Most people have lied to themselves in the past, as it’s part of human nature to justify a decision you’ve made or to make yourself feel better about a situation. Some of these lies don’t harm anyone, while others can become so embedded that you start to believe it as the truth and therefore cause arguments to erupt. lies some gamers tell themselves
For over two decades, I’ve been an avid gamer and have spoken to thousands of gamers, and during that time I’ve noticed five big lies that I think most gamers have told themselves at some point in time. Maybe you’ve never used one of these, well then good for you! However, I have to admit that I have told myself each of these lies in the past.
My opponent is cheating
Let’s face it, if you’ve ever played an online game for a decent period of time, you have heard players calling their opponents cheaters. Maybe you’ve told yourself that that guy who shot you in Battlefield V was a cheater because there is no way he could be better than you? Another example would be in Dota 2, where players who accumulate a lot of gold quickly or catch you in the jungle are labeled cheaters, but in reality, they are just better at farming than you and spotted you’re out with a ward placed by a teammate.
For South Africans, latency also plays an important part in this. Sometimes, it might look like a hit registered, while in actual fact it didn’t. For an explanation of how to deal with high latency in Overwatch. I’ve cried cheater in the past, and maybe so have you. It is definitely a lie that some gamers tell themselves so they feel better about their skill level in a game, or they just don’t realize what effects high latency should have on what they see on their screen.
Just one more hour
We’ve all been there. It’s late at night, you need to work or go to school tomorrow but you are so enthralled by a game that you just can’t stop playing. That’s when bargaining kicks in, and you tell yourself you are only going to play “one more match” or “one more hour”. No, it is very likely going to be two, or three more matches, or at least a couple of hours until you finally stop.
I’ve been there, especially with World of Warcraft, and I just couldn’t stop myself from continuing on even though I knew I shouldn’t. I won’t exactly call it a lack of discipline, but rather that gaming is just so enjoyable that it is hard to stop when you get started. One example is that of Horizon Zero Dawn, where playing for just an hour felt like way too little game time. Open world games, especially interesting and unique ones such as Horizon, just sucks you in and offers so many things to do that hours upon hours can fly past you.
In multiplayer games, the “one more match” lie is, of course, the most used. Let’s face it, you won’t just be playing one match and neither will I. Things get even “worse” when you are on a losing streak in, for example, Overwatch, so you just play one more, and then another and another, until you finally win a match and log off on a high note. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with that, but don’t kid yourself, it’s not going to be “one more hour”.
The next sale, my wallet will be safe
Those poor, poor wallets. I can’t even imagine the amount of pain they must go through, especially during time likes these with all the sales going on. Every time there is an upcoming sale, I tell myself that this time, I really don’t need anything and that I’ve got enough games to play. I reassure my wallet that it will be safe for the next big sale, but that’s a lie. I can always feel my wallet looking at me, judging me because it knows I am lying.
Come on, there is no way that I won’t spend a cent on the upcoming sales, and I am sure many of you will too. In the future, let’s just be honest and direct with our wallets. A sale is coming, we will spend money on the sale even if we try not to. At least if we are honest, our wallets can prepare for the worst.
The game is broken
Cries of a broken game are not always unfounded, as there have been many examples of a game being almost unplayable at launch, with an example that springs to mind of Batman: Arkham Knight on PC. Extremely poor performance in games, or the fact that some quests might just not work, causing someone to run into a virtual wall they just can’t pass, does happen.
However, there are also times that players blame the game, or some of the game’s mechanics, for what can only be described as a learn-to-play issue. I am of course talking about those excruciatingly difficult games that, if played for the first time, might be seen as broken. Sometimes all it boils down to is that the game is too difficult for a player to handle, or they don’t want to put in the effort. The most obvious example of this is Dark Souls, or Souls-like games, where frustration can build up when repeatedly failing, and then someone blames the game instead of their own lack of skill.
Marco and I actually had a debate regarding Nioh’s mechanics and systems a couple of months ago. While we both agreed that the game is brilliant, Marco argued that some mechanics are there just for the sake of difficulty. Now that isn’t a lie, as I believe his points are somewhat valid, but still, I feel as if Nioh is exactly as it should be, and basically responded with a 400-word argument that boils down to “git gud”.
My gaming platform is the best
I am ashamed to admit that I’ve been guilty of this one for almost 10 years, calling the PC by far the best gaming platform. Then, at the end of last year, I bought my first console (NES64 excluded), and my eyes opened to the truth. No gaming platform is the best. Sure, a top-of-the-line gaming PC does have performance advantages over consoles.
However, it is up to user preference and what they enjoy the most; they all have their advantages and disadvantages. When gamers continuously tell themselves that their platform is the best and everyone else is wrong, it turns ugly pretty quickly. Countless arguments have been had, especially regarding the console wars, and in the end, it is quite toxic.
There are good points to each argument, but it generally turns into a cesspool of hate directed towards another platform. What it all boils down to is the need for affirmation that you made the right choice in gaming platform, so anyone who challenges that belief must be wrong. In the end, it is up to everyone to choose a platform they like the most but just remember, for everyone who thinks, for example, the Xbox One is the best platform, there is another who thinks the PS4, PC, or even Switch is. It is a choice due to your personal preference and in most cases not an absolute.
Can you think of any other big lies that gamers tell themselves and have you used any of the ones in this article? Let us know in the comment section below.