Competitive Gaming: For you or not?

[Visitant]

Tonight, after a few weeks away from playing, I picked up League of Legends again. For those of you not familiar with the it, LoL is a 5v5 (or 3v3 depending on what you like) game where in you push a lane with other heroes and (if you're lucky) you will push into the enemies base and destroy their "nexus" netting you a win. One of the main variables in the game is that you earn gold for kills which you can then use to make your hero stronger and make it easier for you to push the enemies lane. Simple premise but success relies heavily on not only your own skill level but the skill level of those you are working with. I play "ranked" matches often because I enjoy the thrill of competitive gaming and seeing myself advance through the ranks as I go.

 

Tonight however, I realized that because LoL is a free to play game and that so many people play it, the chances of being teamed up with someone who's not paying any attention to the game because they are making a sandwich or watching Netflix increases exponentially. Being someone who plays for the sake of competition I ended up being frustrated by my teammates actions and by the end of my ranked games I was finally done trying to compete without a pre-made team.

 

I might be in the minority, but when I play I play to win.

 

Back in the day I was heavily involved in the Unreal Tournament scene, by the end of my run I was ranked 4th in the world in the "Double Domination" circuit. Later, I got into the Street Fighter scene and played Marvel vs Capcom at a damn near competitive level (there were not tournaments held around where I lived). In single player mode, I played UT with "god-like" bots and in MvC I ALWAYS played on the fastest speed with the highest difficulty possible. In retrospect, I might be playing these games for the wrong reasons but that's what I enjoy. THAT is what gets my blood boiling and makes me play harder. I never complain when someone is better than me, I always just want to figure out WHY they beat me so that I don't make that mistake again.

 

It's not just video games. I played Chess as a child and I can be a bit of a bitch to play Monopoly with. Yes, the point of playing any game from video to board is to have a good time and win if you can but there is a competitive spirit in me that won't die. Even in defeat I'll shake the hand of my opponent and say "good game" but that whole time I'll be thinking about what I did wrong that made me lose. Maybe that makes me a bad gamer but at the end of the day that just makes me want to play another round to try and get better.

 

The point to this little rant about how I approach gaming in general is that I am curious how everyone else plays games from Catan or Quake. Why do you (if you do at all) play competitive multi-player games? Do you play to win or do you play to just have fun with your friends? Do you get angry when you lose or just think "maybe next time"?

 

Why do YOU game with other people?

 

Till then,

Good Night and Good Game.

[Thelogan]

There is no such thing as a wrong reason to play video games.

 

This was a defense I had to use a lot when my gamerscore was actually high enough to mean something (I peaked at 76 in the world in 2007). It's amazing the amount of shit you take and little cunts that don't even know you that will msg you to tell you you're doin' it wrong.

 

I have some more input in this, but I really have to go to sleep. More inc later.

[The NZA]

There is no such thing as a wrong reason to play murder simulators.

 

FIFY

 

online, im very much like i am offline - if i play multi, 90% of the time, it's with friends. even the sports i do often aren't directly competitive, as ive always favored racing a ghost of my better performance a la mario kart (this mentality holds for me when im running late at night or playing Demon's Souls). ill play shooters and all kinds of genres with LAN/groups, but quickly lose interest with strangers, even if im doing well.

co-op like say minecraft, though, i can play all day. just a thing of mine - ive always admired hardcore fighters who practice all day and learn from defeats, but ive never really stepped it up to try, mainly because the invested timesink looks daunting. i'll practice for a bit and then my mind will wander into all the other stuff id wanted to do.

[the division of joy]

I play games as a bit of a release, or something to just entertain me. I have gotten competitive about them in the past (mostly sport based with friends) and I ended up not having much fun with it.

 

It wouldn't be for me, but I can understand why people do it.

 

I'd much prefer some taxing co-op as its more of a challenge in my eyes than destroying your opponent in whatever.

[Mr. Sexy Hat]

 

This video sums me up when im playing online and getting my arse kicked.