LAGWAR | GAMING'S BEST IN TOP NOTCH MEDIOCRITY

With the recent release of team-based games such as Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2, playing as a team on the internet in online games has become more prevalent than ever. The holidays approach, students and workers alike hit up vacation, and the number of people fragging each other on the ‘Net is going to just get larger and larger as time goes by. Those of us who play team-based games enjoy the rush of working together, defeating opponents either with well-coordinated teamwork or by the skin of our teeth, and climbing the mini-social ladder that is team games.

But with these releases comes the ugliness behind team-based gaming, when competition  morphs into yelling, screaming, and general insults over voice-based communication. Frustrated at poor gameplay, a team that doesn’t seem to execute properly, or constant losses, there are people out there that literally explode over chat or Ventrilo. They start screaming at teammates for lack of skill and generally treat a loss in a game like a loss of life. Typically, they’re the ones with the least tolerance for new player screwups and in some cases, will refuse to play with new folks who are still adapting to game mechanics.

These highly competitive and angry players are also the first to fire offline from the game’s forums, over video sites where exploits are posted, and in screenshots where teabagging is not only acceptable but expected with a precious kill or victory. You know the kind – the ones that will angrily blame someone else for a loss and trash talk an opponent for a decisive win. Many other players simply react in a variety of ways – by steering clear of them or worse, becoming just like them. It’s definitely a vicious, competitive cycle that threatens to blow up at the first sign of noob behavior during a skirmish.

Not surprisingly, I’ve never treated team-based games as  that serious – at least serious enough to get angry over. In a team-based game, I’ll either shrug off a bad round or set of deaths, laugh at any screenshots posted on the forums of my ineptitude, and generally not bother with players that feel the need to yell at me for an accidental death or failure. I think the reason for this goes back to my core idea of “games being a fun pasttime” and not something that is meant to upset, hurt, or otherwise deviate from that idea. I honestly can see why someone would be highly competitive in a team-based game, but not why they allow themselves to be whipped up into a frenzy over it. While some people may get something out of winning in games such as these, it also isn’t really supposed to be at the heart of why team-based gaming is fun.

But if you don’t have my vast tolerance and c’est la vie attitude about team-based games, then you need to adapt by simply taking measures to preserve your sense of fun. If you’re concerned about performance, then play with friends or folks that you trust to give yourself a good gaming experience. On forums, try not to respond to the trash talk in kind, but rather in a way that doesn’t show that you’re bothered by it. And on top of it all, treat every team game as something thats played, finished, and shelved. One bad game, or even a set of bad games, is not the end of the world in a team-based game, and no one should ever be made to think of it as such. As someone who doesn’t let the competitive nature team-based gaming get to them, you’ll honestly be helping your team instead of hurting it by getting upset.

There’s nothing wrong with putting in a best effort and competing to win in team-based games. Just don’t let it make you lose focus for why you ultimately enjoy playing them with others.