I’ve run into this a number of times of late and it always amuses me. There are people who will post in a video game subreddit about how unrealistic this is or how they don’t like that and they always want it changed.

Well guess what? It’s a game! It’s not supposed to be absolutely realistic!

There’s honestly got to be a point in time where people understand that it’s not a real life simulation, it’s just a video game, intended to have fun. I see this from all genres, from action to shooters to city builders. “I don’t like how that works!” Well too bad. You need to learn how the software works and play the game as such. Just because you’d do it a different way, that doesn’t mean anything. Why don’t you go make a game of your own? Then you can make it however you want!

I think this is especially true when you start looking at  games that allow mods. You’re looking at people who just expect way too much of these games. Take something like Fallout 4. I’ve seen people complain that it’s not realistic enough. Pal, it’s a post-apocalyptic shooter where you’re killing ghouls and super mutants 200 years after the nukes fell and you’re worried about reality? I’ve also seen people expect that mods can make it a completely different game. “I want to simulate WWII! Write me a mod that will do that!” Yeah, that’s not going to work, sorry. You can probably get some of the weapons modded in, but you’re not going to fundamentally change the entire scope of the game. You need to have realistic expectations.

Or, say, a  game like Cities: Skylines. I see people constantly saying “that wouldn’t happen in the real world!” Yeah, but this isn’t the real world! The real world doesn’t have AI drivers in imaginary digital cars. You have to work within the confines of the game’s code and spending all of your time complaining that the drivers don’t move in a realistic, real-world fashion, that’s just silly. If that’s not what you want, then maybe this isn’t the game that you’re looking for. Maybe the game that you’re looking for doesn’t exist.

Or, in a final example, try State of Decay 2, where I keep seeing people demanding that the developers put tanks and airplanes into the game. I’m sorry to tell you people but there’s this little thing called game balance and the game has enough problems with that already. Either play the game that the developers make or go find something else. You really don’t have any control and I think Undead Labs already bends over backwards to keep people happy. “Give us rocket launchers and nukes!” isn’t going to make the game playable. It’s supposed to be hard. Neither though is demanding the game to be so absurdly hard that the zombies simply don’t die and come at you in hordes of a million so that it’s impossible to survive. I’ve seen that too. You just can’t win with some of these people.

Really, I think people are just spoiled today. Back in the old days, you got the game that you got on the day of release. No update patches. No DLC. That was it, take it or leave it and a lot of people liked it that way then and still do today. You didn’t get bad launches that  could come back down the road. The developers were already off on a new project. It meant they had to put their all into it up front because they didn’t have a second chance and you knew, based on reviews, what you were going to get. The world has gone patch-happy and I really think that’s given people unrealistic expectations. Maybe we can go back to the days when you actually had to have a working game before release? Wouldn’t that be nice?

Of course, the second that you point out that it’s just a game, you can expect people to get mad. It’s not just a game! It’s a way of life! There are people out there that have been playing the same game, and only the same game, for years on end and when it starts to show its age, they demand that people fix it! “Make it better!” No, move on! It’s nice that you like to play an old game but accept it for what it is, not what you wish it was. Don’t be spoiled. It’s just entertainment, not lifestyle. If that’s what you think, you need help. These are just video games. Maybe it’s time to form a close, personal relationship with reality.