“Do Not Swim” and 9 Other Hilariously Lazy Game Dev Moments
Sometimes, game developers swing for the fences. Other times… they just slap a sign on it and call it a day. Whether it’s due to deadlines, budget constraints, or just pure chaos, some of the funniest moments in gaming come from developers not even pretending to finish something properly. Case in point? A sign next to a pool that says: “PLEASE DO NOT SWIM. There isn’t an animation for it.”
Here are 9 more gloriously lazy (and often brilliant) developer moments.
1. Assassin’s Creed Unity – Missing Faces Glitch
At launch, players encountered NPCs with no facial textures — just floating eyeballs and mouths. It was horrifying, hilarious, and completely iconic of rushed development.
2. Goat Simulator – All of It
The devs literally warned players not to expect a finished game. The ragdoll physics, clipping errors, and random chaos? Left in on purpose. And that’s why it became a cult hit.
3. The Witcher 3 – NPCs That Just T-Pose
Sometimes, when characters failed to load animations properly, they’d just… stand there in T-pose glory. The devs fixed it, but not before players lovingly called them “T-walkers.”
4. Skyrim – The Backwards Flying Dragons
A patch meant to fix bugs in Skyrim accidentally caused dragons to fly backward. Bethesda just rolled with it until the next update.
5. NBA 2K Series – Players Melting Through the Floor
In multiple 2K games, players have witnessed full-on character model collapses. Legs disappear. Arms stretch. Players morph into the hardwood.
6. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The “Hot Coffee” Placeholder
Rockstar left behind a fully functional (but disabled) sex minigame, originally meant as a placeholder. Modders unlocked it. Headlines followed. Oops.
7. Cyberpunk 2077 – Cars Falling from the Sky
Among many launch bugs, some cars would spawn mid-air and drop onto players. The devs later admitted many systems were held together with “duct tape.”
8. Half-Life 2 – “Missing Texture” Pink and Black Hell
When models or environments fail to load properly in the Source engine, they’re replaced with a blinding checkerboard pattern. It’s not just a bug — it’s a whole aesthetic now. Even Garry’s Mod embraced it.
9. Elden Ring – Messages Saying “Try Jumping” Next to Cliffs
Not lazy by the devs, but they did enable it — and players took full advantage. The number of people baited into leaping off a cliff is… immeasurable.
Game development is messy, unpredictable, and often hilarious. Sometimes, instead of cutting a corner quietly, devs leave it in plain sight — and we kind of love them for it. Honest? Lazy? Who cares. It’s content.
👉 Got a favorite half-finished or meme-worthy game moment? Drop it below.