Gamers behaving badly

It’s been brought to my attention that gamers are becoming less welcoming on online servers and are instead choosing to show signs of hostility. Just the other day I was playing Runescape and I found myself caught in a three way row purely because I had made the decision to share a fire with another player. I myself did not see the issue as sharing fires does not impact on how long the fire lasts, yet the other two players found me incredibly annoying. I struggled to see why they were so territorial to the point where they even logged out of the game. Am I the only one who doesn’t see the issue here?

Call of Duty is another example of where gamers become easily aggressive. I often find myself cursing at the players who choose to run around with combat knives for the reason that I find them irritating. There’s nothing more frustrating than getting yourself into a good sniping spot only to be stabbed in the back by somebody who has hurriedly made their way around the outskirts of the map just to get to your base. Spawn campers are another example. Oh the things I say about them. Ironically enough though, I find myself doing these exact things when I am trying to do the camo challenges. So what is it in my mind that angers me so much about others doing it, yet finds it perfectly acceptable for me to do it? It doesn’t make much sense.

The only way I can explain these inconsistencies is by simply describing them as natural gamer behaviour. All gamers I know or have encountered have appeared to rage at least once. Even Youtuber’s often post videos of them become volatile towards the game they’re playing. Yet here we are on a day to day basis, playing the same games over and over even when they make us so mad that we could scream. We’re all guilty of doing it. Is it just the gamer way? Maybe it’s because we as a community are just so passionate that it translates into fury when things don’t quite go our way. Who really knows? The point is, does it take away from the experience?

I would vote that the experience remains the same, only slightly more interesting. If you root through my social media accounts, you will probably find various arguments between me and other players that I clearly found quite amusing. The argument I had on Runescape for example. The context of the argument was real and I have no doubt that, for whatever reason, I was clearly a problem to the other two players. But the way it was handled reminded me of the stereotypical, stroppy ten year old that we all envision to be on the other side of the headset when playing multiplayer games. You know the sort, who throw out insults about how they slept with your mother. Well this guy on Runescape even asked me to film him and the other disgruntled player doing rather strange things of a sexual nature. It was quite bizarre actually. But if I’m completely honest, the whole thing was surprisingly hilarious. I couldn’t stop laughing for the duration and even though it was inconvenient to be in the middle of an argument, there’s no doubt about it, the way it was handled was just plain funny.

So are aggressive gamers really such a bad thing? I will admit that having been in a lobby with players who were having a genuinely racist argument via headset, I found myself questioning why I was even playing. It took away the enjoyment of the game. But the little spats we’ve all learnt to expect are actually rather entertaining. Even when you’re not involved, listening to others bickering over who banged who’s mother first or who has the bigger genitalia is something I thoroughly enjoy. It reminds us that the virtual world and the real world are two completely separate things and should remain that way. So whilst we immerse ourselves in our gaming duties, it can be quite refreshing to partake in a bit of gamer rage banter. I’m sure those of you reading this completely understand what I mean because it’s something we have all been subject to.

All in all though, gamers may be behaving badly, but it’s all a bit of fun right? Let us know what you think down below and maybe even share some of your ‘Gamers behaving badly’ moments.