diff --git a/src/error.c b/src/error.c
index f84d282..b180d93 100644
--- a/src/error.c
+++ b/src/error.c
@@ -49,7 +49,13 @@ void warn(char const* fmt, ...) {
     (void)fprintf(stderr, "\033[93mW: %s\033[0m\n", buf);
 }
 
-noreturn void error(gamestatus error_code, char const* fname, uint32_t ln, char const* fmt, ...) {
+void error(char const* fmt, ...) {
+    char buf[PRINT_BUFFER_SIZE] = {0};
+    write_args(buf, fmt);
+    (void)fprintf(stderr, "\033[mW: %s\033[0m", buf);
+}
+
+noreturn void fatal(gamestatus error_code, char const* fname, uint32_t ln, char const* fmt, ...) {
     char buf1[PRINT_BUFFER_SIZE] = {0};
     write_args(buf1, fmt);
 
diff --git a/src/error.h b/src/error.h
index 6506126..e19d500 100644
--- a/src/error.h
+++ b/src/error.h
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ gamestatus get_gamestatus(void); // gets the current status of the game
 void debug(char const*, ...);    // prints a debug message to stdout if the DEBUG environment variable is set, otherwise the call is ignored.
 void info(char const*, ...);     // prints an info message to stdout
 void warn(char const*, ...);     // prints a warning message to stderr
+void error(char const*, ...);    // prints an warning message to stderr
 
 // prints an error message to stderr before exiting
-noreturn void error(gamestatus, char const* file_name, uint32_t line, char const* fmt, ...);
+noreturn void fatal(gamestatus, char const* file_name, uint32_t line, char const* fmt, ...);
diff --git a/src/main.c b/src/main.c
index e4243ea..c8d6372 100644
--- a/src/main.c
+++ b/src/main.c
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ static renderdata rdat;
 static void init(void) {
     // initialize SDL
     if (SDL_Init(SDL_INIT_VIDEO | SDL_INIT_AUDIO) < 0)
-        error(ERROR_SDL_INIT, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "SDL could not initialize! SDL Error: %s", SDL_GetError());
+        fatal(ERROR_SDL_INIT, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "SDL could not initialize! SDL Error: %s", SDL_GetError());
 
     // initialize other game components
     gt = gametime_new();
diff --git a/src/window/audio.c b/src/window/audio.c
index 6df6d93..7c26875 100644
--- a/src/window/audio.c
+++ b/src/window/audio.c
@@ -56,23 +56,23 @@ static void audio_cvt(audiodevice const* dev, SDL_AudioSpec const* spec, uint8_t
     cvt.buf = realloc(*bufptr, cvt.len * cvt.len_mult); // grow the inputted buffer for the conversion
 
     if (cvt.buf == NULL)
-        error(ERROR_STD_MEMORY, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "something went wrong whilst growing the audio buffer whilst converting!");
+        fatal(ERROR_STD_MEMORY, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "something went wrong whilst growing the audio buffer whilst converting!");
 
     // converts the audio to the new format
     if (!SDL_ConvertAudio(&cvt))
-        error(ERROR_SDL_AUDIO_INIT, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "something went wrong when loading/converting an audio buffer! SDL Error: %s", SDL_GetError());
+        fatal(ERROR_SDL_AUDIO_INIT, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "something went wrong when loading/converting an audio buffer! SDL Error: %s", SDL_GetError());
     *len = cvt.len;
 
     *bufptr = realloc(cvt.buf, cvt.len_cvt);
     if (*bufptr == NULL)
-        error(ERROR_STD_MEMORY, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "something went wrong whilst shrinking the audio buffer whilst converting!");
+        fatal(ERROR_STD_MEMORY, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "something went wrong whilst shrinking the audio buffer whilst converting!");
 }
 
 audiodevice* audio_device_init(int32_t freq, SDL_AudioFormat fmt, uint8_t channels, uint16_t samples) {
     audiodevice* dev = malloc(sizeof(audiodevice));
 
     if (dev == NULL)
-        error(ERROR_STD_INIT, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "null pointer when allocating memory for the audio device!");
+        fatal(ERROR_STD_INIT, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "null pointer when allocating memory for the audio device!");
 
     // define the audio specification
     SDL_AudioSpec spec = {freq, fmt, channels, 0, samples, 0, 0, NULL, NULL};
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ audiodevice* audio_device_init(int32_t freq, SDL_AudioFormat fmt, uint8_t channe
 
     // if the audio device isn't set, cause an error
     if (dev->id < 1)
-        error(ERROR_SDL_AUDIO_INIT, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "audio device failed to open! SDL Error: %s", SDL_GetError());
+        fatal(ERROR_SDL_AUDIO_INIT, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "audio device failed to open! SDL Error: %s", SDL_GetError());
 
     // default state of the device is paused, so we unpause it here
     SDL_PauseAudioDevice(dev->id, 0);
diff --git a/src/window/render.c b/src/window/render.c
index 33ea568..4b88e46 100644
--- a/src/window/render.c
+++ b/src/window/render.c
@@ -14,12 +14,12 @@
 void render_init(renderdata* const rdat, gamedata const* const gdat) {
     SDL_Window* const window = SDL_CreateWindow(NULL, SDL_WINDOWPOS_UNDEFINED, SDL_WINDOWPOS_UNDEFINED, 500, 500, SDL_WINDOW_SHOWN);
     if (window == NULL)
-        error(ERROR_SDL_RENDERING_INIT, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "failed to create a window. SDL Error: %s", SDL_GetError());
+        fatal(ERROR_SDL_RENDERING_INIT, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "failed to create a window. SDL Error: %s", SDL_GetError());
 
-    // rendere using vsync to limit updates to the refresh rate of the monitor
+    // render using vsync to limit updates to the refresh rate of the monitor
     SDL_Renderer* const renderer = SDL_CreateRenderer(window, -1, SDL_RENDERER_PRESENTVSYNC | SDL_RENDERER_ACCELERATED);
     if (renderer == NULL)
-        error(ERROR_SDL_RENDERING_INIT, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "failed to create a renderer. SDL Error: %s", SDL_GetError());
+        fatal(ERROR_SDL_RENDERING_INIT, __FILE_NAME__, __LINE__, "failed to create a renderer. SDL Error: %s", SDL_GetError());
 
     *rdat = (renderdata){
         window,