What its like to play online games as a grownup

[greenhawk]

I don't like playing online games unless I'm reasonably competitive, and since I work and have sex with my girlfriend, I don't have time to to deal with online virgins.

LOL, reading between the lines I see

"I do not need to prove I am the Alpha of the pack, as I have all the perks an Alpha would get in RL anyway"

 

[coloumb]

lol - how true.

Back in ye old days.."multiplayer" gaming was going outside and actually interacting with other kids [and daring the local hottie girl "friend" to flash her boobs] or inviting your friends over to play games on your console, C64, or Apple.

 

[blackened23]

 

[AstroManLuca]

If you're playing a team-based game and you want to communicate with your teammates so that you can coordinate teamwork, it's easier to do with a mic, especially for a first-person shooter.

Consider a 5v5 game of capture-the-flag where two captains draft-picked the teams (like in gym class) and everyone has assigned positions (defense, front door defense, offense, etc.). You would want to use your mic so that you don't have to stop in the middle of playing to type out the communication and communicating quickly is of the essence.

"Flag carrier going low."
"He's in his base."
"There's 3 guys waiting for you in our base."
"Take it high, I'm waiting to cover you."

As sophomoric as it might seem, a game like that feels like you're playing an athletic cybersport.

I've never experienced a situation where I or my teammates used mics to our advantage. It's rarely helpful in my experience; either your team is good enough that they don't need a bunch of communication to win, or the other team is good enough that even with perfect teamwork you'd lose anyway.

I think the only time that would help would be if you're part of a regular group of people you know well, but I've never done that either, and I don't really care since those groups tend to be more competitive than I like.

I suppose it depends on the genre. I don't think there's any comparison between online multiplayer and single player for FPS and RTS games. Single player is just completely inferior for those genres. In contrast, Baldur's Gate 2 and Morrowind work well as single player games. (Although, arguably, Neverwinter Nights online component may have been more interesting.)

Completely disagree. I can't play RTSs online, there's no point, I would lose every single match because I am terrible at them. But I can actually enjoy single player RTSs. FPSs, they're just different, MP is a different experience, not necessarily a superior one. SP is more about telling a story and coming up with interesting new things to do. MP is all about falling into a pattern because if you don't do things a certain way you will lose. There's not much room for freedom or creativity in MP because of that. Every game starts to feel the same.

 

[DeadFred]

BAHAHAHA! That comic was great and oh so true.

 

[evident]

And we are talking about organized games like WoW or DOTA, not a public deathmatch game that people regularly drop in and out of.

this comic is the reason why more deathmatch style games ala UT2k4 need to be around.

 

[Arglebargle]

Bad scriptwriting....

 

[WhipperSnapper]

"I do not need to prove I am the Alpha of the pack, as I have all the perks an Alpha would get in RL anyway"

A lotta guys who play online multiplayer have those things, too. The difference is that they're not pussies who prefer their opponents (AI) to have Down Syndrome.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I think the only time that would help would be if you're part of a regular group of people you know well, but I've never done that either, and I don't really care since those groups tend to be more competitive than I like.

Yeah, that's true. The games I had in mind are actually spontaneously organized 5v5 games where two captains draft-pick the other 8 players. They were a whole lot of fun and very intense, and felt like you were playing in a clan match, as though it were a cybersport and not some silly game.

Completely disagree. I can't play RTSs online, there's no point, I would lose every single match because I am terrible at them. But I can actually enjoy single player RTSs. FPSs, they're just different, MP is a different experience, not necessarily a superior one. SP is more about telling a story and coming up with interesting new things to do. MP is all about falling into a pattern because if you don't do things a certain way you will lose. There's not much room for freedom or creativity in MP because of that. Every game starts to feel the same.

I haven't spent enough time with clickfest games like Starcraft to comment. I play Sins of a Solar Empire which is an RTS that is not a clickfest and it rocks. What I said holds true for at least that game. It's an awesome game but few people know about it.

 

[PrayForDeath]

what? SC2 and TF2 are so mannered compared to my usual HoN fellows!

Yeah HoN is probably the worst, especially if you noob it out and screw up games.

 

[Bonesdad]

Depends on what you consider grown up. With all the "fuck you lovely human!" I hear online these days I am thinking I was more mature at 12 than the average 16 year old is today.

Am 32 now and I still play some online games, not MMO's. I dont have the time available to get good at any one title like SC2, so its not as much fun for me. Every time I move up to Silver I immediately get murdered and go back down to Bronze.
And as little time as I have and as much as I suck, I wouldnt even consider paying money for WoW. Especially knowing I'd have to deal with spoiled children all day long. Thats my beef with going back to college, fucking kiddies irritate me.

This is me too...the advent of online gaming and MMOs was the death of gaming for me. Don't have time to learn to be good in them or commit the time to play. I tried WoW for about a year and it bored me to tears. I did play TFC for a long time, but that game was great as no one cared at all if you joined for 10 minutes then stopped playing, for any reason. I still play a good single player if I can find one, but they are fewer and farther between.