Singleplayer / local gamss are LOVELY, but I think we can have good multiplayer experiences too.
EDIT: Kernel level malware requirements and monolithic matchmakey server structures suck though. None of that.
When I was an awkward teenager without a way to just go across town, I played lots of games and risked using voice chat as a way to build my social confidence. I try really hard to be a positive and cooperative player though. I met more cool people than not.
For a while there, I think Deep Rock Galactic found a cool way to foster a cooperative community, it was designed really well for it. Sweaty tryhards who accuse you of the wrong meta play just about anything though.
One of my favorite recent experiences though is just playing the co-op defense mode in Titanfall 2. That is SO FUN.
I sucked at leveling in WoW because I mainly used it as a chat room once the grind kicked in. Never got to 60, but found a wife, so I’d call that a win. :)
We’re in a lonliness epidemic. Everybody is so depressed, friendless, and is simultaneously convinced they’re the only tolerable creature in a sea of imbeciles. (Social media and customer service jobs definitely exacerbated this.)
But…I dunno, I guess I’m just making the case multiplayer can be done right and bring us together. Eliminating private servers that could police their communities I think had a negative effect. That leaves community moderation to, what, Discords? Blegh.
And how MMOs now feel like grocery shopping at 3 AM, where everybody’s wearing headphones and hesitant to make eye contact. It’s sad.
Does a “Christian-run Battlefield 2142 server” sound silly? Maybe it does. But know what? Those people were nice to me and we had a great time.
Yeah I think playing pickup games in whatever e-sport live-service slop these days is gonna expose you to a lot of unnecessary toxicity, but I think we also need good multiplayer games more than anything else, to supplement our single player experiences, because people are losing their ability to connect and relate to each other on basically every level.
People move away from each other. They get busy. They’re afraid to talk to strangers but suddenly everybody’s a stranger. It sucks.
Aw thanks for reading it. :) Yeah I miss LAN parties too!
I fondly remember, in my high school computer lab all the machines were networked, so we’d play a lot of Battlefield Modern Combat mod, or Unreal Tournament, or Counterstrike 1.6 (I was so glad when they picked up Source hahaha). They even had Battlefield 2142 with a little hack that unlocked full progression because it was local only.
I have a sad feeling such a thing just wouldn’t be a thing anymore. Schools would be way too strict wouldn’t they?
It was really cool when like most of the 20-30-something machines were occupied and people were bantering and taunting each other. “WHO IS (username)?!?!” Lol
Singleplayer / local gamss are LOVELY, but I think we can have good multiplayer experiences too.
EDIT: Kernel level malware requirements and monolithic matchmakey server structures suck though. None of that.
When I was an awkward teenager without a way to just go across town, I played lots of games and risked using voice chat as a way to build my social confidence. I try really hard to be a positive and cooperative player though. I met more cool people than not.
For a while there, I think Deep Rock Galactic found a cool way to foster a cooperative community, it was designed really well for it. Sweaty tryhards who accuse you of the wrong meta play just about anything though.
One of my favorite recent experiences though is just playing the co-op defense mode in Titanfall 2. That is SO FUN.
I sucked at leveling in WoW because I mainly used it as a chat room once the grind kicked in. Never got to 60, but found a wife, so I’d call that a win. :)
We’re in a lonliness epidemic. Everybody is so depressed, friendless, and is simultaneously convinced they’re the only tolerable creature in a sea of imbeciles. (Social media and customer service jobs definitely exacerbated this.)
But…I dunno, I guess I’m just making the case multiplayer can be done right and bring us together. Eliminating private servers that could police their communities I think had a negative effect. That leaves community moderation to, what, Discords? Blegh.
And how MMOs now feel like grocery shopping at 3 AM, where everybody’s wearing headphones and hesitant to make eye contact. It’s sad.
Does a “Christian-run Battlefield 2142 server” sound silly? Maybe it does. But know what? Those people were nice to me and we had a great time.
Yeah I think playing pickup games in whatever e-sport live-service slop these days is gonna expose you to a lot of unnecessary toxicity, but I think we also need good multiplayer games more than anything else, to supplement our single player experiences, because people are losing their ability to connect and relate to each other on basically every level.
People move away from each other. They get busy. They’re afraid to talk to strangers but suddenly everybody’s a stranger. It sucks.
…and it’s literally killing us.
Thanks for reading my unintentional article. Lol
IDK why but what you’ve written has made me miss Ian parties. Those were the days man.
Aw thanks for reading it. :) Yeah I miss LAN parties too!
I fondly remember, in my high school computer lab all the machines were networked, so we’d play a lot of Battlefield Modern Combat mod, or Unreal Tournament, or Counterstrike 1.6 (I was so glad when they picked up Source hahaha). They even had Battlefield 2142 with a little hack that unlocked full progression because it was local only.
I have a sad feeling such a thing just wouldn’t be a thing anymore. Schools would be way too strict wouldn’t they?
It was really cool when like most of the 20-30-something machines were occupied and people were bantering and taunting each other. “WHO IS (username)?!?!” Lol