Life in an FPS Clan, part 3
by Wayne Cole
I planned on writing a whole blog about what a match is like, but the more I tried, the more I realized that it simply isn’t that interesting of a topic to talk about. Everyone knows what it feels like to compete in one thing or another. If I found it dry to write about, well then I’m sure it would have been pretty painful to read about. So I will give a few comments on matches and move on. Based on feedback, the social aspects of FPS gaming seems to be a better focus.
One person is the captain and calls the shots during the match. Each player has to be vocal and share what they are seeing, but one person has to be in charge and change the strategy if it isn’t working. The keys to victory really are teamwork and persistence. Well that, skill, strategy, and sometimes a bit of luck. You can’t give up if things aren’t going well, no matter how hopeless it seems. I have personally been part of victories that happen with one second to spare.
A victory naturally feels good, and a loss is disappointing. That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun even when you lose, but when you put that much time into anything, you are going to be invested in the results. The best match is a close and hard fought battle, because it isn’t as much fun to crush your opponent, and it certainly isn’t very much fun to be crushed. A series of victories can bring you closer together, but a series of losses can kill morale. It is important to remind yourself that it’s just a game and supposed to be fun.
I wanted to expanded on a comment from Part One.
” Some people are there to cooperatively have a good time (even in competition), and some people are there because the online realm is the only place where they can satisfy the need for stroking their own ego.”
Just like anything else in life, you get out of First Person Shooters what you put into them. You could play an MMORPG without ever typing a single sentence or teaming. That’s how some people would prefer to play, actually, and there isn’t anything wrong with that if they are enjoying the game. I think it is fair to say: that play style misses out on a good portion of the content and experience.
The same can be said of people who just want to shoot other players and trash talk. They are enjoying the game as they see fit, but they are missing out on something deeper that is there. Unfortunately, they give a bad name to the rest of us much like offensive players do in MMORPGs. Those annoying 13 year olds are in every game, but they aren’t all 13. Kids, teenagers, and even adults fall into the annoying category. There is just something in certain people’s nature that makes them enjoy knocking down others.
