Internet Goblins
So anyway.
Down the page in the comments section of my Eve piece, Lithilk has posted a comment about the importance of finding decent people to game with. I wrote a lengthy reply, which was eaten by the Internet. Thanks, Internet.
I said something (excruciatingly clever) about how you have to work at net-based relationships if you want to make the most of online gaming. Sure, these online people can be switched off a lot easier than relationships formed in other contexts, but they need to be cultivated nonetheless. Having people to play with online can completely change the topography of the net for a casual player. The State guys are, I’m sure, playing more and indulging a wider range of experiences because they have worked to create a community.
I’m acutely aware that my own gaming experience is enhanced by having loads of acquaintances, on and offline, who are into gaming. Whatever I want to play, it’s likely that one of my friends will be there already, or ready to join me at the drop of a credit card.
Most gamers, though, still don’t really understand this world. They are, in a certain sense, socially constrained by gaming. They don’t see it as a medium for developing a particular kind of relationship, and as a result their gaming experience will never as rich as those who do. I grew particularly close to the European gaming community back in Quake III days and I still see names I recognise cropping up in games now. As each new game comes out, so familiar names (amongst of the ten of thousands of Dutchmen called De4thlord) make an appearance. Just as I recognise and get on a nodding and/or chatting basis with lots of people just by virtue of living in the same town for many years, so I’ve begun to encounter the same people in quite different games over the years. An old Quake III captain was in Ironforge in Warcraft just last week, and at Christmas I spotted a name I recognised from (gasp) Kingpin. It was a friend from when I played on Wireplay. I messaged, and yes, it was the same guy, still using the same handle. After our rival fleets had beaten the hell out of each other, we had a bit of a reminisce.
“Ah, nothing beats Quakeworld, but I’m getting a bit old now…”
“Yeah.”
What was my point again? I forget. Anyway, whether she realises it or not, Alice is one of the old names I recognise, a regular on pick-up Quake III. She wasn’t half bad, either.
June 22nd, 2005 at 7:34 pm
Almost all my friendships were forged due to a shared affinity for the same game, and even today games are more fun when, as a group, we forge new paths into unexplored territory. The only problem is that I find myself a lot more reluctant these days to make new friends, and when it comes to games that no one I know plays – such as Eve – then I find I have difficulty getting into them as a result.
I’ve been in clans, guilds and corporations. I’ve talked to people from all over the world, gamed with people from all over the world. I’ve printed out floorplans and hung tactics on my wall before competitive CS matches. But these days I just want one other person in the server I know and can make sarcastic comments with, or who I can trust to control the turret on the back of the jeep without being an utter cockmonger.
Perhaps I just haven’t found the right game yet though, and when I do friendships will be formed by simply playing it naturally.
Point taken anyway. I’d kick your ass at Quake 3. (Not really).
June 22nd, 2005 at 10:39 pm
Yeah. Back in my CS days I ran into someone I recognised from my XvT-modding days. I was all like “Dude! Small ‘net, huh? CT high-five!”
And he was all “wtf”
And I was “Oh yeah, I changed my screen name since then, didn’t I?” And I told him who I really was.
And he was all “wtf”
And then I remembered I’d barely addressed a single message board post to him ever. And then he AWP’d me. Bitch.
June 22nd, 2005 at 11:15 pm
Oh REALLY :D
You’ll find me, as you know, slinking about in Undercity these days..
*mumble mumble wasn’t half bad mumble*
Alice / Crys
June 23rd, 2005 at 7:12 am
Graham – you’d be welcome to join Statecorp if you want to play Eve. We have quite a good community going, as Jim said…
*Unofficial recruitment officer for Statecorp…*
June 26th, 2005 at 9:24 am
WoW has pretty much become my IRC of choice, at 60 im finding little to do other than hang out typing emotes and bitching about content ;)
June 28th, 2005 at 11:31 am
When I downloaded Americas Army, I played one match and was immediatly recruited into a clan called ’7-Samurai’. I haven’t a clue why, I nearly TKed them all. I had them in my xfire list and spoke to them a few times, and I soon realised they had some kind of Samurai-family relationship. They respected each other and most of them were *very* good players.
One lad called Slater went on a map with me and taught all he knew to me on it. It was very much like I was his sidekick. He taught me to bounce smoke grenades off ceilings so they land next to the objective and to travel quickly across open ground. He was my teacher and idol. I looked up to him like I would a father.
The only person I have truly hated on a server, is Whiste2004. I remembered his name because he was so annoying. On HL2 Deathmatch, he ran around with a crowbar, hacking me to death as I Gravity Gunned some other people. It pleased me alot when I got him square on the face with someone elses grenade. ^_^