Hard Times in a Digital World

Watch out! Steam’s about to shoot out of this red hot ear.

When the going gets tough, they say, the tough get going. What does a gamer do when a digital world gets tough?

Well, many gamers take themselves and games too seriously. They might even throw and smash their controllers or mouse against a wall. They lose control and forget it is only a game.

I am much more mature on these matters. I usually have reasonable reactions to tough video games. Here are five of my reactions to these games:

1. Smash a controller

Wait a minute! I have never done this before. I find it’s easier to beat the tough parts with a controller in hand. This strategy, I assure, works.

2. Stubbornness

I’ll charge head first in to a problem without much thought. Sometimes I find brute force reigns supreme while strategy and skill get in my way. I won’t stop my charge until it works. Dammit, I’m telling you it will work!

Let’s say I’m trying to get a cupcake behind an electric fence. Rather than eschew the fence, I would probably keep trying to walk through it to get the cupcake. There is a gamble here: either the fence zaps your avatar, or your avatar walks away with frizzy hair and a sweet treat. I like those odds.

3. Trial and error

This is the classic way  – well for me anyway –  to solve a problem. How do you do it in video games? Re-spawn and learn from mistakes, and I make plenty of mistakes in games.

Here’s an example of me doing something stupid in a game:

“Gee, these bottles with skulls and bubbling purple goo sure look strange, but they could also help me. There’s only one way to find out: better try them.”

Thankfully, trial and error is sometimes a good strategy in video games. See, video game characters are a lot like cats: they both can have nine lives. No more tears when your character dies.

4. Give in to the guide

We’ve all done it. You know you have. You’ve looked online to figure out how to get past a tricky part of a game.

Living life on the guide is a last resort for me, though. I feel satisfied when I beat a tough game by myself; it’s a sense of accomplishment. I don’t need handouts.

5. A well thought out strategy

Start with one scoop of perseverance. Add a pinch of strategy. Don’t forget heaping helpings of practice and skill. If you whisk all of these ingredients together, you might end up with smooth success. It tastes like… victory.

What do you do when video games get tough?