After talking to many gamers and comparing gaming experiences with them, I have noticed a trend with a certain portion of the gamer population. I see it with some people’s posts on Google+ and tweets on Twitter. I have discussed this with a few of you at length. You see, there are a few of us (me included) that have what I like to call “Gaming OCD.” This type of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) may affect the following areas of a person’s gaming life:
*Disclaimer: This is not a real diagnosis or disease. I am not a doctor. This article is meant to be humorous. That’s all.
1.) You must pick up every item you can possibly find in a game, even if you don’t need it.
This compulsion probably started with games like the original Resident Evil, where there was almost no ammo and very few save points. One of the signs of Gamer OCD is the fact that you must find every item you can. This can become annoying, especially in Bethesda games like Fallout 3 or Skyrim, where weight is a factor. That’s okay, though. You will spend an extra hour slowly trudging to a place where you can sell or stash your items.
2.) You have to go through levels perfectly.
This sign shows up especially in sneak games like the Metal Gear Solid franchise or other games like The Last of Us, where screwing up even a little bit can cost you ammo or other items. You will re-start an encounter until do you things perfectly. Even a small screw-up will drive you nuts.
3.) You have to find all of the secrets, no matter how annoying it gets.
Secret items are often used in games so that gamers can get more out of the game play. From secret treasure in the Uncharted series, to infusions and extra voxophones in BioShock Infinite, to finding a particular roaming monster in Borderlands 2 that will drop a specific weapon, secrets are a large part of gaming. However, many use this as optional fun. OCD gamers have a compulsion to find all of them. A subset of this group may even use walkthroughs just to make sure they found every secret or area.
4.) You have to completely clear areas, do every side mission, and every quest.
Remember in the original Doom how one had the percentage of monsters killed? Or in Infamous franchise how one could clear districts completely? Well, people with Gamer OCD must complete all of the areas. Leaving baddies behind or areas to clear is not an option. If you are into RPGs or games with extra side missions or quests, you feel like you have no completed the game unless all of those side missions or quests are completed.
5.) Your character must be the highest level possible.
Whether it be the ranking system in the Call of Duty franchise, to perfecting a character in an RPG, to increasing skill levels in The Sims, people with Gamer OCD must have the highest level character possible with all of the bells and whistles. Their character must have access to every skill and weapon possibility and must be a complete beast in specs. Although many gamers like to do this, people with gaming OCD take it to the next level and may create multiple characters that are like this and will take the extra time and effort to get their character leveled as high as possible.
6.) You must get all of the trophies.
I’ve seen this a lot from #PS4share. Gamers do enjoy getting trophies for accomplishments in the games that they play. However, an OCD gamer feels the need to get one hundred percent trophies across the board on all of his or her games. A game is not complete unless all of the trophies have been won.
So what are OCD gamers to do?
Well, if you are like me and haven’t finished a Bethesda RPG because you have to do every side quest and take every item in the game, then it may be okay to tell yourself to let go a bit. Perfection isn’t always attainable, right? However, I will say that OCD gamers probably get the most bang for the buck when it comes to our video games. We spend more time than most per game because of it, so happy gaming everyone!