What are some common videogame difficulties for people with ADHD? (programming.dev)

submitted 1 week ago by ICastFist@programming.dev to c/adhd@lemmy.world

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A couple of times when I've played Dynasty Warriors with my girlfriend (who has ADHD diagnosis), I noticed that she would be literally running in circles having absolutely no idea where she was. She's not a gamer and controlling the camera can be finnicky for someone who isn't used to dual analogs, so there's that, but she also has trouble reading the minimap.

Yesterday I've had her play Crash Bandicoot 3 and she got "lost" in stage 2, the first underwater level. At the first sphere with electricity thingy, she thought she was supposed to keep going right, she didn't notice the pipe opening leading down.

Is "getting lost" like that common for people with ADHD?

She's also pretty lousy at Bomberman games, but she enjoys playing them.

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[-] janus2@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 week ago

things I struggle with in games likely due to or exacerbated by ADHD:

tutorials that give too much info at once
prioritizing targets when fighting multiple units in RTS/hack&slash/beat-em-up/etc.
remembering where the ever loving fuck my units are in RTS/TBS
figuring out efficient paths/orders of operation to complete multiple quests (I often just ragequit rather than backtrack)
finishing main/major quests in open world games
either reading no text/dialogue and missing out on the lore, or reading it so much that I never finish the game
taking forever in item shops, item customization screens, crafting benches, etc. Or the opposite, getting overwhelmed by them and giving up and just rawdogging fights with shit items instead
rarely finishing games :(

this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2026

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