Things That Irritate You in Life

Zoofan15 said:
Canned laughter in shows

It's largely died a death but some shows still have it. A joke is either funny or it's not, I don't need to be told when to laugh.

The worst I've seen was a show where they replayed the same clip of laughter each time. It sounded VERY forced and there was an especially obnoxious person laughing at the end, which identified it as the same clip each time. It literally ruined the show.
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That last example sounds ghastly!

That said, there's an important distinction to be made between canned laughter (almost never used by anything other than clip shows, and utterly horrible as you note!), an audience laughter track from being shown the edited programme (better, but often a little awkward and can leave lines laughed over), and a real live audience laugh track, such as most sitcoms with laugh tracks use. The live audience heightens the experience of a lot of shows, and a lot of performers prefer the live audience to react to and find it brings out a better, funnier performance - not just standups, but also actors. Red Dwarf is a classic example where both cast and fans found something rather missing when the live audience went away (in series VII and Back to Earth).
 
People who travel 60km/hr in a 80km/hr zone. Then when you pass into a 60km/hr zone, they slow down to 40km/hr. It's like, you were just doing 60km/hr!!!???

People who tail gate when you reach a temporary speed limit zone. I always obey speed limits, even temporary ones as cops will not accept the impatience of the traffic behind as an excuse. Also, the person behind me will not pay for the ticket I could potentially get, so I care very little if they don't like me going the speed limit.

Also the clowns who go 20km/hr or more under the limit and then speed up to do 10km/hr or more over the limit as soon as a passing lane approaches.
 
People who gush over British video games annoy me to hell. Franchises like GTA have run for nigh on two decades so ppl can milk them dry. Brits have done this since Lemmings and WipeOut. If you happen not to enjoy the very few franchises Britain still produces, all the more reason to see the industry as a joke.

The UK never had an arcade board industry like the Yanks or the Japanese. Instead they based a cottage industry round home computers, without consistent standards. Lacking a history of perfectionism and professionalism to draw upon when competition hit in the 16-bit era, professionalism to the Brit industry could only mean milking rare successes dry.
 
SealPup said:
People who gush over British video games annoy me to hell. Franchises like GTA have run for nigh on two decades so ppl can milk them dry. Brits have done this since Lemmings and WipeOut. If you happen not to enjoy the very few franchises Britain still produces, all the more reason to see the industry as a joke.
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While I'm not going to disagree with you, it's not like it's only the British or only the video games industry. Most arts tend to milk any creative output way past the point where there's nothing left for connoisseur to the extent it's a husk of it's former self. This happens whether it's film franchises, tv shows that go way, way past their best (to be fair, the BBC seem experts at this, not so sure about other nations), music and literature. It's the almost inevitable result of human nature (both buyers and sellers playing safe) when art and commerce collide.
 
Shorts said:
While I'm not going to disagree with you, it's not like it's only the British or only the video games industry. Most arts tend to milk any creative output way past the point where there's nothing left for connoisseur to the extent it's a husk of it's former self. This happens whether it's film franchises, tv shows that go way, way past their best (to be fair, the BBC seem experts at this, not so sure about other nations), music and literature. It's the almost inevitable result of human nature (both buyers and sellers playing safe) when art and commerce collide.
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I think you are right, and gaming generally became stagnant in the US and even Japan. America has its yearly update syndrome. But Britain has a long standing history of stagnation in that sense, especially contrasted to Japan where certain franchises are rehashed, but niche games are still retail, and new franchises are launched.

An excuse the Brit industry makes is to contrast the old home computer period, to the corporate era brought by consoles. I have to disagree, because even if corporate culture has some role in stifling Japan's games industry lately, the great niche developers of today were nurtured by titans such as Taito. I cannot speak how much respect I have for Taito, for the old Sega killed by the USA, for SNK of NeoGeo fame.

If I sound harsh, its not just the case the UK industry couldn't really adapt to a globalised, corporate gaming market, the people in the industry didn't want to make that transition. All the same you see Guardian pieces and Charlie Brooker documentaries, waxing lyrical about British cash cows like GTA and Tomb Raider. Certain franchises might earn, but there isn't much output otherwise.
 
I get annoyed when people argue that games are art, because its bad for the arts and its bad for games. And I don't just mean I agree with someone like Roger Ebert, even though he was right. What Ebert meant was high art, but let's look at a more common definition of art. It is usually interpreted as the conscious creation of something just because it is beautiful or meaningful. Does this describe a groundbreaking title such as Space Invaders? Or the best selling Tetris?

At best, all the games-are-art crowd have is to point at the similarity of adventure games to other narrative arts. Defining games as art like that negates the value of hundreds of beloved gaming classics, which did not dwell on narratives at all. Even something like a Vanillaware game, which is purposefully aesthetic, has to put practical design concerns before looks or supposed meaning. Game making is more a craft or even a science than it is an art, and the interactive elements more resemble puzzles, sports or board games. Is chess an art now, because some chess pieces show high workmanship?
 
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Good games only get released in JP, and import is expensive unless you get a chipped console (=no warranty, less than 100% compatibility). Not that I mind not playing online because it doesn't interest me. Online was just another cancer that hurt gaming.

At least what are now niche games do get made over there, but the same genres died out here and were moribund enough in the 32 bit era. Or, they get made as visually crappy download titles no one takes seriously. Japan gets things like Crimzon Clover and the Shikigami titles, we get new retro in 2017...
 
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Zoofan15 said:
That person in front of you at Subway (usually a kid or very indecisive adult) who takes 5 minutes to decide on each option they're given.

I once walked in behind a guy with three kids under 10 and walked straight back out, went to another store for 30 minutes and came back in time to see the receipt being handed over. Leaving and coming back was easily in the top 10,000 best decisions I've made in my life.

If you're approaching a Subway and some guy also heading towards the door breaks into a run to beat you to it, it could well be me. You never know how long the customer in front will take so it's better to be safe than sorry sometimes!!!
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I don't like the Subway employees that go through unnecessary steps when you order. Asking what kind of bread you want, then the size, then the sandwich. Just say something like "Can I take your order?" And then fill in the blanks as needed.

My pet peeves:
1. People who deal in extremes, including jumping to ridiculous conclusions
2. Nosy people
3. People who need to drink excessively to have a good time
 
elefante said:
I don't like the Subway employees that go through unnecessary steps when you order. Asking what kind of bread you want, then the size, then the sandwich. Just say something like "Can I take your order?" And then fill in the blanks as needed.

My pet peeves:
1. People who deal in extremes, including jumping to ridiculous conclusions
2. Nosy people
3. People who need to drink excessively to have a good time
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That is weird I guess, it's almost like employees are making work for themselves as they have to ask multiple questions (instead of one). It makes less work for the lazy customer which is undoubtably the reason somebody behind a desk instigated it.

It;s the same when you turn on the radio and the presenters are yakking about something you don't care about. It's like, why don't they just play music? It'd make their life easier as they wouldn't have to think of things to yak about. They're just trying to justify their jobs I'm guessing as honestly, the best time to listen to the radio is a public holiday: no ads, no talking, just straight up music.
 
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