My psychology doesn't allow me to play Assasin's Creed 4

[Schmeiser]

I have the same fear as you OP, i can't go further than 5-6 metres deep sea. Creeps me out, man.

Don't know if any of you guys remember but in jak and daxter the first part if you went too far in the sea you would get eaten by this fish, I GOT SCARED SHITLESS THE FIRST TIME THAT HAPPENED, fuck that fish

 

[SerithVC]

So, fellow escapees, as I was just skim reading through the assassin's creed IV review (and by skim reading I mean looking at the star ratings and the pretty pictures) I found myself looking at a screenshot of the protagonist Edward Kenway swimming underwater with a shark. Not only this, but in a later screenshot, he was spearing a shark as it was attacking him in a rowboat.

Now, I'm not going to lie here. I hate sharks. I hate the ocean. I don't mean the beach - I love the beach. Australia has lovely beaches.

I mean anything that is deeper than 7 feet, has sand at the bottom and is filled with salt water.

Why? Well, like I said, sharks, but not only this - most sea creatures just look damn unnatural. Seas cucumbers creep me out. Anemones creep me out. Now I can handle them on my territory (i.e. me catching them on land with a gun) but when I'm on their turf, I can't handle it.

Well, what has this got to do with anything? Well let me explain what I'm trying to say here.

I struggle to handle being immersed in an underwater environment. I can do it, but I'm largely uncomfortable with it. As such, I find myself either:

a) Avoiding games with water largely based underwater/sea based mechanics (Treasures of the deep on ps1 freaks me out, can't play echo the dolphin, get nervous whenever I go sailing in LoZ: Windwaker, also get nervous in any boat racing/jet skiing game)

or

b) Being unable to progress through games that may have a segment of gameplay involving an underwater segment

As such, I have come to the conclusion that I may not buy Assassin's creed IV because of the potential death by ocean involved in the game. Obviously, I'm not surprised that this happened as the game was about pirating and assassinating and all good things associated with the Caribbean, but it's slightly disappointing that I may miss out.

This got me thinking though, just thought it'd be interesting to see if there were any other escapists here who had a similar quirk? i.e. Was unable to play a not necessarily scary game, out of fear of some aspect of the game? Or perhaps some other psychological quirk has prevented you from playing a game? Elaborate, explain, discuss!


tldr: Being underwater in games scares me as much as amnesia does, so I don't play the games. What psychological things (fear, ocd, anger) stop you from playing games which may not be necessarily associated with those emotions?

well there is always the option to play the game because it's a game and stop being a git. I have my phobias but when it comes to playing a game they are moot because of the fact that it's not real. Sure the things may exist in reality but i'm not dealing with it in reality and it cannot actually affect me in real life so why should it bother me. People have to stop being such wimps about everything. Not just in the sense of this situation but in life in general. Oh i need to get this special razor because my face is too sensitive. Oh i can't play this game because i'm afraid of drowning. When did the world become so pathetically sensitive to and about everything?

 

[thiosk]

Babies creep me out massively. Not regular babies, but rather any sort of deformed/disfigured baby or small child. I nearly stopped playing the original Dead Space when the tentacle fetuses started showing up. I got over it somewhat when I realized they were pretty much the weakest enemy in the game, but still...

And thats how you beat your phobias.

SHoot them with guns and stomp on them with heavy gravity boots.

snip

well there is always the option to play the game because it's a game and stop being a git.

If you're going to be a jerk about everything, at least have the common courtesy not to quote the entire OP.

 

[NardBasket]

I've got the same fear of deep water! So much so that I hated the underwater levels in Mario 64, despite the relaxing music. I panic in deep water

 

[teh_Canape]

I have this issue with women irreversibly turning into mutants and shit like that
made me quit Ninja Blade (admittedly, I got to like, stage 4 or something and then decided to check out the intro because I was bored, fuck that) and Parasite Eve 2

 

[IronMit]

Screw Sonic underwater segments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz_9RHFnoSs

 

[Nadia Castle]

I have the same fear of water (more specifically water creatures), for that reason the lake boss on Resident Evil 4 was by far the most intense boss I'd faced. Just that moment where your waiting for it to burst out and charge made me panic. Then there was the water beast in Amnesia. I managed to finish the game but running through the waist deep water with the sound of louder and louder splashing.....urgh.....

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

As long as your reasons are not of an ethical or political nature, playing the game does not brush you the wrong way or force you to betray yourself.

All phobias and, as you put it, psychological issues can - and should - be overcome, as they tend to degrade the experience of going through your average, ordinary life as if you were running a car with the hand brake on whilst wearing a blindfold. You can only get scared shitless so much until you start taking severe damage that will deform you, make you the target of ridicule and shatter what's left of your confidence into a million tiny little shards that will cut into your flesh.

Don't be afraid of sharks. They eat people, but it's nothing personal. It's just what they do. In general, people don't belong where sharks roam, and the sharks have been up and about long before our ancestors flopped on land and decided to grow limbs that allow for the more tedious locomotion we all partake in today.

Don't fear sharks; respect them. As for all the other, admittedly weird looking forms of life found in the salty wet cradle of life - just stop being afraid. Admire their colours, imagine what life must be like for them. Only once you've grasped the general idea of how they function and what they do all day should you consider the dangers of eating that poisonous fish, stroking that venomous snake, stepping on that barbed ball of pain or brushing your virgin back against that gelatinous glibbering gob of goo that will pierce your skin with thousands of little ampoules of concentrated pain, crippling your body and your soul for the rest of your days in hell on earth.

 

[Easton Dark]

Not since I was 10. Resident Evil 2 was scurry, with all the zombies and eerie atmosphere, but my 10 year old self told that to go fuck itself, and I played it, and beat it, and from then on I haven't been scared of another game.

Tell you what though, you would not like the introduction to Twilight Princess' water boss. Descending slowly into the deepest, widest container you've ever seen, the pitch blackness growing brighter as you descend, and one light shining at the bottom.

 

[evenest]

So, fellow escapees, as I was just skim reading through the assassin's creed IV review (and by skim reading I mean looking at the star ratings and the pretty pictures) I found myself looking at a screenshot of the protagonist Edward Kenway swimming underwater with a shark. Not only this, but in a later screenshot, he was spearing a shark as it was attacking him in a rowboat.

[...]

tldr: Being underwater in games scares me as much as amnesia does, so I don't play the games. What psychological things (fear, ocd, anger) stop you from playing games which may not be necessarily associated with those emotions?

Hwoof,

I don't have that particular phobia, so I am not speaking from experience, but I see such challenges as a chance to confront those fears in a safe environment.

For the record, I am not advocating for the purchase of Assassin's Creed games.

That aside, I see games where I might be uncomfortable in the similar light to the catharsis that horror movies give us. I can confront my fears/discomforts (sharks, my fellow man, the danger's of corporate rule, whatever they may be) in a manner and place where I won't actually be physically harmed by them. Sharks freak you out? Here's an opportunity to swim with them, confront them. It may not cure you of your phobia, but you cannot drown while playing a game with an underwater section (provided you aren't playing it while submerged). Who knows, you may be able to recognize that you can respect the ocean/being underwater without needing to fear it to the point where seeing an image of being underwater doesn't affect you any more.

 

[suitepee7]

wasn't there a patch/mod that removed all spiders from skyrim because the first level ones are unavoidable? can't say i've personally been unable to play a game due to any fears or worries etc

 

[MarsProbe]

There hasn't really been a game that I've had to outright just give up on due to something in it I couldn't handle, but the only time I have actually had to stop playing a game for a decent amount of time and do something else was with that old favourite the Shalebridge Cradle from Thief Deadly Shadows. It's strange as after playing through that level for maybe the 2nd or 3rd time the whole thing just stopped being scary, or even just slightly unnerving.

I do recall speaking to some people online who never made it past the Ravenholm area of Half-Life 2. They had arachnophobia and the presence of the assorted headcrabs in that area just proved too much for them. I found this quite interesting, as the headcrabs weren't strictly speaking spiders (only four legs, for starters) but I suppose for someone with an actual phobia these disinctions may not mean much.

 

[-Ezio-]

you know what's odd. i have a terrible fear of heights and falling. but i'll be damned if when i play an open world game i dont go find the highest point on the map and jump off it for the lols. wonder why your fear effects you like that and mine doesnt.

 

[Rutabaga_swe]

you know what's odd. i have a terrible fear of heights and falling. but i'll be damned if when i play an open world game i dont go find the highest point on the map and jump off it for the lols. wonder why your fear effects you like that and mine doesnt.

I guess it depends on how deep it is? I mean if it's a real phobia you probably won't do it "for the lols". Being slightly discomforted by heights i'd call survival instinct rather than a phobia

 

[Fifty-One]

There hasn't really been a game that I've had to outright just give up on due to something in it I couldn't handle, but the only time I have actually had to stop playing a game for a decent amount of time and do something else was with that old favourite the Shalebridge Cradle from Thief Deadly Shadows. It's strange as after playing through that level for maybe the 2nd or 3rd time the whole thing just stopped being scary, or even just slightly unnerving.

I do recall speaking to some people online who never made it past the Ravenholm area of Half-Life 2. They had arachnophobia and the presence of the assorted headcrabs in that area just proved too much for them. I found this quite interesting, as the headcrabs weren't strictly speaking spiders (only four legs, for starters) but I suppose for someone with an actual phobia these disinctions may not mean much.

Ah, Shalebridge Cradle. I remember having to pause, turn on the lights and poor myself a drink before I could finish that level. I also think it was one of only levels that I didn't thoroughly explore before finishing. I just wanted the @#$% out.

 

[-Ezio-]

you know what's odd. i have a terrible fear of heights and falling. but i'll be damned if when i play an open world game i dont go find the highest point on the map and jump off it for the lols. wonder why your fear effects you like that and mine doesnt.

I guess it depends on how deep it is? I mean if it's a real phobia you probably won't do it "for the lols". Being slightly discomforted by heights i'd call survival instinct rather than a phobia

oh no it's a phobia. I've had panic attacks because of it. but in games it's not me and it's not real. so it doesn't bother me.