It’s another annoyingly arduous
day at the office, but you’re finally done! You’re heading home, looking
forward to the respite you’ve earned. You kick off your shoes, loosen the
literal proverbial noose around your aching neck; plomp your weary behind onto your comfy
chair, with mayhaps, a refreshing beverage in hand; and log onto the popular
multiplayer game that has been your daily un-winder … to be immediately called
a racial/homophobic/sexist/vegetable(?) slur by a promiscuous, pimple popping, snot
splattered fourteen year old.
And that’s when you realise, that yes, maybe you
are getting too old for this shit.
Unfortunately, this scenario is a
fairly frequent experience for those of us who partake in gaming and are relatively
more mature than the stereotypical pre-pubescent gamer (see: above).
I know I know, this is just how
multiplayer gaming is, infested with these monsters; and if we, more civilized,
non-pimply, gamers wish to indulge, we have to on their terms. For the
game-o-sphere is the dominion of these demons with bad grammar and lame insults
aimed at your mother.
The easy fix is to not rely on
matchmaking on the public servers, but play with your friends. Play in a
controlled environment. Logistic nightmares aside of getting everyone together
at the same time, this is a pretty solid solution. But it is inherently
limiting yourself, because these games are designed to pit you against everyone
else. With ranks and leagues, and rare loot, you are always incentivized to
break away from your comfort gaming zone and try your hand at defeating the
legions.
My experience with multiplayer
gaming, and the horrors therein, stems mostly from MOBAs. Multiplayer Online
Battle Arena games are arranged with 2 opposing teams of 5 players each, attempting
to first destroy the opponent’s base, while defending their own. Attracting
players and fans by the millions, international competitions in sold out
football stadiums, and prize money bordering on the obscene, MOBAs are credited
as the global phenomenon responsible for cementing gaming on the cultural map.
I sunk in about 1,400 hours in
DOTA2. With over 7 million players at any given time, it’s arguably the premier
in competitive multiplayer gaming. But with the hordes come the trash, and the
toxicity eventually got to me so bad, that I never braved ranked mode, and one
day simply quit. Cold turkey. After a while, I switched to Heroes of the Storm
(HotS), with a much tinier, yet significant, fan following, in the hopes of a
more amiable gaming experience. And for a while yes, it was much better. I
aimed for rank, I’d watch YouTube play-throughs, tutorials, and really try to
better my game. Run in with toxic gamers was often of course, but with less
time invested per game, the effect wasn’t as severe.
But, for me, the toxic
environment isn’t the big problem. The mute button is a mighty weapon indeed.
No, my great gripe with multiplayer gaming is that it’s a blackhole which sucks
in your entire gaming drive. Always coming down to one more game, and with each
game lasting a minimum of 40 minutes, you more often than not end up spending
hours, usually getting your prosterior soundly handed to you. The fast pace and
instant gratification provided by MOBAs pretty much removed all the
satisfaction I’d get from playing other, usually single-player, games.
Suddenly, wandering the frozen
landscapes of Skyrim, or saving the galaxy from the Reapers, seemed tedious and
meaningless. I mean, what was even the point of playing if it wouldn’t add yet
another +1 to my stats? And eventually, because of this mindset, online
multiplayer gaming became an addiction.
If I wasn’t playing, I was watching
other people play. If I started playing, I wouldn’t stop until the sun rose up
again, all other obligations be damned. When I would get some sleep, I’d be
playing in my dreams.
This behavior was unique to DOTA,
and to a lesser extent HOTS. No other game, especially single player games had that
effect on me. There was always an off switch, shutting the game down meant my
brain logging off and moving on to other things and tasks. I think the instant
gratification provided by DOTA and the incentives to keep on grinding, keep on
playing, left its mark on me. The frankly ridiculous amount of time I was
spending playing MOBAs finally hit me when I realized that I won’t be able to
enjoy all the incredible new games being developed and published by talented
teams all over the world. That feeling of missing out on exciting new stories
and experiences pushed me to give up on this genre.
And honestly, I have no regrets.
I’m really not writing this piece
to extoll the evils of multiplayer gaming; I’m only describing my personal
experiences. I have friends who derive genuine relaxation from MOBAs, and can
discipline themselves to avoid excessive playing.
But to these friends, and all
fellow gamers, I will say this: there is a whole multiverse of experiences out
there. Won’t you give them a shot?
