Gaming habits that need to stop in 2015

It’s 2015, and gaming is growing up.

There are more gamers and more games covering more content in more ways than ever before – it’s a glorious time to be a gamer.

Heck, we’re helping build this industry to a $100 billion market – a rival to the long-standing movie industry champion.

But despite this growth – and the rosy prospects for the medium – gamers can’t shake the image of being a childish, aggressive, and unwelcoming bunch.

Many of you will contest such a claim – unfortunately, the odds are not stacked in our favour in the battle of public perception.

Perhaps it’s time for introspection. More importantly, perhaps it’s time to let go of some of the nasty habits that have become entrenched in gamer culture.

Here are some habitual gamer practices that really need to end in 2015.

Petulant entitlement

As consumers of digital interactive media, we are entitled to a lot of things regarding our purchase.

We spend money on a game, so we expect it to work. Ubisoft has been particularly bad in this area of late, releasing a number of shockingly broken games.

So yes, I feel that, within reason, we’re entitled to demand a level of quality that was promised, but not delivered.

That’s where our entitlement ends, though.

When it comes to a game’s content, its message, its delivery and its conclusion (*side eyes Mass Effect 3*) – this is not our call to make.

Obviously developers’ design choices aren’t beyond criticism, but there’s a difference between saying “I disagree with this”, and calling for a full boycott and burning down of the studio because you feel slighted.

If you feel strongly about the content of the game not matching your expectations, the most effective way to have your say is with your wallet.

Going online and acting like a spoiled brat who didn’t get his or her way is nothing short of shameful.

Stop that.

Abusive trash talking

Trash talking is regarded as a core part of the gaming experience, be it calling our friends “gosh darn silly campers” in a local match, or expressing polite dissatisfaction at cheap shots online by shouting “You nincompoop!”

Everyone loves a little competition, and that’s fine. What most people don’t love is being told their immediate family is danger of being maimed and penetrated without consent. That doesn’t give a sense of friendly rivalry, but rather breeds an atmosphere of contempt.

Whether we like to admit it or not, gamers have a reputation for being an aggressive bunch (a claim almost sure to be validated in the comments section) and juvenile. Violent trash talking does nothing to change this image.

Words like “rape” and “gay” and their very many iterations do not belong in gaming in this aggressive context.

Stop that.

Overreacting

Games can be frustrating, every gamer knows this.

But there is absolutely zero reason to get so worked up that you lose your sh*t and start breaking things. Especially other people’s things.

Smashed screens, shattered controllers, obliterated keyboards – is this really a constructive way to express our anger? Can’t we just hug it out with a bro or something?

Last I checked, games are supposed to be fun. Some games are also supposed to be challenging, and if you’re into that, that’s cool.

But going ape after getting fragged, or shouting visceral profanity at what is effectively compiled visual projections of 1s and 0s is just stupid.

The videos on YouTube showing this sort of behaviour doesn’t make us look cool. The world is laughing at us, while secretly being terrified at the prospect of us reproducing.

Stop that.

Being a sore loser

Game developers have gone to great lengths to prevent online matches from suffering from the “quit before you lose” tactics of sore losers.

Little can be done about post-game tantrums and abuse, though.

Sometimes our gaming skills suck. Sometimes it’s on fleek. We need to learn to take the good with the bad, and commend people when they get the best of us.

Even if our opponents exhibit any of the traits mentioned above, be the better player and slap on a “GG, WP.” and move on to the next match.

Losing, and then spamming your opponent with a torrent of abuse to mend your bruised little ego is a lank kak move. Not ayoba.

Stop it.

Elitist bullsh*t

Don’t worry PC gamers, this isn’t aimed at you.

Platform wars are as old as the industry, and are unlikely to ever change (and the good-spirited rivalry keeps the industry ticking).

But if you’re super ‘leet’ at a specific game, or think you’re part of some exclusive group of awesome people and flaunt that like a douchebag, you’re doing gaming a disservice.

What we should be doing is making our game or gaming platform as welcoming as possible, because growing popularity means *more*.

More players to go up against, more interest (thus more content and more developer attention), and more fun.

Sure, be the best – but learn some humility.

Treating games as some sort of special party that no one else can come to guarantees an echo-chamber mentality where a select few reinforce their own awesomeness among themselves (but everyone else just thinks you’re a bunch of tools).

Stop that.

Predictable responses to articles calling for any sort of change

“Get over it”, “this is gaming”, “grow a thicker skin”, “[flurry of expletives]”, “Rabble rabble rabble!”, “OP needs to grow a pair”, etc, etc.

Yeah, thanks, this article is about you.

Stop it.

MyGaming