I’ve been gaming since as far back as I can remember some of my earliest memories revolve around temper tantrums because my grandmother refused to let me play Super Nintendo and screaming in the face until I was a darker shade of Kirby! I’ve a lot to thank baby gamer me for but I’ve also got to look back and scold him too because I’ve brought some of the worst gamer traits in my button bashing body from him!
Blow and bash!
If it’s not working, yank the cartridge out, take a huge breath and empty every ounce of air in your body into that cartridge. If this step doesn’t work, repeat but this time blow into the console, if you seem dust come out then you’ve totally fixed the problem. If the problem persists clearly it wasn’t the dust’s fault and the console is just acting up, teach it a lesson by knocking it with your knuckles. You’d think with the transition from cartridge to compact disc and even DLC I’d have let it go but no, take the disc out, blow any fictional dust off it, wipe away greasy thumb prints and take the hoover (I know!) to the console’s fan!
Speeding!
This should probably say patience but speeding sounded more serious! Whether it’s needing a bathroom break, making dinner (thankfully never after each other), answering the front door or even getting ready for work/class/go out, if I’m gaming and I’m going well then don’t expect my brain to be able to function or even grab the concept of other things existing around me. That said when I do have to do something that’s not emptying bullets into Fallen soldiers or bashing a combo out it will be done with exceptional haste… yup…
Controller dodging!
Before we had Kinects, Wiis, PlayStation Moves, sensor bars or the idea of Oculus Rift, there was another form of video game interaction – controller dodging! This worked best in racing games like Mario Kart – taking a sharp turn? Well if you turn your whole body… it helps… I’m still doing this – ducking behind a rocky outcrop, being stealthy? I’ll hold my breath and play from behind a cushion because that definitely means the game’s AI can’t see my character!
Attention… oh look… span!
I’d probably rate this as my worst quality if the final one just didn’t sound so negative! I’m probably guilty of this most and I’m very easily distracted not only by the constant onslaught of new and totally exciting, life changing, gaming universe altering brand spanking GUNS AND SWORDS XIV PART 3 – The Second Last Saga! I think we’re all guilty of that, buying one game only to half finish it before forking out the cash for a new one three weeks later! I’m talking about playing the game only to get distracted by the world, skill trees or stupid ability to teleport – note to any developers who might have accidentally clicked this article – if you give your main character the ability to teleport (and not just some poxy world hopping/homepoint returning teleportation) then I’m going to buy your game!
Again we’re all probably guilty of going off track in games like Skyrim or maybe even a Final Fantasy, but I’m talking about spending hours zipping between walls and rooms just because you’ve unlocked Nightcrawler in X-Men Legends II.
Sore Loser!
Yeah, I’ll admit it… my middle should be ‘Competitive’, there’s probably no better witness than my own little brother who would be the source of my frustration and punching bag. We’ve always had a gaming rivalry, he’d kick my ass in Street Fighter, I’d have to challenge him to another game just to even the score – if I won we’d play another just to score the ‘winning’ point – if I won… great! If I lost then I’d punch him, I don’t consider myself an outwardly aggressive person (unless passive aggression counts…) but gaming has always brought out the worst in me. We all like to win but there is grace to be found in loss, apparently…
What are your worst gamer/geek habits?
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Editor-in-Chief, part-time super villain and hoarder of cats. If you can’t find me writing, I’m probably in the kitchen!
