There are lots of reasons to love video games, and if you’re a gamer, you probably don’t need us to tell you why. Still, here are a few reasons why video games give us so much joy. 

• You can escape your everyday stresses by escaping into a virtual world.
• You can enjoy the social opportunities that online gaming can give you.
• You can have masses amounts of fun with the games you play.
• And you can experience great satisfaction when you finally complete a difficult game.

However, despite the many highs that video games can give us, there are a few guaranteed annoyances that only we, as video gamers, will fully understand. They can take us out of the game, give us reason to grate our teeth, and quite possibly make us throw our gamepads across the room too! Here are just a few of them.

#1: The moment your game crashes at a pivotal moment

It might be the moment when you have almost conquered a difficult game boss. You may be on the last stretch of a particularly demanding level. Or it could be any other moment that is crucial to you in the game. All is going well until… your screen freezes, your machine seizes up, and your game fails to save as a consequence! The only thing you can do is start again from your last checkpoint, which is of little consolation when you had worked so hard to get to where you were.

So, why do games crash? Well, in some cases, it could be because of a bug in the game, or because the disc is scratched or dirty. In other cases, it could be a hardware fault in either the console or computer, perhaps because there is little memory left, or because there is a serious technical issue. So, to prevent this annoyance, be sure to update your games with the latest patches, use dedicated software to free up space (if you’re on a computer), give your discs a good clean, and reboot your hardware occasionally. These fixes might help. If not? Well, it’s time to speak to a professional for hardware support. 

#2: Non-gamers berating your gaming passion

You’re becoming a social outcast. Your eyes are turning square. Games will turn you into a violent monster. You need to grow up! And so on and so and so on. These are just a few of the words you may have been forced to listen to when trying to embrace your inner geek. Non-gamers just don’t understand – they don’t understand that gaming can be social. They don’t understand that (most) gamers aren’t heavily influenced by the games they play. And they don’t understand that gaming is a legitimate hobby. 

So, how do we prove to these people that gaming is okay? Well, we can point them towards those people who make money from video games. We can showcase other facets of our lives away from our gaming screens. And we can (calmly) explain the benefits of playing video games. Hopefully, those non-gamers will then leave us alone and go back to whatever it is they were doing before they started having a go at us.

#3: Spending money on a game that sucks

After saving your money for the latest game on the shelves, you hand over your hard-earned cash and make the purchase. You then hurry home (unless you ordered online), put the game into your machine, and then start playing. This is going to be so good, you tell yourself. But then… your heart sinks as you realize the game you are playing sucks. It could be a buggy mess. The gameplay may be old-fashioned and mundane. The graphics could be more akin to the PS2 era. And there could be other issues that mar your game time. Let’s hope the store will give you a refund!

Thankfully, you can reduce the chances of this expensive annoyance. You can read reviews in magazines or on websites online. You can watch gameplay videos on Twitch and YouTube. And you might be able to download an early demo of the game in question, as you will then have the opportunity to play it first hand. You will then be able to make an educated decision before buying the game, and have less reason to waste your money on a title that isn’t worth your time.

Finally

There are many other annoyances, of course. We didn’t mention tantrumming online gamers, hard-as-steel gaming bosses, and the need to go to the loo during a heated online battle. Still, these annoyances don’t have to give us cause for an early game over. Being gamers, we can overcome all obstacles, even if we have to use an online guide to help us find victory!

Thanks for reading, and happy gaming!