"Try hard..." why is that an insult again?

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

First time I heard the term was on the Blog of an SC2 Liquipedia player who partly makes up for a rather snobbish view of his game with greater eloquence than your average blogger. He considers it to be someone who has poor skill in SC2 yet tries so hard they would be much better if they learned 'builds', also a Terran who lifts off and flies their buildings to the corners of the map when it's clear they can't possibly come back, thus 'wasting' both of their time.

Another equally jerkish use in DotA 1; a player who doesn't acknowledge when a game is a lost cause and continues to try to win instead of leaving despite a massive disparity of levels and gear. Tryhard = pun version of diehard. As I said, equally snobbish; 'How dare you not quit when I gain a large advantage over you'.

 

[shadowkrai]

Without reading ANY of the replies.
Try hard is an insult because NO PLAYER wants to be in the game with "that guy".
It doesn't mean that you try, I try in games, that doesn't make me a try hard, you should try. A try hard is a player that doesn't see the game as fun anymore, they see it as a way to win.
To use league of legends as an example, you join a random blind (unranked) and decide, "hey, I'm going to try AD malzahar (an AP carry, with a passive that scales on AD), one of the guys in the match (The try hard) is dead-set against this. They don't want to have fun, the don't want to experiment, they only want to win, even though it's not in ranked and means that they lose NOTHING from not winning.

 

[m19]

Try hard is someone who puts winning above all. It's that guy that tells some random to "stop camping" and be obnoxious about it because they think every pub is some MLG final.

 

[The_Merchant]

Pretty much anything can used as an insult given the right tone.
Jew. The noun for someone of jewish beliefs for example.

To me tryhards are people who try almost too hard to be something they are clearly not or not meant to be.
Donte from DmC from example for me is trying to hard to be the cheesy and awesome original but ends up as being an unlikable douchebag and childish.

 

[Meatspinner]

Regardless what it's intended use is, I've only always heard it from players who are losing badly.

"OMG, this guy used *insert ability/weapon here* to kill me. #%@& tryhard!"

 

[Strazdas]

To me a try hard is a person who concentrates on the win only and forgets that you can also have fun with a game.

Just putting this out there: Maybe that is their fun? Who is anyone else to judge?

Im not talknig about those people. im talknig about those that think games are made to win, all else be damned and wining is a default operation that must be obeyed at any cost. theres no fun in there. these type of people usually avoid open ended games because "i cant win it its not a game".

 

[AVeryClassyCat]

There are games where I really get invested into strategy, and it's a big thrill to triumph when you've put work into winning. I also own MP games where it's all about fun. The only thing is, I usually don't have the kind of time to mess around with other people who are being dicks online for any reason, mostly because it never really goes anywhere (also I refuse to talk on mic in anon games because I'm gay, but that's another story). If someone gets mad that I'm taking things seriously, then I disconnect and find another team. If someone's upset that I'm jumping around and taking things more lightly, then I do the same. It's just a matter of finding players who share your goals, and great games can be had when that occurs (private servers are the best things ever btw).

 

[Strazdas]

To me a try hard is a person who concentrates on the win only and forgets that you can also have fun with a game.

Just putting this out there: Maybe that is their fun? Who is anyone else to judge?

Im not talknig about those people. im talknig about those that think games are made to win, all else be damned and wining is a default operation that must be obeyed at any cost. theres no fun in there. these type of people usually avoid open ended games because "i cant win it its not a game".

Obviously there must be some fun in there if they derive pleasure from that...
Again -- if that is what they think is fun, all the more power to them. Who is anyone else to judge them for it?

Not all obsessions result in fun and pleasure.

 

[electric method]

Depending on the game being played "try hard" has a couple of different meanings, all roughly the same. The one I am most familiar with is in FPS's. In most cases there Try Hards are those folks that are just trying so damned hard to be MLG and thinking they are better than every one else. Then they start name dropping pro's names, insulting everyone that cannot beat them, cursing out team mates if they go negative and never, ever, ever accepting anyone could possibly be better than them. Also in their "tryhardness" they will screw over their team mates to get kills etc not even realizing they are the ultimate cause for the loss of a game. Oh, and yeah... most think power weapon whoring is actually skillful.
Think that about covers it....

 

[Rol3x]

The term had meaning for me well before online gaming came into my life so my definition of it is a bit harsher than most, it is a pretty nasty insult to call someone a tryhard from my perspective.

In my definition it has a more damning connotation than trying to win at a game enthusiastically or playing well, it means a glaring weakness in personality where flash is more important than substance and being good natured, believing the quality of an experience isn't as important as the resulting score or performance evaluation.
A star player who scores constantly but takes unnecessary risks and doesn't play as a team is a try hard.