Should gaming online be a mic only zone?

[bpm195]

As an owner of a Turtle Beach Headset PX21, every time I play online, I play with my $100 mic and gaming with other people has never been the same, but ever time I play online with no one but me using a mic, I feel lonely, and unable to strategise.

So... Should gaming online be a mic only zone?

Mentioning that you use a $100 headset really gives the post an overtone of elitism and makes it feel a lot like you're saying "I spent $100 to improve my gaming experience, and don't need cheapskates ruining it!"

Anyway, I don't like the concept of forcing people to use or even have mics in the vast majority of circumstances. There are plenty of people out there that don't want to talk and in your average game it's not that important. I really don't care if my teammates don't have a mic when it's the type of game in which people leave and join the server at will. In organized competitive settings it's less unreasonable, but even then players accept that effective communication is required and a mic isn't the only way. For instance, I've frequently played L4D with people that use microphones and still don't communicate effectively and I've also run into a fair amount of people that communicate people effectively without mics. A bind that says "left" or "rear" goes a pretty long way, and is way more helpful than the guys that use their mic solely to complain that you're not saving them as they refuse to communicate their location.

Frankly, I lean in the opposite direction: I think all games should allow keyboard communication. One of the biggest reasons I don't have an XBL subscription anymore is because I don't like using voice communication late at night when I tend to game, and I'd be a lot friendlier if I could plug in my keyboard.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Should we have a single party state?
Should we all like one predefined game/movie/band?
Should we ridicule this thread? I think yes

People should do what they feel like doing, I find a non-mic game can't descend into a an asshole shouting match so I prefer that.
I will only ever use a mic when playing with friends, the mindless internets monkeys will just abuse it for trolling.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Considering the Greater Internet F*ckead Theory, I would say no. A long Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

 

[legendp]

NO!

If I use my mike and play online game's at the same time the connection becomes really laggy (Except rare occasions) and even when it deos work I only get half of what they say (this is on 360), and I don't have a mike on PC anyway.

 

[Pegghead]

While I don't have a bias, I'd say that one of the advantages of playing pc games online over playing consoles games online is the ability to communicate via text. That way, for someone like me who just doesn't really like to use the mic (15 years old, Aussie accent, you either feel like you're bossing everyone around or you're just interrupting the big players discuss their master plan etc) I can still talk to my teammates.

But for console gaming, I like how in some games you have the option to look for lobbies where alot of people have mics so perhaps rather than banning those that don't own mics simply have more games with options like that (I myself tend to switch mine on if the majority of other players have mics, especially in cooperative games like when I play L4D2 or COD zombies).

 

[robert022614]

Recommended on certain games YES. Mandatory? Hell no. I have the carcharias and mixamp set up so I understand using mic is fun and helpful in most cases, but I have played co-op games plenty of times where me and someone else can work almost seamlessly and perfectly together with no chat what so ever.

 

[IceStar100]

I would not mind areas of it. Come on here with a mic or don't come at all. That said thier area where there is no mic. Those who don't want to mic should not be forced to and those who do should not have to wait. Make it known right off the bat and move on.

 

[Android2137]

So... Should gaming online be a mic only zone?

This sounds like a bad idea. For one thing, sometimes people talk fast and are hard to understand, even without a microphone. Then you've gotta factor in accents. And that's assuming the other people speak the same language as you. What if you're playing with someone who requires the use of a translator (do game chat rooms come with translators, even bad ones?)? And then, of course, the most obvious of all, people getting all angry with you and cussing you out. At least if they're forced to type it, they can't render you deaf.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

HEAVENS NO!

Just now, I got done with a COD game, Black Ops, (Perfect Example) where this kids tag was EliteSkilzz3. Biggest. Annoyance. Ever. The kids barely has 13 trophies and he's as cocky as a.... a uhh.... never mind.

I'll play with mics only if the players are polite, speek properly, have fun, and coordinate like a team. Is that so much to ask for?

 

[Dabono]

That would work only with some banning system that would allow us to have headsets of 12-year olds go up in flames as soon as they start yelling, swearing and being obnoxious <include swear-word here>.
(Would give interesting conversations on the school grounds: "The hair? Well, I was playing TF2 tonight", and also give a whole new meaning to the word sideburns.)

 

[Bat Vader]

No. Never in a million years. I own a mic for both my PS3 and my 360. However, demanding that I use it because you can't relay good instructions is not fair. I've played with others who don't have mics and I actually found it worked quite well.
There's also the fact that people rarely use their mic for the actual game. Every time I turn on my headset for my 360, everyone goes, "Hey, say something. Say something, say something say something." I'll finally say "Hi," and then after that it's nothing but complaining about how the game is not going their way.

Finally, how would game developers enforce this? Or would you simply start a party and note let anyone join who doesn't own a mic? I promise you that you will either end up waiting forever, or end up getting annoying people who simply want to talk smack.

People asking someone to say something seems like it would get very annoying very fast. I would most likely end up muting them instead of saying anything.

 

[Ashbax]

Co-op gaming should. Games like L4D, Portal 2 (you're a nuisance to the other player if you're not using a mic here), and Gears of War 2's Horde mode.

Yup. This.

 

[AmaterasuGrim]

Buy a gaming pc if you want vocal in both voice/text otherwise get use to silence console gamers mainly chat in party chat or just to rage at people, if you try to make strategies most will just rage at you for trying to tell them to do something.

 

[kebab4you]

nope.avi

Do I really need to reason why this is bad? Go play with friends if you´re so damn lonely, I hate to use mic since it forces me to switch off my 5.1 surround to freaking headset so I won´t echo.

 

[Cheesus333]

I use my headset mic to talk to my friends, but never to strangers. I don't like my voice and I don't like theirs either. So no, I don't think that.

 

[5mj7R7yf4Dwr3gdZyyu9PeGNwYjlNrjzuh3iTXQG]

In Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2, there is a degree of ambiance, especially with the banter between the four characters, that is lost when people use their mics, and this is the polite, if talkative ones. Some who share my opinion may equip mics but refrain from using them except when necessary.

Myself, I have a system of over 100 prefabricated lines of text dialogue that I use to keep my fellow survivors informed (say, to alert regarding an incoming horde, or the breath of a lurking tank), yet minimizing my footprint in the game's atmosphere.

I for one, don't mind the shrill squeaks of a tween or young teen if his vocal commentary contributes to the play.[footnote]Most kids I've encountered on L4D have been fairly well behaved, possibly more because of the teamwork-intensive play than the M-rating.[/footnote] Far worse are obnoxious drunkards who will blab a continuous monologue over the play, often with racial or sexist epithets regarding the non-white and female characters in the game. I've hotkeyed code to turn their mic input off, and a tip that explains to others how to do the same.[footnote]"Tech Tip: You can use voice_show_mute and voice_mute # to target and mute unwanted chatter, respectively."[/footnote] Once posted, said obnoxious guys will usually start gunning me before getting themselves kicked.

Of course there's plenty of folk who are obnoxious even when not in their cups. Some will get offended if we don't cordially welcome them into the game via mic. And then there are those who will pipe in their own music, clipped movie audio or other soundtrack, because they can. These were the guys who drove me to learn how to cut off specific-player audio input in the first place.

So, no. Until the human race becomes an entirely more civilized bunch, I'd say no. In fact, I look forward to a time when speech-to-text is fast and accurate enough to be integrated into games.

238U.

 

[TheScientificIssole]

No, I sometimes play games to get away from having to talk to people, and that's people I like, so random people don't make it any better.

 

[5mj7R7yf4Dwr3gdZyyu9PeGNwYjlNrjzuh3iTXQG]

Weird double post. Sorry all.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

No thanks. I own a headset and I use it sometimes for certain games with friends. However I have no desire to listen to random people on voice chat. Text is fine with me.

 

[darkfire613]

Fuck no. I never play with a mic online (unless I'm in a party with friends) and I mute everyone else so I don't have to listen to the whiny racist 12-year-olds that plague Xbox Live. I'd cancel my Live subscription if I had to use a mic.

By the way, my captcha was Kalakaua [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kal&#257;kaua] scifi. Would be an interesting mash-up.