Online Gaming...

[Fushichou]

I would like to make a point.

If you're like me, you have played online games of all types, ranging from Xbox Live to MMOs. I've run from Halo 2 to World of Warcraft to Half Life 2 and its variants and mods. There has always been ONE problem, ONE thing that always either hindered my progress, or simply drove me to too much frustration. What, you ask? The people.

Ah yes, the good old days of Halo 2. I remember that as being the first time of ever hearing about MLG, KSI, MOB, and other wannabe "professional" gamers (a concept which, to this day, I STILL cannot grasp). I had fun with the game, ranked up to level 30, and spent most of my time socializing with my buddies using the mic, doing anything from games of Zombies to glitching to serious ranking time. All in all, the whole nearly 2-year experience of playing Halo 2 as not only the sole online video game, but the sole video game that I played at all was mostly unpleasant as down the road more and more players simply took things way too seriously than was, in my opinion, healthy. They made others feel bad simply whether because they didn't care enough to be good, or didn't play enough to be good. I do not miss Halo 2 on Xbox Live.

Moving on, I found my way to World of Warcraft in the early days of The Burning Crusade release. Disappointed that I had missed all of the "original," pre-expansion content, I set out on what would be a 3-year journey that I am sure I will never forget. I was thrilled with the game throughout my leveling experience. I was a total noob, and it took me many months of near constant playing to hit 70, and then I started looking for a "raid" guild. This was the first time that I truly experienced the social aspect of WoW. I hadn't really talked to anyone except for a few leveling "friends" with which I sometimes did dungeons, but all of us were only concerned with experience and loot, not actually helping each other. Being a rogue (a melee damage class that was and, to my understanding, still is very much hated by most of the community), it was very difficult to find a guild that would take me in -- rogues simply weren't needed except in small numbers. I "guild-hopped" around, only managing to dabble in the first few bosses of Karazhan (an early high-level raid) before I found a guild that seemed very promising. A leveling buddy had shown me to it, and I was hesitant because it required a complicated manner of registration, etc. I felt myself out of place among people who were entirely serious, and I still remember the snickering on Ventrilo my first night of raiding with the guild, and how they made snide remarks about the gear my character was wearing. Then, ruining the whole experience, the guild leader called me out and told me that until I got better gear, I wouldn't be getting any gear from raids. This seemed to be, at the time, entirely ridiculous. How could I advance, then? It was surprising that a few months later after I'd left, the entire guild sort of mutinied against the guy, and had taken over and offered a less serious atmosphere. But by then, I was long gone. I "server-hopped" for several months, never really getting anywhere and always feeling somewhat outcast whenever I saw the awesomely geared players running around doing their whatever tasks.

Then Wrath of the Lich King came out and I resolved to begin anew, and I got far. I played like an "elitist," and I regret it; I was an ass to anyone who didn't know what they were doing. I kicked probably hundreds of people from groups, and became infamous on my server, whether because people liked me or because they hated me. Eventually I was well-geared and all, but I started regretting it. Much to my guild's distress, I simply vanished. I server-hopped again, onto one called Arthas. There, I organized small raids and dabbled in old Pre-BC (pre-Burning Crusade game content that I wanted to experience) and organized some Pre-BC raids. I never really did anything after that. I simply ran around and did what I had done 2 years before, but this time I found no enjoyment in it -- for that, I do not know why. I eventually found that I thought myself to be addicted, and, fearing that I would return, took a knife to my CDs and threw them away, and then used hacks for menial things that only helped me and didn't harm others, eventually getting myself banned on purpose. That was the end of that.

Near the end of 2009, I returned to Steam games, which I had sort of messed around with a couple years before for short amounts of time. I soon found, however, that these people were not any better than the ones I had experienced before. Many players simply get in the way of your character on purpose, and often say or do things just to annoy you. Not only that, but much of the community is just downright unpleasant, as entire groups of friends talk about things that make me want to hit them all with a bat. I quit that, and now find myself focused almost entirely on single-player video games, if I play them at all. I always turn voice off, and I never talk.

I'm still not out of high school -- I'll be a senior next year, but I think my days of playing video games are at an end. I don't care about them anymore. Not just because I can't seem to have fun, but also because I feel that they have more of a negative impact on me than positive.

[Beware the talking cat]

That's the problem with online games for me. In general, people on the internet are idiots. Something about the anonymity makes them feel like they not only can but should be complete mikurus to everyone. So I suppose when I go online, I'm either silent or try to be polite to people.

One nice thing about you guys.

You're good people.

[Dan]

Well, if you try being nice, you'll meet nice people. That will improve the game experience a lot.
I have some friends I play with regularly on Steam. Sure, when we are losing, things get heated sometimes but most of the time we have fun. I promise you, find some nice people and make friends with as many people as you can. If it is an MMO, try and avoid the ones that aren't too into the game and just want to chat, that'll make the game into an IM session. When you get bored, try and convince the others to try a different game with you for a while. I have friends I've only known through internet games for almost 10 years.
Of course, you'll always meet people who are like what you said you used to be. You can try laughing things off with the other guys, or just leave if the rest are all like that. It sounds like you've tried to make yourself enjoy games sometimes. That's kind of sad. :'(

[Fushichou]

Well, if you try being nice, you'll meet nice people. That will improve the game experience a lot.
I have some friends I play with regularly on Steam. Sure, when we are losing, things get heated sometimes but most of the time we have fun. I promise you, find some nice people and make friends with as many people as you can. If it is an MMO, try and avoid the ones that aren't too into the game and just want to chat, that'll make the game into an IM session. When you get bored, try and convince the others to try a different game with you for a while. I have friends I've only known through internet games for almost 10 years.
Of course, you'll always meet people who are like what you said you used to be. You can try laughing things off with the other guys, or just leave if the rest are all like that. It sounds like you've tried to make yourself enjoy games sometimes. That's kind of sad. :'(

I don't think you understand, or maybe you didn't read all of it. I went from being nice, to being silent, to being an ass, to being silent again. None of them ever worked out. People on internet games are NEVER enjoyable in my experience.

[b0mb3r]

^ you can try playing left 4 dead with me and dan if you have one.

[Rectifier]

Once you understand the internet is a shithole, then you can understand how to deal with it and use it however you wish.

From what I could read, I feel like you just simply wanted praise when you deserved it and treated like an equal amongst other people, and that you went way past your original intent and basically ruined it for yourself after that.

I wouldn't necessarily say that its the people who have caused this, but rather that you started playing at a younger age and after experiencing it, you've grown wiser and more skeptical while realizing that what you thought was important before was really just a bunch of cow-poop.

Either way, as with most things, I think its just a part of your passage through life and you shouldn't regret it.

[chrnno]

Personally I am nice to everyone and if someone bothers me I simply ignore him. The problem with WoW is that it's a game where annoying people gather, to play it you have to do with friends or be very patient.

You can try a game called Rappelz, I like it and haven't found any idiots in it yet. People even answer when you ask about something...

[simoncolias]

There are many sites available in present times. We can play many online games. My online game name is a pseudonym rather than any type of descriptor, but I use it as a pseudonym elsewhere. Yes, I suppose. I do not really know. I think if you play with me and my friends at night you have a beautiful night. Lost Planet 2, PS3, anyone? I do not see why many people loved this game its fun. I never played the first one to himself, then perhaps the first is better.

[Darklor]

Ah, I can say why I am not fond of it even if it has a SF-background. Its a third person shooter its nearly a must to have others around and I am usually a solo player so I dont really like it to have companions around me, and I cant have more than one/two(?) wepons at a time with me (I am a collector) so I dont like that too.

[Setherzam]

actually, me and my online friends have a name for those kinds of people: pleebs. Since we don't really play much FPS games, we tend to utilize pleebs as the dumb cannon fodder. They're especially great for drawing lagiacrus's attention when the rest of us are wearing sneak armor

[Darklor]

Ah so they have at least a purpose...

Btw. atm. I play at weekends often LOL (European League of Legends)