r/gaming

Mini rant inspired by a certain new Dino shooting game. Games on pc without a “quit to desktop” option are the worst. If it’s less of a hassle for me to tab out of the game and close the window than quit normally you’ve screwed up your menu design.

Yes, I know I could use keyboard hot keys to quit out of games faster, but I’m boomer-adjacent and kind of slow so memorizing simple keyboard commands requires brain space I just don’t have these days. That being said I think that it being easier to use my long way ‘round just proves my point even more.

In this particular game, you have to quit from the main menu to the title screen, which causes a loading screen, then on the middle of the screen it has a flashing “left click” icon. Don’t let your monkey brain do what the screen says! If you do it takes you to another loading screen and back to the main menu and you’ll have to start over. Instead press “Esc”, which finally gives you the quit to desktop option.

Another example would be games with multiple “are you sure” prompts. As I said, I know I’m not the sharpest tack, and I understand games only using auto saves especially wanting to warn people of lost progress before they quit. That being said, maybe just assume that if I click yes the first time, I mean yes the rest of the damn times too.

Aaaanyway, these types of things are only mildly hyperbolically worse than the plague, and every time I try to quit only to be thwarted and brought back to another loading screen a small part of my soul dies.