The Abrasive Gamer

[Akasha]

By: Shadowlance

Over the last month or so, I took a small sabbatical from Stratics in order to concentrate on my final projects and exams in order to graduate. My intentions to do nothing but study started out well enough, however, like any seasoned gamer I soon gave into the multitude of different distractions that devoured a good portion of my time. I forced myself to stay off the Internet and computer unless school demanded, but I could not completely sever my ties with my beloved Xbox. One of my favorite distractions came from Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. The Live aspects of this game are completely absorbing; my roommate is taking advantage of my keyboard time to play as I type this now.


Why all these non-WOW references you ask? Simply put, I had a lot of time to think about subject material for my editorial…new patches, Beta expectations, etc., but my time spent on Live has driven me to begin the first of two pieces about a true dilemma in the gaming industry. I am by far the first person to notice this black mark on our somewhat young online gaming community. Rather than explain exactly what I mean, I think our friends at Penny Arcade have hit the proverbial nail on the head, so I'll just show you here. There is strong language on this link, but hell, that's half the point of this rant anyway…


As often as Gabe and Tycho's comics are tongue-in-cheek, just as often they are dead on about the subjects they lampoon. Why is it then that veiled behind a LAN connection and undisclosed miles human beings feel they can act in such vile ways to one another? When I think of my friends from games - be they table-top, offline or online console games, or played on my PC, I imagine mature, reasonable people who enjoy the fun of the game for the sake of playing. Why has such a large portion of the gaming community degraded into spamming “leet-speakers� whose main goal appears to be to insult, infuriate, or in every general way hinder the gaming experience of others?


Having an extremely competitive roommate, I understand the gung ho nature of gamers. We're fairly evenly-matched in most games, particularly Soul Calibur 2. I have felt the elation of shutting his team down cold with once character coinciding with the complete agony of losing by a sliver of the life bar. The trash talk flies between us, and sometimes I'm ashamed that I kiss my mother with my mouth. But never in our eight years of playing games together has he pushed me, yanked my cord from console, or turned off the game seconds before I win. As heated as we've gotten over games, we realize they are just that, games. There will always be another chance to win, another bid for ephemeral glory. Most importantly, however, is the fact we have been friends for eight years…no amount of trash talking is ever taken seriously, and we are familiar enough to conduct a little psychological play concurrent with our gaming.


I have concluded this is the pivotal problem with the gamers who focus upon inciting others. My roommate telling me to expel plentiful quantities of heated substances from my primary source of defecation whilst experiencing communion with an ewe simply rolls off my back; telling someone off whom you've never met is guaranteed to receive a negative reaction. With the reason of aggravation isolated, we must convene to why such perpetrators revel in truly asinine behavior.


I'm sure you have plenty of theories about this; if you are one of these people you know why you harangue others, even if it's an unconscious act. I think it stems from an inability to cordially compete. To lose, in the eyes and minds of these degenerates, is something that is so inconceivable they cannot face it. In light of the majority of male players on these games, I shall use the analogy that they cannot man-up to themselves and others. They suffer from such an illustrious lack of self-esteem, sophistication, and ethics that in their minds, they do not lose if they can break the game connection or infuriate the other player(s) to a point of lost control.


Next time, I'll discuss the faction of these players that populate Blizzard's games, and how to deal with them. Until then, the best thing I can suggest is to keep your cool, avoid these lower-class players, and don't sink to their level.

*Part 2*

Since my last submission, I have cancelled my account to Xbox Live…

Which leaves me free to complete my analysis of the Abrasive Gamer (AG). As a quick synopsis, the AG label is applied to any gamer that devotes time and energy into the act of detracting from another gamer's play experience. This can come in a number of different forms of abuse, harassment, and aggravation. As the video game industry advances, AG's benefit with new ways to harangue their targets. With the implementation of headsets for many game platforms, we now have the pleasure of hearing the 9 year old who can not only type, but talk in leet…sorry…1337 as well.

Before this, online gamers simply had to deal with the typed word. In WoW, like other MMO's, players will communicate primarily through the keyboard on different channels with filters and restraints. I for one breathe a sigh of relief that WoW will be a charged online service. This means our friends at Blizzard will be able and expected to police the game for AG's, and likewise have the power to stop them.

Anyone who has played on the different Battle.net networks will agree that those channels and games could become completely asinine. The message areas became flooded with acronyms, threats, or simply “go� a dozen times in a row. More frustrating is the futility in trying to calm the AG's down. In roughly three seconds, they've spewed more geek speak than you can shake a stick at, and likely made you pretty cross. The scary thing is this almost seems to be something of a status symbol. The most annoying and quickest AG with the most incomprehensible vocabulary feels he is something of a Top Dog. I'm sure he brings the bragging rights with him to the cafeteria too…right after his lunch money gets stolen.

It isn't that I expect these children to act like adults. Video games are for everyone, and incorporating everyone means dealing with different maturity levels. What I do expect is a small bit of civility. Even (most) kids can behave in a decent manner most of the time, why is it no-holds-barred when the computer is loaded up?

I touched on this last time, because I feel I know the answer. Young males (this is the majority…I have yet to encounter a true female AG) who fit the above description more than likely have no social skills whatsoever. Therefore the online gaming realm gives them the courage to act however they like to people they otherwise feel inferior to. Think of it like the Wizard of Oz. The Wizard has this huge intimidating persona, which is like the gaming avatars. AG's dedicate a huge portion of their time to gaming, so they posses some skill. Add a cool looking avatar with all the best gear and an immaculately unsophisticated vocabulary, the analogy is complete.

Like the Wizard, the man (or snot nosed brat) behind the curtain is only marginally intimidating while at the same time being wholly pathetic. There is no way to pull back the curtain in MMO's, so all you can do is ignore the smoke and noise. The other annoying factors of AG's – Kill-Stealing, Spawn Camping, and Cursing are all eliminated by Blizzard by having chat filters, single-instance dungeons, and having a guard against attacking a creature already in combat, an innovation I first witnessed in FFXI. Blizzard staff will do their best to quell harassment and general belligerence, but AG's will likely exist until the end of time. Just understand that there is no real antidote for these people. For whatever reason they actually enjoy aggravating others, and it's likely due to self-esteem or ego issues. Don't tell them this; they know it good and well already and it will only lead to a more deliberate avalanche of ignorance. Don't post about it; Flamewars serve as much purpose as a freezer in Antarctica. In truth, AG's fall into that miniscule category of things that will eventually go away if you ignore them.