[Inyeon]

We all have little quirks in video games that, while they might seem minor, say a lot about how we play. Today I bring you 5 common habits many gamers share… but I want to know: which ones represent you the most?
Number 1 will be the habit you identify with the most, and number 5 the one you identify with the least.



Hoarding items without using them
Are you the type who saves potions, rare weapons, or special items “for when you really need them”? And that moment never comes? You finish the game with a full inventory of things you never used, just in case.

Avoiding main quests
The story can wait. You prefer exploring every corner of the map, completing side quests, chatting with irrelevant NPCs, or just grinding. Sometimes hours (or days!) go by before you touch the main storyline again.

Saving compulsively
Even if the game has auto-save, you don’t trust it. You manually save every few steps, before opening any door, after every fight, and definitely before making an important decision.

Spending too much time in character creation
The character editor is your sacred space. You can’t start playing until the hairstyle, nose shape, and skin tone are just right.

Restarting levels for perfectionism
If you don’t complete a mission flawlessly, you restart. Winning isn’t enough — it has to be without taking damage, without alerting enemies, or getting every collectible. All or nothing.

My Ranking:

1. Avoiding main quests
2. Hoarding items without using them
3. Spending too much time in character creation
4. Saving compulsively
5. Restarting levels for perfectionism

What about yours? Share your rankings below! 👇

[DoctorEldritch]

@Inyeon An interesting selection, what made you decide on these 5? I would think there'd be more, and they could be genre-dependent. As in, roguelikes do not normally offer flexible saving options, or some games have no items to hoard...

But that aside, from this selection, for myself, my choices would be:

1. Avoiding main quests
2. Restarting levels for perfectionism
3. Hoarding items without using them
4. Saving compulsively
5. Spending too much time in character creation

I wonder if behaviour changes depending on whether you play with friends or if someone is watching you do it. @Telomina when you stream, do you play differently from when you just play for yourself with no broadcast or recording?

[Inyeon]

And you're absolutely right, @DoctorEldritch Take my post in a general sense—we've all done these things in some game. For example, if we're talking about a high-difficulty game like a Souls-like, my top choice would probably be compulsive saving. But if I'm playing something like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4, then restarting levels for perfection might be my go-to.

Of course, I’m not playing those genres all the time. It’s also a way to get a sense of what types of games resonate most with the community. After all, your choices say a lot about you as a player.

[Telomina]

@DoctorEldritch when I stream I play normally. But when I record I focus more on the camera angles being good. Other stuff I can edit out but if your camera goes all over the place as when you're scouting for loot it will be a 💙💙💙💙 video.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Inyeon It may also come down to the subjectivity of measurement. For example, in "Spending too much time in character creation", "too much" is a bit of a vague way to put it. I'd say spending about 3 hours on character creation is actually quite normal, no? I'd say 5 hours may be a bit much, though. Or compulsive saving, I mean, 20 saves per level is average, I'd say. Surely everyone else saves about as often, too? 😅

These examples are blown out of proportion, of course, I was just thinking along the lines that a level of self-awareness and self-assessment is needed to more accurately answer this question.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Telomina That's a good point, I have not thought of that. I assumed the camera is always "behind the shoulder" in RPG games. I can see how videos would benefit from the angle being positioned well. I wonder if there would be formal courses for that someday in cameraman degrees. Currently, it's mostly YouTube training videos or special courses, I think.

[Inyeon]

It depends on the game—sometimes the character creator is pretty shallow, and other times it's like Dragon's Dogma II, where you can easily spend three hours just tweaking eyebrows and skin tone. Saving your progress has always seemed like a smart habit to me, especially nowadays when games are full of bugs and don’t feel as polished as they used to.

Personally, I feel better having a potion in my inventory that instantly restores 100% health and HP, and if I manage to finish the game without ever using it, that says something about how well I played. And I like it that way.

In the end, I totally agree with you—it kind of comes down to each person's self-awareness and making a sort of ranking of which habits define you the most. But maybe it would've been better to focus on a specific game. Something like Baldur's Gate III, which kind of brings all of it together.

[Telomina]

@DoctorEldritch in most rpg and action adventure games you can still move the camera around which is great for looking after loot which way to go, etc. Even in a lot of indie games. But when I stream I'm more focused on interacting with the community than "pretty gameplay" 🤭

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@DoctorEldritch in most rpg and action adventure games you can still move the camera around which is great for looking after loot which way to go, etc. Even in a lot of indie games. But when I stream I'm more focused on interacting with the community than "pretty gameplay" 🤭

[DoctorEldritch]

@Telomina I like it when the camera follows you around behind the shoulder. Sometimes it does not always do that, like in Yakuza games (for some reason, ported games may have it more often, I observed), and that is disorienting for me. I do not mind it when the camera is under full control, like in the first Dragon Age. But I get a bit fidgety when cvamewra is auto-controlled, but can also be manually controlled at the same time.

[miskkie]

Mine would be something like this, depending on the game.

1. Saving compulsively
2. Hoarding items without using them
3. Avoiding main quests
4. Spending too much time in character creation
5. Restarting levels for perfectionism