Do you think spoilers ruin a game?

I just had GTA spoiled for me after reading a comment on a Youtube video completely unrelated to video games -.- and I am a little bummed about it but I am one of those people that think its about the journey and not the destination.

so I was wondering what are peoples opinion on having a game spoiled for them? does it completely ruin the experience or is it just a slight annoyance?

They can absolutely effect a games enjoyment, so yes, they can ruin a game. Well, maybe ruin isn't the best word for it. It can negatively impact your enjoyment and experience with the game.

It can detract, but almost never ruin. But that is mostly because I usually stick to less narrative heavy games. I think games like Asura's Wrath and the Walking Dead can totally be almost completely ruined by spoilers.

It can, yes. There's the journey, but there's also the surprise that comes from certain moments. If one of those moments is spoiled, then you have been forever 'robbed' of its impact.

Man that sucks, spoilers really can ruin a game especially narrative heavy games.

I really hate spoilers in almost any medium. I wouldn't go so far as to say it ruins the game but it's a big bummer when I know something is going to happen and I'm so preoccupied with that outcome that I can't enjoy the game for what it is.

Neither (completely ruined and slight annoyance). Somewhere in between.

I am really, really pissed if something gets spoiled for me. The game will still be fun to play, but not being surprised actually is making it more about the destination and not the journey, if I may take your wording. When you already know what will happen, and no matter what you do, it won't matter, then the journey isn't as fun to go through. It is difficult for me to articulate, but knowing exactly where it will go is just me playing, waiting, to get there. Otherwise, I'll be surprised left and right where it goes. It's just more fun.

Did you ever went home with a random girl or guy after going out? Sure, if you knew it was coming it would still be fun, but it's so much better when you didn't know until it happened.

For some games, I don't want any spoilers. I didn't want to see what the new Normandy looked like in the Mass Effect games. Not a story spoiler, but still a spoiler for me. I want to experience it all myself, not through someone else. It does make it different and while it doesn't ruin the game, it does make it less fun.

Especially because I'm pissed off about being spoiled. If I suspect something to happen and it does, I'm not surprised, but that's still better than knowing 100% sure what will happen.

That said, I remember this guy on the Borderlands 2 forums who complaint about a post because it consisted the name of a location. Not tied to the story, not tied to the game in any meaningful way. Just a location name. A moderator removed the post because of 'spoilers'. That goes too far. I think my Mass Effect Normandy issue already goes pretty far. I don't like people who consider every little thing a spoiler. But I also very much dislike people's attitude when they don't think something is a spoiler just because they didn't give away the story's end. 'I didn't spoil the end exactly, so the experience isn't spoiled for you'. Gah. They don't get it.

It can detract, but almost never ruin. But that is mostly because I usually stick to less narrative heavy games. I think games like Asura's Wrath and the Walking Dead can totally be almost completely ruined by spoilers.

Not at all. The journey is the most important aspect and even knowing the destination before hand is meaningless to me compared to seeing it and playing it for myself.

I would greatly prefer to see the game unfold for myself, but for some games it doesn't really matter, while for others its absolutely everything.

Hell yes, they can, although my definition of a spoiler is considerably broader than most people's.

I wouldn't have wanted Bioshock Infinite to be spoiled. I have a hard time thinking it'd ruin GTA V for me.

Me neither, and it was. I still enjoyed the hell out of it, but I'll never be able to know what it was like for the other millions who got to experience that crazy twist first hand.

The biggest problem for games (and anything else really) being spoiled for me isn't that I'll know about a thing that happens, but that I'll be looking for it throughout the story, which causes me to be able to focus less on everything else that is happening before the thing I know about happens. I can't let the thing unfold as the creator(s) intended, which doesn't ruin it, but it does end up affecting the entire experience, not just the one element that got spoiled.

In conclusion, spoilers are all horrible and 100% unnecessary in general conversation. (ahem... Brad)

I don't think they do yeah, keeping yourself unspoiled is nice but even if you get spoiled sometimes that gives you new perspective on the story. Hell, I watched hours of GTA V livestreams and have seen major plot spoilers already and I'm still insanely psyched about it. I think people get way to uppity about spoilers and honestly good storytelling will hold up even if you already know the twists.

I went into Bioshock knowing about the twist, and I still loved the game. But I really wish I hadn't been spoiled on that.

And I think I enjoyed The Last of Us a lot more because I didn't know how it resolved.

*Last of Us spoilers* Not knowing if Joel was dead or not at the end of the Fall section was heart-wrenching.

So yeah, I think spoilers can significantly detract from the enjoyment of an initial playthrough of the game. But if the game is strong enough on it's own merits it doesn't matter in the long run.

I don't think they ruin it, but they certainly can detract from the overall experience.

I'm all about narrative so yes, absolutely. Even if someone says a film has a 'twist' I want to swing them round by the ovaries.

It can negatively impact your experience with the game, but "ruin"?

A lot of what makes stories interesting is seeing the characters and their more subtle interactions with each other. Barring that, though, you still have the interactive parts of a video game to experience. Hopefully you're actually interested in playing these games!

There have been studies done that show people get more enjoyment out of media when it has been spoiled for them. Also, unless you're reading an indepth synopsis, there's no way a few sentences will be able to encapsulate everything leading up to said spoiled moment.

Remember, the impact of the journey far outweighs that of the conclusion. If stories were all about the conclusion, then what would be the point of writing them?

They will absolutely affect my enjoyment of a game. The story is one of the most important parts of games for me, and that includes both the journey and the destination.

People always cite this one study when it comes to this discussion as if it's 100% accurate and applies to every single person. No one gets to decide whether a spoiler is important or not to another individual.

It's hard to narrow this down. Too many different situations/spoilers to account for. It's definitely possible but it's very rare, I don't think I would've enjoyed Spec Ops at all if I was spoiled on it before the game. Then again, if a game can be "ruined" by one twist, then the overall package can't be worth too much.

Spoilers aren't all 100% evil though. There have been many spoilers that have gotten me interested in things I either had no interest in or written off. I had no interest in Kingdom Hearts III, then I read spoilers on the other games and now I'm back on board.

In the end, if you're worried about any kind of spoiler, your best bet is to try to block everything (EVERYTHING) out until you play that game.

It all depends on the game and whats being spoiled. If its something trivial, lets say something like: " GTA V will have guns in them" I don't care at all. But if its a specific story aspect from a story heavy game like and RPG, i usually get pissed.
I am way behind when it comes to the FF series for example and got almost all of FF VII spoiled when i watched a Gametrailers video about the game. Of course that's my own fault for not playing a really old game, but still. A spoiler warning would be nice GT.

It really depends on the game. I played through the entirety of Red Dead Redemption knowing that John Marston dies in the end. I still loved every moment of that game. I feel like GTAV is likely similar as the most important aspects of that game (at least to me) is exploring the world and the characters within that world rather than a story twist. I'd still probably be a little pissed to have the story spoiled for me though, but don't let it ruin what might otherwise be a great experience.

Spoilers don't bother me at all. If it's something I am not super invested in, I'll often seek out spoilers to help me decide whether to play, watch, read, etc

yes....

In some cases absolutely yes, for the most part no. Don't ruin Persona 4, Eternal Darkness, Silent Hill 2 and Bioshock Infinite.

I enjoyed watching Patrick play Amnesia A Machine for Pigs that I wanted to see where the story goes. Kinda wish I didn't so I'm think of playing it next year as my Halloween game.

I avoid them, and get miffed when I stumble across one, but it doesn't matter in the long run. I had Bioshock Infinite spoiled for me, but all that meant was that the journey was about finding out "why" and "how" instead of "what", which is just as satisfying.

It's freeing to not give a real damn about spoilers. I'd rather not be spoiled on GTAV, but this is the internet, and I'm not going to be getting it for a bit, so I probably will be. And that's fine.

No.

They do take something away from the experience, but if spoilers really ruin something then that something wasn't worth my time.

Well, if I'm already not enjoying playing a game (Red Dead Redemption, for example) and already know what happens near the end, then no it don't matter, son.

If I do get spoiled over something I intend to visit or invest time into, then so be it. If the game, book, film, or whatever isn't doing enough to keep my attention throughout the journey, it probably wasn't worth getting into anyway.

If Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones have the shittiest endings, which for some reason I'm expecting so my hopes aren't dashed so easily, I'm not gonna lie and say it wasn't worth getting up to the ending with all the crazy theories and parallels from beginning to end.

One game I can mention that loses impact at points if ruined is Knights of the old Republic.

A game utterly ruined by a spoiler is Heavy rain. If someone tells you details about characters or end story stuff you are ruined. All those choices you were going to make all those outcomes that to YOUR decisions will be stained with knowledge you should not have.

GTA is a game that would have impacts lessened and like it has done in past given choices then your choices at those points will be altered.

Yes, they do for me so I try to avoid them the best I can. If I do happen to hear a spoiler, I'm usually not play that game at the time, so I hopefully forget by the time I get around to it.

duh

No, spoilers just give you more knowledge. Knowledge that changes your experience of the story/game and how you approach or interpret that story/game. Whether or not your experience changes for better or worse is up to you.

Was a real fun experience when I had a friend over while playing it who was getting pissy over me wanting to find a good place to stop playing, so he decided to google and blurt out to me who the Origami Killer was. To this day he stands by the defense of "Who cares, it was a boring game anyway".

Silver lining: I still had a great time with the game.

Yes. Yes! YES!

Yes! I accidentally read the last part of Patricks Brothers interview and lost all interest in that game.

I know a girl who will only watch a movie after she knows everything that happens in the story, particularly what happens at the end. People are different when it comes to this kinda thing, but I do hate spoilers when it's something I'm very much looking forward to playing/watching. If it's only something I might play/watch then I don't mind as much.

They can certainly take the wind from the sails a bit if you're really interested in the story, and sometimes it's the story that keeps me going in games I'm lukewarm to. But if the gameplay is phenomenal, that can alleviate some of the disappointment of knowing what's coming next.

GTA's sense of humor is naming things "iFruit" and "tw@", Breaking Bad is beyond that. Meth head trying to shop for supplies is funny then it turns bad ass in less then a minute.

depends on the spoiler and game in question. In a more "story" driven game, like an RPG...it certainly can ruin it. Especially if the gameplay and such aren't that great but the story is what it's about and is awesome..having that spoiled for you can really bring down the entire thing...

but in a game like say Borderlands 2...where story is part of it but not the main focus and not the "best" part of it...it can take away..but not ruin. I accidently spoiled that "someone" dies during BL2..I didn't know when or how..but I knew they would die. I didn't have any less fun playing the game I just knew that was coming..

Depends on the game, but yes, very easily.

Persona 4's murderer was a bummer spoiler but it didn't ruin the experience. Most recently Patrick's not-so-subtle hints deflated 999 for me, I'd been sitting on it for a while after getting the same ending twice and just gave up.

P4 was more than story, 999 was all story and some baccarat. Depends.

It certainly deflates the experience as you'll just spend the rest of the game watching and waiting for the thing to happen and then when it does you don't care anyway.

I hate when people think they're being clever with spoilers and will say something so other people who have played it know what they mean but somebody who hasn't won't know what they're going on about. They nearly always spoil it and it's terrible

It depends on the game as some games can still be enjoyed while being spoiled. But i do believe it can ruin a game or at least effect your enjoyment to some degree.

Not necessarily. Think about any time you've re-played a game or re-watched a movie. It can be fun to look for hints and foreshadowing that you would have missed without knowing the twists. The same can be true if you've never played/seen it before but had the twists spoiled.