Winning is having fun?

[Idsertian]

Most of the time I'm happy, win or lose. Fantastically fun and funny stuff can happen even if you're on the losing team/end of a fight.

Example: Today, playing KOTH Slayer on Halo 3, me and some other guy were tussling over one of the Mongooses (ATV's for non-Halo players) on the map, he won. I respawn and run straight for him while he's stuck against a wall. He turns and must have seen me coming but does nothing. Instead of killing him I decide to hop on behind and see if I can get a few free kills courtesy of an impromptu team-up. The other guy gets unstuck from the wall and we're on our way. He drives down one of the ramps in the level and meets someone else coming up just in time for us to catch the rocket meant for the guy going up, killing all three of us in one swoop.

Result? I laughed my arse off and was grinning for the next couple of minutes.

That said, being on a steady losing streak really ruins my fun, most of the time enough to make me stop playing and go on to something else. As do these people who play online and obviously put waaay too much time and effort into it, often forming stomp teams in the likes of Halo and other such team based games, just so they can roll on a bunch of public players. For instance, I am instantly wary in the likes of Reach when I see 4+ players found at once in matchmaking, as I know they're likely in a team and the next match is going to be slaughter, one way or the other.

In conclusion, I personally don't know of any of these type of people. But while winning certainly adds to my fun, as long as the game is fair, I don't mind losing.

 

[StriderShinryu]

In competitive games, like fighters, sure. I'm not sure it's as simple as "Winning = Fun" though. It's more like "Trying to win = Fun." I can have a great time even if I lose as long as I'm putting in a good game and am learning.

To me, what's not fun is purposefully playing below your ability level in an attempt to make things fun for everyone. Not only are you not likely to be really enjoying things but those you are playing against can also tell you're not really trying and that's not fun for them either because they can feel you'd maybe rather be somewhere else eating a sandwich.

 

[Luthir Fontaine]

not really beating the shit out of the other guy when he really didn't have a chance is no fun.

 

[Alucard788]

I dunno...winning can be fun but so can losing, in a spectacular manner, with rag doll physics.

 

[LaughingAtlas]

Winning is not exactly where fun comes from for me. In a lot of games I enjoy engaging a worthy foe more than beating him, moreso than killing a hundred weaker enemies without effort.
Anecdote: In Bioshock 2's multiplayer, I once had the honor of donning the big daddy suit to aid my team. It was groovy-pants the first fifteen seconds, but the other team would barely engage me, maybe because big daddies live up to their reputation health-wise, only two or three times did someone seriously make an effort to bring me down. My guys ran about shooting at those preoccupied with ending my rampage and taking pictures of the bodies. (or whatever that was) When my health was finally getting low, I shot an oil drum in glorious suicide, because though my team was far ahead, I wasn't having as much fun as when I had to do more than hold down the fire button stomping about in the open.

Then again, BS (tee hee) probably wasn't meant to have multiplayer, as it wasn't really a barrel of spliced up monkeys to begin with.

 

[SageRuffin]

My fun comes in trying to win. I'm not gonna win all the time, but sometimes I'll have a blast playing and ending up losing. The main point is that I was trying to win, and while I'll sometimes fail in that, that's where my fun comes from.

Unless I'm winning a little too easily. There's no fun in playing scrubs. :/

 

[dessertmonkeyjk]

Word to the wise: It's not the end result that counts but the journey that gets you there.

 

[Neo10101]

Word to the wise: It's not the end result that counts but the journey that gets you there.

Yea, unfortunately these friends of mine are far from wise.

 

[Mordan Freeman]

I have the same problem, just not as severe. My older brother and I love to play competitively, and I often crush him at fps's and other multiplayer games. He frequently gets pissed off when he loses, and I have to throw a game to let him win once or twice. It makes it a little less fun for me but it makes him happy i suppose.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Games only stop being fun when you're just losing with no chance.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. I don't mind losing most of my matches, as long as I win the occaisional one, or at least put up a good fight. If I get destroyed time and time again though...I start getting pissed off. And then my best friend starts telling me I should practice more. And then I tell him that sitting in training mode for an hour mashing out the same combo over and over is NOT my idea of fun.

And of course, he is the opposite. He doesn't mind losing once in a blue moon, especially if I do something awesome, but in general he HATES losing. If he loses, the first words out of his mouth are usually "rematch!". And he spends hours in practice mode of any fighter practicing combos to the point where I can never tell where to block, and then he gets me with a combo that kills over half my health. And if I start practicing and start winning, he will go overtime on his practice until he demolishes me again.

Which is why I prefer co-op games with him. Then it's great.

I play games for fun, I don't NEED to win. It is nice, though.

 

[Minigrinch]

It does seem to be more prevalent in FPS's and consoles, although more because consoles and FPS's have higher proportion of people who wouldn't consider gaming as hobby. Personally I think losing non-stop can be fun as long as you still have some possible action, things like group spawn camping or hackers take the fun out of even losing, where if its just a single spawn camper or a really skilled player it just makes it a challenge and adds to the fun even more when you beat them.

You should try games with your friends that either have no "winning" such as survival mode, co-op like left4dead, or a game where losing is probably one of the funner/funnier parts of the game like Magicka (I'm aware thats not on consoles, just an example).

 

[Dyme]

Winning is not fun. Losing is anti-fun.

But improving is fun. And sometimes winning more can mean that you improved.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Games only stop being fun when you're just losing with no chance.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. I don't mind losing most of my matches, as long as I win the occaisional one, or at least put up a good fight. If I get destroyed time and time again though...I start getting pissed off. And then my best friend starts telling me I should practice more. And then I tell him that sitting in training mode for an hour mashing out the same combo over and over is NOT my idea of fun.

And of course, he is the opposite. He doesn't mind losing once in a blue moon, especially if I do something awesome, but in general he HATES losing. If he loses, the first words out of his mouth are usually "rematch!". And he spends hours in practice mode of any fighter practicing combos to the point where I can never tell where to block, and then he gets me with a combo that kills over half my health. And if I start practicing and start winning, he will go overtime on his practice until he demolishes me again.

Which is why I prefer co-op games with him. Then it's great.

I play games for fun, I don't NEED to win. It is nice, though.

Can't.you see the beauty in striving to improve though? Your friend sounds passionate and driven, an exemplary fighinf game player. It's how fighting game communities work really, we all strive for perfection pushing each-other to improve while betterring ourselves in the process. He doesn't hate losing out of a character flaw like you seem to think, losing just signifies how much more he has to do to be great. The frustration is only aimed at himself really.

 

[Spectral Dragon]

Well... I'd say that depends on the game. TF2 as a recent example, losing big time, but still had an awesome time. But one match we eventually won, where I was headshotted 4 times in a row, by the same person, just running out to get shot... Yeah, less fun.

If I'm playing a console game with friends, we usually end up trying to kill eachother, regardless of games. Whoever dies, we're always having fun.

In conclusion, it's not fun constantly losing, with no chance of turning it around, but as long as you're having fun, I don't think winning matters much. And if the point is just winning, struggling only to win, then it's not fun, in my opinion.

 

[TheLoneBeet]

Depends. If I'm winning I'm having fun. If I lose once or twice I'm still having fun. If I have one of those rounds in Bad Company 2 where my friends and I are all being killed the second we spawn, fun sort of runs out. Usually I equate fun to fairness. In any game it's fun as long as you play it well. If it gets to the point where you're being spawn-camped and have no chance whatsoever, then it's no longer fair; so it's no longer fun.

Works in all genres. Even outside of games. You'd still have fun playing any kind of sport against a few friends or people of your own skill level, even if you lost in the end. However, if you're put up against pros it'd become a humiliating and altogether depressing experience.

Or maybe that's just me.