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| The gaming community discussion thread; Separate from gaming news | |
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| Topic Started: Jan 15 2013, 11:51 PM (1,865 Views) | |
| Bigcalv2002 | Jan 15 2013, 11:51 PM Post #1 |
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Da resident crazy canuck!!
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I wanted to start a discussion about the gaming community in general, not just the news coming out of the community (we have a separate thread for that), but more of the types of people that play certain games and why people play them. And more specifically how playing these certain video games has impacted the lives of these individuals and everyone around them (I hope that makes sense to everyone). Better yet, why not tell your stories about the gaming community in general or how video games as a whole have affected your lives. Let me start http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrZGkVP4QpI This video basically has most of the COD community stereotypes, and the guy has some very valid opinions on the ragers in it (it is a 12 minute video, just to warn you) Your thoughts? EDIT: Most of his other rage session videos are pretty funny IMO! :P |
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| Granskjegg | Jan 16 2013, 08:18 AM Post #2 |
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Eg e husfar.
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Nice topic and something I enjoy discussing. I don't have time to dwell on this right now since I need to get going for school. JUst wanted to let you know that I'll come back to this. :P *edit* Ok, so I've got some dead time on my hands before I need to get started with dinner (salmon and veggies <33333). On the topic of ragers...oh man. I don't understand what fuels them into just spurting out all that hatred. My best guess is that they're a bunch of cognitively underdeveloped kids. I'd expect their parents and friends to have a big affect on why they act the way they do. I've often played Battlefield 3 and have people rage because the they're getting steamrolled or someone makes bad decisions. I can get behind that stuff, I do it too (just not on screen). As I said that's fine...as long as they don't start being offensive. As long as it's harmless rage I usually just tease fun at them, especially if the hackusations come flying around (not towards me obviously). I just laugh all of their rage off. But that's what games are supposed to be! They aren't supposed to be super serious (unless you're in an E-sport event or something like that), for us casual folk it's just good fun. Shoot some dudes in the face, chop up some demons. All in good, stress relieving fun. As for the gaming community, a lot of them seem like fucking idiots. Some of them are arrogant and elitist and then you have folk like the forum members here. The video was cool too, he has some good points, and I sincerely hope the über-ragers out there have seen his videos and gone: "well shit, I'm an asshole". |
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| Romanticide | Jan 16 2013, 09:18 PM Post #3 |
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Cult Leader
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I don't think "cognitively underdeveloped" is the right expression for it. I know I can't prove this in any way, but a lot of gamers I see on the tubes, or at least the ones I associate with, seem like they're fairly intelligent people, or are good at creating that impression. The problem is more social in nature. When you see people raging over something that most people in the real world would just shrug off, or when you see a gamer continually harassing a fellow gamer, what other conclusion is there? Something in their socialization went wrong somehow. Games don't cause these things, but I wouldn't be surprised if games exacerbate pre-existing social problems for some. I can't understand gamers. You would think that most life-long gamers understand better than many other groups that bullying is painful shit. Yet they turn around and abuse others online for sucking at a game, being somehow different from them (God help you if you're a girl), or for whatever other reasons they might have made up in their own little heads. It's hypocritical of them and it's just plain wrong to treat people like that. I've said this before, but it's a huge reason I don't play competitive games online. I understand that things happen in games that induce rage, and I understand that rage can make us lose sight of who we are. God knows my life has been a long struggle to learn to control my rage. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that if you're just going off on someone or some type of person, you're breaking your shit, or whatever else over a game... It might be time to get rid of that game, or even quit that type of game altogether if it's bad enough. Obviously this is different for every person, but we need to know our limits. Games are supposed to be fun. I suppose that last statement leads into the popular "games are supposed to be fun!!1" argument, which gets trotted out without fail whenever someone proposes that more serious games should be produced. I'll just ignore the implication that "games can't be serious", which hurts our medium. I don't think there's any contradiction in saying "games are supposed to be fun" and also saying "there should be more games that tackle current events and social issues" (or something like that). Fun is different to everyone. Some people might find blowing up and shooting things fun, others might find experiencing something with a deep message is fun, and still others might find *both* fun depending on the quality of the product and the context. I don't think I've exhaustively covered everything people can find fun, but that wasn't my intent. And yes, I would say I have "fun" watching something like Treme or Mad Men. I find those to be the two most enjoyable/fun shows currently on television, though there is no way they'd be most people's idea of fun. I think one of the biggest problems with the gaming community is that many are resistant to critical examination of games, gamers, and gaming culture. I'm not saying anything ground-breaking when I say there are plenty of problems in all three of those areas. I don't have to make a list of issues, right? But if someone dares to tackle these issues in any substantial way, they get their heads bitten off in the comment section that these articles inevitably have. As a small digression, I abhor comment sections. They tend to bring out the extremists who have no other platform for their radical views, along with the trolls. Articles are for the author to tell a story or express a viewpoint, not you. Things like the whole kerfuffle surrounding the Anita Sarkeesian Kickstarter, the Dragon Age writer, or even the Mass Effect 3 ending just make gamers look like a bunch of petulant, entitled (I HATE the word, but sometimes it's oh-so-true) brats. Gamers are already portrayed as anti-social losers to the world at large, and we only hurt ourselves every time we reinforce this stereotype by reacting in such a negative fashion. Games matter now. They always mattered to us as gamers of course, but since the start of this generation, they've started to infiltrate mainstream culture. As a part of earning cultural relevance, critics are going to criticize our sacred cows. It's what they do, and this is not a bad thing! It might hurt some feelings in the short term, but if in the long run it improves the quality of storytelling and characterization in our games (it's admittedly low), and if it improves how we as gamers conduct ourselves, both online and offline? I'm all for it. That said, I don't agree with every critic, and even if I do agree, I think there have been articles that could have been written better. The latter sentiment might get me labeled a "tone troll", but they can eat shit. How you say things matters, too, even if you are right. Most people can deal with bluntness. They aren't particularly good at dealing with hundreds or thousands of words that attack who they are. |
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| Bigcalv2002 | Jan 17 2013, 06:16 AM Post #4 |
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Da resident crazy canuck!!
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I think the fellow on the linked video (skagg3 is his username) made another good point to go with your point there. This sense of anonymity via X-box live, Playstation network, or whatever other medium everyone else might be playing on gives people the sense that there is this atmosphere of an area free of the social rules that govern our everyday lives. When you take away the shackles on some people, they might not know how to govern themselves accordingly. These are the things that we are supposed to learn during childhood and adolescence in order to become functioning members of society whom have something to contribute to everyone. |
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| Granskjegg | Jan 17 2013, 08:28 AM Post #5 |
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Eg e husfar.
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Cognitive-underdevelopment was probably just a poor choice of words there, however when I said that I was sort of aiming at the more "stupid" part of the tubes and other mediums. The gaming community as a whole seems to be of a more intelligent breed than you know your mainstream social groups. That may be because most of us have so much respect for the things we care about and I guess we have a different frame of mind about things. And yes, rage is some bad shit. I remember when I was playing Guitar Hero and getting my ass kicked by "Lou" in GH: III. I Was raging so hard. I started smacking my geetar and hitting the walls out of frustration. I decided to just take a step back after than and calm down. I wish more people would do that. You don't want a "angry german kid smashing keyboard incident". But to bounce off what you talked about, their real life social life has a huge affect on how they act in games. I'm sure that often times their in-game rage is reflected at something negative from their daily life...and then you have those who just want to see the world burn. :P And @"games are supposed to be funzz!!11", I would indeed like to see more games that have a more serious story. I think we already have a fair share of games that have some seriously emotional stuff going on. I'm fairly sure the Mass Effect series has some touching scenes in them (never played one, so IDK), and then you have games like The Walking Dead and Heavy Rain. These games touch on a lot of serious matters (although The Walking Dead is also "OMG ZOMBIES"). Fun isn't always shooting people in the face, but it can also be more serious things. I totally agree with you on the TV show example as well. While I love my sitcoms, shows like Breaking Bad (probably the heaviest show I've ever watched) blew me away and kept me at the edge of my seat bringing intense amounts of entertainment. But you don't watch a TV show or play a game for any other reason than having a good time, right? |
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| Bigcalv2002 | Jan 17 2013, 10:00 PM Post #6 |
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Da resident crazy canuck!!
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You are 100% correct, but I won't post any spoilers. Needless to say I was almost brought to tears once in 3. |
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| failureatlife | Jan 17 2013, 11:17 PM Post #7 |
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Indiscriminately discriminates
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I like this. As a depressing, nihilistic sort of motherfucker, I love a good, emotional story. Walking Dead is a great example of that, Mass Effect 3 had me almost cry twice, Silent Hill 2 gives me this strange mix of depression, nostalgia, loneliness and sexual arousal(that might just be me). Spec Ops: The Line has been the first AAA shooter to engage me in a way other than wham bang action. Heavy Rain is really, really dumb though. I wouldn't recommend it. |
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| DarkFlashlight | Jan 18 2013, 02:03 AM Post #8 |
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it will take a toll
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I honestly didn't read every post in this thread, but my theory on why people flip out and are massive assholes online is basically the same as the guy in the linked video. There's this Serbian performance artist [Marina Abramović] who did an exhibit called Rhythm 0. All she did was stand there for six hours. During that time, the audience was allowed to do anything they wanted to her. There was a table of 72 random items, including: a rose, a feather, honey, a whip, a gun, and a bullet. The audience had total say in what they did, whether that be violent or calm. At first they were all just moving her around and playing with her hair, but once they realized that she really wasn't going to react to anything, they all went absolutely fucking insane. People tore her clothes apart, some cut her with thorns from the rose, someone cut her neck and drank the blood, and eventually someone even loaded the gun and held it up to her head. Then, as soon as the six hours were up, she starting moving. When the audience saw her coming towards them, they all freaked out and ran away. The point in mentioning that being, I don't think people are naturally good people. I agree with the theory that humans don't just kill everyone they don't like only because there's a chance of reprisal or punishment. It could very well work the same way with some people's anger issues. They always went to yell out homophobic and racist things, but are aware that there may be consequences. Take away consequences and you get the true person. |
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| Bigcalv2002 | Jan 21 2013, 05:25 PM Post #9 |
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Da resident crazy canuck!!
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Another good related article! Which category/categories would you see yourself in? I would say that I fit in with the "lower hardcore" category. "These players play at least as many hours of games per week as players within the Hardcore stratum; however, they are all genteel, nice-minded folks who seldom groan aloud re: all the Call of Duty commercials on television. They don't pop in to Kotaku posts about the next Madden to accuse EA of being a big dumb bunch of cash-grabbers. They play their games and stay fairly docile or sociable about it." Yeah, sounds about right! |
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| Romanticide | Jan 21 2013, 06:14 PM Post #10 |
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Cult Leader
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Meh, not sure I fit into any one category. I guess I probably come closest to a Pundit and an Unwinder. Well, I guess I'm the Pundit without the blog and without the commenters. The Unwinder description is fairly apt, though. I probably would have been a Jazzmaster a few years ago. I still love me some old games and all, but there are plenty of great modern games, too. I'd just rather move on with life instead of remaining where I was when I was twelve years old. It also helps that I now have the systems that modern games are coming to, as opposed to my older ones/the underpowered Wii. Of course, I'm quite good at sounding like I'm in that Bubble part of the whole pyramid. I'm not, but I can sound as snobby as anyone who's actually there. (inb4someonesaysItrulyamthatsnobby) |
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| Antunee | Jan 21 2013, 07:04 PM Post #11 |
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#1 Girl
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Maybe lower hardcore? I couldn't really relate to any tier. |
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| Granskjegg | Jan 21 2013, 09:08 PM Post #12 |
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Eg e husfar.
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Yeah, lower hardcore fits me the best. All of those are extremes though. |
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| Bigcalv2002 | Feb 7 2013, 01:07 AM Post #13 |
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Da resident crazy canuck!!
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Here is an interesting article on women in gaming! |
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| Romanticide | Feb 7 2013, 06:34 AM Post #14 |
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Cult Leader
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Obviously this doesn't reflect *all* women in gaming. I think we all know this, but yes, it's an interesting article about women in a particular niche of gaming culture. =p I said more power to girls like StarSlay3r and Ecstasy, who were essentially famous in the GH scene because they look good and play the game at a high level. If you can make money off of that, that's awesome! Most people aren't fortunate enough to be able to make money off of their looks and/or doing what they truly love. It's not any different with these streams. It's also not like most of the girls in those pictures were dressing skimpily just to get the money. They just look good, and showing themselves in regular clothing is not what I would call "exploiting their looks to make money". And even if they were? Shit, a lot of attractive people exploit their looks for something or another, even if it's only to have a better chance with people they're interested in a relationship/sex with. There is nothing wrong with this, and they didn't ask for harassment, questioning their gamer cred, or anything else because of it. I suppose the argument is as said in the article/comments: Are these "real" gamers? I don't know or care. Everyone sells an image of some sort, whether consciously or otherwise. However, I'm inclined to think that if you're putting that kind of time into a game so you can run a stream and host a small community, and even making that your only occupation as some of these girls have, you truly love the game in question. That said, I don't watch gaming streams regardless of who's running them. In the time I spend watching a stream, I could be playing or modding a game. Simply put, I don't think there's anybody out there offering me something I don't have or can't get myself. (I suppose I probably can't reach the high level of play that famous e-sports players have, but I'm not even interested in that.) This is obviously different from watching a review to get an idea of what a game is about (though I'd far prefer reading one) or something like Jimquisition - Those are different concepts altogether. |
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| Granskjegg | Feb 7 2013, 02:09 PM Post #15 |
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Eg e husfar.
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It's a pretty sad social stigma that female gamers have the focus centered around sex. I don't see people like NovaWar from LAGTV getting that prejudice even though he is an insanely handsome man. Obviously, there are some ladies out there who exploit their looks for cash, but I'd imagine that's a pretty small group. It must be pretty annoying to be born a pretty girl and wanting to play dem gaems. I still see people go OMG, SHE'S A GIRL?! when there's a random person in a server who happens to be female. Pretty rediculous. And to those gamer-girls who exploit their looks for money...you suck. |
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