Have you ever turned into "That Guy"?

[Rikun]

I think most of us know about "That Guy". You know, the one who always complains and nitpicks about even the best of things to the point where he seems unable to enjoy it again. The best known image of "That Guy" in popular culture appears to be Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons, and to this day it's still fairly accurate. To be fair, it seems that some well known reviewers have either made a living out of being "That Guy" (Yahtzee) or have unknowingly become "That Guy" due to their own nostalgia (Moviebob, according to several of his followers). As much as many of us complain about this person, it's occurred to me that we probably all at some point turned into "That Guy" but it also appears that most of us are savvy enough to recognize when it happens and how to curb it so that we don't become absolutely insufferable. Those who don't curb it...well....I think you know.

So I was actually curious if any of you have ever realized you were turning into "That Guy" (or "That Girl") and what you did about it (toned it down, fully embraced it, etc.) I know we've all had moments like this.

For myself, I remember my anime phase where I loved anything Japanese and believed dubs were inherently inferior. Once I realized just how much effort is put into voicing these dubs and seeing the full ADR process, it dawned on me I was no different than the weeaboo that I would often complain about. Nowadays I respect all the work that goes into dubbing and am indifferent whether an anime is in Japanese or English, so long as the dialogue and acting are pull off well.

 

[Salus]

I catch myself being an elitist gamer a lot.

Not overtly, but I find myself subtly despising people who take my favorite game and play it super-casual like they're waiting for their limo to pick them up in a few minutes.

A lot of "let's play" videos are in this category. Could be the most engaging, emotional and complex game ever, and all they can manage is "Dude, I got the laser sword! Is this a laser sword? Look at everything die, dude that's awesome. Is this the final cutscene? Dude, that looks like Voldermort! He's totally Voldermort. Ima kill you with my new laser sword."

If I were a game developer my heart would break a tiny bit each time I watched that kind of commentary. Especially if I wrote the lore or the music, which I swear 99% of gamers are physically incapable of noticing.

Thus, I tend to be more of a jerk in the comments section to those people. It's not that I hate the casual for playing on a casual timeframe, but rather the attitude he takes, like he's wiping his a** with the game.

 

[Vault101]

hmmm well I think being critical is a good thing...

though there was this episode of Orange is the New Black which featured a chicken

the Chicken was a mythical creature amongst the prison inmates, our main charachter sees it, and tells people out of amusiment, she doesn't realise its significance and the head cook go nuts over wanting to eat the chicken

of coarse I thourght it probably wouldn't be very nice, its an egg laying breed, which would barley have any meat on it compared to what were used too, since the chickens we actually eat (at least here in Aus) are almost unrecognisable...that and it was aparently an old chicken..so that wouldn't help...though the chicken probably wasn't even real anyway...

good episode anyway

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I turned into "That Guy" when I sat down and really tried to watch the Nolan Batman movies. I may have enjoyed the first two when I first watched them but either DKR happened or I just really took a step back and thought to myself...why is it in all of these movies the Bat motif is downplayed to the point that it almost seems like the makers of the movie are ashamed of the source material?! I may not be 'that guy', I just might not like that film trilogy...

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I used to watch a bunch of analysis videos on YouTube about My Little Pony. At first I found them fun and they offered insight and a different take on the episodes, but as time has gone on, I just don't know...it seems a lot of them have become 'That Guy' and they focus way more on what was wrong with the episode, how it breaks canon, or is some cases, how they thought they could do better. It was no longer fun for me, so I'm familiar with this.

Me personally, I know of one thing that turns me into 'That Guy' without fail: Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Ugh. That movie. Just...that movie. The murder of the lore, the terrible acting, the awful writing, the complete failure of logic by so many of the characters...I can't watch that movie anymore because I pick at it so much that I get angry and I suck the fun out of it for others who are watching it with me. I can tolerate Episodes I and II, but not III. In fact, it got to the point where I told my friends that I should probably go see the new Star Wars movie by myself first when it comes out because I could spend a good deal of the moving going, "No, that's not how it works," or other such things.

 

[Queen Michael]

I turn into That Guy whenever I talk about Kathryn Immonen's run on Runaways. In my defence, it must be said that she did do a horrible job.

 

[Rellik San]

Me and a buddy in out roleplay group have a history of out That Guying each other, where I'll say something, he'll correct me, I'll then correct him, we'll look it up, we make a Failbaddon/YourSpiritualLeige joke, everyone else in the room looks confused as the GM has already winged the rule by that point.

Or he'll say something, I'll correct him, he'll then correct me, we'll look it up, we make a AllYourBaseBelongToPeturabo/FlyingMetalBawkses joke and everyone in the room looks confused because one of us was GMing.

 

[Chaos Isaac]

I turn into that guy when I run into some media that is just... foul. This trend started with Call of Duty Black Ops, and has continued into (most recently) Godzilla.

I seriously have thirty minute - hour long rants of their bullshit I can't stand. And honestly, I kinda embraced it. Because I tend to stick to only legitimate points and not just nitpick for nitpicks sake, though that doesn't mean I won't rip something limb from limb.

Plus, it's fun to figure out super easy ways to make such bad things better, then brush it aside and leave it behind.

 

[The Dead Singer]

Out of the relatively few friends I still have the ability to talk with and spend time with, I'm "That guy" in almost every situation

 

[Thyunda]

I catch myself being an elitist gamer a lot.

Not overtly, but I find myself subtly despising people who take my favorite game and play it super-casual like they're waiting for their limo to pick them up in a few minutes.

A lot of "let's play" videos are in this category. Could be the most engaging, emotional and complex game ever, and all they can manage is "Dude, I got the laser sword! Is this a laser sword? Look at everything die, dude that's awesome. Is this the final cutscene? Dude, that looks like Voldermort! He's totally Voldermort. Ima kill you with my new laser sword."

If I were a game developer my heart would break a tiny bit each time I watched that kind of commentary. Especially if I wrote the lore or the music, which I swear 99% of gamers are physically incapable of noticing.

Thus, I tend to be more of a jerk in the comments section to those people. It's not that I hate the casual for playing on a casual timeframe, but rather the attitude he takes, like he's wiping his a** with the game.

There is totally nothing wrong with this. I'd like an LPer who actually lets their audience get immersed in the game. I'm not talking full-on roleplaying, but at least engaging with the game beyond the stats or visuals would be nice. And...well I dunno if I'd fit that role, I swear profusely and threaten everything in sight if my character gets tied up or tortured. Didn't fit Metro: Last Light at all.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Oh sure, especially about music. I'll often hear something on the radio and say 'what the fuck, that doesn't even make sense. Who talks to their diary/Why wouldn't the city be able to hold you and why would you put your hands up because of it?' 'I prefer their earlier stuff' and 'it's a bit generic' are phrases I say too often. I know how it sounds, but I can't stop.

 

[Eamar]

I turn into "That Girl" about metal, specifically when I get way too invested in saying that certain bands are or aren't metal. I honestly try not to do it, but certain band names just elicit an automatic response in my brain. I swear it's a natural reflex (somehow). I know no one likes the "true metal" snob and that the whole discussion's pointless at the end of the day, but I can't help it. Thank god I'm not massively into Black Metal, otherwise I'm sure I'd turn into the "trve kvlt" type...

Nowadays I just try to stay out of discussions about particular bands/subgenres because I know I'll turn into "That Girl" if I don't. Doesn't stop me secretly thinking everyone who doesn't agree with me is an idiot though

 

[Guffe]

Nowadays I just try to stay out of discussions about particular bands/subgenres because I know I'll turn into "That Girl" if I don't. Doesn't stop me secretly thinking everyone who doesn't agree with me is an idiot though

The two of us will never have a discussion
I'm the opposit to you this regard

I just always say the words "I don't care how you cathegorize it, I enjoy it" and usually I end it there.
I think some discussion about cethegorizing bands and styles is OK, but it's gone too far, I liked the chart in the documentary "Metal, A Headbangers Journey", that was a interesting film too. But I usually stay away from all that, it's either too hard (Death Metal) or then I just don't like the sound, or I like it. 3 cathegories, which 2 can be blended together, and that's it.

On Topic:

I very seldom am that guy, I have waay too little knowledge to become that guy and start nitpicking about stuff.

 

[Vegosiux]

I turn into "That Guy" when people boast too much. Or when they try to shove hype in my face. Or when people think they know what they're talking about when it comes to pizza.

It's not really elitism on my part, it's usually cynicism...like "Hey, I'm on the surface of planet Earth. If you want to talk to me, better come down here."

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I wouldn't call myself "That Guy" although I have caught myself nitpicking, usually only in retrosepct though not when actually viewing/playing the thing.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

I have been trying my hand at being critical of things, and I think I like it, but I'm pretty shit at spotting some things, like camera angles, plot holes, special effects quality in some instances. But yeah, a lot of times friends will ask me what I thought of something expecting a "yeah, it was good" or something like that, and then I follow up by saying what I didn't like and it's like they didn't actually want that much of my opinion. I should work on that.

 

[Something Amyss]

I'm more likely to nitpick the things I love and I don't stop loving them for the nitpicks. Hell, I can nitpick something and praise it enthusiastically at the same time.

 

[Chris Tian]

I was that guy about the Mass Effect 3 ending.

Rationaly the last ten minutes of 3 games, 30hours per game trilogy should not be able to ruin it, but it did. The ending failed to tie the series together for me and betrayed everything I liked about the games to its core, I wanted to kick someones face in. Then I got up and went out to train and actually kicked someones face in. I thought "well now you are probably over it, how about playing your femshep now?", but I couldn't. Totaly ruined one of my favorite videogame series for me by being "that guy".

 

[otakon17]

I keep getting called out as "That Guy" whenever stuff like anime comes up in a Skype group I frequent. Especially when it comes to gaming.