'Medieval pigs [don't] look like pigs': 18 Niche gaming incongruencies only a real expert would notice

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Feb 6, 2025 11:30 AM EST

When you start playing video games a lot, it's easy to get a bit obsessed with game design. While we all love the developers (devs) putting together our favorite games, as experts in other fields, sometimes we catch little incongruencies in the world that are inconsistent with reality. 

Take for example every medieval-themed game. Your first thought is probably of jousting matches, court jesters, knights, sword fights, and perhaps an overly greedy king. If you were a historian and wanted to be totally immersed in a universe like this, you'd want everything to be just right—and as it was according to history. Well apparently medieval pigs looked nothing like our modern pigs; they were tall, lean, bristly, and more akin to a wild boar. Yet in every video game that I can recall that's set in medieval times, the NPC pigs look exactly like Babe all grown up. 

Lest we miss any other inconsistencies in our gaming universes, keep scrolling to have your mind expanded into other niche fields, as pros point out the infuriatingly incorrect gaming details that devs just can't get right. 

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  • 01
    "What's your weird niche interest that games keep getting wrong?"
    via DeanDrobot

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02
    I know someone who talks a lot about how games keep getting horses and riding wrong, and I wonder if there's other stuff like that, like this article about how medieval pigs never look like pigs
    via BjornieCM

    (see article link below)

  • 03
    would have actually looked during that time. I find that super fascinating. What weird detail pertaining to your hobby or special interest or job do games keep getting wrong?
    via BjornieCM
  • 04

    Video Game Medieval Pig

    Screenshot of "A Plague Tale Innocence"
    via Peter Alexander Kerkoff
  • 05

    Realistic Medieval Pig

    Anselmus Boëtius de Boodt ca. 1600
    via Peter Alexander Kerkhof

    Via Leiden Medievalist Blog

  • 06
    RunninOnMT Roman statues weren't white, they were painted, the paint has just worn off in modern times. (I actually feel like one of the AC games did this correctly but I could be wrong)
    via RunninOnMT
  • 07
    AlexV348 I don't think every game gets this wrong but I've been playing the witcher 3 and that game gets it wrong. Dirt roads that have two tracks of dirt with grass or vegetation in the middle, as seen here, only arose
    via AlexV348

    (see below)

  • 08
    Cheezburger Image 10463895296
    via AlexV348
  • 09
    after the invention of the automobile. If the only wheeled vehicles in your world are carts pulled by animals or humans, then the middle of the road would get just as worn as the sides of the road.
    via AlexV348
  • 10
    Krail The moon! My stupid pet peeve is how every game treats the moon like it's always perfectly opposite the sun, rising at sunset and setting at sunrise no matter what phase it's in. They basically use it as part of the Ul, so you can track the time by looking where it is like you do with the sun.
    via Krail
  • 11
    I'm not asking for totally realistic lunar cycles, but the actual moon is visible during the day almost as often as it's visible at night (and counting new moons, where it's not visible, it's up during the day exactly as much as at night). Games with day-night cycles never depict this.
    via Krail
  • 12
    VrinTheTerrible How long i can crab walk silently before my legs give out. I'm looking at you, Joel from TLOU.
    via VrinTheTerrible
  • 13
    Salty_Invite_757 Roller coasters. I'm not talking RCT or Planet Coaster, which have done them well. I mean genres beyond park builders trying to model roller coasters accurately: Cyberpunk 2077 - Has an idiotically constructed eyesore that doesn't follow coaster physics.
    via Salty_Invite_757
  • 14
    Fallout 4: Nuka World - All of the coasters are idiotically constructed eyesores that don't follow coaster physics. Fallout 76 - Has a decently modeled wooden coaster, but it likely wouldn't have made a complete circuit.
    via Salty_Invite_757
  • 15
    GTA V - Has a relatively good looking (if you squint) Santa Monica Pier coaster, but then you ride it and none of the turns are properly banked, and it doesn't follow coaster physics. Far Cry: New Dawn - Another dumb eyesore that doesn't follow coaster physics.
    via Salty_Invite_757
  • 16
    Cloud_NO... Swords are not heavy and slow. Even the biggest greatswords were only 5-10 pounds. They're designed to be agile, otherwise you'd be telegraphing every attack, allowing them time to counter, and you'd tire out too quickly.
    via Cloud_NO
  • 17
    Gravuerc Model railroad games are either overly simplistic or overly complicated. I don't want a train simulator I want to build HO scale model rail roads that scale easily and have mod support so that I can use the actual trains that I like.
    via Gravuerc
  • 18
    Darth_Eejit Ammo management. Helldivers 2 gets it right. Dumping a half full mag wastes ammo, and the amount of ammo carried is based on the weapons mag capacity, rather than the magical ammo bucket.
    via Darth_Eejit
  • 19
    FluffySheepCritic Weather. I understand the limitations with realistic weather in games and that it's often better in terms of optimization to create the illusion of it. However, I always thought it would be cool to see realistic and complex weather systems play out in real time in games.
    via FluffySheepCritic
  • 20
    IntoTheFjell Not exactly a niche interest, but I can't stand video game forts built in the worst possible places. Or simply a wall, like in Skyrim. Not even in a magical world does the wall of Whiterun make any sense.
    via IntoTheFjell
  • 21
    Tlali22 After cosplaying some video game characters, it's clear that many designers have no idea how female clothing works. Ex: Tifa wears suspenders. Suspenders keep pants up, but skirts tend to ride up naturally. If anything, she needs something to keep her skirt down!
    via Tlali22
  • 22
    dondashall Medieval food culture was FAR more developed than most people think. Not just the rich either. I'm not saying they ate laving meals or anything, but there were far more complexity than most show.
    via dondashall
  • 23
    thatguy274 Canoeing and other paddlesports. Not one game character i have taken control of has proper paddling technique or form. Also, controlling any watercraft in fast flowing rivers or whitewater is extremely difficult and takes months to learn how to do it safely. Source; I was a whiter raft and canoe guide for several years.
    via thatguy274
  • 24
    Totolamalice Not niche, but I'm in chemistry. It's VERY obvious that most assets creators have no idea what they are doing when it comes to representing molecules and the likes (I wouldn't expect them to, that's not really their job)
    via Totolamalice
  • 25
    KnightlyBard Holstering medieval weapons on your back. I played Baldur's Gate III last year and while I absolutely adore that game, it really bothered me to see someone use a spear or a staff in combat then when the fight is over they magnetize their giant weapon on their back. Just use the staff as a walking stick like how Gandalf does it!
    via KnightlyBard

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