Video games can be tough. Video games can make you so frustrated that you may have found yourself punching a wall, or breaking a controller at one time or another. But still, the challenge is precisely why we keep coming back to it. That is the fun. And yet, there are people out there who decry fundamental and essential gameplay at the slightest difficulty or inconvenience they may pose. Particularly in multilayer games, difference in notion of what is fair can quickly turn a joyous activity amongst friends into bitter warfare.
First off, no, I don’t think everything in video games is fair. I’m sure you can think of many examples of a game-breaking glitch or exploit in your own history of playing. Not all instance of players going outside the system is unfair, but it often is. I am not talking about those situations. Heck, sometimes the game itself is poorly balanced and the game is just filled with crippling mechanics and broken characters. Anyone who has played Jump Ultimate Stars know how even the developers’ intent can translate into the gameplay being unfair.
I am talking about instances of gameplay where the game revolves around it. Take throwing in Street Fighter for example. Naturally, in a fighting game you can attack your opponent, and your opponent can block your attacks. But throws being throws, you cannot block them. And I suppose this is considered “cheap” for some people. Let me remind those who aren’t familiar with the game that even though you can’t block a throw, you can counter the throw by initiating the throw quickly right after your opponent attempts to throw you, resetting both players to a neutral position. Besides that though, without the ability to throw in the game you can just block you opponent’s attack for the entire match. What’s the logic in removing the fundamental gameplay element that balances everything? I would like to hear a better and more sound argument than “I can’t block throws”. There was a time where people would, honest to goodness, got knifed at the arcades for throwing other people in Street Fighter.
Or how about ring-out deaths in Worms? Some people are filled with indignation when their worms get ringed out, feeling that only death by knockout is honorable or fair. The whole point of the game is to use your myriad weapons and tools to eliminate your enemies and navigate the terrain. The landscape is an important part of the design. And while it is completely up to chance that one of your worms end up near the ledge and don’t even get a chance to move before it is knocked off the stage, luck is part of this warfare as is skill. The scramble to maintain order in the chaotic, unpredictable, and explosive battlefield is important to the design of Worms, and is what it’s all about.
No snaking, you cheap bastard!
I am not telling people to do this and that, and that there is only one way to have fun. House rules are great if you can find like-minded individuals and agree on the conditions ahead of time. I, myself, like to play Super Smash Bros. with items off, stock battle, and Final Destination stage only. But that is the important part–you need to agree ahead of time. Otherwise, the gameplay will default to anything and everything the game allows. Noobs need to step up their game more and whine less. Also, anime is for kids.
What things do people do in video games that you hate or find cheap?