I'm not smart enough to play PC games?
For the past 32 hours, I've been getting the following kind of comments after reporting bugs.
"You should have read the back of the box to see if you can run the game. Stop whining. It's your own fault. Better yet, stop playing."
"Clearly you aren't smart enough to play games on a PC. Just get a PS3 or Xbox360."
"If you can't do basic maintenance and updates on your PC's hardware, you shouldn't be playing games on it at all."
As fellow PC gamers, how do you feel about these kind of comments from your fellow PC gamers?
"You should have read the back of the box to see if you can run the game. Stop whining. It's your own fault. Better yet, stop playing."
"Clearly you aren't smart enough to play games on a PC. Just get a PS3 or Xbox360."
"If you can't do basic maintenance and updates on your PC's hardware, you shouldn't be playing games on it at all."
As fellow PC gamers, how do you feel about these kind of comments from your fellow PC gamers?
Sign in to comment in this discussion.
Comments
The second best thing to do, in my opinion, is just look through the "Control Panel" bit of your computer and familiarize yourself with what you've got so that you can at least sound like you really know what you're talking about when you ask for help. Works for me all the time.
Though, probably the best way to avoid people yelling at you online is to check the system requirements first before going to an internet board so that you can tell the people that the basics already check out. Also, if it's a new game, the first thing to do is update all your drivers. All of them. I've fixed most of the problems I've had in the past year just by updating drivers. If none of those things work, then it's time to ask for help online. Or wait around and see if somebody else asked the same question earlier and leech off of their answer. That's what I do.
Stop playing Call of Duty.
And they ask for basic info, as well. What's your OS? How much RAM do you have? Dedicated or or Integrated Video Card? If Dedicated, make and model?
And I post those every time I report a bug to get any serious help. It's only been recently where I'm seeing these kind of comments en mass.
I'm sorry, but I don't play shooters where they offer an online option in which I get called racist slurs by 10 year olds.
I think PC games are fantastic, and offer a lot of gaming experiences you just dont get on console games, and also that PC gamers can sometimes be amazing snobs. I find that especially amusing considering "PC gaming," from the hardware side, is often about as classy and intelligent as having your stupid never-quite-running '86 Fiero up on blocks in your driveway.
A real PC gaming community worth its salt will help anyone with their problem who seems to genuinely be trying. If you're posting in a community full of people who are disparaging and condescending when you're genuinely asking for help, you can probably find a better place!
Secondly, where do you get these sorts of comments from? You really shouldn't be getting these kinds of comments unless you're doing something incredibly stupid, and you don't seem like the type to do that.
I've found people on the net to be surprisingly helpful, but I guess I just hang out with the right crowds. People really shouldn't be talking like that to you.
On the game's official Bug Report forum, which is where the developers want these reports to be posted so they can patch them as quickly as possible. I would name the company, but there are some users here that I'm sure can figure out who I'm talking about. Others? Well, they claim the company doesn't exist, so...
Strangely enough, I never got these kind of replies from that community before. It's only been recently.
The Cake Interactive?
Nah, just kidding. But seriously, PC gaming is the only place you might get treatement like this, simply because it's the only one that requires maintenance.
Frankly, I never actually ask someone about bugs or glitches. I always look for someone who already asked online, and get the answer from there, because if other people didn't experience it, then maybe I PERSONALLY did something wrong. But, then again, I've never encountered someone answering like how you described it.
That said, PC gamers, at least the type that post on gaming sites, do often seem to be sort of elitist. The "Glorious PC Master Race" is sort of a running gag on Joystiq and Kotaku.
Its just a shame that without geographical boundaries, several idiots can easily bundle together and become a horde of loonatics.
(*cough*steam forums*cough*)
Most of the time a solution can be either solved through some old fashioned tweaking, or some googling.
On the occasion that doesn't help, its very fair game to ask people for help.
(I personally ask my best friend, as he's an even bigger wiz than I.)
Also is this still EA? Because those dudes really do need to get their act together on their PC titles. (And their non-sport or Battlefield titles in general)
Most big devs/publishers are getting pretty lazy when it comes to PC games.
(Outsourcing is very common)
What I find is that there seems to be an abundance of people who clearly know there stuff which is quite disconcerting (I google an issue, and it turns up with a thread of people talking about really complicated stuff like it actually is really simple. I'm a computing student and the results I get confuse the hell out of me, so don't feel stupid if you don't understand what is being said). Heck, I still don't get the graphics card requirements on a game. Am I supposed to know if my card is better or worse than each and every card listed on a box? Am I supposed to sit in front of a list and learn them?
PC games seem like much more hassle than console games. It is very rare that I install a game and it runs perfectly (i.e. without a crash, compatability errors, slowdown, or general bugginess), and it's always been that way, with every computer I've had. And it's nothing to do with hardware (team fortress 2 for example can run like a breeze and then suddenly crash 40 minutes later. Or in the intro. BioShock on the other hand plays perfectly on full settings.). The only reason I play PC games now is because I have a laptop, and I prefer the more personal experience that gives (I'm not forcing anyone to watch/listen to me play, as I can sit in my room with headphones in)
I'm verging on a rant now, so I'll stop. What was this thread about again?
Honestly, I just ask my brother. But when that option isn't available, I cruise around online and look at the stats on various types of graphics cards or go to Frys and compare them manually. But really, you only need to know if it's better than one of the cards on the box to tell you if the thing will run.
This is usually a good resource for anybody wondering if a game will run on their hardware.
Thankfully I have the telltale forums who... make fun but not in a insaulting way.