Intellectual Gamer

Today I was lucky enough to play in a Soul Caliber IV tournament hosted by ‘Last Gamer Standing’. It was great fun, and I had a good time. There were many good competitors.

What I wanted to write about was what I felt was the best part of the tournament; the respectful gamers that it was made up of. Everyone I played complimented the other player’s ability and played in a respecting manner. It was highly enjoyable, all because of the people. Which leads me to a point about community.

Community is one of the single most important things about gaming these days. If your community is poor the game soon becomes so. As a gamer you have a responsibility to play respectfully in order to maintain your community, being disrespectful simply leads to eventual self imposed destruction.

It is very common to disassociate yourself when playing video games, to look and act differently online then you do in reality. Despite the commonness of this, I really think this is a dangerous act. There are always consequences to your actions even if your actions are as seemingly trivial as being rude online. Being rude online changes you and it changes others, it makes you ruder as it makes others aggravated and prone to rudeness. Just as you change the community through negative actions you change yourself.

To quote a buddhist saying:

‘Do not think lightly of evil, thinking it will pass you by. For just as a water pitcher fills up with every fall of a water drop, an unwise person accumulates evil, little by little. Do not think lightly of goodness, thinking it will pass you by. For just as a water pitcher fills up with every fall of a water drop, a wise person accumulates goodness, little by little.’

Don’t be a bully, or one day you may slip in person and get slapped (by yourself or another).

Be positive and polite; don’t drop out of sessions you’re losing, don’t kick random people from rooms, and use your mic to communicate your good intentions to other players. People naturally get frustrated if you beat them, being polite is one way to make them still be comfortable playing with you. After all how hard is it really to say ‘Good game’?

I give kudos to those who apply positive real life attitudes to gaming, these are the type of people I enjoy playing with. And in the long run these people are one of the main reasons I continue to view gaming as a constructive hobby.

Creating a community in which you’re comfortable to play, express ideas, or pursue friendships is the make or break factor not only of a games online element, but as well as your degree of enjoyment of that game. Be happy, and make your community happy with you.

I wanted to thank Last Gamer Standing for holding the tournament, and ShadowTSI for being such a great host. They really went the extra mile in hosting a great event for the Soul Caliber community, and even providing prizes. Hopefully we can see, partake in, and support more tournaments of theirs in the future.

To learn more about Last Gamer Standing, you can find their website here.