Rules of the road when people are watching you play games?

[SimuLord]

I'll start this off by saying that I HATE people looking over my shoulder whenever I'm doing anything. Don't read over my shoulder, don't armchair quarterback when I'm doing something like building a model train or a Lego kit, and ESPECIALLY don't look over my shoulder when I'm gaming.

One of my favorite things to do when someone's annoying me when I'm trying to game is to encourage them to watch me when I'm playing a first-person game (works best in a game like Oblivion or Fallout 3)...then I wiggle the mouse, rotate it, and generally try to make the bystander seasick. Even the stoutest of bystanders has been rendered a bit woozy when I turn the effect up to 11 (having a really good gaming PC with details maxed and smooth frame rates helps!)

This has me thinking---are there rules of the road people need to follow if they DO want to watch you play a game? Or, if you're demonstrating a game in front of an audience (one of my old roommates back in the day would play games like Metal Gear Solid and Goldeneye and always make sure we had plenty of time to read the written words on the screen or never skipped a voice actor's dialogue, so it was like Movie Night complete with popcorn), what are your rules of the road for making it better for the viewer?

Or are you like me and you'll resort to underhanded tactics to get people to go the hell away?

 

[robert022614]

egh gotta say i dont mind if people watch but i also have a HMD incase i dont want the attention

 

[Gxas]

Sometimes I dislike people watching, other times I encourage it.

I really truly hate when someone is watching me play a game and I call bullshit on something, whether it is legit or not, and the person watching just tells me that it was a fair move and there was nothing cheap about it.

LET ME RAGE IN PEACE!

 

[Dragon_of_red]

yeah, i dont care if they watch me play, as long as its a game that i dont suck at it, there welcome to watch...

Unless its right over the shoulder or touching me, im seriously ticklish, it cant do shit if someones touching me.

 

[likalaruku]

Anyone who sees me playing a game usually gets bored & walks away (mom).

 

[Biosophilogical]

Most of the people who watch me game aren't really into the same stuff as me, so I either ignore them, finish up what I'm doing and move to another room and another game, or play in a pit of embarrassment until I can subtely hint at them to leave without making me or them seem rude. So yeah, as far as rules of the road go, I'm more for not needing the rules than actually incorporating them, though endless grinding is a bit boring to watch, so maybe do a side-mission or story thing when they are watching and grind in your own time (by grind I mean grind, hunt for loot, have sex with prostitutes to get a door to open so you can get a pimp hat, etc, and any combination thereof)

 

[Shockolate]

I stop whatever it is I'm doing whenever someone watches me.

Usually because the only one who actually cares what I'm doing is my mother and she does not approve of me wasting my time gaming, which makes things very awkward.

If it's someone else, then I will also stop. I don't like people watching me. I blame video games for making me paranoid.

There's always someone watching you. *shifty eyes*

 

[SonicKoala]

I don't mind if somebody wants to watch me - as long as they aren't interfering with my ability to play the game, then I don't see the problem in letting them watch.

 

[Spygon]

when im being watched i like to show intresting parts aand do cool looking things yes i am abit of a show off in front of a crowd.

But when i play on tv it is a completly different ball game as its get rather tense when you know 1000+ gamers have just seen you nearly blow yourself up with a terrible grenade throw but when you do something awesome like taking out an entire team on your own you can nearly hear the gamers in their houses going "wow that was awesome".

 

[splatterguy734]

Don't get in the way of my TV and DO NOT advise me on things I should or should'nt have done.

 

[Aurgelmir]

I really do not take my gaming that serious, so I don't mind people watching me. Besides I love showing off cool games

 

[Allstar309]

I always feel as though I'm neglecting them and should give them go, but if they say no to my offer i just continue playing as usual.

 

[Estocavio]

I dont like people watching me at all - Unless im specifically showing them something, or if its a recording of course.

 

[Cody211282]

I don't care if people watch, hell I like watching people game as well.

 

[TheRocketeer]

Quarter on the machine means you have next dance!

 

[Darkstorm091]

As I am a BeatmaniaIIDX and DDR freak, I absolutely love people watching me, the more the merrier, as it gives me more of an excuse to show off harder songs. However DO NOT EVER tell me what the next song I should play is. I will decide that for myself, thank you very much.

 

[Crystalite]

I actually quite enjoy beeing watched, because that way, I can talk about what I did and it makes sense to the person who watched me play.
I think my boyfriend watched my entire first playthrough of Mass Effect 2, and it was great to be able to have conversation about it, because it occupied a lot of me at that time.

However, I hate comments.
Always great, in fps: "Watch out, over there!" and things like that.
Those are mostly answered with a swift kick in the shins, just for the learning curve, and that works well.

 

[Kouen]

this usually only happens when im out and about with my PSP, I just put the PSP in standby till they piss off, especially this one kid once i was playing FF7 Crisis Core and this kid started to watch so I turned it off, now before you hang me, he was almost on top of the psp like right in my peripheral vision full on I think if he got any closer his nose would be touching my PSP.

he soon left and I resumed gaming and then he came back, this time I said. "Please can you leave me to game in peace?" he shrugged and walked off for 5 mins.... then came back, so I told him "look I asked you nicely to please leave me alone" even my partner at this point was getting creeped out by this kid but he didn't move so I ended up having to get up walk down the other end of the train carriage and ask his parents to please ask there son to leave me alone and that I've asked him nice twice to please leave me be.

Thankfully that did the trick and I gamed in peace for the rest of the trip into Oslo for the trip to Copenhagen. I just cant stand strangers watching what im playing or worse what im doing on my mobile phone or PDA and worse when its kids that park there nose right on my PSP >.<

 

[tombman888]

Sometimes I dislike people watching, other times I encourage it.

I really truly hate when someone is watching me play a game and I call bullshit on something, whether it is legit or not, and the person watching just tells me that it was a fair move and there was nothing cheap about it.

LET ME RAGE IN PEACE!

this is basicly what i do... RAGE!!!!