Tantrums when playing Doom

[RHhe82]

Youtube randomly chose a Dean of Doom for me to rewatch the other day. It was the one where good Dean plays, among others, Swim with Whales. In the video he shows pictures of smashed keyboards and admits having anger issues. I thought (and am still not sure) that was just a joke; that he maybe had a bout of frustration he vented by uttering a couple of naughty words.

 

Now, I'm writing this post with an expensive (well, it cost something like 120 euros!) keyboard that's a bit wonky at times, scrolling the screen with a mouse (that was also not a cheap one) with a slightly dislocated wheel, looking at a laptop screen that has a couple of damaged streaks at one side.

 

All result of me losing my temper a few weeks ago while playing Doom, a game I like and enjoy very much. It wasn't even a difficult map I was playing -- Valiant's MAP10, Candlecove, a map I had played before once or twice - in any case, it's no Swim with Whales - and I would just take a beating, arachnorbs would surround me everywhere, every cacodemon fireball and mancubus missile would just miraculously hit me, no respite, no nothing, and suddenly smash my mouse on my table, throw the keyboard at laptop screen and scream in anger, probably worrying my neighbors. A reaction that a 40+-year-old adult shouldn't have, I think.

 

I wonder if this is common, or should I be worried. I suppose the reaction stems from expecting to fare well in a map and failing, maybe I was tired (can't remember that) or stressed for some other reason and Doom just was the last straw. After all, I did replay Candlecove a couple of hours later without any particular problem other than the normal tedium that particular map pits against you (it's not my favourite of Valiant).

[MFG38]

I like to think throwing tantrums playing a game isn't a problem as long as nothing breaks and no innocent outsiders get hurt. I'm known to throw some myself on occasion - anybody who saw me play Jenesis MAP29 on livestream can testify to that (clip spoilered below for context) - but the worst that happens even in those cases is me walking away from the computer and banging my head against a wall a few times. It's about the healthiest way I can think of to vent those frustrations in that the harm done is minimal. I've certainly never broken anything. Frustration is a completely normal feeling - it's the way you handle it that makes the difference in whether it's something to be concerned about or not.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[dasho]

I'm more concerned that you have to ask IF it is concerning.

[SilverHurling]

2 hours ago, MFG38 said:

 it's the way you handle it that makes the difference in whether it's something to be concerned about or not.

 

 

I believe this is the key. Sometimes it´s not the day to play as perfectly as one expects, sometimes you must put down a level, or take a break. Emotions are responses to what we feel

Edited August 26, 2023 by SilverHurling

[Mr. Alexander]

I think the Dean of Doom bit was a joke about the natural frustrations of playing difficult games. Managing your mental reaction to loss and misfortune is an important skill to learn, and not just for playing hard Doom levels. That said, if I started throwing around objects near at hand out of frustration at a game, like my temperamental brother did when he was a small child, I would hope I would take a deep breath, count to 10, make sure nothing was actually damaged, and take a long walk around the neighborhood to think about my priorities and think about doing something else with my time.

[Lucius Wooding]

I've gotten pissed off at that same map myself, it's definitely one of the hardest in the whole WAD. As for throwing tantrums, I suggest you don't do it. It's a terrible habit and costs plenty of money and equipment. I've done it myself over the years and it's just not practical; gaming can be an expensive hobby as it is. Not to mention the risk of injury. Also as a retro gamer it's a cardinal sin if I were to break one of my original wavebirds or N64 controllers with 10/10 sticks for example.

 

Also, 120$ keyboards are a scam of the highest order. Gaming keyboards are particularly egregious for their price gouging based on what you get. There are a number of brands offering wired/wireless, RGB hotswappable ones in many layouts that are quite nice in the 60$ range that are customizable as well. Custom keyboards are one of the worst hobbies if you get into it, but the entry level ones are way more serviceable than gaming keyboards. Any selling points geared towards gaming are almost always complete bullshit.

[Astar]

I'm playing Doom Zero now and it's really annoying megawad, to be honest.

And every time the game pisses me off, I give it two or three more tries and then I just ragequit until the next day.

Ya'know.... to keep my sanity safe

[bioshockfan90]

That's why they invented swears - I just loudly yell "FUCK!" and quit out of the game before I can get sucked into it. Some maps are better-designed than others in terms of allowing you to start fresh and not feel like you lost too much progress. It definitely depends on what kind of map you're playing and how you're playing it. I know back in high school I had a phase with Overwatch and broke a bunch of gear out of rage from that, but in hindsight it was just hormones from adolescence. 

 

I dunno, I feel like this conversation could be broadened to anger management as a whole, I have a friend that has bipolar disorder and he once had a manic episode so bad he destroyed his entire $3000USD+ setup and broke it to bits to where it was irreparable. I think maybe our brains can get frustrated that we're not performing as expected, so we need to either adapt or let it out. I chose the easy way meself - downgrading to HNTR and being more willing to use saves. 

 

Funny you mention the Valiant map - that was one of the first Doom maps I really raged at. That is a hard map. 

[Devalaous]

Tantrums in Doom? More likely than you think.

[Major Arlene]

re: Dean of Doom, to be completely fair, I'm not a viewer of theirs but one thing that's generally understood about Youtube and especially gaming is that reactions tend to be exaggerated for entertainment value - that said, I've absolutely had some gaming tantrums on stream but pretty much they've always been just verbal annoyance, I've maybe hit my desk once or twice. main thing is to understand that if you're getting extremely upset, know that you can stop at any point, no matter how much you feel like you have to Do The Thing. and uh, don't break your gear, that shit can get expensive.

[indigotyrian]

A good way to prevent damaging actually important things like gear, walls, or your hands/feet is to have a set of basic #2 pencils nearby, the kind you can get in a pack of 15 or 20 from any self-respecting drugstore or grocery store. Sometimes you really do just need to break something, and breaking a pencil is a whole hell of a lot cheaper than a keyboard or monitor.

Edited August 27, 2023 by indigotyrian

[Naarok0fkor]

Always remember that...

[T-Rex]

I rarely throw any tantrums myself, but when it comes to Doom, the times where I get very frustrated would be whenever the RNG decides to be a bitch and I end up finding myself getting my ass kicked on the levels that are actually easy to beat and I would normally go through without any trouble whenever the RNG plays in my favour. I cuss without making a scene and try to go through the levels again, as the saying goes "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," and if it's giving me too much trouble, I just quit, play a different wad or game, and come back to Doom when I'm more resolved.

[kevansevans]

It’s not worth it getting angry over video games. That energy can be spent better elsewhere.

[Dark Pulse]

When I was young, I had serious, controller-launching anger issues. By the time I was 17, it was down to maybe the occasional slam of a mouse.

 

Now, I don't really care about playing too competitively anymore for the most part. I just want to have a good time.

[Astar]

10 minutes ago, kevansevans said:

It’s not worth it getting angry over video games. That energy can be spent better elsewhere.

Oh yeah, your pfp speaks for itself :D

[Ash4ash]

plutonia.

no other words.

just plutonia.

[Ash4ash]

Just now, Ash4ash said:

plutonia.

no other words.

just plutonia.

if there were other words they would be "Go", "2" and "It"

and maybe "Hunted"

[SupremeBioVizier]

If you are under thirty I wouldn't worry about yourself getting angry like that, just recognize it and next time before it happens I hope you recognize a solution as the frustration builds

[LadyMistDragon]

There was one time recently in a recent amateur slaughter map I couldn't be bothered to restart when you're in the visual range of a few Arch-viles, a teleport trap of Revenants and a Cyberdemon that would be difficult to survive for anyone with even like 80 health or more and I had FAR less than that. It definitely wasn't impossible but at one point, I might have howled and shoved my hands vigorously down somewhere/. But Doom isn't really a game I rage over much, to be honest. I sort of recognize when a trap is cheap as opposed to well-consturcuted.

[Ash4ash]

4 minutes ago, LadyMistDragon said:

There was one time recently in a recent amateur slaughter map I couldn't be bothered to restart when you're in the visual range of a few Arch-viles, a teleport trap of Revenants and a Cyberdemon that would be difficult to survive for anyone with even like 80 health or more and I had FAR less than that. It definitely wasn't impossible but at one point, I might have howled and shoved my hands vigorously down somewhere/. But Doom isn't really a game I rage over much, to be honest. I sort of recognize when a trap is cheap as opposed to well-consturcuted.

why does this sound like what a doom fan with dementia would try to explain plutonia is

[LadyMistDragon]

Just now, Ash4ash said:

why does this sound like what a doom fan with dementia would try to explain plutonia is

LMAO, but that's literally what it was and the strange thing was that ammo was basically nonexistent at a certain point after this section. This particular location was in a large open brown canyon.

[LoatharMDPhD]

// IDDQD is a Tantrum at times...

[Ash4ash]

Just now, LoatharMDPhD said:

// IDDQD is a Tantrum at times...

the cheat code?

[LoatharMDPhD]

16 minutes ago, Ash4ash said:

why does this sound like what a doom fan with dementia would try to explain plutonia is

// The Thing you Cannot Defeat 0.9 .pk3

[LoatharMDPhD]

Just now, Ash4ash said:

the cheat code?

//I'm not smashing my keyboard, I'm smashing these 5 keys... Don't get mad, get Even...

[Ash4ash]

Just now, LoatharMDPhD said:

//I'm not smashing my keyboard, I'm smashing these 5 keys... Don't get mad, get Even...

tbh i keep failing trying to type idclip

either i get it in the wrong order like

ie

idclip

idclip

dilip

dcip

idclip

ildpc

idclpi

[LoatharMDPhD]

9 minutes ago, Ash4ash said:

tbh i keep failing trying to type idclip

either i get it in the wrong order like

ie

idclip

idclip

dilip

dcip

idclip

ildpc

idclpi

idspispopd... that one got me thinking back then...

 

http://www.doomgate.cs.buffalo.edu... thats where i got into the doom community, on a 486 MMX at Villanova university using Netscape Navigator... Ah, the whimsical days of nostalgic lore....

Edited August 27, 2023 by LoatharMDPhD

[lafoxxx]

Original DOOM is one of a few games which never caused them for me personally.

 

It's not some poorly-designed shooter with overpowered or insanely fast opponents out-of-the-box, which could rape you in milliseconds.

It also doesn't have situations where you could screw things up, ending up in a very tight situation where it's more reasonable to restart the entire level.

 

Perhaps some people just like to challenge themselves, deliberately playing challenging maps (due to poor design, or deliberately designed to make the player suffer)? If that person is a streamer, usually said tantrums are what some people watch their streams for.

Edited August 27, 2023 by lafoxxx

[Ash4ash]

Just now, LoatharMDPhD said:

idspispopd... that one got me thinking back then...

 

http://doomgate.cs.buffalo.edu... thats where i got into the doom community, on a 486 MMX at Villanova university using Netscape Navigator... Ah, the whimsical days of nostalgic lore....

what's funny is I always type idspispopd correctly every time