For me, not at all. I often play with the volume down very low anyway, since I'm typically also listening to the radio or otherwise multitasking with my ears. Fortunately, many games have volume sliders (don't they all nowadays?), so turning off disliked music isn't an issue. The other factor for me is that music can hide important audio clues in certain game types, such as FPS titles.

Q: How large a part do mods play in your game experience, and do you look mostly for convenience mods (larger inventory, for instance) or go for the big world-changing stuff?

I was in college when Doom came out, and my first modding experience was switching out sound files with sound bites from Sesame Street.

Since then, I have loved using mods in games. I am not a producer of mods, but I use them a lot, and I learned a great deal of what I know about computers by learning how to use mods in games.

I used mods for all the Infinity engine games. I used mods for Arcanum. Those were all mostly widescreen and bugfixes. Then came VTMB and the never-ending Wesp mod. Then I got into Oblivion. And I spent years tinkering with mods.

With Oblivion, I went through several periods of modding. In one period I tried to maximize the visual changes I could install before overloading the system. In another I used no graphical mods at all but changed nearly every aspect of the gameplay mechanics. I think my favorite playthrough was the mechanics one.

When I got to Skyrim, I made fewer changes. I only ran about 80 mods at one time, compared to over 200 in Oblivion

I found very few quest mods that I liked, even though I kept trying them. And I don't really like companions, even though there were several companion mods that looked very interesting. The one quest mod that was my favorite out of every game is the one by that Skyrim modder kid who used his work to apply for a job at Bungee - and he got the job! His quest mod felt like it fit into Skyrim's world. It wasn't pretentious or showy, and it was very polished. The pacing of the quest and area design was good. It wasn't too dialogue heavy. And the rewards fit nicely, not overpowered or otherwordly like many quest mods.

Q:Tell us about a time you called in sick in order to stay home and play video games.

Generally stay well away from them, want to play the game as designed and form my opinion of it that way. Exceptions may be if there are any that are or seem official, though I think the only actual case are the ones for Morrowind on the official site, and maybe some needed bugfixes that don't change gameplay if available like that, though again I think the only actual case were those for BG1 when I was playing (non-GOG edition), careful to exclude any gameplay changing stuff from that package if I could. As for mods in the sense of separate content done in the editor, did play those included in The Witcher here, taking them as official even if made by others, but other than that may rarely, very rarely, poke at a thing or two, but if I finished anything other than those it must have been many years ago, if ever.

Little memory test: What was the configuration of the first PC you played games on at home (specifying to eliminate any you may have first played on at friends or relatives or internet cafes or whatever :p)? Would prefer an answer from someone who can actually remember well.

Edit: Woops, ninja'd. Let misteryo's question stand then.

Well I've never called in sick to play games, but I have used other legitimate excuses. One time we were having serious issues with our home phone dialling numbers by itself. The police kept coming to my house in response to a 911 call nobody made. We also had several hundred calls to 411 on our bill. The phone company said they would send someone out to maintenance our line. I told my boss that I needed to take the day off and wait for the repair man. Further, since it was a phone issue my internet was also acting up so my boss shouldn't expect me to log in remotely to get work done, which wasn't totally false. I spent half the day playing Two Worlds 2.

I similarly completed the Dead Money DLC for New Vegas whilst waiting for a plumber.

I can also answer Calvary's question. The first computer we had was a Xerox model 820. It took 8 inch floppy drives and the CPU was in the keyboard. However it was cutting edge with a massive 64 kb Of RAM and a smoking fast 2.5MHz processor. I used to spend hours playing the one text based adventure game we had, simply called Adventure.

Question: Are there any features or gameplay mechanics which aren't common or popular any more that you wish were used in more games or new games?

The way I see it, bugfixes *do* change gameplay, unless they're just graphical or audio glitches.

For example, one of the fixes in the Morrowind Code Patch makes it so that blindness lowers accuracy rather that raising it, changing it from a spell you'd sometimes want to use on yourself (but not at too high a magnitude) to one that's only worth using on enemies.

So yes, bugfixes, even fixes for things that are obviously bugs, do indeed change gameplay.

(Another example would be bugs that crash the game in certain situations; normally, you need to avoid those situations, but a fix would make that situation harmless, which in turn changes the gameplay a bit.)

Yes. Growth systems that aren't level based.

In particular, one reason I like Final Fantasy 2 (even with all its flaws) and the SaGa series is the growth systems of those games; most use a system where stats or skills improve by use, making random combats more interesting than just "use your most powerful or cost-effective attack". SaGa 1 and 2, and SaGa Frontier, used even more exotic systems, like using stat boosting items to permanently boost stats, and having characters who get all their stats from equipment along with being able to ignore body slot limitations. (For instance, a robot can equip two suits of armor for more defense.)

Have you ever found that fixing a bug in a game made that game worse?

There's one that comes to mind, from Battlefield 1942. A patch they made cased a bug where - under a very specific circumstance - you could fly. Without a plane. It was both funny in a screwing-around sort of way, but also irritating because it allowed people to get to places where they normally couldn't, and then essentially ruin that round. Next patch fixed it, but it also took away the fun that could be had with flying.

Is there a game that you're just really damn good at, that you can completely own any comers, where the bosses simply give up without a fight because they see you coming? Nightmare level? Pshah - beat it armed only with a toothpick!

I used to think I was really good. I played a lot of Dune 2/C&C when I was younger, so I thought I was really good at RTS games... Then I found out "micro" was a thing and that professional gaming actually did exist... That was the last time I thought I was good at video games.

Q: What was your favourite genre when you were a kid and is it the same or different today?

I consider RPGs (the way I define the genre, at least) to be my favorite genre, and I did so back then as well. These days, however, I stay away from RPGs that have excessive cutscenes.

I also have enjoyed action games that have RPG elements, even if I don't count them as RPGs. (I note that, if I am in the mood for one of these two types of games, the other type isn't a substitute here.)

These days, however, I am somewhat into 2D platformers, particularly those with Metroidvania elements, though I do happen to like Syoban Action (an unfair, but not that difficult, freeware platformer). There was a time when they were so common that I started to stay away from them, but then the genre nearly died for a while, and when it came back, I was more interested than I was before.

One other difference; I used to play mainly JRPGs, but now I tend to play many early WRPGs, and I enjoy what I call Wizardry-likes (Elminage Gothic being one example of such a game).

Is there any genre that you define differently than most people seem to? (Bonus points if the genre is something other than RPG.)

Among managerial simulations, I have a distinction between those that give you a framework to work within (e.g., Rollercoaster Tycoon), and those that are super-ultra-micro "have to learn exactly what the developers wanted you to do it (e.g., Zoo tycoon). I loathe the latter -- especially when it's hidden deeply enough it takes you a while to learn that there's really no creativity or multiple paths in the sim.

Q: If GOG were to give its 30-days-notice-of-shutdown, where would that leave you?

I've downloaded most of the installers for my collection already and copied them on an external hard drive....if Gog shut down I'd make sure I've got all the files I need and make additional backups. I'd be somewhat sad since I value Gog for having given me the opportunity to replay games from my youth/try titles I missed back then. Apart from that, not much would change for me under present conditions...my laptop can't run most new games anyway, and I won't be getting a new one until about 2020 or so. So I might even stop gaming again (already largely stopped gaming once, between 2003 and 2011 when I got my current laptop). I'm not really interested in Steam or similar services.

Which game should really get a sequel in your opinion?

Psychonauts 2 is already in development, otherwise would have said that.
While SRTT and SR4 are not bad games, I really wish Saints Row 2 got a proper sequel.

Also, Half Life 3!!!!!!!
When will we get HALF LIFE 3 ???

Question: gamepad or keyboard and mouse (or something else), what is your preferred method of playing games?
also, is this choice dictated by the genre of a game?

Generally, gamepad.

The genre does matter to some extent, but for the types of games I prefer, I prefer gamepad, provided the interface is suited to.

Early WRPGs tend to be designed around the keyboard, and unless playing a console port of such a game, I use the keyboard. I prefer not to use the mouse at the same time if I can avoid it.

I tend to only use the mouse when playing later WRPGs or other games that require it (like Oblivion and other TES games, for example), but I really prefer games that don't require it. (Of course, for a game like Cookie Clicker, I only use the mouse because there's no other option, though I have cheated for one particular achievement by mapping the scroll wheel to left click.)

If playing on a laptop, I will generally go keyboard only, even if the game was designed for gamepad. If the game requires a mouse, I won't play it on the laptop; if I get a new laptop with a decently functional trackpad, I might play games that require light mouse usage (but not something like Oblivion) on it.

Are there any games or game genres that you are physically unable to play (perhaps because of disability combined with the game not being accessible)?

Kart racing games. Mario Kart, for instance, makes me sick. I have a huge issue with "cessation of motion" sickness (comparable to "sea legs" when coming ashore from a boat -- which I get, too). Games with really fast backgrounds or extreme parallax really get to me. Descent & co also triggered this really badly.

Now, normal/realistic racing games, don't give me that problem nearly as much for some reason.

Q: Squares, hexes, hexes-at-vertexes, triangles, free-alignment, or what in a turn-based strategy game? Why?

Anything but hexes! I don't know why, but I've always hated the aesthetic hexes create. Hex games always look and feel clunky to me.

I'm not a huge fan of isometric squares either. The only game that I could entirely get past that clunky feeling with was Alpha Centauri. And that was likely more because of my love of this quote than anything else.

Q: Have you ever taken a lengthy break from gaming? Why did you leave and what made you come back?

Depends on definitions. For this to happen for weeks at a time is common, and there have been periods of at least 2-3 months during which I didn't even start any game (as in didn't start any program that was a game), and likely longer ones during which I didn't advance in any, at most poking around one one day but not saving or not keeping the save, then getting back to not even trying for a while longer. (A few days ago I played a bit more of a game when the last saves, in any game, were from November for example.)
There definitely was never any decision to stop playing, just couldn't get myself to continue or get back to anything I had installed, nor to install something else. May be because I'm either stuck or too frustrated by what I'm playing at the time, may just be I'm too depressed to even play. Probably this last part is a factor in all cases.
Starting again does tend to be a decision on the other hand, whether because I want to continue a particular game or just to play something again in general, and I make a point of trying again until I can get back in something, or start something else that I find myself getting into. When it works, that is.

Q: About how old are most of the games you've been playing in recent years?