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My Least Favorite Things About Gaming: Reflections

May 2, 2006 By Glenn Turner

This may not even be a problem for you, depending on what type of television you have or the angle you sit at while gaming, but I have an old-fashion standard definition television with a terribly reflective screen. Occasionally, while engrossed in a game such as Silent Hill 3, I'm on the edge of the couch, hunched over, brow furrowed, in other words, I'm completely immersed in the game's universe. I push the game's character to open a door and my knuckles tense up as I nervously try to anticipate what might be in the next room. Then the screen goes to black and I see...

...myself staring back at me, looking utterly and absolutely silly with my stern demeanor. The room loads up not much more than a second or two later, but the damage has been done, the illusion has been shattered, I'm just pensively pressing buttons on a controller.

And there's just not much to do in that situation. It's too late to pretend it never happened, and you can't look away, since the game will flicker back on at any given second. You're left with no choice but to try and to avert your eyes from your own gaze.

Perhaps others don't really mind this, and I suppose there are third-party peripherals, like the EyeToy, that cater to recreating moments like these, but, with games that contain frequent and sparse loading screens, or games that deliberately pace their games with 'visual silence', I can't help but view it as a very awkward solitary moment.

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19 comments for ‘My Least Favorite Things About Gaming: Reflections’

#1 jt-3d May 3, 2006 01:28am

It's so cute when NewGamers discover loading lag. They are so used to instant everything that when lag stares them in the face, they panic. Pal, you should have been around in the 64 days when lag had to be measured by a broken stopwatch. You know, we just accepted it as part of the gaming experience. We sucked it up! We were HEROS....Ok, I guess that accolade gets tossed around a bit freely these days. Still, it's just lag, deal with it. Try sitting off to the side a bit. Love, an experienced gamer.

P.S. Try the 2.5 minute relplay load on the C=64 Stunt Flyer. Shitly

#2 Soup May 3, 2006 01:47am

i suspect you're missing the point, jt. It's the reflection in the deadtime, not the deadtime itself, that is the issue.

G.T, I feel your pain. The image of yourself is enough to shatter an atmosphere, and even bothers me with some movies when I watch them at home. The best solution I've come with is to play without lights, but this might be too intense for some game/player combinations (i.e. me and Fatal Frame II). Maybe setting up a light behind the television set? I have yet to experiment in that direction.

#3 Kamikaze May 3, 2006 06:36am

Dear God yes. Frustratingly, it seems to fall into that category of annoying things that, once recognised, never leave you. If you're listening to music and one of your speakers is making a weird hiss - the second you notice it, it never goes. If a friend points it out, you want to murder them.

Reflections are the same way, especially if there's a little too much light in the room. As soon as you've seen yourself, it's done. Everything turns from gold into shit and you can't seem to concentrate on anything but the outline of your blocky head.

#4 Benedict May 3, 2006 07:09am

Lol, JT is old, so he's obviously played these games which NO ONE ELSE EVER HAS IN RECORDED HISTORY

#5 D. Riley May 3, 2006 08:21am

Soup wrote:
G.T, I feel your pain. The image of yourself is enough to shatter an atmosphere, and even bothers me with some movies when I watch them at home. The best solution I've come with is to play without lights, but this might be too intense for some game/player combinations (i.e. me and Fatal Frame II). Maybe setting up a light behind the television set? I have yet to experiment in that direction.

Playing survival horror games in the dark caused my buddy to scream like a girl.

No lie.

This day and age I can't get immersed in an old survival horror game. After I beat it the first time it becomes more about speed runs and top ranking than it does fear. :(

And I can't say I've ever had a problem with my reflection, can't even remember ever really noticing it. But now that I've read this I PROBABLY WILL SO THANKS.

#6 Servo May 3, 2006 08:51am

If you were a vampire, this wouldn't be an issue

But, I'm thinking that if you took this complaint to someone (Nintendo?), they might conduct a focus group to see how widespread the concern is. I would not be suprised to see some sort of gaming headgear featuring a sheer black screen that works to eliminate "who's-that-ugly-guy?" syndrome.

#7 R. LeFeuvre May 3, 2006 01:24pm

Or you know... they could just not go to a jarring all black screen.

#8 D. Riley May 3, 2006 02:57pm

Silent Hill 2 had footprints on the loading screen.

#9 Glenn Turner May 3, 2006 03:05pm

D. Riley wrote:
Silent Hill 2 had footprints on the loading screen.

For extended loading sequences sure, just like Silent Hill 3 has that weird red cloudy thing, but there are still short bits of blackness between going in and out of rooms.

#10 KillerTeddy May 3, 2006 03:13pm

jt-3d wrote:
Pal, you should have been around in the 64 days when lag had to be measured by a broken stopwatch. You know, we just accepted it as part of the gaming experience. We sucked it up! We were HEROS....

You are so much better than everyone else.

As for the topic. I dont find it annoying. Infact, sometimes its funny. I'll be playing through a game with a "wtf" moment and it will pause to load...And I see my questioning wtf face. :)

But like kami said...that does get to me. My current speakers for this compoota borked a while ago, and theres a slight buzz/hiss half the time. It makes me lose focus of what I'm listening too. :(

#11 w3a2 May 3, 2006 06:48pm

jt-3d wrote:
It's so cute when NewGamers discover loading lag. They are so used to instant everything that when lag stares them in the face, they panic. Pal, you should have been around in the 64 days when lag had to be measured by a broken stopwatch. You know, we just accepted it as part of the gaming experience. We sucked it up! We were HEROS....Ok, I guess that accolade gets tossed around a bit freely these days. Still, it's just lag, deal with it. Try sitting off to the side a bit. Love, an experienced gamer.

P.S. Try the 2.5 minute relplay load on the C=64 Stunt Flyer. Shitly

aaahhahahaah, hello fellow jilted old man. i never played stunt car racer, but yes, nearly every game gave you that GIGANTIC lag. 4-disk Project Firestart was a classic. you'd know the monsters were coming, because you'd hear the floppy drive ticking over. that game put me off survival horror games altogether...ah, the memories

but yes, nothing worse than seeing your face when you least need it, and least expect it. My first experience with Splinter Cell did this a lot, but as it was always in the darkness, i'd see my (ruggedly handsome) face with a puzzled expression and cause the 'moment' to be lost.

#12 breakbread May 3, 2006 06:55pm

My mom always wonders why I sit in my room with the blinds down, curtains closed, and the lights off. It's simple: I hate glare.

#13 WholeFnShow May 3, 2006 08:04pm

I learned to hate this early on with games that I give a crap about and want to be immersed in. For that very reason, these types of games don't get played before midnight.

#14 hobbie May 4, 2006 01:47pm

This effect RUINS movies for me. I don't play games as much, but for CoD2 for the 360, during the American missions...ALKJA:LKREWA:LJF:LHE:LIHAOEIFHVSA#Ef! The first 2-3 were at night and no matter my TV settings, the glare made it IMPOSSIBLE to see anything.

#15 Overproof May 4, 2006 02:00pm

long loading times

: (

#16 R. LeFeuvre May 4, 2006 02:48pm

You know I could make some comment about how the Xbox 360 is really dark.

Maybe I just did.

#17 hobbie May 4, 2006 02:55pm

Huh, as in everything is darker than normal games?

#18 KillerTeddy May 4, 2006 05:29pm

I think it is.

#19 w3a2 May 4, 2006 10:53pm

Overproof wrote:
long loading times

: (

commodore64
tape drive.
impossible mission.
half an hour.
:x