Video Game Rage

SNESchamp · November 2015

I love games. There is no questioning that. I'm also very unskilled at certain games and that can be a problem sometimes. I have done amazing things in games like Mega Man 2 and have gotten very far in Ninja Gaiden, but I can't get passed 8-3 on Mario Bros and the rage is terrible. I really want to enjoy myself, but I have been trying for so freaking long. Any tips on improving in a calm and collected manner?

I appreciate any input.

The 8 Bit Redux · November 2015

It's only game, why you heff to be mad?

Bort License Plate · November 2015

I just yell curse words at the screen. Makes me feel better.

D~Funk · November 2015

Just laugh it off and try again another time! No reason to get bent outta shape over it. Games are supposed to be fun!

NickTLG · November 2015

I got over game rage at around 9 years old. One day I just outgrew it. I guess I realized there's no reason to get mad about losing a game, and every lost life teaches you how to be an even better player.

jonebone · November 2015

Definitely have to take a break, though it is more helpful in games that save. There's been plenty of times I've died 10, 20, (more?) times on a level, call it quits, then beat it first or second try I come back to it.

Stryphos · November 2015

Just take your aggression out on original NES controllers. Those suckers can take a beatin'!

Daria · November 2015

Put the controller down, walk away, get a drink.

I get frustrated at repetitive failures. First couple of deaths and I'm cool, but if I keep dying in the same spot I start to get frustrated, I'll bitch at the tv, but the more frustrated I get the worse I perform. So at that point the only thing I can do is just step away for a moment and calm down.

pegboy · November 2015

Destroy and controller or 2 and come back and play it again tomorrow. Been there, done that, true story.

TheToxicCollector · November 2015

Sometimes when I get stuck on certain levels, just muting the sound can make a huge difference. The sounds can get really distracting.

mbd39 · November 2015

Get better at the game.

johnnyboy113 · November 2015

Originally posted by: BertBerryCrunch

I just yell curse words at the screen. Makes me feel better.

Lol x2!

fox · November 2015

Walk away and do something else, try it again later. If you just try to hammer away when you are already on tilt, you will just play worse and worse. I was trying to beat the final stage of Shatterhand which is a bit of a gauntlet, died 20 times then put it up for the night. Had to leave my system on overnight but I came back to it the next day and beat it on my 2nd try.

tsx222 · November 2015

Raging in video games usually means there is a lack in something else in life. Your source of your anger is not video gaming, but video gaming triggers it. Dig deeper, you'll find what the true cause is.

DarkTone · November 2015

It's for fun. Don't be too serious.

You might end up breaking something or hurting someone.

NostalgicMachine · November 2015

Take a breather for 10-15.

FritzWhite · November 2015

Exercise can help with this.

AirVillain · November 2015

Originally posted by: SNESchamp

I love games. There is no questioning that. I'm also very unskilled at certain games and that can be a problem sometimes. I have done amazing things in games like Mega Man 2 and have gotten very far in Ninja Gaiden, but I can't get passed 8-3 on Mario Bros and the rage is terrible. I really want to enjoy myself, but I have been trying for so freaking long. Any tips on improving in a calm and collected manner?

I appreciate any input.

First of all, you're not alone. I know this rage all too well. Playing the same level OVER and OVER can be brutally frustrating. You die, and die, and die... it feels brutal, I know.

Take a second and relax. My best advice my dad told me when I was 10 and a hockey player, a goalie at that: My dad taught me "If you get scored on and are mad, count to ten slowly while you breathe. Then just keep playing."

Then, when it comes to SMB3, are you talking about the Castle in world 8? If so, that one's a bitch.

Take your time and know that it's tough and frustrating.

Get there with a metric shit ton of lives and either take the time to get them while you play through Worlds 1-7, or harvest as many as you can in World 1 before warping using 2 whistles to get straight to level 8.

It's going to take some lives, so you might as well come packing heat. Using the 2 whistles is a quick way to get to level 8 to "practise", even though you'd still be beating the game if you went further.

Then with all your lives you can practise more on the part you're having trouble with. If you look up your solution online, then beating it won't be fun at all. I say just go for it and keep on keeping on, you'll save Princess!!

AirVillain · November 2015

ps. I like how there are many others who feel the rage as I do.

I have to adapt my raging because I now have small dogs (2 chihuahuas)... so if I'm freaking out and yelling they get scared because they think something's wrong. Ssssssooooooo, I have to use a more zen like approach. But I really love giving my NES and TV a good yellin'! Throwing controllers and hitting them on things makes me feel better, too.

I just can't eat my rage... I think I need a punching bag.

scottmog · November 2015

I'm happy to admit that I am not a controller thrower. Those people are ridiculous.

Myron Floren · November 2015

Yelling profanities at the top of your lungs always helps. Then again, when I was young, I bit the plastic handle off an Atari 2600 controller because of Donkey Kong, so I may not be the best person to give advice.

Milwaukee_Nintendo · November 2015

My old roommate was super good at COD, he also had super bad video game rage. I used to have a picture somewhere of his broken PS3 controllers... I think the count was like 5 broken controllers, and once he ejected the game and just snapped it in half... lol!

bearcat-doug · November 2015

Originally posted by: NostalgicMachine

Take a breather for 10-15.

I agree that simply taking a break does wonders. When I get irritated with a game and try to keep playing, I just end up getting more frustrated and play even worse.

Silent Hill · November 2015

Originally posted by: jonebone

Definitely have to take a break, though it is more helpful in games that save. There's been plenty of times I've died 10, 20, (more?) times on a level, call it quits, then beat it first or second try I come back to it.

I did that with the last level of Catherine. I died so many times and started to heat up pretty bad. I turned if off and tried it again a few weeks later. Beat it first try.

Hoddy Krishnuh · November 2015

This was a problem for me and my parents as a kid. I outgrew this too, but it cost me a lot of controllers and drama. Would buy a brand new N64 controller at a store one day and have it destroyed 4 days later. It was terrible and I'm glad I got past this. N64 had some brutal games, too.

VGS_captmorgandrinker · November 2015

Just keep one busted controller around as a spikin' controller. Worked well for me in my youth; had one broken Atari controller I could slam on the floor in rage.

AstralSoul13 · November 2015

Just quit and come back another time. I get mad while I'm playing a game sometimes too, not nearly as much as I used to way back during the NES days. But after a certain point I just turn it off and come back to it the next day and miraculously I find it to be easier than I did the day before.

Retrovision · November 2015

When my brother and I were little (he is my younger brother), if I would die in a game I would pause it and beat on him. He knew the second I was about to die, he would jump up and run out of the room. We still joke about it to this day. Now he kicks my ass in Mario Kart all day long and I cant beat on him anymore because he is my size. I know this is a little off topic, but gave me a good laugh!