 3, where you make choices along the way, we will either discuss the options and come to a consensus, or take turns making the executive decision if we can't agree. The only time this falls apart is during timed decisions, as my wife is highly indecisive and will freeze if there are only 5 seconds to make a choice. In these cases, I usually have to go with my gut because all that comes out of her mouth is "uh...ah...hmm...I don't know!" It's also quite the pattern that when something comes out we are both looking forward to, we will binge play it to death, where everything else in life kinda gets brushed aside until we've had our fill of the game. We lack self control in that regard (I'm worse about it than she is).

Great show Huber! Also, DON!!!!! Oh man, immediate giant smile :D Love the story!

My habits are odd. Wife doesn't like watching games like Fallout. I beat Fallout 4 by getting up every morning at 5 a.m. And powering through 2 hours of game time. After three months, I fully completed the game. She still doesn't know I bought it or beat it. Additionally, when I get the yearly installments of WWE2K, my crew of friends have to come over and have tournament play and it gets incredibly serious. Promos, trash talk, dirty tactics, it's all a factor in making the tournament mean something. Intensity, man. Lastly, when it comes to RPGs, I need silence, I need to hear every little ambient sound, I need to be in that world. No headphones, just the TV up loud. Battle music feels so much more dramatic that way.

Great stuff Huber, every time. DON! Don man, DON, amazing

Jeff Robertson

"I say to you, No." Awesome. :)

Dale Son

Loving the classic Syndrome video effects. Where's that Deus Ex conversation going to happen? Gotta hear your thoughts in depth!

Gan Khef

Huber! Banner Saga is so GOOOOD! Second to last game that made me cry. The most recent game was Journey though! Started it up at like 2am with headphones in the dark while everyone was sleeping. Ended up meeting someone online dark-souls style with jolly, emotional cooperation... stayed up to play through the whole thing. One of the best random nameless online encounters I've had, no speaking just subtle emotes and RP.

Jack Cullen

Huber, have you played the original Forbidden Siren game for PS2? Watch a Japanese horror like Ju-on and play Tomoko Maeda's chapter to the end. The completion will just send chills down your spine with the mindblowing revelation. Perfect Halloween experience.

don is brilliant or insane!

Michael Rielly

Another great episode! Big thanks to Huber and Don! I myself have three cats (and one of them is a big Maine Coon), and they all takes turns sitting on my lap or in my arms just as Don! Sometimes all three of them! They are great gaming companions, especially in the winter here in Norway! :) Thanks again for the episode! L&R!

Finally get to hear Huber's thoughts on DXMD, my GOTY.

Cute photo of the cat with the bow tie.

Andrew Chalmers

Best special guest EVER!