We’ve all got our quirks, even in video games. Or at least for some of us, especially in video games. I tend to be an obsessive compulsive searcher/hoarder/stealther. I’m not sure if some of the searching obsession comes from the days when JRPGs didn’t mark every item for you or make them obvious, forcing the player to run around mashing buttons in the hopes of finding some potion or other piece of loot. But even in Mass Effect 3, which marks things for you via omni-tool, I’m still running around mashing buttons in the most random corners, searching every last avenue before moving towards the objective. I almost can’t help it.
I’ve also documented multiple times my obsession with stealing in open world games and how I like sneaking around in stealth games. It borders on unhealthy, and tends to totally hamper the first portion of both of those types of games. Deus Ex: Human Revolution combined both of these things into one package that forced me to actively re-think the way I approach these situations, just to keep my sanity.
I’m bringing all of this up because 1UP has a fun article going on at the moment called You’re Not Alone, which takes a look at different quirky gaming habits from readers and staff alike. It’s kind of hilarious to see that there are other gamers just like me who hoard special items until they’re practically useless, or who hate to use healing items if there’s an inconvenient method to do it for free.
So what about you guys? What are your gaming quirks, ticks and obsessions? Go!
Source – 1UP
I’m a compulsive explorer. I have to explore every square of every map. I would get so annoyed in ME2 when I would finish a mission and see that I had only collected 1650/2000 Platinum, because it meant I hadn’t explored enough. Same with Xenoblade, every map starts off black and gets filled in as you explore. Every area I’ve been to has been completely revealed. Although at least in that case, getting EXP for visiting new landmarks, semi-justified my obsession.
I also have a tendency to save high powered weapons “just in case”. Did this in ME2 as well, didn’t fire the Cain until my third playthrough. The game even taunted me on a loading screen – “Don’t waste heavy weapon ammo. You never know whats around the corner”. No I didn’t, and because of that I never used the big guns. Good thing my Locust SMG could clear out anything
I have an unhealthy tendency to mine, harvest, skin, grave rob any resource within any game. I hit rock bottom in ME2 when mining planets. Drained every planet of resources by my second recruitment mission. Then, after researching every upgrade in-game I still had hundreds of thousands of each mineral resource left over. A complete waste of time.
Being the good guy I played ME1 and ME2 4 times so far and 3 out of 4 times I was finished with the good ending. Same thing with Fable 2 and 3 when ever I can make a choice in the game I allways go for the good option. The only reson I play as a badguy in games is to get the evil choice related achivement. But I found a way to fix this for my self in ME2 and ME3 when ever I get a choice to do some thing I allways ask my self WWJBD? What Would Jack Bauer Do?
I used to be a really bad hoarder myself, sometimes to the detriment of my playthrough (damn you limited inventory sizes!). In most games, I’d either use or keep the default weapon from start to finish even when there were superior weapons at hand. Did that in Kingdom Hearts with the first Keyblade until about the halfway point in the game. I also had to have my money above a certain amount (just in case!). Nowadays I’m not too bad, although I have a bit of OCD in TF2 where I HAVE to fire both barrels of the Force-a-Nature even when completely unnecessary. Additionally, the bow in Zelda has always been on the same button (C-Left, or Y on the 3DS) after all these years.
I know your feel, Eddy. Whether it’s Deus Ex or Skyrim, I must search every last nook and cranny for a missed potion or hidden book. If ever I’m presented with a fork in the road, I usually go for the road that doesn’t look like it’s the main one so that I can loot the area before going on. That’s probably why I clocked so many hours in Skyrim; because I obsessively scavenged every last brick. I’ve given up being an achievement whore; now, I just want to maximize my content that I experience from a game.
I’m rather obsessive when it comes to inventory management, and I always make sure I’m not going too fast when walking through a city or taking in a panoramic view. I’ve noticed that if I rush through a game, it totally ruins the experience and any memories I have of it. I like my games to be methodical cinematic experiences.