I like games that I don't have to pay attention to

[RoJoHen]

I rarely play games anymore, but I'd like to find something. Honestly, the most fun I ever had playing games was back in the days of SimCity2000 and Roller Coast Tycoon. I just like building stuff and being able to stop paying attention if I need to. Like, if I need to go to the bathroom or if I want to make myself a sandwich, I can just walk away and let things happen without worrying about characters dying or my tribe being attacked by the neighboring monsters or whatever (I'm currently playing Spore). I tried playing The Sims 3, but everytime I walked away the dumbass would be pissing his pants or letting his goldfish die. I want a game where the worst thing that can happen if I walk away for 5 minutes is that a roller coaster breaks down.

Are there games like that anymore?

 

[Trubinator]

Non fantasy-based RPGs usually work well for that sort of thing. Have you tried Mass Effect of Fallout 3? Both are incredible games that actually allow you to set your own pace, rather than being attacked every time you rest in the wild.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I rarely play games anymore, but I'd like to find something. Honestly, the most fun I ever had playing games was back in the days of SimCity2000 and Roller Coast Tycoon. I just like building stuff and being able to stop paying attention if I need to. Like, if I need to go to the bathroom or if I want to make myself a sandwich, I can just walk away and let things happen without worrying about characters dying or my tribe being attacked by the neighboring monsters or whatever (I'm currently playing Spore). I tried playing The Sims 3, but everytime I walked away the dumbass would be pissing his pants or letting his goldfish die. I want a game where the worst thing that can happen if I walk away for 5 minutes is that a roller coaster breaks down.

Are there games like that anymore?

Braid. Literally.

 

[RoJoHen]

For the record, Spore is a douchebag. I had my whole civilization poised to take over the world, and then one other nation decided to build about 800 airplanes and kicked the shit out of me.

Dammit.

 

[Gryffindorian]

I wouldn't necessarily consider RPGs like Mass Effect as a game you could just leave alone. The ones that Rojo is referring to are mostly simulation or strategy games. TS2 and TS3 are the ones I play. I once tried Sim City Unlimited, but there was too much micromanagement, and I simply didn't care for that. What's interesting about the SC series is that it's pretty much an open-ended game, and if you just let things be, you'd see some developments happen if you walked out for a few minutes.

 

[Trubinator]

Perhaps Alpha Centauri or some of those older turn-based-strategy games then?

 

[Commander Vaughn]

Try Civilization IV. It's similar to SimCity, except not in real time, and you're building an entire civilization, not just a city.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Go play ProgressQuest. Requires absolutely no attention whatsoever.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

The Civilization series fits this. Actually, pretty much any turn based strategy game.

 

[Chimpy Chompy]

Yeah at the risk of being captain obvious, simply by virtue of their nature you can leave a turn based game all day without problems.

Then again you won't get any progress - towns growing, money coming in, etc - either.

 

[RoJoHen]

Yeah at the risk of being captain obvious, simply by virtue of their nature you can leave a turn based game all day without problems.

Then again you won't get any progress - towns growing, money coming in, etc - either.

Really? That's actually kind of lame. At least in games like SimCity and RollerCoaster Tycoon you can walk away and still make a lot of money.

 

[Lindley]

It's the nature of the beast. You make a fixed amount of income (or loss) per turn in food, tech, construction, and gold, no matter how long that turn is. So walking away for a day won't make you a fortune.

On the other hand, walking away for a day also won't allow the Zulus to nuke your border cities, decimate your agriculture, and walk over half your continent.

 

[RoJoHen]

I see.

Hmm...decisions decisions.

 

[Kelthaz]

Go play ProgressQuest. Requires absolutely no attention whatsoever.

Best MMORPG ever made.

 

[CaptJimboJones]

So basically you want a game that can play itself?

I used to fire up MS Flight Simulator, plot a trans-Atlantic route, take off, put my 747 on autopilot and then go to work. I'd get home just in time for landing.

 

[Hermiod]

This is what bugged me about The Sims. It should take care of things automatically if that's how the player wants to have fun with the game.

 

[LitmusDragon]

This seems oddly relevant

I've seriously always thought a Roguelike dungeon hack game that doubled as a screen saver would be awesome. Like, you go to work and come back and your dude has gained 5 levels all by himself.

 

[Gryffindorian]

This is what bugged me about The Sims. It should take care of things automatically if that's how the player wants to have fun with the game.

See, if you give your sims Free Will (which is the default setting), then yes, it's like putting the game on auto-pilot. BUT ... nothing much gets accomplished if you leave them be. They'll take care of their own needs (Environmental, Bladder, Hunger, Energy, etc.); they'll even go to work on time if they have jobs. It doesn't mean they'll randomly get out of the house to go to a community lot, e.g., Downtown or Bluewater Village. Then you get these annoying pop-up messages that prompt you for an answer; I don't know how long they stay on-screen if you don't make a selection.

 

[Spot's Meow]

There are tons of other tycoon games out there if you are looking for something similar to RollerCoaster Tycoon. I play Zoo Tycoon a lot and let it sit for a while. Fun stuff.

 

[Gryffindorian]

I was about to try Zoo Tycoon 2 (with all expansions). Is this series any good?