| JackHandy said: I play games to relax and have fun. And arguing with random strangers about something as frivolous as which imaginary gun I am using or how I'm shooting said gun is not my idea of relaxation or fun. |
Yeah I think this is very true. I saw something on gamesindustry-biz a while ago about how people are becoming more and more saturated with digital communication these days. These were the days when you still "logged on" to facebook on a computer, and then "logged off" when you've finished looking at photos lol.
Now we're in the days when we're all constantly in reach with a stream of notifications, messages and whatever else, relaxation in gaming is now solitary or with chilled people. We're socially exhausted by the time we sit down to game. But back that wasn't so true.
| JackHandy said: ...it most certainly had to do with how mean-spirited the players are. When voice chat became a thing, I thought it was going to amazing. Then I tried it and within seconds, someone was calling me a homophobic slur and telling me to leave their room simply because I joined. After that, the mic died a quick death. |
Yeah I see how my OP gives the impression that the toxicity was the thing to be treasured. Anyone who's ever played a competitive PC game knows that hearing something about "cyka blyat" and lots of details about your mother's sexuality gets tiresome very quickly. But I do think that raging and swearing can be different to toxicity though.
I think they can be a sign of a group of people who care a lot about the game, and are giving it, and you as a teammate or opponent, their full attention. Potentially raging and swearing are a product of a social game going well, and designed well. I distinctly remember in Halo 3 moments like when my team, which has been at each others throats for the whole game, suddenly all jump in a warthog together and pull off something miraculous. Multiplayer moments have so much more character in these situations. Having that angry guy suddenly start doing well can really affect the team's momentum. A close match, where the next person to die loses the game, doesn't feel the same when you can't hear the anguish of your teammates you let down when you are humiliated by the "final killcam".
