I think I fail as a gamer :p

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I spend way too much time playing video games when I'm not at college. Sometimes I don't even know why I do it apart from not having any other hobbies. So many games make me feel like a complete imbecile though because I'm awful at them. Mostly anything involving any sort of 'strategy' is impossible for me to win even on 'very easy'. Even a 10 year old could probably do it. And I've never played anything on a harder setting than 'normal'. Yeah I know it says a lot about me when even video games ruin my self-esteem. I don't have a scrap of patience either. If I can't understand something, I will literally hit my head against a wall. From what I've seen on gaming forums online, if you play games on anything less than 'normal' ever and don't love being 'challenged', that makes you stupid.

In all honesty, if you want to be playing any particular game or group of games on difficulties higher than "whatever"..... the only way to do it is, well, to DO it. Change the setting, fire it up, and to hell with whatever anyone else thinks, just have a go at it even if you're going to lose. It's the only way to get better.

That's the problem with playing on "easy" in many games.... they're so easy that, well, how are you to improve, when the challenges in the game just fall over at you?

Now, as for the other bit you mention, about not playing on normal or higher or not loving challenge making you stupid..... to that, I give a sarcastic "HAH". The derpy thing about that one is, the ones who are often saying it (usually your typical mainstream gamer) are, well.... let's just say there's generally a good amount of proof that they aint used to real difficulty either. Alot of games these days... PARTICULARLY mainstream titles.... have a much lower difficulty than in previous eras, because games that are hard just dont sell usually. The developers/publishers want to make ABSOLUTELY BLOODY CERTAIN that the player has a chance to experience the whole game, lest they decide it not worth their money. So the games become easier.... simpler. There are exceptions.... sort of. Like Dark Souls. But even that honestly isnt all that hard.... it's just hard in comparison to the usual current standard. To those people who say such things, I could point out some REALLY hard games out of the stuff I'm into, and it'd be over their heads. So yeah.... just ignore those jerks.

I always say, just play the games that YOU want to, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

As for the bit with strategy games..... ehhhh. Really, everyone will have some type of game they aint good at. I love strategy games, fighting games, shmups... but hoboy, stick me in some sort of careful, tactical shooter.... like CounterStrike.... and you've got trouble. Adding me to a team in a game like THAT is basically just increasing that team's chances of losing horribly, because I'm GOING to screw something up. Not on purpose, mind you. But it'll happen anyway, yes it will.

And the less said about me trying sports games, the better.

Don't put yourself down like that. If it makes you feel any better, I'm practically an idiot the first time I play through a game. I always overthink puzzles and stuff like that.

Also, there is something to be said for easy games and games that can be played on an easier difficulty. The point of games is not necessarily to challenge yourself, it's to have fun. Some of my favorite games have no real challenge to them, but I enjoy them anyway.

Or maybe you just haven't found a niche genre. I know people who are phenoms at Super Smash Bros., but are abysmal at other types of games.

Or you could always find another hobby. Expanding your horizons is a good thing.

I consider myself a failure as a gamer, too. I spend a lot of time on them, but I'm gradually getting worse at them. I think it's the age though. My mental alertness and reaction time is going down the toilet.

I'm very bad at twitch-based games, or games where you need a fast reaction time. While I like MMO's, I'm not good at them. Especially if there are a lot of things going on at once. When I played WOW I was often yelled at for failing at boss fights during dungeons because I had no idea what the heck was going on. Not only is my reaction time slow, I tend to get sensory overload with all the visual effects that are splashing around. I kind of feel bad because I always choose DPS (less pressure) and when people in the dungeon say "Our DPS sucks" other people are lumped in with me.

Despite that, i still like to play WOW a lot every now and then. The joy I get from paying is normally worth getting yelled out, although I sometimes get PTSD-like symptoms when that happens because I don't have thick skin, personal insults have always been rough.

The only real "difficult" games I play are rhythm based. The Rhythm Tengoku games are a good example of what I mean.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0k45BRE4GM[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlCD2tZqIg0[/youtube]

God it gives me a lot of anxiety when I have to get a perfect on something...

Anyway, the point of gaming is to enjoy it.

First off let me say I didn't read all of the replies to this thread so I might be echoing what someone else said but games are made to be enjoyed. I don't think it makes you stupid to play on a low difficulty if you enjoy it. Also I may not be as bad of a gamer as you I don't know but I for one suck at being a completionist where as other players might not find that hard. I think it boils down to gaming style, as long as the fun factor is there it really doesn't matter.

Also I suck at Dark Souls, LA Noire, and Amnesia The Dark Decent. Those games don't fit my gaming style so I don't play them, doesn't mean I suck at all games. You need to find what style game your good at, for example my mom doesn't play computer games that require a mouse and keyboard. However, she is very skilled at strategy games that require a mouse only. That is her gaming style, find yours and stick with it.

It's okay to run your own race as a gamer. In fact, it's a lot better than being around a bunch of a***holes who keep telling you what you should and shouldn't be doing. Make your own mistakes, learn your own lessons and play the game your way.

Games are supposed to make you have fun and, if you do, you are a successful gamer.
You shouldn't worry too much about being too good and instead focus at having fun while playing them without worrying about what difficult you are at.
I am kind of hardcore in the games that i like and i tend to at least try to do everything in every difficult available. But i am the one who sets my limits and how good i want to be.
I'm really bad at fighting games, for example, and because of that when i find one that i enjoy i just want to beat the f**ck*ing arcade mode and that probably will be the "how good i want to be" in that case.
So just find the game that you like and go enjoy your time playing it the way you want.
But... as a side note... You should never give up too easily and games are a really nice tool to teach us about persistence. Try to learn with that!

When I was younger, I actually thought I was somewhat of a failure as a gamer because despite my knowledge of gaming and fascination with it, I was never really "hardcore", and I never really got good at too many multiplayer games, or finished most of the single player games I started files on. As well, I found it really hard to keep up with all the latest games as a cash-strapped teenager with little actual interest in modern gaming.

Eventually, my mentality changed when I realized that the only real point of gaming is fun and enjoyment, not posturing and being more "hardcore" than other people. Nowadays, I play games just for fun, and I play whatever I feel like playing whenever I feel like playing it. I don't feel obligated to force myself to sit down and play a game just to get farther in the story or whatever. If a game's pissing me off and I'm not enjoying myself, or I'm getting bored of a particular game, I just quit and move on to something else. It's what I've been doing the whole time anyway, the only real difference being that I don't feel bad about it anymore.

This, all of what he just said. I have been on both sides of the gaming spectrum, online I became a COD asshat. If you are not enjoying what you do, why do it?. If you do not already have a fun online community to play with well you are missing out. I used to enjoy diving into singleplayer games for hours. But now I can barely sit through a AAA+ story for 5 mins. I love just about any FPS and Strategy type game, I am more for simulation and realism but I still love my COD. What kind of games do you tend to play the most, system as well as a few specific titles?.

I can agree with this.

If you actually WANT to be able to play at a higher difficulty, then practice.... but if not, then dont worry about what others say.


I think alot of people forget what gaming is really supposed to be about. The most notable examples are "pro" players for most genres, the most notorious being the MOBA genre. Watching those players stream on Twitch, they're rarely happy. Often quite angry, really. I can understand frustration at a game, but.... anger when playing it nearly all the time? Why even bother then? I can understand the appeal of competetive gaming, as I do it myself, but... I at least always ENJOY it. I dont really get angered at it. I wouldnt be doing it if that were not the case.

it really doesnt matter how crap or good we are as gamers,what matters is that we enjoy playing it,if an easy setting is preference then to hell with anyone else,games are about entertainment and having fun not puffing chests out and getting all arsey about who the most hardcore is.
am speaking as someone who also always uses easy settings because am not able to visualy track things fast at all and have very slow information processing.

The E-Sports scene pisses me off. If it weren't for them, StarCraft II wouldn't have been such a mess.

Ugh, yes.

I mean, okay, I can understand the appeal of something like that. I enjoy watching those sorts of players for the mobas, and for World of Tanks. But with those, it doesnt really damage/ruin the games in question for those that, you know, just play it normally.

SC2, though, yeah, I've heard that complaint about that one before. Apparently the balance is really bad or something right now? Not sure, not one I play.


I can think of stuff I HAVE played though: Fighting games, those are my own best example of things getting screwed up because of pro-level players. I think Nintendo's Smash Brothers series is the best example. Pro types dont seem to understand what "fun" is, and that game proves it more than most. Dont use any stage other than a couple of them (because ZOMG, moving parts are SO unfair....), dont use ANY ITEMS EVER (sigh)..... and I then LOVE how they immediately follow both of those "dont use it because it breaks the game" rules with "use wavedashing ALL OF THE TIME", considering that wavedashing is based on an engine glitch (siiiiiiiiiiigh). Those players, really, I always want to just yell at them. I have to resist this constant temptation to say "Okay, you know what? You think items make things oh-so-unfair? Howsabout we try something then? We'll put most of the items on, and have a match, but I'll let *you* grab all of them and wont touch them myself, and I'll still win. How's that?". I've done that with some players before, which always leads to an absolutely hilarious lack of comments from them after the fact.

Or you get other fighting games where of course you HAVE to play the RIGHT WAY, or you get yelled at for being a "scrub". Hint: You're still a scrub if you do this WHILE STOMPING THEM. Granted, that bit is fun, but really, it's like, "how about you let me play it MY way? Particularly when YOU are losing anyway....".

And it just goes from there.

And they never smile or laugh or anything like that. It's Serious Business. The only emotion they will show is anger. It's tragic, really. And it goes for SO many different multiplayer games.

It's been years since I've last played SC2, but I just know that the whole focus on pandering to the E-Sports crowd was really annoying, not to mention the fact that it's nearly impossible for an RTS n00b like me to get anywhere. Everyone on there is expected to use the same strategies, play super-competitively, and not have any fun at all. It's almost the opposite of what it was like back when I played Brood War with my friends. We would routinely have matches that went on for hours, horse around with different strategies, build maps with cool features, and the best part is that NONE of it required Battle.net.

I used to be pretty good at the Super Smash Bros. games, particularly Melee, though I never played it the "pro" way. It did upset me how they changed the controls and physics for Brawl, as it kind of messed up my overall game, but I liked the characters and stages it had. My dream Smash game would combine the variety of Brawl, with the "feel" of Melee. That's sort of what they're going for with the next one, so I have my fingers crossed.

I will note however, wavedashing and some of the other physics "glitches" Melee had were implemented on purpose, as a hidden feature for serious players to discover on their own, sort of like the combo system on Street Fighter II. I have no problem with wavedashing, as it's sort of equivalent to strafejumping or the other advanced movement techniques found in the Quake series, though you are right in stating that it's hypocritical for serious players to say that certain tactics "break" the game while they use that technique.

It's one thing to be competitive at a game and to do well at it, but it's another thing to take it so seriously that your preferred playing style sucks any sort of fun out of it, and excludes other people who don't want to play that way.