How the World Should Work

I’d like to highlight some things I’ve noticed since my absence from the gaming world. For context, the TL;DR version is that I’m thirty-three years old. In my twenties I was an extremely avid gamer. But at 27 my mother passed, and I gave up everything to pursue the writing career she always encouraged me to chase. So basically I haven’t picked up a controller in almost six years.

Now that things have become steady for me, I’ve inched back into gaming. And let me tell you…it’s way different than what I remember.

Years ago, when I played objective multiplayer games like COD MW/MW2, Battlefield, Titanfall, etc., it was super fun. It was always easy to find great team players and for the most part, everyone got along and had an awesome time, win or lose.

Now, for some reason, it seems that mentality has vanished. At least, from the limited number of matches I’ve played in. See, being removed from the gaming realm for so long meant I basically had to start from scratch to find people to play with. It didn’t take long to find solid, reliable folks who are quick to send me an invite (I’m not the greatest gunsman, but I’m a team player and always stick to the objective and maintain a positive demeanor). But I’ve noticed something different with these battle royale games. People are way more intense and aggressive when they die or get shook up. There’s a lot of arguing, and a lot of blaming and finger-pointing in the after-lobbies. I’ve witnessed it many times in both public and private parties, so I know its pervasive throughout.

Truthfully, if I had to guess why this is the case, it’s because of the nature of a battle royale game at its very foundation. You get one life. You don’t re-spawn (with some exceptions like buybacks, gulags, etc.). So there’s much, much more at stake. You’re investing a 20-30 minute window of time into a match that could be over within the blink of an eye if one little thing goes wrong.

And that brings me to my point. These are games, folks. They’re meant to be enjoyable. They’re meant to bring us together, have some fun, and joke around while doing it. Listen, I get it. Everyone wants to win. Duh. But take COD Warzone as an example.

Every time you spawn into a match (let’s use quads for example), you are entering an arena with 146 other players. That means you have a 2.66% chance of coming out on top, and everyone else is going to lose. That’s right. On average, you have a 97% chance of not winning. And despite how confident you are in your team’s abilities…there are 30 something other teams in your lobby thinking the exact same thing. So why argue and fault someone for a tiny mishap considering those odds? People make mistakes, and there exists an endless number of ways to play these games. Some prefer run and gun, some prefer hanging back until the end. Who cares?

So please. End the arguing. Find a team you mesh with, and have fun. Because that’s what it’s all about, after all – isn’t it?