The friend of my friend is annoying
Playing video games with friends? Awesome. Theres nothing better than a well-coordinated multiplayer game of Titanfall, or a tense match of Smash Bros. Plus, you always have stuff to talk about when you're around gamer friends. Just mention a retro game and--zoom--you're off!
But being friends with gamers can also be incredibly frustrating. We are an incredible curious bunch, prone to hyperbole, fits of insanity, and a wide variety of strange quirks. So, I've compiled a list of things that your--yes, you--gamer friends are always doing, like those times when they...
Talk you into playing a multiplayer game... and then immediately stop playing it
Your pals are really into the latest MMO/shooter, and they desperately want you to play with them. They talk about it all the time; seriously, nothing gets discussed except how awesome it would be if you were playing together, and you know what? Theyre right! You get into the groove of things, and playing with a buddy is a blast. Once you really get into it, though; when you're actually starting to win games and have fun... they drop it for the next big thing. And the cycle continues.
Get hyped for games you know will suck
Inevitably, your taste in games will clash with those of your friends. Unfortunately, one of them is constantly stuck riding the hype train to nowhere over what amounts to shovelware. Every. Single. Year. Everything released, including (but not limited to) actual gameplay footage, will look like garbage, and they will still tout it as the greatest thing to ever grace a console or PC right until they play it. And then they'll pretend it never happened until a sequel rolls along.
Try to force you to play a game on a system you don't like
It always happens the same way. Your friend gets excited about an upcoming multi-platform release, talks to you about it, and then vehemently insists that you get said game on the console of their choice. There's no "Oh, that's an Xbox gamer thing" either--this happens equally as often with Xbox fans as it does with PlayStation enthusiasts and PC gamers. Your friend whines until the title is finally out, and even then theyre sullen if you didnt pick the console they wanted.
Skip through all the dialogue and plot...
Your friend doesnt care about plot, they dont care about dialogue, they dont care about character development, and they dont care about well, pretty much anything other than getting to the end of it as fast as they can. Anything that pops up between the start and finish is just something to skip through. They talk about how fun a game was after the credits roll, but the specifics of what happened always escape them. It was pretty cool, though. Say, who was that guy with the eye-patch? Oh, he was the main bad guy? Man, how did I miss that?
...or talk through all the dialogue and plot
This friend is quite similar to the one that skips all the dialogue and plot, except they insist on talking throughout. The inane banter is often not even related to whats happening on the screen, or what might happen, or anything at all with the campaign. Theyre just as likely to describe a comic strip as they are to talk about what they had for lunch, but don't expect them to be aware of what they're doing--this is the kind of friend who will complain about a bad story, even though they didn't listen to a word of it. In fact, are they actually your friend at all?
Can't stop being a dick to other players
Its not that your friend hates other people, they just seem to take some kind of perverse enjoyment in being a complete asshole. It doesnt matter if their opponents did something to deserve it, the same level of vitriol is applied regardless of situation. They'll spawn camp, grief, and do everything else "for the luls," because your friend is a jerk. Seriously, why do you hang out with this person?
Constantly make plans to hang out and play only to suddenly cancel
They always have the best intentions, and totally want to play Titanfall together, but then something comes up. If you reschedule, surprise! Something totally unexpected happens and your friend cant make it then either. These kind of compatriots are most often remembered by the games you failed to play together over the ones you did.
Refuse to play anything but the one multiplayer title they really like
Youre stoked for the upcoming expansion to your favorite game, and want your buddy to play with you. Well, too bad. Your friend has been playing Battlefield 4 since the game came out, but there's no way he's paying for Premium. Or even for a single DLC pack. "Hey, I paid $50 for this game, man. I'm not giving EA another penny!" Theres a strong chance that they wont even pick up Battlefield 5 when it inevitably releases. And that makes you sad.
Get physically angry while playing video games
Whenever they lose, your friend sulks and gets angry. When they win, they gloat and get angry. The common thread here is that your friend gets angry whenever they play video games. This happens more often when theyre losing, of course, but their current situation in whatever you two are playing seems to have little actual bearing on exactly how angry they are. Broken controllers are likely in your past, present, and future.
