On Multiplayer

[Twinmill5000]

I play games to escape from the misery of daily life, not to feel all pressured from having to prove I'm better at some small meaningless task than some **** in Illinois.

That phrase nails it right there.

And that probably explains why I don't play S4League, BfBC2 Multiplayer, or really, anything online but WoW anymore, and why when I play WoW, I heal. Unless I can top the scoreboard, or be the best dps (not top dps, top dps' usually cause wipes), I... well, I'll play through the campaign or heal some instances.

 

[Cavouku]

I enjoyed pitting myself against a couple players in Soul Calibur IV, but whether they won or I won, I would either send a "Good game" message, or not say anything.

But one shit, after I defeated him, messaged me, and I believe the message was something along the lines of You fuckin' lucked out, fucker."

I could just be remembering it in bad taste, but the f-word was used, and I was called "lucky", and he challenged me directly three more times. I lost the second time, but he complained it was from lag. He legitimately beat me, too, and I didn't care, I just wanted to face someone less douchy.

But no, this time I practically let him beat me, he whined thinking I let him beat me (kinda true), I moved the fuck on.

Man... At least there were a whole bunch of nicer combatants.

 

[daftnoize]

Couldn't agree more you no what I actually hate competetive gaming even in solo play. Bbut i suppose im one of thoses artsy fartsy games are are nobi nobi boys.

And yes i have sent yathzee several emails asking him to review wierd obscure games a la gitaroo man... soz

 

[TheRealCJ]

This is still my favourite Multiplayer story. (and the reason I don't player much multiplayer).

(original Left4Dead):

Me: Hey guys, this is the first time I've played infected, prepologies for any Noobisms.
Them: Dead(ahem) silence.

*Game starts, I roll hunter*

Me: *pounce, miss* Oops *pounce, get head blown off*
Player a: You SUCK
player b: *much along the same lines*

*Game continues, I roll boomer*

Me: *blarf, get two of four of the survivors*
Player C: Holy FUCK you suck man
player B: Go play with someone else n00b
Player A: Incoherent, unrelated mike screaming.

*finally, I end up getting given the tank*

Them: STOP, STOP, PRESS CANCEL! GIVE THE TANK TO SOMEONE ELSE! AARGH!
Me: Um... How do I? *dies*
Player a: *votekick*
player b: *votekick*
Player c: *votekick*

*YOU HAVE BEEN VOTEKICKED*

And that's why I don't play multiplayer anymore, especially when the entire universe is populated by Stop Having Fun Guys. SHFG with the power to control who lives and dies on a server.

 

[TheRealCJ]

For the time being i've decided to stick to single player games like New Vegas because playing online in games like COD tend to make me feel uneasy knowing that every player i come across will do anything in their willpower to win wether its actually playing to their skill or cheating/glitching.

On an unrelated note, that avatar of yours is damn creepy.

I can't tell whether it's a shark with hair, or an angry botched plastic surgery victim on a rip-roaring rampage of revenge. Either way, it's scary.

 

[Dora]

Yeah, that's about it. I like playing WITH other people, but not competing. Typically because I'm awful at it. I just don't have it in me. I'm probably going to be the first one sold for cigarettes and cans of beans after the fallout happens.

 

[GonzoGamer]

Yea, I can see why he feels that way. Personally I can enjoy both forms of multiplayer, though I lean more toward the co-op ones. I also tend not to be a dick online, or even say anything for that matter. This does not include if they're being a dick such a hacking, glitching, or nonstop trash talking. I remember when one of my team members in CoD was hacking in hardcore mode, so I shot him in the back of the head, got him to rage quit.

Nice one.
Anyone who can bring grief to griefers is a hero in my book.

I kind of feel the same way too but I don't really mind losing as long as it was at least a bit competitive. But I don't get all the shadenfreude and need to boast from winning either.

So I don't get too many of them and if a game has competitive and co-op, I end up playing the co-op a lot more. I never touched Saints Row 2 competitive but I played through the campaign twice with a couple of different friends.

Also, I have a ps3. So I get free on-line, that hardly ever works. The most recent culprit: every time I try to go online with Asscree Brohood I'm told that the server is unavailable and to try again later. Every single time. It's a good thing the single player game is engrossing enough.

 

[EOD Tech]

Don't know why he was getting so much crap. True hardcore gamers don't play multiplayer. Doesn't make you a bad person if all you care about is the next match, the next map, and the next camping spot; it just makes you that type of gamer--more casual and social than in it for the enjoyment and story. Nothing wrong with that...it happens in other media: there are plenty of people who go see movies based on the actors rather than the director/writers.

I just wish developers would stop wasting time shoe-horning multi elements into what should remain single-player games.

 

[KazOondo]

Not to but in but 40 man raids don't happen any more for those very reasons, Mr. Croshaw. The most common are 10man raids, which really do play like a 5man instance times 2; really fun dynamics in which everyone is important.

 

[Savagezion]

I just have to state an observation.

You love winning and hate losing = poor sport
You don't care about winning but you hate losing = sore loser
You don't care about winning/losing = you are playing a game and enjoy yourself either way.

Losing consistently is boring, but so is winning. If I play CoD with a friend of mine, he tears me up by a landslide. I get bored easy of it because of this. I don't mind playing a few matches, but getting my ass handed to me over and over gets boring. Not annoying, not frustrating, just boring. How can I get frustrated if his skill is way above mine. Do I think next match it is going to go from 1500-500 to suddenly 1200-1500? No. I will try to do it for a while but after a few matches it just seems futile. However, if he and I play SSB I will get bored because it feels like me vs. an AI. His moves are predictable, almost everything I try works, etc. It's just as boring.

Competitive multiplayer works best if there is a challenge and you feel like not only do you have a shot at winning, but it isn't handed to you and requires application of all the skills you have with the game. If I lose but I felt this was true about the match, I will congratulate the winner. Not sulk in my failure and feel like I somehow didn't "prove" something.

This article just confirmed something I had suspected all along. Yahtzee is a sore loser, which isn't inherently bad so long as he acknowledges it. The friend I mentioned before that whoops me at CoD is a poor sport all the way around (winning and losing), but he acknowledges it thus it doesn't bother me much. It is just part of who he is. He probably loves that I can stand to take about 20 ass whoopins before I get bored as opposed to his avoid playing a game he sucks at/5 matches at most.

I enjoyed the article as maybe this will show some people that Yahtzee isn't the person to look towards for views on competitive multiplayer if you are not specifically a sore loser. I am sure all the poor sports as well as people that can just enjoy the game have already seen his view as jaded all along in these matters. But I am happy to see this article as perhaps this will show people that Yahtzee's view doesn't speak for all of the gaming community or set some ridiculous bar for the industries standards.

 

[demoman_chaos]

Tis quite like me. Co-oping with friends is fun, but doesn't work so well with total strangers and I hate fighting people not within punching distance.

 

[ewhac]

You don't care about winning/losing = you are playing a game and enjoy yourself either way.

Y'know, I'd really love to get to that point. I really would. But how is one supposed to feel after playing as best as you know how and still getting trounced? Over and over again? No matter how hard you try, no matter how much you practice, no matter how much you objectively improve, you still get st0mp3d?

Losing consistently is boring, [ ... ]

I'm glad you think it's boring. I find it depressing when I don't find it teeth-grindingly aggravating.

 

[TerranReaper]

I just have to state an observation.

You love winning and hate losing = poor sport
You don't care about winning but you hate losing = sore loser
You don't care about winning/losing = you are playing a game and enjoy yourself either way.

re I get bored as opposed to his avoid playing a game he sucks at/5 matches at most.

I enjoyed the article as maybe this will show some people that Yahtzee isn't the person to look towards for views on competitive multiplayer if you are not specifically a sore loser. I am sure all the poor sports as well as people that can just enjoy the game have already seen his view as jaded all along in these matters. But I am happy to see this article as perhaps this will show people that Yahtzee's view doesn't speak for all of the gaming community or set some ridiculous bar for the industries standards.

I wouldn't say liking to win and hating to lose makes your a poor sport, because I doubt anyone really enjoys losing as much as they like winning.

OT: I'm one of those people that play competitive multiplayer a lot. I play to win and I enjoy the challenges of competitive multiplayer. A common stereotype against competitive players is that they are all smug bastards who want nothing more than to beat someone is less skilled than they are, but that is a severe misconception, it's practically saying anyone that plays single-player is a "skilless noob" and "too shit to compete". I mean, there are people like that, but saying everyone is like that is just generalizing.

 

[capt.fodder]

"I play games to escape from the misery of daily life, not to feel all pressured from having to prove I'm better at some small meaningless task than some **** in Illinois."

- Matt Hasselbeck approves

 

[Wrath 228]

Generally I only like competitive MP when I can gather up a bunch of friends, but it also depends on the game. The only competitive MP I still consistently play is Battlefield, Red Faction Guerrilla and ArmA. Battlefield is my favorite of the three because it is a nice mix of tactical gameplay and pure action. I have a squad I form with three of my IRL friends, and we kick major ass everytime we play together.

Another reason I like battlefield is that your score isn't solely dependent on your kills. You can go an entire round simply healing/reviving or repairing, or marking targets and the like, and still rank high. Sure, it helps to be able to destroy the enemy, but that doesn't mean crap if your teammates don't back each other up. Games like Call of Duty and Halo never seem to foster teamwork, at least not often enough to warrant me wanting to play them for any length of time (although strangely I find myself still drawn to CoD 4, the high point of the series IMO).

On the other hand, however, I adore co-op gaming.

 

[Fuhjem]

So I guess I'm a **** now.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Yahtzee doesn't hate multiplayer, he just hates you.

If the Mirror Image spell were real, then we could all play multiplayer by ourselves. Oh for lack of real magic. I don't like playing with other people too.

 

[Togs]

Bravo Yahtzee I agree whole heartedly- loosing sucks and winning just makes people around you try harder to make you loose

 

[Jackel86]

You should give Killing Floor a try. It's good survival co-op fun, and it's pretty cheap on Steam.

And I completely agree. Competitive multiplayer is too stressful. The challenge to fun ratio is a little skewed for me. Co-op, on the other hand, is probably the most fun game experience to me (except when my teammates are pants-on-head retarded).

 

[General Vagueness]

"And this all paints a picture of one thing: that I don't hate multiplayer in itself, I just hate competitive multiplayer."

That makes sense, but it also makes it harder to understand why you didn't make any consideration of Firefight in Halo: Reach-- I won't argue any other points about the game, but I feel completely leaving a segment out like that runs counter to the trend of completeness that ZP has followed for every game except 2 or 3.
On a related note, for what it's worth, I like competitive multiplayer and I don't feel any real pressure to do well in it-- when I win, I smile, I say "good game", and I move on, and I don't usually get upset when I'm beaten, even by a whole lot, I just say "good game" and move on.

So I guess I'm a **** now.

now?