I saw this
article sitting in my mailbox and felt like I had to discuss it.
TL;DR, what the article discusses mostly about is how sometimes games can be a breeding ground for becoming OCD. How one can have anxiety in certain games that they play.
I feel like expanding on this topic, but more also discussing what gaming mental disorders we carry when we play.
A few shining examples I tend to have when I play games is:
Looting OCD-- If I am especially likely to not come back to a certain location in a wide-open sandbox; anything not bolted to the ground is gone. Fallout 3 and New Vegas are the most shining examples here. 1-time visits, or the starting village, provided my karma is not affected, is going to be bare by the time I'm done with them. Megaton was entirely looted, and all my storage units were packed. Of course, that also leads to...
Categorical OCD-- Since FO3 had your Megaton house with all kinds of lockers/closets and a fridge and so forth; I make sure each equipment type is in their respective storage compartment. It made things at least feel easier to do (this was especially before I knew about changing categories in the exchange/trade menus; I got better since then with NV). Sub-class for either OCD: Achievement Hoarding. It's all in the name. You have an XBOX or Steam account, you know the drill. Quoting Pokemon: GOTTA CATCH THEM ALL!!!
Stacking OCD (Tetris Disorder)-- If I have a bunch of oblong-shaped equipment at my disposal (stored or to move around in the environment), or a bunch of crap on me, I must maximize the efficiency of my storage or moving around. Best applies to games where you have to sort things out (Deus Ex, X-COM (during a mission post ex-fil), Rollercoaster Tycoon or any other Sim game, Tetris, any other kind of dungeon crawler where you get to see your equipment, ala Diablo)
Ammo Hoarding-- Whether the ammo is common or not, melee is always an option if I want to make absolutely sure everything in the next room won't survive the onslaught of bullets I have stockpiled. I am the Jesus Christ of med-kits and ammo. I start of with 5 clips and 2 meds, and come out with up to 12 times as much in total equipment, or max them out (sometimes I even multiply my weapon loadouts (1 rifle becomes 5, which becomes 2 excellent conditions when finished) for repairs; which only turns out mostly being my melee crap I use to spare my bullet/energy weapons).
Mr. Nice Guy (AKA- Rick Astley Disorder/Earl Hickey Disorder)-- Much like my IRL counterpart, I always have to make nice with the people I interact with. I must always be a good person, even if it means screwing myself over in the end, and not "getting the
girl goal". Alternative title is Earl Hickey Disorder, named after My Name is Earl; or Rick Astley Disorder, because, well, you know the lyrics. It's especially relevant if I'm a bit of a kleptomaniac where the other disorders are regarded. FO3 made it easy to patch that up. NV may be a bit of a challenge, however.
Diplomatic Bi-Polarity-- Mixed with the above disorder, this tends to make some situations interesting, and is especially relevant for a kleptomaniac adventurer. Be nice to the townsfolk, buddy-buddy with them, steal their stuff so you can drop your karma and sneak into a raider/slaver base, loot them, then kill all of them to make good with the good people again, and deny you were a bad guy in the first place. It made me feel odd that I do this regularly to maximize my looting efforts, or circumstantial opportunities. Great for starting all kinds of crazy-ass gang wars. GTA2 is always an excellent example of this disorder in action; seeing as you have 3 factions to work with, and the more respect you have with them, the more interesting the missions. Get them chaotic enough, and you can sit back and watch the bodies pile up, and you're not their main target anymore, and it's a constant clusterfuck of bullets flying by.
New ones, just added:
Micro Your Macro-- You must have everything working at peak efficiency. Micro-manage every single thing that is listed before the next turn/hour passes. Especially nototrious in turn-based games like Civilization, Europa Universalis, and Master of Orion.
Macro Your Micro-- Everything must be easy to reach by hitting a single button or button combo on my keyboard, gamepad, and mouse. There is almost no reserved keys left for any other operation besides quitting or alt/shift-tabbing so you can keep an eye on your chat window. You know who you are. just about any RTSer does this to abuse the hell out of the poor sap they're up against. And yes, both terms are taken from "When Cheese Fails". I find them appropriate as disorders.
Symmetry OCD (Mirror-Minded Disorder)-- Everything must reflect upon each side the same way. Basically, it's all in the name. Really nasty case for anyone who builds things like cities, fortresses, and etc. If you're even a pixel off with your build, it can ruin the entire thing. Others may not care as much, but it'll nag ya big time if you built something that's miles huge.
QS/QL Seizures-- You panic around every corner (be it a puzzle, an enemy, or a pebble just moved out the corner of your eye), and must quicksave, or bust. Quickloading is it's complement, where if you screw up even in the slightest (shot 1 bullet more than you planned (Ammo hoarding), suffered a bit more damage or got hurt -1HP (medical/potion variety, AKA- Character Hypochondria)
Character Hypochondria-- You cannot get hurt one bit. Even losing 1HP, or getting afflicted with poison means certain death. Understandable for a level 1 squishy wizard, but for a level 60+ behemoth that can even teabag Satan after taking him down? I hope you're preparing your stockpile for a boss fight that'll take more than 4 hours to knock down at level 99, otherwise, what the hell?
Frequently Asking Questions (Kiddy Questioner Disorder)-- You can never go on playing a game without a guide by your side; you just have too much to ask as you play. Good if you want to see everything in a game that you could miss; or what to look out for if you're ultimate weapon hunting, bad if you use it the entire time, from tutorial to final boss.
Magellen-Minded Disorder-- "If your quarry goes to ground, leave no ground to go to.". Exploring the entirety of the game world is on your bucket list, and by God, you will do it. Especially relevant for wide-open sandboxes, especially riddled with random easter eggs and hidden loot all over the place.
Curious George Disorder-- You must hit every button, switch, and whatever other interactive item is within your sights. Whether it's part of the railroaded path you were given in a game or not. OOH! Big shiny red button. I wonder what it does?
Storyteller's Dilemma-- Worst case in RPGs and classic adventure games, if there's a good story behind the game, and Real Life gets too much in the way, then you may just as well use the box the game as a paperweight. If you have too many breaks, or too large a gap of time between gaming sessions, then say bye bye to all that progress you've made because you forgot a mundane useful detail that was 30 hours ago in gameplay. I hope you saved often, jotted notes, or did anything to keep track, otherwise... ouch. Especially worst if you're near the end of the game. Sometimes doign extra-cirricular activities in the games also causes this.
Gaming Over-Achiever-- Unrelated to
Achievement Hoarding (we all have it to some degree, among the most common); this is where you want to do everything in a game. An excellent example would be getting all infinity+1 swards, killing off all bonus bosses, maxing out your skills/licenses, and exploring every inch of land, and carrying every bit of treasure the game gives you, excluding story items.
Gaming Masochism-- Especially relevant for those who own Dwarf Fortress, IWTBTG, and just about any other game that defines Nintendo Hard and beyond. You know who you are, you know what this is about. Basically, we're full of self-imposed challenges, even playing and beating certain games, or in certain ways, is what we're all about. As long as it's harder than hard, we'll do it for the mere thrill of it's difficulty. Hard difficulty is minimum for our kind. Although low-balling or over-achieving an Easy mode is challenge enough as well.
Incompletionist-- Ever play a game only to fail time and time again? Ever mess up the beginning of a game enough times that you just plain give up starting? Have you ever hit a bottleneck/chokepoint in a game where you're stuck on That One Boss, or The One Level/Puzzle? Ever get so frustrated, you hate the game forever? Well, this is where this disorder comes in. You do try to enjoy a game, but it makes itself too damn difficult to accomplish, and you cut your losses, and move on to something else.
Scout's Pride (AKA- Reloader's Plight)-- "Always be prepared" is your motto when it comes to being armed. You never leave cover without reloading your gun; even if you only shot 1 round in a 100-bullet magazine.
Cloud's Strife (AKA- Item Hoarding)-- Named after that cheapskate of a Final Fantasy character that won't spare a soft nor a phoenix down for his comrades. This is for you shmucks that keep every item in your inventory "just in case". Well, "just in case" ain't coming, and your backpack's starting to look a little cluttered.
Unlisted items: (Unlisted for the sole reason that we all have it to some degree, whether we admit it or not.)
Achievement Hoarding-- You have a Steam account or an XBOX Live account, you know what this is about. Get all the achievements that you can see. In some cases, it's appropriate, like the Steam Summer Sale that had Summer Camp challenges, or Winter Achievement Collection for coal, lower prices on-call, and free games. However, in some cases, this is an addiction. It's like collecting hats in TF2. You want them all, but you can't get them all. Other times, it's an accepted challenge. Again, this is unlisted because it's obvious we have this issue at various degrees. Sometimes to get a nagging feeling out of the way (being a bit of a Completionist/Over-Achiever), we're railroaded into collecting them against our will, or some of us want bragging rights.
Well, those are a few I can list off the top of my head. I'll add more as I get suggested, or think up others.
EDIT:
Corrected title to be less offensive.
EDIT EDIT:
Votes have been reset. Unfortunately, I can't modify the amount you can select. Still 1 vote.
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Topic: Gaming OCD/compulsions/disorders/etc. (Just one more chest...) (Poll reset) (Read 6549 times)