THEPROBLEMWITHPERFECTIONISM ANARGUMENTAGAINSTMIN-MAXING

WRITES LUKE CONDON | GAMING EDITOR

Perfectionism can be a blessing, but it’s just as likely to be a curse Whether it’s college work, regular work, or trying to get your hair just right in the morning, we’ve all been guilty of pushing things a bit too far in the name of being flawless, often to no avail Gamers aren’t exempt from this trait; on the contrary, perfectionism is what drives many players to spend countless hours chasing down every single collectible item available, or tailoring each minute detail of their multiplayer loadout to attain the best possible chance at victory Speedrunners, players who aim to complete a game in as little time as possible, have built a whole community around a playstyle that strives to eliminate any errors and achieve an unbeatable record Games commonly include a progress bar to measure story and side content progress, and the allure of seeing that bar hit 100% is enough to keep many players occupied for unholy amounts of time. Indeed, mechanics like these are amongst the core foundations of modern game design, and without them many great video games would cease to function

There’s the blessing side of the coin; now for the curse part Most games allow you to play your own way, to at least some extent; shooters allow you to choose your weaponry, for example, and sports games allow you to choose what players you’d like to field Role-playing games, in particular, give players unrestrained freedom in creating a character and painstakingly tweaking their every attribute, ability, and trait Doesn’t really sound like a curse yet, does it? Well, it’s when you bring perfectionism into this mix that things start to go wrong Inevitably, people start to look for the ‘best’ way to play a given game, and so players will run tests and delve into games’ code to find the weapons with the highest damage, the most effective character builds, the optimised methods of gathering in-game experience points, and so on This is the basis of my gripe with ‘min-maxing’ , ‘ save- scumming’ , and ‘XP grinding’ (don’t worry, I’ll be explaining these terms); by focusing on getting absolutely everything right, gamers often lose sight of having fun and instead turn what could be an enjoyable experience into a slog.

The time-honoured tradition of Min-Maxing has its roots in tabletop role- playing board games, like Dungeons and Dragons Players would ‘minimise’ negative aspects of their characters and ‘maximise’ positive ones in order to be as efficient as possible – hence the name ‘min-maxing’ This entails carefully allocating points awarded upon levelling up to specialise in certain powerful abilities, whilst neglecting less useful skills As soon as video games became sufficiently complex to allow in-depth character building, the practice was carried over Unsurprisingly, Min- Maxing is most common in role-playing video games, which share similar mechanics to their tabletop predecessors Outside of this setting, it’s less frequently referred to as Min-Maxing, but it still exists in various forms across all games that feature customisation mechanics Today, Min-Maxing is easier than ever; online guides and YouTube tutorials are plentiful for almost every game with a player count above zero

There’s nothing inherently wrong with Min-Maxing, as long as you enjoy it It’s often the best way to ensure your character is as powerful as possible, and in a multiplayer setting this is absolutely necessary to give yourself a fighting chance; Pokémon players who want to prove they’re the very best have been subjecting their poor creatures to a special type of Min-Maxing called ‘EV Training’ ever since the release of the first games in 1996. However, the fact that this level of effort is necessary to even compete online highlights one of the primary issues with MinMaxing: in competitive play, you don’t have any other option If you’re going up against real people, you can bet that they’re going to give themselves every advantage they can get, and so you’ll have to follow suit unless you want to suffer through an endless cycle of demoralising defeats This leads to the formation of a status quo often known as the ‘meta’ in online play, and what ensues is a stale scene where only certain characters, weapons, and strategies see the light of day

In single player games, Min-Maxing isn’t forced on players, but even having the option to do so can have detrimental effects With many games offering an overwhelming amount of gameplay options, the fear of playing ‘wrong’ can prompt players to go straight for a guide, rather than curate their own unique playstyle Simply copying methods from an online source is the path of least resistance, and will produce an overpowered character quickly, but in doing this players miss out on the fun of experimenting with different builds, or the triumphant feeling of prevailing over enemies unassisted; the destination takes priority over the journey, and the overall experience suffers for it.

‘XP Grinding’ is closely tied to this behaviour In order to acquire the in-game currency, or ‘experience points’ necessary to unlock abilities, players usually need to defeat enemies or complete activities XP Grinding is the streamlined version of this process that involves discovering a certain location or enemy encounter that can be repeated indefinitely until the desired amount of currency has been acquired It’s dull and repetitive, but an inevitable extension of the Min-Maxing process; players will seek the fastest way to achieve their perfect character, and from there they can breeze through the rest of the game unchallenged

WRITES KELLIE MURPHY | FASHION EDITOR

I want to preface this with a reminder that single women are the happiest people on the planet According to a behavioural scientist Paul Dolan, unmarried and childless women are the happiest subgroup in the population, while men enjoy more benefits from marriage including a higher wage and increased life expectancy Women have a lower life expectancy then those who remained unmarried and never had children So, in short if you’re a he/him reading this, sorry that you’re missing out, and if you’re a she/her, just be happy if you’re single and lonely on Valentine’s day, at least you can live just a bit longer to feel even more miserable about it Personally, I love being alone on Valentine’s Day I take comfort in the fact that Valentine's day feeds into capitalism, urging people to spend an extraordinary amount of money for no other reason then they might love someone, and everyone else is doing the same One day you’re sending dry texts to someone whose tactical Tinder photos you admired and the next you’re trying to paper mâché a box into existence at two in the morning because apparently if you delve into arts and crafts it means you love them more Stay safe out there I would prefer to stay single and wait for the Valentine’s day sales (where I can safely stock up on chocolate and more gift sets of body wash that even the last-minute shoppers didn’t want) but others might not feel so positive, or indifferent, about Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day has long been lauded as a day that celebrates love and for individuals its meant to be a day to celebrate your relationship with your partner But Valentine’s Day can often create complicated feelings for people, one of the reasons being the celebration of relationships The image of Valentine’s day that is perpetuated in social media and Hollywood can often make those who have low self esteem and mental health issues feel lonely as it highlights how alone they may feel Mind reports that people with low selfesteem on Valentine’s day can often feel distressed as it presents idealised and romanticised relationships which you inevitably measure yourself against, and could make you feel unworthy of these relationships There’s also the fact that Valentine’s day feeds into consumerism, where the primary, and ideal expression of love is gift giving Combined with the reasonable expectation of heartfelt, love filled comments and the near obligatory gifts of chocolate, jewellery and cards can be pretty taxing on your bank account This all takes place in one day where your efforts are revealed to your significant other as the pinnacle of love which in my opinion can be utilised as a way to neglect your partner within your relationship, and then go on to compensate through a lavish celebration So let’s keep the negative aspects in mind while I tell you what to wear for a day when you don’t have anything to do, because this holiday is meant for literally anyone else but you I don’t think anything could make you feel worse then watching your parents get ready to go out and celebrate what I hope is a successful marriage while you sit on the couch wearing a tracksuit I can’t really relate but I can tell you my go to outfits as a perpetually single girl for Valentine’s Day

Without further ado, here’s Kellie’s survival guide to dressing on Valentine’s day.

Morning:

I don’t think there’s any other option then fluffy pyjamas I think the more cheesy, fluffy and ridiculous they are the better Nothing makes you feel more secure in yourself and your loneliness then having to get the post in a pyjama top that has dancing monkeys on it and then get barked at by your neighbours annoying dog Your day of celebration can only be improved with you trying to walk back in your front door before getting caught by that really good looking neighbour a few doors down who you just know would love you if he would only return your frequent and persistent greetings. Since you have no plans you can safely go back to bed and rot until its becomes a disgrace to waste the day anymore The fluffy pyjamas are a particular favourite of mine on Valentine’s day They’re warm and cosy so you’ll feel toasty when you crawl under your duvet and wrap your arms around yourself because no one else will be The warmth created by your icky, sweaty pyjamas whose legs have wrapped around your thighs, creating a horrible pantaloon contraption is particularly appealing because you know no one is seeing you in bed today except for your mom to tell you you’re a disgrace and to get up because your Dad’s just made a fry to celebrate their decades of adoration Thanks Mom and Dad

Now for the big outfit:

The lunch with your friends ensemble I think nothing looks better then a skirt with tights if it’s cold, and without tights if you’re feeling risky because you’re showing the general public, who are actually really invested in your love life, that you still got it Bonus points if the skirt is your go to black skirt that you wear at Christmas By the way, this will not remind you of when both your aunt and Nana asked if you were seeing anyone and then made faces of disappointment when you said no, but on the bright side your aunt got very excited when you told them you would have way less fun at clubs Thanks for the support aunty! If you’re feeling positive, I would go for a red or pink top which will be especially helpful in detracting from your glare at your friend who has a significant other for the first time The unhelpful calorie counting by your friend who’s sitting holding the butter hostage is incredibly offensive to you as your toast is getting cold It is also unwanted especially in between her repeatedly reminding everyone at the table of the plans she and her S O have together which runs parallel with your own date with a Chinese takeaway You feel briefly united with your other trusty friend who subtly pulls faces at you as the butter thief says for the third time how expensive the Gucci belt she bought her boyfriend was You take comfort in the fact that your pink jumper looks much more on trend than theirs

By dinner you are at home with a Chinese takeaway and your sister who is insanely positive about being single on Valentine’s day She quickly reminds you to pull yourself together and just because you don’t have someone to spend one day with doesn’t mean you’re in any way alone or unworthy of love. You then candidly reveal that you think the oversized expensive teddies are stupid anyway You realise that your singlehood is not necessarily a bad thing Your friends being happy and in love isn’t insensitive to you and your needlessly hurt feelings You’re still worthy of love and amazing and why shouldn’t that be the case? So, I don’t recommend your go-to Valentine’s day outfit be the tracksuit pants and dirty hoodie that’s lying in a pile on your chair I think no matter your relationship status if Valentine’s Day is important to you then act like it Wear what makes you feel good even if you’re just laying around the house Wear something that looks beautiful and go celebrate love with your friends, or celebrate yourself by wearing your favourite clothes that make you feel good in your skin and confident Have a happy Valentine’s Day, whatever your plans are!

WRITES SARAH KENNELLY | ARTS & LITERATURE EDITOR

Women’s pain is rarely taken seriously, routinely portrayed as a problem that is threatening, irrational, and sometimes even beautiful It is morphed into something that functions for men, an alluring trait that makes her different from the rest There is no depth or reasoning to this melancholy, it is just an innate part of being a desirable woman From the damsel in distress, to the tortured beauty queen, feminine sadness is neatly enclosed in a single identity Their despair is not a trait of their character, but their entire character And when prince charming swoops in to save her, women are taught to embody her The sad girl becomes something to covet, rather than something to empathise with

The cultivation of the sad girl is not just the latest microtrend on TikTok but a longstanding literary tradition It can be traced back to Aristotle who argued that we cannot live a beautiful life without a little bit of sadness This assertion was closely followed by Shakespeare whose female characters became the archetype for sad women in literature Following this, Edgar Allan Poe went as far as glamorising the bodies of beautiful dead women, claiming that “[t]he death of a beautiful woman, is unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world”. What this shows us is not a concern for the fate of women, but a romanticisation of their pain It is not their struggles that are lamented but the regrettable loss of a beautiful woman This perpetuates the belief that a woman’s worth is determined by her desirability which is made all the more enticing by a dejected personality

And because women are taught to chase the desire of men, the sad girl becomes the model for feminine perfection Although authors play an important role in the cultivation of this tired trope, the cultural response has been equally influential If you are part of the generation who grew up on Tumblr, you will know that the idealisation of depressed women was an unfortunate characteristic of the website Entire blogs were dedicated to publishing images of crying girls featuring poems and quotes alluding to suicidal ideation This prompted the glamorisation of self hatred, spawning thousands of posts encouraging eating disorders, self- harm, and substance abuse This showcases the harm that mass media can cause when it perpetuates harmful tropes that fall into the hands of impressionable audiences Teenage girls came to idolise characters with mental illnesses because their sadness is what made them worthy of attention. This spawned a generation of young women who were encouraged to adopt dangerous coping mechanisms rather than seek adequate help

Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel The Virgin Suicides embodies this idea by detailing the suicide of five sisters who are thin, white, and dazzlingly beautiful Although the book claims to be a critique of the fetishization of sad women, it is anything but The protagonists are perfect caricatures of the unattainable and problematic beauty standards enforced by society It frames their mental illness as something intriguing and mysterious which attracts the attention of several boys in their class Eugenides fails to analyse the roots of their depression and presents it as something innate to their personalities This only furthers the idea that feminine sadness is onedimensional and not worthy of more nuanced analyses. The novel is just one example of many narratives that aestheticize women’s pain, packaging it as a sexy quirk, with a fine pink ribbon tied around it This genre of literature serves no purpose but to catch the sight of the male gaze, disempowering women and arousing men

Another core element of the sad girl is her appearance, it follows a strict set of guidelines that rarely change; conventionally pretty, skinny, white Authors continuously reinforce these unattainable beauty standards by creating heroines that conform to them This prompts women to aspire to a narrow representation of womanhood that leaves many others on the margin Because fat women don’t fit this rigid image of beauty, they are not afforded the same empathy in many narratives Instead, their characters are often dehumanised, making their depression seem trivial The romanticisation of sadness only extends to thin women who are portrayed as worthy of male desire

The sad girl is also inseparable from her whiteness, contributing to racist myths about mental illness in black women Historically, black femininity has been juxtaposed with white femininity which has been portrayed as fragile and innocent This is a prejudiced representation of black women that fails to afford humanity to these characters Whiteness is central to the identity of the sad girl and is weaponised to perpetuate racist ideas against black women Although not every text that glamorises feminine sadness is racist or fatphobic, many work together to create exclusionary beauty standards that become synonymous with the trope

Fortunately, in more contemporary literature, authors are challenging this misogynistic representation of sad women Sally Rooney has been applauded for her creation of multi-dimensional female characters that struggle with their mental health However, her protagonists are always white, rich, and thin, contributing to the idea that conventionally attractive women are most worthy of a reader’s attention

For example, the character of Marianne from her novel Normal People often skips meals and her thin frame is consistently alluded to throughout the text The emphasis on Marianne’s body weight serves no purpose in the narrative and fails to draw attention to the harms of disordered eating As a result, her representation of feminine sadness is not free from the exclusionary ideals that she claims to denounce

On the other hand, Ottessa Moshfegh successfully satirises this phenomenon, acting as a brilliant critique of the sad girl trope It follows the life of a woman who yearns to escape reality through the use of prescription drugs that put her into a comatose state Although the protagonist is white, thin, and wealthy, she is entirely unlikeable, exposing how readers too often afford empathy to women on the basis of their appearance The novel also exposes how capitalism has led to the commodification of every aspect of our lives, even female sadness, especially through the use of social media Although the text is not perfect in its representation of sad women, it successfully highlights the ills of this trope and why he must abandon it

Although the sad girl genre has produced some of my favourite books, women deserve accurate representations of their sadness Women should be written as nuanced characters that have emotions completely separate from the influence of men The fetishization of their struggles has led to the romanticisation of mental illnesses that have very real and ugly consequences If we continue to portray this as a desirable quirk through characters like the manic pixie dream girl we trivialise their experience Furthermore, by design, this trope works to exclude women of colour and plus-sized women from the narrative This has created a sub-genre that spews many problematic messages and is dangerous for the young teens who follow it closely. As #SadGirl continues to trend on BookTok, I hope that we can platform books that challenge the negative legacy of all things sad girl