Confusing controls from one game to the next
A condition that can befall seasoned gamers as well as gaming newcomers. In fact, seasoned, experienced players may experience this one more than someone who’s just starting out, and that is, continually pressing the wrong button for the same action on the controller. Years of muscle memory isn’t so easy to wipe clean. Case in point, and using PlayStation as an example, switching from a lifetime of FIFA playing to a few games of Pro Evolution Soccer and continually hitting circle to long-ball a shot over the crossbar instead of smashing the square button to shoot is a common noob frustration. Of course, on sports games this isn’t a big deal. Controls can be remapped. However, the necessity to utilising the left thumb stick to ollie in last year’s side scrolling skateboard platformer OlliOlli World meant undoing years of hitting X on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater – that kind of mental remapping isn’t so easy to rewire.
