CitySquirrel said:
I'm not trying to pick on you here but this is pretty much a widespread issue. Why do people believe that they are somehow owed a good experience? I get that games are expensive but the reaction of anger can only come from a belief that you somehow deserve to not be exposed to something you dislike. You had an experience, you did not like it, you moved on. Imagine going through life being angry at every meal you eat that you don't enjoy, every book you don't like, etc. And worse, being angry at the people who do like them. That is what is basically happening here.
Pretty much hit the nail on the head in regards to what I was going to say. To elaborate further:
Why do so many people feel so personally slighted and hurt when they play a bad video game? The best way to address playing something bad is to acknowledge "Well, I didn't like that very much," take some knowledge about how not to design video games away from it, laugh it off, and move on. I love video games. They are a huge, important part of my life, to the point that I harbor some aspirations about going into game design myself. However, I do not let a bad experience that I have playing a video game turn me into a frothing ball of hatred.
Earlier this year, I was one of the poor saps who pre-ordered Aliens: Colonial Marines. Let me say that again: I PRE-ORDERED Aliens: Colonial Marines. That game was a steaming pile of horseshit, and I ended up forcing myself to play through it as a learning experience, but did I let that turn me into a hate tornado? No. I took it as a learning experience to learn more about how not to design a video game, laughed at myself for being an idiot, resolved not to pre-order games on Steam ever again, and moved on. In 2012, Paper Mario: Sticker Star was one of the biggest disappointments of a game that I've ever played, but it was a wonderful learning experience as well. I was able to pinpoint exactly what I didn't like about it from a design standpoint and jotted down my thoughts on it, and I came away having gained something positive from the experience.
My point is, you will inevitably play a bad game, or a game you didn't like. Not all games are good, but you can make each and every game, or any piece of media for that matter, into a positive experience if you just take away something good from it. Even if you will never actually make a video game in your life, you can learn about what you like and dislike and hopefully make a better purchasing decision next time. To link this all the way back to Jim's thesis, not getting so seethingly angry about not liking a video game will hopefully make you less inclined to respond with anger if someone else likes it. Entertainment is supposed to bring joy into our lives, not make us all unhappy wrecks.