The Pro Gamer's Sacrifice

Remember when games were actually games and not elaborate schemes to empty your wallet? The Vince McMahon reaction meme perfectly captures the unicorn that is a quality game in 2023. First, it's free? Mild interest. Could run on a potato from 2017? Now we're talking. No microtransactions? Holy crap, that's rare. But great replayability too?! That's like finding a bug-free production release – theoretically possible but I'll believe it when I see it. Meanwhile, modern AAA studios are shipping 200GB games that require a NASA supercomputer and still ask you to pay $4.99 for a slightly different colored hat. The gaming industry really took "monetize everything" a bit too literally.

The eternal duality of game development vs gaming in one perfect sketch! Game devs look at other games with jealousy and imposter syndrome ("that guy's game is way better than mine") while comparing their own work to a simple cake. Meanwhile, gamers view the exact same games with extreme binary judgments - either something is absolute garbage or it's the second coming of digital Jesus. The irony? Both are looking at the exact same products but through completely different psychological lenses. This is why game developers need therapy and gamers need... well, also therapy.

The entire gaming industry rests precariously on a single developer maintaining ImGui—a beloved open-source UI library that powers countless game development tools. It's like discovering the entire multibillion-dollar gaming empire is balanced on one sleep-deprived programmer who's probably surviving on energy drinks and Stack Overflow karma. This is why we can't have nice things in tech—billion-dollar companies building their foundations on free libraries maintained by that one hero who never says no to a pull request. Next time a AAA game crashes, pour one out for Omar!

Microsoft's idea of an upgrade path: swap your modern OS for a game from 1989. When Windows 10 support ends, they're not suggesting Linux or even Windows 11—they're recommending you time travel back to TempleOS. Because nothing says "cutting-edge security" like pixelated platforms and 8-bit sound effects. Honestly, this might be an improvement. At least Temple Run doesn't force updates while you're in the middle of a presentation. And the system requirements are so low, even that potato you call a development machine could handle it.

OH MY GOD, the ABSOLUTE STATE of game development in 2035! 😂 Two game devs practically LOSING THEIR MINDS with hysterical laughter over the most REVOLUTIONARY concept ever - a game that can run on a WHOPPING 24GB of VRAM! Meanwhile, current AAA games are already devouring our graphics cards like they're at an all-you-can-eat VRAM buffet! At this rate, by 2035 we'll need small nuclear reactors just to run the title screen of GTA 7! The optimization apocalypse is upon us, people!

The ultimate workplace camouflage technique - hiding Valorant among Adobe apps. Because nothing says "I'm definitely working on that design project" like having a tactical shooter disguised as just another creative tool. The boss walks by and sees a screen full of Adobe icons, while you're actually planting spikes and getting headshots. The stealth level is truly maxed out when your excuse for yelling "CLUTCH!" is "just excited about this Photoshop filter."