Dealing with a Perfectionist Play-Style

[Damm64]

Ey if you enjoy playing it in a perfectionist kind of way why fight that?

Usually the first play of my game i do it without forcing myself to do everything perfect. To me a great experience is to live with your mistakes. I'm now playing thief and been discovered by guards several times, instead of fighting i run like hell and hide in the shadows until they stop. I could go for ghost run and reload my save file several times but i'll just leave that if i really enjoy the game. I just try to go perfeccionist in game i really enjoy. For instance i played resident evil 4 at least 6 times in 4 diferent consoles and everytime i play it i do it perfect, get every treasure, try to buy every upgrade, get every herb, unlock eveything, etc.

Recently i played silent hill downpour and i really wanna go and complete every side quest and get play it on hard... then i see i still didn't play dead space, homecoming and also want to replay revelations to also unlock everything.

[Wispmage]

I also try to play a game the way a movie or tv show would play out, so I'm not content to sloppily, clumsily play through a game. A ninja from a stealth game would never get spotted in an actual movie, so I won't let him get spotted in my video game(if he is I reload and try again until I can play through the stage the right way). An action hero would not get stabbed and shot multiple times and keep on fighting like nothing's wrong with him because real people don't have health bars and neither do movie characters. So I'm going to keep reloading my last check point in an action game until my action hero can make it through the battle in a manner befitting a real movie action hero

Yeah, I can relate to this as well. I can't tell you how many times I've reloaded saves in Skyrim because an action sequence or encounter just wasn't intense/dramatic enough for me. I can specifically remember this one instance of encountering three bandits that had the high ground on this big hill, and I must've played through the encounter at least 15-20 times before I was able to run up the hill and kill them all with taking any blows or arrows. Totally worth the 45 minutes it took to perfect

[Sload Soap]

Yeah, I can relate to this as well. I can't tell you how many times I've reloaded saves in Skyrim because an action sequence or encounter just wasn't intense/dramatic enough for me. I can specifically remember this one instance of encountering three bandits that had the high ground on this big hill, and I must've played through the encounter at least 15-20 times before I was able to run up the hill and kill them all with taking any blows or arrows. Totally worth the 45 minutes it took to perfect

How odd. Skyrim is the last game I'd expect someone to want to play in this fashion. It's designed to be reactive to the player and there aren't any in game bonuses for playing perfectly. Doesn't this break your immersion within the world? Not a criticism, just curious.

My personal thoughts are, if I really like the game then I will try to complete as much of it as I can. So Mario 64 easily deserves to be completed to 120 stars as does Goldeneye as it's harder difficulties add more objectives to missions.On the other hand I really like Assassin's Creed 2 but I am not going to collect all those damn feathers.

I've found some games weaknesses are exacerbated or exposed when attempting completion: Resident Evil 5's companion is nearly game breaking on the highest difficulty and Arkham Asylum has points where the combat creaks. I found it an unpleasant experience on hard.

/Horses for courses.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I also try to play a game the way a movie or tv show would play out, so I'm not content to sloppily, clumsily play through a game.

I try to play a game the way real life would play out. That is, I walk up to people with guns; they shoot me; and I die.

It's funny, I was playing South Park Stick of Truth yesterday and the game even pointed out my obsessive compulsive, perfectionist play style when Cartman said, "New kid has checked out every single thing in my backyard, hardcore gamer right there."

When it comes to video games, I am by no means a perfectionist, and this happened to me too. I guess I just like exploring.

[Xeogred]

I deal with this here and there, not as bad as it used to be (but I wouldn't say I cared back when I was younger, since I had more time to 100% JRPG's and the likes).

I'd say me being a bit OCD is what prevents me from fully replaying FFVIII, when I've kind of wanted to and tried a few times over the years. I just can't help but want to draw any new magic I come across, 100 times, for everyone in my party. Then keep the Junctioning and all that stuff up to date and at its best too. FFVIII is a nightmare for the OCD in me, hah.

[dunpeal2064]

If you want to really enjoy your perfectionist tendencies, try playing for high scores in arcade games. That kind of games requires some degree of mastery before you see the end, and setting a record in a hard game is way better than not getting hit in an easy one.

^ This!

That's how I play everything. My goal is to play a game the way it is meant to be played. Simply getting through levels and beating a game doesn't mean anything to me anymore given the countless games I've beaten over the years. Now my goal is mastery of everything I play...or at least that's what I strive for.

See, I actually find that most games are not designed with mastery in mind, but are built for you to just casually romp through. Most RPGs with an in-depth system end up broken and easy if its exploited, most hack-n-slash and shooters have poor difficulty modes/scaling, etc.

If you really enjoy challenging yourself, and seeing how high you can push yourself with a particular game, pick a game that IS actually designed to be played this way.

A good example is chasing arcade high scores, like Valkyrie pointed out. Especially with the newer releases, these games ARE actually designed around mastery. These games are a true test of skill, memorization, and persistance.

Of course, not everyone enjoys arcade shooters and the like. If thats not your thing, maybe take a stab at God Hand on the ps2, which is probably the best non-arcade game ever made, in regards to respecting the player at all skill levels.

I find that this allows me to enjoy games that don't challenge me, because I'm not always seeking mastery. I know I have a game that I genuinely have to try to get good at, and in between sessions with that game, I am perfectly fine playing something like a Mario platformer (which, if approached from the mastery standpoint, would be quite the silly little game)

[Wispmage]

How odd. Skyrim is the last game I'd expect someone to want to play in this fashion. It's designed to be reactive to the player and there aren't any in game bonuses for playing perfectly. Doesn't this break your immersion within the world? Not a criticism, just curious.

Definitely a good point. Yes, it does break my immersion, which is one of the reasons I wish I could just let things go and accept an-imperfect encounter or scenario. Games with an epic feel and a capacity for being cinematic are the ones I always strive for perfection in, not necessarily the ones with collectibles, achievements, or trophies. For me, It's less about the standards the game sets for me, and more about the (ridiculous) standards I set for myself.

However, my struggles with perfectionism in Thief have subsided for now. I played for a few hours last night and only reloaded a recent save a couple times. Like dunpeal said, I figured out that my goal for the game is to become a master thief, the important part being the 'becoming'. I realized it's unrealistic for me to be able to completely ghost levels and steal all the loot after just starting the game. I have to play, learn from whatever mistakes I make, and just let my skills improve naturally over time.

[Luke]

Striving for perfection, and going back to save states is a bit silly. Sure, at the end of the game it might say "100% Completion, 0 Deaths", but you know that isn't true.

If you strive for perfection in a game, you're going to fall short, which leads to frustration. Being frustrated is a waste of energy

[Wispmage]

Sure, at the end of the game it might say "100% Completion, 0 Deaths", but you know that isn't true.

Yup, and that's one of that main reasons I'm trying to shy away from the perfectionist play style. Self-imposed standards just lead to unnecessary frustration and end-game stats that aren't legitimately perfect. Gotta take the good with the bad, and just try not to make the same mistakes twice I guess.

[Luke]

I did the "perfect game, zero deaths" with San Andreas as going to the hospital kind of wipes you out. Wasn't worth it.

Many moons ago, probably when I was in the seventh or eighth grade I spent days on getting a perfect run in Ninja Gaiden. Lord knows my reset button got a workout.

These days, I don't care if I die on level 6.3, the game will go on.

Plus, who is really impressed at your stats if you've modified them in the end by restarting when something doesn't go your way? Same goes with sports video game "undefeated" seasons.