Who thinks gamers are poor sportman? Compared to the past?

[Assassin X]

Ok. I post this in every forum but i get shot down in every forum... usually because its full of gamers.... that are teens... that hate me because of what i say. Once again this board is full of smart non-***hole people so i dont think i have to worry about that...i think.

Ok. Ill use modern terms for anyone who doesnt speak...err.. normal language. Im what you call an "Old school gamer". I mean yes i played Atari and all but this is about online gaming so im talking about the days when it was starting to move like Duke Nukem...etc.

~Then.....:
Then if you were "godlike" in a game people called you names but just kidding around and you all knew it. If you sucked you were called names and once again it was just funning around. The bad people were helped and giving tips by everyone, especially the godlike people.

During a game there wasnt much talk. And if there was talk it was usually friendly great conversations. No swearing(not that i have anything against swearing ) or "1337" crap or anything. At the end of a game it was "GG" and the next game started.

No one complained about game and there were lots of things to download like maps and mods and fun things. No one really cheated online or used small modifications to get an advantage. Eveyrbody accepted what weapons and things were in a game and had fun no matter what! Everyone had sportmanship and was nice.

~Now....:
If your "godlike" now your called a cheater/hacker, maybe your actually given a compliment, then its back to insults on being a cheater. Usually you get kicked or banned from a server.If you suck your booed and insulted and treated like scum and given no help to teach you anything.

During a game its idiots on Mics(some games have audio from people) swearing(once again i got no problem with swearing) wackos, people beings idiots, kids mouthing off or people that dont know there mics dont work. During the game in chat people are to busy making excuses on why they are bad at a game or why they missed a shot, and talking 1337 crap....etc. They also are whiney about most any subject through out a game. At the end of a game theres rarley a "GG".

Now games are filled with cheaters and people that use advantages.(people dont consider those cheating nowadays for some reason.) Now people complain about everything in a game...."This gun isnt fair." , "That item is to strong" , "That charecter is to dark"....etc. In CS:S most servers ban sniper rifles because people cant stand them, even though there in the game.Nobody has fun, nobody has goods sportmanship, everyone is nasty like they got "Gamers PMS".

So thats my opinion. I think gamers themselves have gone downhill(while games have gone uphill)

What do you think about gamers? Is what i say pretty accurate?

[Stark]

Yup. Most pub servers are full of petulant, prima donna morons. Indeed, games like CS are MADE for people like that. However, even more mature games are STILL full of 12yo 'omg haxhaxhax' people.

I can compare these people to a guy I used to know. He only (ONLY!) played games he was good at. He'd get people round, then jump them with 'lets play game x'. He's utterly pwnzor them, since often they'd be actual, real people and not gamers. He'd then spend at least half an hour crowing about how hardcore he is: and this is AFTER people got sick of his spawncamping etc. He'd refuse to play any game someone is better than him at (ie, he doesn't even play his favourite games online) and he'd cry like a little girl when he got killed - because it was always 'cheap', or a 'n00b cannon', or 'lucky'. Whereas camping in the same spot with a sniper camping the spawn is none of those things

If they ARE comparable, then most online gamers are just lonely, worthless people desperate for SOMETHING to prop up their non-existent self-worth. I play FPSs for a laugh - for other people, I think it's much, much more important to them.

[Praxis]

Yup. Thats why it can be fun to play older games sometimes, because only the best players stick around while the l33tsp34k1ng wannabees run off to the latest games.

[Styphon]

I totally know what you mean...

anybody remember when you could actually get people to do a crowbars only game of Half Life? that just doesn't happen anymore...

[Executor32]

I blame John "Suck it down, bitch!" Romero.

[Exonerate]

I blame the influx of immature pre/teens.

This is one of many reasons I avoid CS. Every multiplayer game has its share of assholes, but CS seems to have more than its share. Play NS

[White Haven]

Back in the day, PC games were 'geeky' enough that the mainstream asshats steered clear. It was quasi-outcast playing quasi-outcast, with a smattering of adults who made/played them added to the mix. So you've got people with a common interest (computers) and a sense of mutual identity (geeks vs jocks and such)...and now you have every idiot middle-schooler.

[Terr Fangbite]

I love it when I try out a new game only to be driven away by the morons online. For instance I got fed up with Diablo 2 online because I wanted to have fun, and fun isn't running from the 99 level moron who says how powerful he is because he can kill us all (note, we were like 15th level).

In CS I am often called a hacker. I got enough skill to keep up with most servers, and for some reason my spray and pray shots hit... often. So of course its a hack when I empty a clip from my gun through a door thinking some noob is sitting behind it waiting to pop me (wow guess I was right).

MMORPGs are the worst. I've watched 2 payable ones and played 2 free ones. The paid ones I saw morons left and right (like I'm paying 15 bucks a month for that), one of the frees everyone shunned me (just asked where to buy weapons and boom, they all refuse to say anything to me). The final one I was accused of stealing from them (how that was possible is beyond me) and then hunted down and killed until I got fed up and left.

I love multiplayer games. At least monthly my friends get together and we play all kinds of games, having the bragging rights then the remactches. When we go online we kick butt together and we have a good time. However with the crowd of wannabes it gets tiring to have to baby people who are only enjoying the game by making fun of those weaker than them. I CURSE THEM ALL TO SUFFER IN WINDOWS 95 FOR ALL ETERNITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PainRack]

This is why I only play in LAN shops, on a closed server.

There was this LAN trip in Johore Bahru where we played with Friendly Fire On, meaning that you can frag your own teammates. We didn't lock the server and one bugger jumped in and fragged the entire team with knives and grenades. Repeatedly.

Fuck that. We were in there to have a good time. Sure, swearing is allowed, like when through the blessing of God, I somehow repeatedly head shot one guy but that kind of behaviour is assholish.

[sketerpot]

This sort of thing is why my brother plays online Diablo II obsessively and I'm disgusted with it. He thrives on assholery and the quest to build overpowered characters. Personally, I think that sucks the fun out of the game, but then I'm the one who likes games to have plots and can't stand most people my age.

I also think it's worth mentioning pwned.nl.

[Cal Wright]

Some of the guys I play online with are like that. They're not as bad now as they were a few months ago when Halo 2 came out, but they still toss in a few words. I guess it makes them feel better.

[Sharp-kun]

This is why I rarely play online, and when I do its only with people I know.

Most of my multiplayer gaming is done on a LAN, or on a console with friends.

[Dead_Ghost]

I usually only log-in to clan servers. They're not immune , but we can find better sportsmans amidst them. Public servers, for CS (at least for me), are servers best left untouched.

[Stravo]

I call bullshit on this notion that gamers now are any less mature than gamers in the past. Ever play Pong on the Atari 2600 with a friend back in the day? The amount of trash talk bullshit was epic. This was fucking PONG but Jesus did people emotionally invest in their gaming then as now. The only difference is there are more gamers than ever and we can play with a wide variety of people on the net. Otherwise gamers will always have that moronic contingent that makes us all look like sniveling whiners. Same shit different gaming system.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

I call bullshit on this notion that gamers now are any less mature than gamers in the past.

Frankly, I don't know what "mature" is (gamer-wise), but in my days (early 90's games like Ultima 6 or Quest for Glory), not so many people played games. Only a small group of enthusiasts who really dedicates their time and money to play games.

It is much different than today, where people like John Carmack make games more accessible to "mainstream" consumers (Quake, Doom, etc). Not to mention games are more McDonalized today. So I wouldn't be surprised if teenage gamers today are mostly the same with those listening to boys band (alright bad analogy but you know what I mean).

Not to mention geeky stuff like computers and games are being more and more perceived as "cool" nowadays. So while teenagers in my days played games because they're really like the games, I guess many teenagers today play games because "you are not cool if you're not playing multiplayer Quake".


So while in the past, teenagers played games because they really loved the games, many teenagers today play games because they think it's cool, because they can vent-up their hormones in multiplayer, and because they can impress their peers by being a jerk in online play.

[Assassin X]

For medical reasons ive spent most of my life as a game nerd stuck in a house so ive seen the gamers change. Not that i sit here all day playing games, i actually do other things .

But i do alot of time playing online since i was young. And by "Mature" i mean how someone responds in a game.

Like then if you shot someone they didnt say anything or they made a joke like "Ahh so that what my brains look like" whatever...etc. Now if you shoot someone people make excuses on why they died or they think you cheat or they just in general whine and act like bad sports aka lack of maturity.

Yeah there were idiots then but not to many.

As i say. The young people i grew up with became adult as*holes and had as*holes of their own!

Not to mention now games are played by lots of people besides just geeks. I mean look at what i mentioned about "Advantages". Its cheating and its considering "ok" by mostly all gamer (even the "adult" ones)!

Gamers have gotten way to agressive, nasty and full hate. Its really sad.

[Vendetta]

This is one of the reasons I like console gaming, especially beat 'em ups, face to face.

Anyone who tries to be a whiny bitch offline is right there, and will have a hell of a time explaining just what they were doing with that Dual Shock controller's rumble feature down at A&E....

[PrinceofLowLight]

The mind of your average "1337" 13 year old is:
Anyone who isn't as good as you at the game is worthless n00b worthy only to be mocked.

Anyone better than you is a total loser who devotes all his time to the game or a hacker.

[Darth Wong]

There was a period where it was not that easy to get online with games, or to get on-line at all. That was the era in which unmoderated Usenet newsgroups were actually useful.

But then came the influx of kiddies using their parents' computers, and everything went to hell.

[Praxis]

There was a period where it was not that easy to get online with games, or to get on-line at all. That was the era in which unmoderated Usenet newsgroups were actually useful.

But then came the influx of kiddies using their parents' computers, and everything went to hell.

No kidding. There is a news/rumors site with articles being posted semi-daily about the next gen consoles. I read it for a while and got on the forums.

It was fine for about three days, good, intelligent discussions. Then some nut came on and started spamming the place. Then a second nut came on and started spamming the place. It's a complete MESS, every thread filled with gigantic mega-posts or gay porn pictures.

It's almost impossible to not have a moderator now.

[IRG CommandoJoe]

Hmm, I don't know what games you guys play, but in Day of Defeat there are a lot of good players. And by good, I mean both skilled and/or courteous. In the OP it is said that it's very rare that anyone says GG at the end of a game. Not true for DoD. Usually there are people who say GG, myself included. And in regards to the all crowbar fight, that still happens. In fact just yesterday I was in one. Of course in DoD there are knives, spades, bayonets, and rifle butts, but the idea is the same. Another thing I've noticed are that usually when someone accidentally team kills, he/she immediately says sorry even if there is no option for you to forgive them.

Don't get me wrong. There is your fair share of assholes who excessively spawn camp, team kill, hack, flood the mic with useless bullshit (good thing there is a mute option), and generally bitch and moan about every little thing, but there are also "good gamers" out there. Many times I find myself having a lot of fun with some random people in small servers where an admin is playing, so he listens to your map suggestions and fixes options and turns on all talk so you can have friendly, humorous dialogue and generally goof off.

[andrewgpaul]

I only play Halo (1) online, PC version, and it's been fine. There's a few people who are arseholes, camping with the sniper rifle on Race mode, for example, but mostly, it's been good. Heck, sometimes, people even stop to give you a ride in their 'hog!

Played this one guy, he wanted a 'melee-only' Slayer match, so I suggested we change to CTF, so we could beat each other senseless with flagpoles. Plenty fun

[lPeregrine]

Like has been said before, I blame the appearance of cheap internet service and computers. Instead of a smaller audience who are generally older, now there's a flood of kids using their parents accounts to play games. There's no need for the maturity to get a job and pay for it, they can just go straight to playing with everyone else at 14 or whatever. Sure, some of them are decent people, but there's a lot of them who aren't.

Take that lack of maturity and experience dealing with strangers and add in the anonyminity of the internet, and it's easy to see where it came from. Now this kid on parents internet account can be as immature as he wants, since there's none of the consequences of real life.

But to be a bit optimistic, the "good old days" still exist, you just have to find the right place. As a whole, most of gaming is fairly civilized... troublemakers get kicked quickly, and most of the rest can be dealt with by the mute button. And if you get a LAN or server with some adult players, it's just as good as ever.

[Robert Treder]

Read Gamesmanship by Stephen Potter (1947). The art of being a dick when it comes to games is ancient.

[lPeregrine]

Read Gamesmanship by Stephen Potter (1947). The art of being a dick when it comes to games is ancient.

True. The real difference is now there's nothing to keep them away from the decent people. The bad side of widespread internet gaming is there's nowhere to run from them, and they don't have the social consequences of acting like that anymore. I imagine back in 1947, anyone acting like modern gamers would pretty quickly find themselves playing alone, but now they just go harass another server.