Let’s just say that in a game you’re playing against other people. You get into it, which is cool because it makes the game fun and interesting. Some people cringe with the idea of competition, especially when names are called and words like noob are created. They think competition degrades the human spirit into a state of meanness towards one another. (Sometimes people will even say games are stupid in itself and accomplishes nothing. They would recommend things like “go do something with your life” lol). However, in this blog i just wanted to draw a line on what is cool and what is not cool.
When it is not cool, usually you have that douchebag who is really in it to win it. You can recognize this person from certain behaviors, such having a hard time when they lose. as a result, they would call other players cheaters, and kick, scratch, bite, complain, and whine just until they get even a semi-satisfactory win (or just a better advantage) out of their newly defined rules and technicalities. Pretty fucking pathetic. conversely, when they do win, you would hear about their awesome victory, how they achieved it, and nothing else. Ego-boosting here is then obnoxious and makes other people wonder if they’re really joking.
When it is cool though, usually you have a group of friends celebrating awesome moments within the game. It isn’t really about winning, it is about enjoying each other’s participation in the game. The rules may have varied from each individual’s start, but they are kind to each other when an ambiguous situation arises. They discuss it diplomatically, and in this democratic process, everyone agrees to the new clarification. They figure a way to make things fair. Games are fun, and when people are cool, it makes for a great memory. The jokes in cool situations are fun too and no one has to take anything seriously or personally.
Really though it’s just a difference between taking something too seriously, or just having a good fucking time. It’s so simple, it could even be a life philosophy.
On a side note – where did i find the inspiration to write this? Well a while ago, i was at a party and some of us were playing a game, and this one girl started bashing games because of competition (she’s kind of a communist). That is where the thought got implanted in the back burner of my mind. Then tonight, i took my nephew out to the arcade in truck town and he decided to act up while we were playing some air hockey. then when i was writing this, i looked back at my behavior when i was a kid and really began to understand simply what was cool and what wasn’t. This is one of the ways a piece of writing comes together.
I completely agree that games are better when people play to have a good time and enjoy participating in the game. This makes the game more enjoyable.
However, when you say, “When it is not cool, usually you have that douchebag who is really in it to win it. You can recognize this person from certain behaviors, such having a hard time when they lose. as a result, they would call other players cheaters, and kick, scratch, bite, complain, and whine just until they get even a semi-satisfactory win (or just a better advantage) out of their newly defined rules and technicalities,” you fail to consider that there are some people who play to win in certain types of games, but who do not get overly concerned when they lose. There is nothing wrong with playing to win so long as you don’t overdo it. At any rate, I understand the angle that you are coming from concerning those who have a hard time losing and so try to cheat.
I once played a computed game called Jedi Academy (clearly a Star Wars game.) I played on a server with this administration mod turned on. As it turned out, it was a clan server for recruitment that was not well labeled. At any rate, one of the “recruiters” used the in-game dueling function, which makes the competitors use their lightsabers in a duel. The duel was supposed to be for entry into the clan, but I wasn’t there for that and was just hoping to get in a match. I won the duel (not by much), which surprised the recruiting officer, who started talking about how the clan is elite and only accepts expert players. He “challenged” me to a rematch, using the built-in administration functions to bring me to him and force a duel. He then used the function to stop me from moving (although I could still fight) and then decreased my health, then winning the duel. After that, I simply left the server and joined another one.
Point being, some people are so concerned with winning that nothing else matters, and they are indeed willing to cheat to get what they want.