Stupid, pointless stuff you do in games

[Gordon_4]

Really all of it, its a horrible defensive maneuver and should literally only be used as a last resort in real life since you will get hurt doing it. I mean games let you dodge roll up stairs, I don't think I have to tell you how bad an idea that is. Even on a mostly flat surface its a horrible idea since all you need are a few rocks under your back and you are in a bad spot.


Heh yeah, even on legendary the AR is pretty decent against the flood, although it turns out pistol/shotgun is better.

If your back touches anything when you’re doing a roll you’re doing it utterly incorrectly.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

My criteria here for what constitutes "pointless" is anything that isn't directly beneficial to helping you succeed at the gameplay.

In Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, you play as two characters that you can switch between at will (One's a physical fighter and the other is a witch). The pointless thing I like to do when playing it is rapidly switch between them because whenever you swap they say their names, so I just hear, "Charlotte! Jonathan! Charlotte! Jonathan! Charlotte! Jonathan! Charlotte! Jonathan!" over and over again. The way they say their lines just has a nice rhythm to it.

Running around as Dante in Devil May Cry:

Trick! Gun! Sword! Trick! Gun! Sword! Trick! Gun! Sword! Trick! Gun! Sword! Royal Guard!

Jump, Jump, Jump, Jump, Jump, Jump, Talk to NPC, Jump, Jump, Jump, Jump, Jump, fight enemy, Jump, Jump, Jump, Jump.

I was playing Stanley Parable, which does not have a jump, but I kept compulsively hitting the space bar until I got this:



Even after I got that I still kept trying to jump.

 

[Worgen]

If your back touches anything when you’re doing a roll you’re doing it utterly incorrectly.

got some vids of someone doing it right?

 

[Gordon_4]

got some vids of someone doing it right?

This breaks it down, but the way he’s doing it at the end is what you end up with. This shit works; The only reason I don’t have neck and spinal injuries from getting hit by a (admittedly small and decelerating) car is because of stuff like this.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

This breaks it down, but the way he’s doing it at the end is what you end up with. This shit works; The only reason I don’t have neck and spinal injuries from getting hit by a (admittedly small and decelerating) car is because of stuff like this.

All of this makes me have much more respect for that tumbler dude from One Piece. Seems a lot less lame now.

 

[wings012]

I ran around the streets in Sleeping Dogs just shoving people out of the way. Just because I enjoyed all the swearing in Cantonese. I was also inspired by one of the Rooster Teeth videos where you could open your car door and have it smash into passer bys.

In most games with a Sandbox I will find ways to just absolutely dick around. Like surfing a plane into an oil rig in Just Cause 2.

One thing I liked to do in Monster Hunter World, when with my friends anyway is to just set off fireworks or put up a snowman and attempt to snowball them. All while in the presence of an aggro-ed monster that we are trying to hunt.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Playing Total War: Warhammer II (again), it depends on race but just click on an agent or army and the voice e-motes can be hilarious. In fairness, to me, the Skaven voice lines are the best, Ikit Claw's quips are pretty funny. Sometimes I'll just have an agent, send him out to sea, then click on him to listen to him complain! -_-

 

[Worgen]

This breaks it down, but the way he’s doing it at the end is what you end up with. This shit works; The only reason I don’t have neck and spinal injuries from getting hit by a (admittedly small and decelerating) car is because of stuff like this.

So it seems effective on a padded mat.

Here is my friend who has done MMA for the last 13 years:
Ok, so there are very, very few situations in which I would ever roll rather than use my feet. The one I can think of is the time I was sparring two-on-one and and one dude tried to grapple me. I rolled out of that and it was amazing, but that was on a mat where I had plenty of space. Generally, the best policy is to keep on your feet and stay mobile. Rolls will almost always slow you down and open you up to attack, because you have to get back up, and getting up from the ground leaves you very, very vulnerable.

Ok, I'm back, here is video of a stuntman with a car.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

What about the dive roll is "unrealistic" to you? Is it the idea of using it as a defensive maneuver or the actual physics of the action itself?

Using it as a default defensive maneuver instead of something like a simple sidestep.

In a combat situation there's almost never a good reason to put yourself on the ground. Being on the ground makes you less mobile because rolling means you have to get up afterward. Any time you're off your feet you're off balance, and being off balance makes it difficult to control your body, makes it difficult to block, to react, and makes it much easier for your opponent to attack you.

Plus rolling leaves your back exposed for a moment, and a moment is all you need to get stabbed in the back.

There are very limited times where a roll may be useful or even necessary, but most of the time you're better off doing literally anything else.

 

[happyninja42]

Using it as a default defensive maneuver instead of something like a simple sidestep.

In a combat situation there's almost never a good reason to put yourself on the ground. Being on the ground makes you less mobile because rolling means you have to get up afterward. Any time you're off your feet you're off balance, and being off balance makes it difficult to control your body, makes it difficult to block, to react, and makes it much easier for your opponent to attack you.

Plus rolling leaves your back exposed for a moment, and a moment is all you need to get stabbed in the back.

There are very limited times where a roll may be useful or even necessary, but most of the time you're better off doing literally anything else.

Yes I am aware of the impracticality of the maneuver in most situations. I actually did some tumbling training in my martial arts training as a kid, which is why I was curious about the criticism. As the maneuver is fairly easy to pick up, even after a very small amount of practice. Much more time to perfect sure, but the whole "dive head first at the ground" thing is mostly just overcoming your lizard brain shouting "DON'T FUCKING DO THAT!!" I was just curious what part Worgen specifically had an issue with, as they didn't specify in their post that I quoted.

 

[Gordon_4]

So it seems effective on a padded mat.

Here is my friend who has done MMA for the last 13 years:
Ok, so there are very, very few situations in which I would ever roll rather than use my feet. The one I can think of is the time I was sparring two-on-one and and one dude tried to grapple me. I rolled out of that and it was amazing, but that was on a mat where I had plenty of space. Generally, the best policy is to keep on your feet and stay mobile. Rolls will almost always slow you down and open you up to attack, because you have to get back up, and getting up from the ground leaves you very, very vulnerable.

Ok, I'm back, here is video of a stuntman with a car.

I did JiuJutsu for 10 years. I’ve done those rolls on grass, concrete, and hard wood floors to name but a few surfaces. Does it smart? Yes it does, but it’s better than landing flat on my back and not being able to move at all and getting my head kicked in. I am not advocating it in every situation nor would I expect anyone in any kind of live fire environment to do it.

 

[Worgen]

I did JiuJutsu for 10 years. I’ve done those rolls on grass, concrete, and hard wood floors to name but a few surfaces. Does it smart? Yes it does, but it’s better than landing flat on my back and not being able to move at all and getting my head kicked in. I am not advocating it in every situation nor would I expect anyone in any kind of live fire environment to do it.

Wouldn't it be better to just do a dodge back or to the side, rather there a roll? Like to just side step and avoid that way instead of doing a roll that you can't be sure of? I mean a roll is better than death but it still seems like a last resort compared to just side stepping.

 

[Thaluikhain]

In Exile 3, last of the Exile series (the best RPG series ever, and anyone who says otherwise is wrong), you can cast "Scry Monster" to see a monster's current stats, and then its normal stats goes into a library you can access at any time. So, gotta scry them all. To the extent that I don't want to kill a unique monster until I've scried it, because never get to add it to the list.

So, for example, I want to make sure I don't pick up the magic sleep flowers, because then I'd instakill the extra special nasty ogre before it attacks me and I can scry it.

 

[Ghostrick Dorklord]

I've been doing really dumb stuff in PSO2.

Namely going idle while having my avatar rave or do something while I catch up with some stuff, spinning in place whenever I beat a boss or major enemy, and jumping to the beat to whatever song I have playing in my playlist. The last one is pretty funny for me because I'm essentially a jumping chicken with a bazooka. Idk its just funny to me.

I do weird stuff in video games in general if the game allows for it but that's the only example I can think of because its been the only thing I've been playing lately. lol

 

[twistedmic]

I usually jog in circles around slow moving or stationary NPCs when bored.
I also try spinning in one direction while spinning the camera in the opposite direction.

 

[Gordon_4]

Wouldn't it be better to just do a dodge back or to the side, rather there a roll? Like to just side step and avoid that way instead of doing a roll that you can't be sure of? I mean a roll is better than death but it still seems like a last resort compared to just side stepping.

The circumstances in which that roll, specifically the version where you end up facing behind you and already up on one knee, is most efficient is after being pushed from behind. Martial arts techniques are situational; part of the learning curve is figuring out which one for which scenario.

 

[Dalisclock]

RDR2 online is the king of pointless stuff I do anyway. Like going through all the button presses and animations of petting the dog at the camp, none of which has any statistical or gameplay impact on the dog or the character, but I do anyway just to see the tail wag and feel less guilty about the long trips. Waving at NPCs when you've already maxed out your good guy meter. Polishing guns and aiming down their sights in third person just for the sense of accomplishment. Being in a city or back at camp whenever I log off. Etc.

I'm playing the main game of RDR2. I keep saying hello to random people in town for literally no reason after I found out I could do it. I have no idea why. I also do it in camp, though Arthur lives with and knows these people, so that makes more sense. I do find it amusing that if you do it 2 or 3 times, he just says something like "Okay, I’ll catch you later then." which sounds weirder then it probably should.

I also close all the cabinets and drawers I open after I steal everything. Even if nobody is around or I killed everyone nearby. Because obviously if someone comes poking around, they'll surely ignore all the freshly dead(and robbed) bodies with bullet holes in them and notice the open drawers and cabinets and think "Man, that looks mighty suspicious".

 

[Bob_McMillan]

When there were still third person shooters around, I would sometimes go out of my way to get into cover behind a wall. Even if it was clear that there were no enemies around, I just all tacticool doing it.

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

Well the default answer should be the dive roll, at least for something like Dark Souls or Horizon Zero Dawn. I think its sillier in HZD since that game seems like it tries to have more of a realistic feel to it.

I hate myself for falling into pedantry with this, but HZD doesn't attempt or even claim realism like Dark Souls does when it comes to player body movement. For one, even aside the stamina meter HZD lacks, DS has a weight/armour system that actively changes how effectively you can dodge, sprint or even attack based on how heavy your equipment is versus how well trained your stats are in the specific areas. In contrast, HZD let's you hold everything at no cost, unlocks an even longer distance dodge that might as well be called "magic hover salmon escape" and her climbing acrobatics alongside her other fancy actions are plain mental. Oh and the slow-mo 360 slide while aiming a bow. Meanwhile DS player character trundles along like a begrudging soldier on their first day of guard duty. No slo-mo butt slides for muggins there.
Anyway, embarrassing pedantry aside, I kinda prefer leaping around like a manic salmon, it's very fun and pleasing, mainly because I can't do do it in real life.


Separate addition to pointless stuff, but actually more related than first thought; dodge rolling through every door in Dead Cells instead of opening them like a gentlebear. Even innocent shopkeepers doors. They just smash apart so satisfyingly. And they fix themselves next run regardless. This conscience is clear! sort of

 

[Worgen]

I hate myself for falling into pedantry with this, but HZD doesn't attempt or even claim realism like Dark Souls does when it comes to player body movement. For one, even aside the stamina meter HZD lacks, DS has a weight/armour system that actively changes how effectively you can dodge, sprint or even attack based on how heavy your equipment is versus how well trained your stats are in the specific areas. In contrast, HZD let's you hold everything at no cost, unlocks an even longer distance dodge that might as well be called "magic hover salmon escape" and her climbing acrobatics alongside her other fancy actions are plain mental. Oh and the slow-mo 360 slide while aiming a bow. Meanwhile DS player character trundles along like a begrudging soldier on their first day of guard duty. No slo-mo butt slides for muggins there.
Anyway, embarrassing pedantry aside, I kinda prefer leaping around like a manic salmon, it's very fun and pleasing, mainly because I can't do do it in real life.

My point with HZD as realistic is strictly from the graphics. Mechanically its super fantasy with your ability to spam jump to get up most steep walls.