The PC Gamer’s Guide to Being Less Annoying
Let’s just get this out of the way:
I am a PC gamer. I like being a PC gamer. I like PC gamers. I would not be here if I were not a PC gamer.
Alright. I’ve said it. I’m a PC gamer. So before you see the title and scream down to the bottom of the page to leave me hate comments, please take the time to read this short article with an open mind.
As PC gamers, we know we can be (to put it lightly) a little picky about things. We tend to be uptight about the inclusion of DRM in games, we are put at pause when we read about games requiring internet connection to play, and we often quietly (or sometimes not-so-quietly) scoff at systems other than the PC that are used to run video games. Many people tend to view PC gamers as the most irritable, elitist, and opinionated groups of people around. At the risk of some angry replies (not that I care), some Rick Rolls (I see them all the time anyway), and some angrily-shaken fists (go for it), I’ve decided to stir the waters a bit and write this article, as (even as a PC gamer) I and many other people often see the community’s attitude and outlook on many things to be very over-the-top. I hope that I can write this without coming of as scornful, because that’s not the objective at all. I just want to write something that can make some people think and maybe even spark some controversy :3.
Well, let’s get right into it, shall we?
One thing that I see coming up time and again is the subject of console-ization. While I find some logic behind the fear (take a stand, Deus Ex) it often seems to spiral out of control into blunt and almost irrational hatred. Look, seeing the sequel of your favorite game be shamelessly butchered to accommodate a larger console crowd sucks, but I often observe that whenever anyone is talking about the development of a game and the word “console” is used in the same breath, gamers often immediately start flaming and hating to death a game that likely hasn’t had one screenshot leaked online, not one little video of gameplay uploaded, and little information released at all. I mean, Christ, give the game a chance. Just because a game is also coming to console doesn’t mean the game will be bad. Many games are cross-platform and great, so judging a game still in its embryonic stages of development is, at the very least, unfair.
This brings me into my next point. I may amaze some people by saying this, but consoles and console gamers are not stupid and obsolete. True, the PC can bring a higher quality and a more hardcore experience, and the capabilities of the platform are much greater and broader, but the console has its place too. Console gamers usually aren’t hardcore gamers. They’re the little kid who wants something to do after school. The guy who wants to mindlessly shoot stuff (virtually) after a hard day of work. Sometimes they’re even people who want to buy Guitar Hero for parties. Regardless of who buys it, consoles are made to bring you entertainment without the requirement of thinking too hard about it. You don’t have to build the system. You don’t have to download the new GPU drivers yourself. You’re even backed with warranties right out of the gate on a single substance, not several different components. Consoles are made to be simple, and they are made for people who don’t care enough to want to think a little to build a PC (however easy we may think it can be). It’s no reason to resent them or view them as “stupid” or “inferior”, it’s just a different demographic. Some of them (like I once was myself) might even be console gamers who don’t even realize the vastness of the PC gaming platform, and have yet to discover it. And while there may be nothing better for FPS’s than a mouse and keyboard, and RTS’s have no business anywhere near an Xbox, There are some games that I, and many other people would prefer to have a console controller to play. Street Fighter with a mouse and keyboard? No thanks.
Consoles. They aren’t better or worse. They’re just different.
One last major point I would like to touch on is the “issue” of DRM. Yes, DRM. The anti-piracy thing. Why is this such a big deal? If you buy your games, why do you even have to worry about it? When I’m talking to a PC gamer friend (I have a few) and I mention how excited I am to jump into the Diablo 3 BETA, the last thing I want to endure is him spitting curses and hatred for the game having DRM included…
You know, to prevent people from stealing it. He even buys all of his games…
After a couple minutes of unchecked nerd rage, he jumps to how horrible it is to (*gasp*) require internet access to play the game. This puzzles me, as pretty much everyone has access internet now. Yes, even homeless people can go to the library and have the internet. If anyone on any forum tells me they don’t have internet access, they’re lying. How else would they read this?
The conversation reaches a new low when he finally starts cursing Blizzard, and how they just lost a sale of a copy for including DRM and required internet access. On one hand I almost feel inclined to laugh at the ridiculousness of the statement. On the other I want to facepalm. Does anyone else see where I’m coming from?
It’s not just this. People hating Valve for adding hats? People hating Apple for making user-friendly products. People hating console gamers just for being… different? (Seriously, why do people hate console gamers with such passion?)
This is the bottom line. PC gaming is entertainment. They use the word “games” for a reason. They’re meant to be fun. If you aren’t entertained by a certain game, or don’t a certain way that entertainment reaches you, then fine. Go elsewhere. Don’t stick around just to over-vocalize your disgust at something you dislike. They’re games. Settle down a bit. They’re not meant to be taken that seriously.
So anyway, I hope I was able to communicate without me sounding like I’m hate speech-ing. I hope the blunt title got your attention. Now go ahead. Send me Rick Rolls.
Peace.
18 Aug 2011, 9:16 pm
I’m inclined to write tl;dr but that’s pathetic and unfunny.
A lot of this “passage” is opinionated and while I agree with a lot I also disagree with an equal portion.
Most of the time anyone HERE is joking when they pick on valve or apple and if they aren’t that’s fine too — though that’d make them a hypocrite since we all know they’ve probably owned an apple product or a valve game.
As far as consoles go I’m just going to stay off of it because I’d rather not have this thread turn into a bitch fight over what piece of plastic is better than the other at the same thing.
I know your target audience is everyone here that “flamed” you because of what happened in the other thread from a week or whenever it was ago. And that’s fine. I don’t care if they think your mother is the most ugly person in the entire cosmos. It’s their opinion and making things like this isn’t going to change that opinion.
Essentially what I’m trying to say is.
Don’t like it? Deal wit it. Or you could just ignore the small line of text by scrolling past it. Whoopdey doo.
19 Aug 2011, 4:02 am
I’ve known lots of annoying PC gamers, they really could do with reading this. Great article Fragman!
19 Aug 2011, 4:14 am
Agreed to some degree. People are allowed to express their meanings on a subject, even if its negative. It stirs up discussion. and discussions are fun if with somewhat mature people.
(As for the DRM thing:
They can have as much drm as they want on my purchased games, aslong as theres no bloatware crap lying around just sucking resources. )
And yes, open your eyes. Valve destroyed a perfectly awesome game, TF2 by adding the most extreme cash shop I’ve ever seen in a game. HATS. Are they serious?
Sure they get a fuckton of money for adding it, and thats all they want. But there are many other ways to get money of an “old” game youve made.. DLC’s for instance.
If a thread starts about a game I despise with my entire soul, I will most likely ignore the thread, or start some sort of rant-discussion. As Rabu said; “Deal wid it”.
19 Aug 2011, 4:25 am
Ill say this I enjoy both consoles and PC for certain games. Especially now that only certain games are on my xbox and that’s why I still enjoy it.
On DRM I agree with Green as long as it doesn’t get in the way of me enjoying the game I payed for I am fine with that. But regarding Diablo III, did you play 1 or 2. I played a good amount as a child and I loved playing in offline mode I didn’t care so much about playing online. I also play a lot on my laptop on the go so an internet connection is not always an option.
Some of you may remember Assassin Creed backed down from the always on DRM for a reason. Always on DRM is like making consoles owner having to be connected at all times as well, and I know tons of people who can’t connect their console to their internet.
Plus people are entitled to their opinion on valve’s transformation of their game they have a right to it. I personal do not like what they have done and now I don’t play it. But I am going to voice my opinion becuase I use to love that game, now it is no longer enjoyable for me. I payed my money for I am allowed to voice my feelings.
I understand you point in this but you are also generalizing a lot of PC gamers like you state that we do about console gamers. There are some that do this but most people I know who play solely pc gaming don’t act like this. They are more level headed people then ragers.
19 Aug 2011, 5:35 am
I’ve never played TF2, never bought it, but I never would have got it if it wasn’t free, because I’m cheap and poor, I can’t complain that its free, if I do play it eventually when I have the time, will I buy the hats, no, because I’m cheap and poor, I got other things to spend/waste money on. Does that mean its ruined I don’t know, never played and never spent money on it, so I don’t have the right to complain even if it did
I agree with alot of what he said, I don’t know what to say about DRM, I’ve never bought a game that required it, not to say that I’ve pirate everything,(mostly just emulated old console games, once I start making the money I’m going to buy every thing that I ever pirated anyway) if they want to drm go ahead, if it helps the devs get more money and incentive to make better games, I see no reason to, as a future developer I would think the devs would make it more appealing to the gamer though, a always online DRM is not a way to go, sure back in my highschool years I didn’t have internet at home, I did have it at highschool in the tech lab, the public library and even dial up at my grandmothers, if it was a one time only activation it would be no problem for me to drag my pc to somewhere that had internet, but not every-time I wanted to game, if they want to make more money they need to consider the costomers first duh
and consoles aren’t a bad thing as long as the Devs aren’t lazy asses and do a half ass job for the console versions, when I make my game I’m going to specifically design it for each platform it goes on, why, one; better quality product means the gamer will be over all happier; two it will give me more experience; there are other reasons but I got work in 10 hours and I’m tired
19 Aug 2011, 6:46 am
I totally disagree with everything you say.
19 Aug 2011, 7:56 am
Feel free to follow up on what you just said then. :]
19 Aug 2011, 11:10 am
Good to see some feedback. I disagree that Valve destroyed TF2. Hats are purely cosmetic and don’t really alter gameplay at all, and I like the weapons you can get (even though I’ve never actually bought anything from the store) because it can make you approach a certain in a different way. But whatever. That’s just my opinion.
EDIT: Also, I would like to just say that what is said in this article is not necessarily targeted at anyone here on RTW or anywhere, just an opinion article about people in general. I’m not saying everyone or anyone on RTW is necessarily exactly as I’m describing in the post.
19 Aug 2011, 3:02 pm
I don’t think hats ruined TF2 I think the weapon releases did. I liked good old vanilla TF2, where ever class was well balanced and a player was good because of his skill not how much time he put into the game or how much money he spent in the store.
19 Aug 2011, 8:10 pm
Fuck DRM. If I pay far out the ass for overpriced games (Who the fuck wants to pay 60 dollars for a game anyway? Fuck that, PC developers aren’t paying Microshaft’s 10 dollar licensing fee, so it’s just money in the bank) I don’t want to get FUCKED by a DRM when I actually payed for it. Especially considering it’s easier to pirate it. It’s like shitting on your wife’s chest.
As far as the internet thing, in the case of Diablo, why play it if you’re not going online anyway?
Everything’s based on opinion, my opinion is that consoles are worse from a controller point of view, and from a hardware point of view. They make decent media centers though.
19 Aug 2011, 11:59 pm
As a PC gaming, PS3 owning, Mac User
I support what you say for the most part.
20 Aug 2011, 4:55 am
I agree somewhat. But there’s one bit of your guide that irritated me slightly. I think you missed a few points about consoles like the Xbox in particular. I – and most of my Xbox Live friends list – aren’t kids, aren’t people looking for a super casual experience, and aren’t computer illiterate. We prefer to play some games on consoles because in times gone by, it has been comparatively cheaper when compared to PC gaming. If you wanted to build a decent gaming rig that could run games on a par, if not a little better than the Xbox 360 back in 2008/9, you would have had to have paid at least £500-£600 ($1000+). And that’s the main point. Consoles were sold at a loss by Microsoft and Sony, and handled most games extremely well when compared to your standard PC gaming setup, up until around 2009. But then components – including RAM and Graphics – were slashed in price and average consumer PC hardware far surpassed the capabilities of the Xbox 360/PS3. Now gaming rigs are cheaper and more powerful. Huzzah!
But there is still a very large crowd of Xbox Live users in particular that use the platform as a cut-throat, competitive experience. It has just become habitual, and we have become accustomed to the entire interface, community and ease of use that comes with consoles. Turn it on, put the CD in and play. I think too many PC users scoff at the competitive scene on Xbox. But just look at MLG and iSeries events. Look at the massive skill gap on some titles, the teamwork and practice. And think twice before assuming that console gamers are a bunch of high teenage school kids playing Call of Duty with a Guitar Hero controller at 2am on a school night… There are many of us out there who used to be PC gamers but got a little fed up with having to spend hundreds on upgrading our rigs every 6 months in order to play the latest titles; and actually feel the benefit of owning a PC over a console.
20 Aug 2011, 4:07 pm
1. I don’t have anything against Apple other than that I feel their products are overpriced. That being said, I’d probably still buy their most expensive iPod if I could afford it right now. When it comes to computers though, I just can’t see why anyone would buy one. Too much money in my opinion.
2. The only reason I have a problem with DRM is because it takes up space on my hard drive. I heard that Origins is going to be pretty large. I’ll still download it for Battlefield 3, but I won’t enjoy the fact that something so pointless is taking up a legitimate amount of hard drive space.
3. I don’t have a problem with console gamers or consoles, but at this stage in the game consoles are holding PC gaming back. When new consoles come out, I would assume that the graphical quality for PC games will rise exponentially, but that just hasn’t happened yet.
4. When it comes to these issues, I don’t usually rage over them. I may debate you on them, but 9 times out of 10 someone else in the debate starts raging before I do. Just because I don’t agree with what you say doesn’t mean that I hate your guts. I can disagree with people without having a heart attack over it.
5. I agree with a lot of what you’re saying just because a lot of these problems just aren’t serious enough to get all bent out of shape about.
20 Aug 2011, 6:33 pm
I agree with everything but the DRM part.My main point about DRM ITS A HUGE FUCKING INCONVEINECE,Tell me this If you have 2 games, One requires Internet to play (Even Singleplayer), The next is the same but requires no Internet to play AND IS FREE.You see what I’m saying the pirates get the better deal hands down.Developers who use harsh DRM are shooting themselves in the foot.
20 Aug 2011, 7:14 pm
I read on Reddit a few days ago from a person who used to work for a big name Game company (I’m guessing either EA or Activision) and the companies reasoning behind it.
I wish I could find the post again because it made a lot of sense. Anyways from what I remember DRM is always broken bu the hackers and the companies know that. However it’s really ment to stop little billy from making a copy to give to little johnny down the block.
21 Aug 2011, 8:56 am
For all you angry PC gamers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL8e2ujXe8g&NR=1
21 Aug 2011, 1:33 pm
All in one message, good idea!
21 Aug 2011, 4:17 pm
annoying PC gamers bitching about other annoying PC gamers bitching about other annoying PC gamers………
21 Aug 2011, 4:18 pm
= this thread
26 Aug 2011, 1:49 pm
+1
26 Aug 2011, 2:58 pm
Some users in this forums have over reacted to console gaming and some others have put them in place and acted friendly towards console gamers. The problem is that even the ones who are nice state some arguments that are not true. Games becoming easier and walking you by the hand is not the fault of “consolization” but developers creating their games to have mass appeal. When you try to get everyone you can into your bandwagon you’ll have to make something that both ends of the spectrum can have fun with and this is easier said than done. Some people actually like the fact that CoD walks you by the hand and (literally) points you in the right direction. Avid gamers, on the other hand, don’t. And the behavior of people in some communities (most notably Xbox Live) is also not the fault of consoles. If PC gaming ever became as popular as console gaming, it’d have these same idiots on board too. This hasn’t been a concern for PC gamers because developers don’t make it their main focus anymore because of how pirates just pillage the platform. As bad as the 360 has it with piracy PC actually has it worse.
Now, I like both, console and PCs. But whenever I hear someone say that consoles are “holding PC back”it’s most often than not a state about graphics. Now I don’t mind graphics being held back as much as I hate gameplay becoming stagnant. Technology improvements don’t always mean innovation and graphics rarely ever impress me anymore. I’d rather have the developers spend more time and resources on making a better game than trying to make it look more impressive. And 100% of the time this is not even a concern to the people protesting on how consoles keep games from being better.
DRMs are not inherently bad. Steam is a DRM when you think about it but that doesn’t keep me from using their service. Developers just have to make sure that the paying costumer doesn’t get punished by mistake. This will only encourage people to stop buying their games and is worse than not doing anything about piracy.
I’ve cut it short because there’s too much I’d like to say and I think needs to be said. There’s a whole lot of stereotyping about consoles and console gamers that is just false.
19 Dec 2011, 9:12 am
“Consoles. They aren’t better or worse. They’re just different.”
LOL and to have a nerve to call yourself a “gamer”
here’s advice for you to being less annoying S T F U
19 Dec 2011, 11:56 am
1) Don’t bother digging up an ancient thread.
2) You’re wrong.
19 Dec 2011, 6:11 pm
+1
20 Dec 2011, 3:23 pm
I thought TF2 started going downhill after the class updates, but c’mon valve destroyed the game by adding hats? Its not like it affects gameplay. That was too much much an exaggeration, plus they where nice enough to make so many maps for free when they could have charged for each map or map packs. I think selling hats is no problem when they have given us more than most companies would. They even have their games on sale for half price or less on steam regularly, gave a free copy of Portal 2 for the PC when you got it for PS3, and even Left 4 Dead’s DLC was free for the PC so it makes sense to me that they want to earn some money they might have lost from that. Try getting those call of duty developers to give even half of that.