Are Online Games Too Competitive?

In the day and age where more and more people are into videogames than ever before, those same people are finding communities that they enjoy being around and sharing moments of those games with one another. Whether that’s discord channels, stream communities, or any place in between, one thing has become more common for pretty much anyone who plays games: they want to show people what they are doing in the games they play. Doesn’t matter what kind of game it is, doesn’t matter what their reason is for wanting to share, people like sharing things to others. Myself included. And now, we live in a time and place where it’s never been easier to get a clip of a cool or clutch moment from a game and share with potentially thousands of people across the internet. The demand for better and better material has gone up as well. People are more inclined to only show the good instead of the bad, which has made people seek out what’s best in a particular game, especially, if that game is competitive in any sort of way. So then, the question of whether or not games in 2022 have become too competitive is seriously worth asking. Everyone certainly has an opinion on games, and whether or not being competitive is a good thing. It’s a delicate and meticulous conversation with some layers to it. So, I’m going to do my best do break it down from personal experience and see if games really are being taken too seriously these days, or if there is still plenty of room for fun and just overall positive interactions.

Any real semblance of competitive games for myself didn't really start until the Xbox 360 era. Sure, I could go back further and say couch coop with the original Xbox, PS2, or even the N64 could be considered competitive. Late nights with Golden Eye or Mario Party always had us at each other's throats. But within that context it’s just friends bantering with one another; not exactly what I would call competitive. We wanted to win yes, but we weren’t doing everything in our power to optimize a strategy to its absolute best. We just didn’t want to lose and get dunked on by our friends. Understandably so. However, with the rise of playing games online with people you’ve never even met before, those moments of playing for the actual fun and joy of the videogame are still there. But slowly, overtime, that idea began to take a backseat for some people. And an emphasis of playing to soley be better than your opponents began to creep up more and more in modern games. Again, this is strictly speaking about online games. Halo, COD, League; these games that started out relatively lighthearted and carefree, turned somewhat of a different leaf. With more and more emphasis being placed on using guns, gear, perks, runes, etc., that were the “best in slot”. This is a phrase that I think most people are familiar with. But just in case, best in slot means the most useful whatever piece of gear/equipment that is the most optimal and advantageous for you use and equip. This might be a perk or weapon attachment from COD, certain runes/masteries from League, or getting timers down and standing by for power weapon spawns in Halo. Now, using these innately doesn’t really mean you’re being overly competitive when playing online. Hell, you might use them because you just like them, and then someone mentions that they are the most powerful. It certainly does happen that way. But when it treads into being overly competitive, and this leads into the next part of this conversation, is when your mindset changes around only using the best, because it’s the best.

There is a time and a place to not pull your punches and do everything in your power to win. The best example of this would be any kind of tournament setting. If there is a prize on the line, whether it’s an item or just money, then there is no reason not to try your absolute best to win. Some people still will use the things they enjoy/love even if they aren’t necessarily the best. And to be honest, a crowd always loves an underdog story. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing someone who is using something underpowered decimate a bracket of people fighting tooth and nail using the strongest things in the game. It’s kind of cathartic, really. But not everyone will play by those rules. Again, understandably so. However, if you aren’t in a high stake's situation, if there isn’t anything on the line, then...why? Why use the best stuff in a game? Does that person just want to always win as much as possible? Do they want to improve at the game and feel as though if they aren’t using the best they’re falling behind? The answer to this question is going to vary across everyone you ask it to. For myself, I kind of lost my hyper competitive edge back in the 360 days of gaming. Playing COD and Halo and always trying really freaking hard. Buying extra peripherals to try and squeeze out and edge, even if it’s a tiny fraction of one. Nowadays though, I’m much more reserved. I always try to do my best, but that isn’t the same as sweating every single game, trying to get my KDA .01 higher or anything. No, I just...play. That’s really all there is to it. If I was put into a competitive situation like a tournament, then I would definitely put on my try hard pants once more. I’d still most likely lose, but that’s okay. As long as I put on a good show and performance, I'd be happy with that. Doesn’t help that most games these days feel unfinished, buggy, and broken, which just leads to disappointment and frustration, but that’s a whole other conversation for future time. Another reason for competition even just in a casual setting is monetization, but not strictly in a tournament setting.

The gaming market has become a beacon for people to be creative and share their gaming stories with each other. And those stories come in all games, and ideas. Whether it’s a story woven with some form of narrative plot that speaks more like a movie than an actual videogame, or just someone showing a really good game of domination where they talk about the game itself or life, every piece of content produced for a game is someone wanting to share something with others. This video, a great example; just a conversation about gaming in 2022 and what it has kind of turned into from years past. This industry is meteoric in terms of size; and everyone wants to be a part of it somehow. And overtime, developers and publishers have seen the benefits to allowing people to share their games and stories that they create within those games. So, people want to show the best parts of both the game itself, but also their skills within the game. The demand for excellence in gaming has gone up dramatically over the years. Now, of course not everyone and everything needs to be the best. But, it’s hard to deny that there isn’t a market for content that’s sole purpose is to explain and illustrate what the best things are in online games. People eat that content up; it’s a fast and simple way to get the information necessary to be as lethal as possible in online gaming. Especially if a game has been out for some time and a new update has you enticed by what you see, so you look up online the fastest way to get competitively back in the game so you are on as even of a playing field as everyone else who hasn’t put the game down since launch. It happens all the time. COD, Destiny, League; these games thrive on metas; characters, weapons, or items that are the most consistent and strong currently in the game and most likely to net you a win. As developers update games and buff/nerf things, the meta shifts to whatever the newest and greatest thing is. It’s a flowing river, and when someone puts a rock into the river to try and stop it, the river just moves around the rock and keeps going. Sadly, metas will always be a thing, despite how player mentality can be marred by the mere existence of one; putting too much of a focus on it, instead of just finding something they are comfortable with and enjoying that, regardless if it gets them a win or not.

Player mentality is another core factor with competition in gaming. If the expectation is that you are to enjoy yourself, don’t take things too seriously, and have fun, then that’s what most players will do. A game like Rocket League is a wonderful example. People play the heck out of that game, because it’s soccer with cars; just the idea alone is exciting. And as someone who played it briefly before it got really popular, the first time I scored a goal, it was the hypest thing I’ve ever done. That game is adrenaline and dopamine the videogame. Lots of people casually enjoy it. And there are others who take it seriously while playing online with randoms. So, the competitive people could argue that those who don’t care about winning are ruining the game for themselves. And the opposite argument could be made. See how messy this conversation can become when you go down the rabbit hole? But there aren’t a ton of games making that a core pillar and explicitly explaining that’s the intention with their game. Look, everyone enjoys games differently; I get that. If someone wants to min/max every experience possible so they have the highest chance of winning and being victorious, then that’s fine. Who am I to take a jab at them for playing the game they want to play. But I have a question: when does it end? If you’re the best at a game, can you still enjoy it even though you might just roll over most people you come across? Does the fun fade away? Can you only enjoy that game in some kind of competitive environment? Or, is there still some visceral level of enjoyment and satisfaction because you are that good at it? I’d love to hear people’s takes on this idea.

Gaming has never been bigger in the modern world. And every year, it continues to get bigger. Mainstream AAA games, indie games, mobile; whatever you fancy. This medium has created some of the greatest opportunities to escape our reality and be transported to pretty much whatever you can think of. Some people do it for the slow, casual enjoyment of taking everything a game has to offer in. While others want a fast-paced high stakes situation where everything rides on making the right decisions, hitting your shots, making the right calls; we’re all different with complex ideas about how and why we choose to play videogames. So, are games becoming too competitive? I don’t know. In the right setting with the right circumstances, gaming being taken seriously is extremely exciting and the true essence of competition. On the other hand, casual gaming can be the most invigorating and rewarding experiences anyone can have digitally. So, I’ll pass the question off to you: do you think gaming has become too sweaty and overly competitive? Or, do you think this is just the natural evolution of how people experience games online? Let me know down in the comments down below, and be sure to subscribe for more videos about topics and ideas revolving around videogames. I hope to see you in future ones.