In the age of social media, spoiler culture has never been more alive and well. If you’re an avid social media user you practically need to instantly consume the latest games, TV shows and movies before the likes of Facebook and Twitter are awash with ending discussions, plot twists, and GIFs. Avoiding these has become a monumental task; a near impossible one for me when writing for Game Debate and scanning for all the happenings in the gaming world.
Which leaves us all in a bit of a quandary. Either we accept we’re going to see spoilers from time to time, or we try and do something about it.
The most brutal method would be to avoid going online whatsoever. In the case of a movie, this seems doable if you’re going to watch the premiere. But The Witcher 3? Good luck staying offline for the two months it’ll take you to finish it.
The second option is to just remove yourself from gaming discussions - avoid visiting news sites, discussion forums and the like. This usually does the trick for me. Unless you plan to play a new game immediately though, eventually you’ll slip up. I’m still yet to play Mass Effect 3 but there’s no conceivable way I could’ve avoided hearing about the ending. People insist on just dropping it into conversations like it means nothing. It’s the Kaiser Söze of the gaming world. They know about it so they assume everyone else does.
Personally, I’ve come to terms with spoiler culture. In truth, I’m more precious about gameplay and environmental spoilers than I am about plot twists. Fortunately, it’s the latter which are often slathered about the place nonsensically, but gaming plots are seldom intriguing enough for me to care one iota about a plot twist. I can’t remember the last time I played a game and I was actually on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. But a late level set in a far flung country, or a superpowered weapon earned as unlock? That’s where the spoilers hit me hardest.
So please, without revealing any spoilers of your own in the comments section below, let us know how you deal with avoiding game spoilers, or indeed if they even bother you at all. Have any games been ruined for as a result? Do reviews sometimes let too much slip? Let us know your thoughts!
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PC Specs
It's pretty simple really. The real power lies in the hands of the writers. It's all about how they pen their headlines. For example:
" Varys confirmed to die in the final episode of Game of season 7!" - Even the first two words would totally spoil it for me. Now:
"Leaks reveal fan-favorite to die in the final episode of Game of Thrones season 7" - I''m not spoiled at all :) The very first word is a warning sign for me and I steer clear of reading that piece. I'd like to think everyone is strong enough to turn the other way if given the choice. No one would intentionally type in "Got Spoilers" and hit the search button or at least, not ones that I know off.
Same applies to movies. Headlines are the real deal :)
PC Specs
I don't really avoid them, it is the general experience and the small details i usually enjoy more. Though i usually just play other games until it releases. I have no reaction to being spoiled, as there is usually more twists than just one to be interested in.
Unless of course some promoting material i open just goes "HEY LOOK, This important bloke returns in this game!" And it's like... why? Your game doesn't have any other plot twists beyond that, literally. O-o
PC Specs
I cut my eyes out and create an explosion so that my ears blow out, then I electrocute my nerves so I am unfeeling. I still get spoilers, but for real, if I am on the net...somethings getting spoiled. They released spoilers for Game of thrones season 7 episode 6 on YouTube and it was under my recommendations. Clear your YouTube history has to be added to the list now.
PC Specs
Thx 4 the lolz. But you're right about the yt history. If you don't want to clear it every single time, use the Opera browser and turn on the VPN (it's only a proxy but it does the trick).
PC Specs
I avoid anything to do with the game after it comes out.
PC Specs
i dont
PC Specs
I only watch 1 single trailer from a game and that is it. Don't watch anything beyond that, if you truly want to enjoy the game.
PC Specs
I don't do them "letsplays", don't do reviews, I don't read up on the game, I don't watch anything past the trailer and I don't hang out on places where spoilers may happen (like my gf sometimes follows game tags on tumblr and gets posts about the game, essentially spoiling it).
Essentially I figure out whether I'll like the game from the genre, official trailers (no gameplay, unless the game isn't spoilable, like Monster Hunter World) and the Steam reviews score. I'll maybe look at some technicals sometimes if the game looks like it may have dumb PC controls (ports...), but that's about it.
I end up pretty clueless about the game and that's the way I like it! :)
PC Specs
Dito.
PC Specs
I'm so clueless that I still don't know how GTA IV ends and I only yesterday finally finished Wolfenstein TNO and found out what happened xD
I can go on for YEARS and not spoil a game... xD
PC Specs
Kudos to your self control. Not a lot of people could do that.
PC Specs
three simple steps:
PC Specs
By not giving a damn.
PC Specs
Well, I simply don't read related articles or watch related videos.
It's not rocket science..
PC Specs
I don't really care for spoilers in games.
PC Specs
avoid spoilers for a game? what does that sentence even mean???? i have never avoided spoilers for a game before xD well expect fallout 4 xD
PC Specs
How do i avoid spoilers? Thats easy!
I just go to the mountains for 4 years and then come back.
When i come back its like a whole different world.
PC Specs
In the case of ME3 I just avoided reading any comments, since I know how Red Dead Redemption got spoiled for me.
With Witcher 3, I went full blackout.
PC Specs
I managed to avoid all GTA 5 spoilers until it released on pc. So spoilers cannot spoil things for me Because I avoid them very well.
PC Specs
I dont avoid spoilers. They come to me!
PC Specs
If it's a game I really wanna buy, I'll just glance at the trailers and ignore any and all posts by social media on that game.
Sometimes it's unavoidable but most of the times I manage to dodge 'em.
And if it's a game I am skeptical about I wait for reviews but still only glance at the "conclusion" part of the post or video.
If they score it 7 or above I just buy the game and play through it and then relax and look at the posts.
PC Specs
I really don't mind movie or game spoilers, and I never actually did. I prefer to know what I'll watch or what I'll play before I ever get to it myself. I much prefer to see how it got to there than what happened, because it's the journey that I enjoy most of all.
That said, I don't go around spoiling stories for other people.