Can you play a video game wrong?

Every time I've tried to play Touhoumon I've found it slug-paced and an incredibly tedious grindfest comparable to NIS games, and asked for help in a forum/Skype group I'm part of.

As soon as they discover what my playstyle is - get a team of six ASAP, switch mons around as needed to combat upcoming threats, equalize levels - I'm met with a resounding chorus of "You're doing it wrong!". Apparently you're supposed to start with a small party and expand as you progress through the game, so that you can use XP more efficiently.

But what if you come across a blind spot in your party? Before that, which mons should be used? Who will be my opponents? What will they use against me? I'd hate to let myself get caught unprepared, so I overprepare, if my playthrough it completely blind.

"Gyms have types they specialize in", you say. I say "Romhacks worth their salt don't have braindead gyms that you can wipe out with a single super-effective move; as a matter of fact, nothing but vanilla Pokemon has such gyms."

No wonder it's such a slog to play them.

it's not necessarily that you're playing the game "wrong" so much as the way you are playing might make the game harder or less fun than doing it another way.

Right or wrong is subjective in playstyle. Personally I find metagaming to be borderline. It's one thing to use the mechanics rather than roleplaying, but crossing the line to abuse glitches and bugs the developers simply hadn't gotten around to taking out.

But that's just personal opinion and I don't want anyone bitching at me over it like the last time it was brought up.

Perhaps you could be playing a game wrong if you tossed the controller like a football.

But on a serious note, the purpose of a game is to entertain; the only wrong way to play a game is if you continue to play after you no longer get enjoyment from it.

Mudkip's final evolution is in fact NOT Mudkipperino.

Unless it is literally impossible to win the game in the way you are playing, I'd say no.

And even then, if you're having fun, who cares?

"It's so hard to be humble, knowing how great I am."

It is impossible to design a game that is equally fun for even unanticipated playstyles. You can make a game that's fun for a couple, or even many playstyles, but ultimately it's always possible to do something totally bizarre that isn't any fun.

Also, there's a new Touhoumon that's not a romhack, you should try that out. It's also incredibly, ridiculously, brokenly forgiving with its experience curve.

edited 26th Apr '15 9:03:18 PM by Clarste

Oh, Puppet Dance Performance. But isn't it like, untranslated?

Please PM me details to avoid derailing the topic.

"Wrong" is subjective here. Everyone else hit the nail on the head. The right way to play a game is the one you find most fun.

In this instance, it would be more accurate to say that your playstyle is simply one not supported by the game. Based on your description (I've never played the game in question), it's something you're only really intended to do if you want a challenge. Unless the game tries to indirectly inform you of this, though, that sounds like poor design on the game's part.

According to most MOBA players, apparently you can play a game wrong and somehow deserve to die a horrible death, all because you decided to play Rikki as a mid-lane tank in DOTA 2.

edited 27th Apr '15 12:22:00 AM by SgtRicko

I think there is a way to play games wrong, like somehow not knowing about a vital function in the game and getting angry and childish when you hit a dead end (i.e. Game Grumps at their worst, IGN reviews at their worst), but the way you've played this game is less "wrong" and more "unaware that the game was made for super-nerds, with super-nerd strategies".

It might be worth starting over if you've hit a road-block, but it's not like you've gone to play golf with a cricket bat or anything.

I've heard people saying they rushed through Skyrim's main quest, ignored every sidequests, and then complaining the game was much shorter than promised. For me that's definitely playing it wrong.

Worldbuilding is fun, writing is a chore

Of course its possible to play a video game wrong. Ever hear about Darksydephil?

Some games you can play "wrong". This is not one of them, honestly. There might be a few decisions that'll hurt you in the long run or make it tougher overall, but getting a strong team and balancing it out is hardly "wrong" at all. That's just preparing for various situations and being strategic.

well for starters, you're probably playing a game wrong if you

A) skip tutorials (particularly as a matter of principle)

and B) if you find yourself unable to play the game or progress as a result of it.

For that last one, what if the game is just really bad?

edited 27th Apr '15 6:31:58 AM by LSWraith

Unless it's one of those older poorly made retro games with no sense of balance or a Steam Early Access title, no. More often than not you can actually figure your way around either via trial and error or looking up info within the game itself. Or the internet, if you bought a game that was missing an instruction manual that contained necessary info to progress.

If you're trying to play Super Mario Bros by just yelling at the screen and expecting that'll make Mario move, you're probably playing it wrong.

Insert witty 'n clever quip here.

i meant when b is a direct result of a, specifically.

If you don't find you're progressing in any way, then yes, you are playing the game wrong. Also, Adventure Games.

You're playing the game wrong if your playstyle actively subverts the fun you could be having.

If you are having fun, then there's no problem. Unless your definition of "fun" includes trolling in online multiplayer games. Then you're doing it wrong as well.

edited 27th Apr '15 7:13:42 AM by Kayeka

If you're being called an hacker in a MMO, you're doing it right. If someone spergs at you for killing at them, you did it right. If you get called an camper for sniping/kill-stealing you done it right. But if you aren't inventive and rains of everyone's parade by hating on X when you actively playing X and liked it, you're doing it wrong you shitter.

edited 27th Apr '15 11:24:10 AM by RabidTanker

Answer no master, never the slave Carry your dreams down into the grave Every heart, like every soul, equal to break

Well, I can't shake off the feeling that there's no such thing as "you can't play a video game wrong".

The way I'm plying Pokemon/Touhoumon isn't being fun for me.

I think if you're not having fun then you're doing it wrong. That's sort of the simplest definition.

As long as you aren't ruining other people's fun, there's no wrong way to play a game.

Yes, you can absolutely play a game "wrong." If the way you are playing results in an inability to progress that isn't tied to lack of skill on your part, or lack of coherent programming on the part of the developers, then you're playing wrong.

To remove the abstraction that video games tend to encourage, if you decide to play Jenga by setting up a tower, then standing across the room with your friend, taking turns throwing tennis balls at it, trying to knock it over, then you're not playing Jenga. You're playing a carnival game. You might be having fun, but saying that you're playing Jenga is "wrong."

Good video games tend to teach you how to play the game "right" very quickly, by the way. Super Mario Bros. is an example of almost perfect game design. If you know nothing about Super Mario Bros. at all, the game puts you in situations that force you to learn within the first minute or so of gameplay.