Sean Sands: The Achievement Gap
Sean Sands over at Gamers with Jobs posted this fantastic piece in his Maximum Verbosity column regarding a subject I have thought a lot about in recent days.
“…Much as I may long to engage in a game like Demigod, Halo Reach or Team Fortress 2, even the most cursory effort to dip a toe into the multiplayer spaces reveals the hideous truth that a substantial population have, in my absence, dedicated themselves to the glory of the game in ways usually reserved for religious rituals. To attempt to breach their holy sanctums of online space is like trying to talk theology with the Pope by continuously referencing Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a Christ figure. Not only are you going to get beat, but you’re probably going to be asked to leave.
…For even the well trained, much less the best, playing me in one of these games apparently has the same effect as drinking a cup of warm milk and cuddling under a blanket on the couch.
For fragile egos like mine, this is not a desired outcome.”
I think my complete lack of Left 4 Dead 2 and Halo 3 play can be attributed to exactly the reason’s Sands discusses. It’s also, I suspect, the main reason I have little to no interest in Reach.
Good reading for any day of the week, let alone a Friday. Check it out.
May 14th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
There is a reason I have gradually weaned off the Gamer’s With Jobs podcast and leaned ever more heavily with drink in hand on your great show. You guys are human. They are not. I don’t want to read Byron, or Hawthorne for my enjoyment of Gaming madness… I don’t want a lengthy debate on why the strategy of the corporation behind the latest hit game is linked to the biorhythms of the players at the checkout counter of Gamestop…
I want to listen to real people who find fun in my chosen hobby, and who continually show the great bond of craziness and love they have for each other.
Don’t get me wrong. The GWJ crew is probably spot-on for those interested in the philospophy of gaming, the science behind the scenes… but for me, I just want to hear about the fun… the real gaming… not the nose-in-the-air blathering of folks who seem to have lost the whole reason they started pod-casting to begin with. Check out some really early GWJ podcasts and compare them to today if you want to go see what I mean…
You guys always put yourselves down compared to that crew…but I don’t see it that way at all. I see you three as the real deal. Thanks guys!
May 14th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
I find them to be just-as-human and fun loving as the DGR guys, but to each their own. This is a dumb argument!
May 14th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
I think the artical is well spoken and I too suffer from this affliction. I have yet to get into MW2 multiplayer, because in a matter of hours, and I do mean HOURS I was as obsoluete as my 8 track collection. In fact I would gladly take my 8 track collection over my lack of skills in that game. When you log on and you are immediately called a NOOB and taunted, this just isn’t fun for me. I would love to get back into it, but I know it would mean a bunch of us who feel like this would have to get together.
The same can be said for my prowess in Left 4 Dead 2. I love this game and at one time I was pretty good at it. But the majority of the folks I play with play SO MUCH and so often that I am no longer a valuable member to that experience. Knowing that I am letting them down when they play vs does NOT make me want to play it. I miss the days of exploring and just killing zombies, but the sport of Left 4 Dead 2 has taken over and that can be hard. No worries, I’ll still play when the opportunity arises, I just don’t yearn the way I used to.
Perhaps my most favorite online experiece was Chromehounds. It was inventive, it was creative, it was strategic, and we were the ONLY people playing it. I remember one time logging in sans my DGR crew and some Dbag asked “Ryker why should we keep you?” What an obsurd question, and one that I only had one response to… “Fuck You, why should I play with you pricks!”
Here is what I do know. My online life since meeting all of my DGR friends has been 100% better. I don’t pub as much and those times when we all do get together are always AWESOME! Perhaps it’s why I contribute and try and give back here so much, because you are good people and you’ve made a positive impact in my life.
I want to check out Reach and Tiny is playing it right now. Perhaps we can start some community play dates and enjoy the new hotness in gaming without the dbag factor. If so I am all in my friends.
May 14th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
I suppose it does depend on if you have a group of people with whom to play. I rarely play games online -especially competitively – simply because I find the skill needed to be too much. I don’t have the time to put in to “learn” a video game. And I’ve always said that if I’m going to learn a new skill, it sure ain’t gonna be one as useless as pulling off some combo in Street Fighter.
However, since I brought up Street Fighter, I love how SSFIV allows you to play against people of your same skill level. It matches up your wins/losses, etc., with someone similar. Hell, I’ve even won a couple matches online that way! But put me in a public room and watch me get my ass handed to me in spectacular fashion.
FPSs online? Hate ‘em. Despise ‘em. Too douchy for me.
May 14th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
I tend to be this way with most games as well. I’m pretty horse shit in competitive online matches. However, I still love playing versus on L4D2 just because I enjoy dicking around as a special infected. I rarely play to win…which tends to piss off my teammates. *shrug* Sucks to ‘em.
All-in-all, I would have to agree with Mr. Sands; unless you play these games with a zealousness usually reserved for people with OCDs, you just can’t compete, and that takes away from the fun. Hell, I even got um…*goes to look up game*…Battlefield: Bad Company 2 the day it came out (I even played a little in the beta), and I tried to play for a little while every day. By the end of the week, most of the players were miles ahead of me in rank/equipment, and had learned every nook ‘n’ cranny in the maps. Meanwhile, I was walking around getting killed shortly after spawning and invoking the wrath of my teammates.
I think the only solution is to, as John said, “have a group of people with whom to play.” Otherwise, unless you have far too much free time and not enough legs to go out and get a life, there is no way to keep up with the majority of people who play these games like their a freakin’ drug.
May 15th, 2010 at 2:45 am
Fortunately Halo and MW2 both have a MUTE feature which is perhaps my favourite feature of both these games. I’m playing Halo Reach now and am enjoying the beta. Halo introduced me to the world of multiplayer so I’ll always have that connection.
But I hate hearing the teenage fucks who abuse you while their voice breaks over the microphone. I swear I probably heard a testicle drop on one guy who sent me a message talking about how shit I am. But I’m happy to mute these guys and block them through my Live account if need be.
I would still recommend giving these titles a look – it’s never too late and the developers have clearly thought of countermeasures so these guys don’t ruin everyone’s experiences.
May 15th, 2010 at 9:44 am
Re-reading my comment above, I realize I come off as kinda off topic, and an idiot to boot. I apologize to those offended.
Sean Sands is spot on in this piece. I have not tried to play multiplayer in quite a while, because of just the sort of attitudes he writes about. To be frank, I’m just not that good at it, and I don’t know that I could ever get that good at it to play in this field. I play a game to enjoy the experience, and have had some great LAN based team games with friends, but the wide-open playground which is the internets can go places that leave enjoyment behind if you are not very lucky indeed.
As to my earlier comment, I am a regular listener to both podcasts, have been since the Team Fremont days. But preferences of one over the other clearly did not need to be aired here. I actually like both very much…just wish the extremely informative dudes at GWJ would relax sometimes. But hey – maybe what makes them great in their own right is their high level of discourse…me, I’m just a dumb fuck who likes playing with toys!
Cheers.
May 15th, 2010 at 11:10 am
Ryker XL, what the hell dude. Come play L4D2 with us. If you think that’s what happened, you forced yourself out. 90% of L4D is survivor shooting a special infected off a capture asap, infected synchronizing their attacks, and knowing the maps. all “the metagame” is about is how well you can coordinate with your teammates by talking to them.
I hate articles like this. Sands makes sense with this piece because he’s talking primarily about RTSs, which are massive depth and like variations of chess. I’m glad he tried to improve 2-3 before quitting provided he’s telling the truth.
But all of you, don’t compare this ‘achievement gap’ thing to other genres. The gap isn’t really that big if you’re willing to spend 2 weeks on the online portion of that $60 game you bought. AAA games are assumed to have at least some kind of depth and it annoys me when a forum acts like a PTA meeting at an elementary school where every player should be a winner their first time trying. Online FPSs contain the bottom of the gene pool because there isn’t a lot there keeping people from becoming an ‘adequate’ player. 50% is learning A map, then you can learn most of the rest by playing in a team mode and waiting for a ‘better’ player to spawn then follow that guy around, hopefully providing support fire or watching his six. By the time you feel bored repeating this pattern, it’s around the time you know the motions already.
These online FPSs magically don’t start with a massive elite following and the elite population remains throughout. New players are getting good all the time. But they’re doing it by continuing to play that one $60 game they bought and not dropping everything as soon as they get a couple-three losses, next new game tuesday, the next beta, or the next hot demo rolls around.
Are most players a douchebag on the headset? yes. But the beauty of these games are you get to try to positively infiltrate a new room of d-bags with every attempt. I’ve had plenty of share of being kicked from one room then in the next game getting friend requests.
A 12 year old worked my ass in SF4 3 out of 4 rounds. He talked shit to me a lot about it. The next week I got 13 wins in a row. Like in team FPS, there are a ton of factors beyond your control by who you’re with that you don’t know, so don’t pay attention to stats, because they don’t mean much.
If you’re gonna just write me off, then at least follow this: The next game you buy for an online multiplayer, check reviews for good matchmaking code before purchasing. That alone should save you $120 a month if you’re paying attention.
May 16th, 2010 at 7:31 am
@DJI wait let me translate your comment for the fine folks out there. “Ryker, come play LFD2 with us so Phneri and I can incap you in 30 seconds and then dance over your bleeding corpse singing songs about your lameness…”
I love you guys, I’ll try to be on tonight and later this week.
May 16th, 2010 at 9:50 am
In complete agreement w/DJI on this. I wish that more members of the DGR community would play with us on L4D2 because I don’t really care if I win or lose; it’s about hanging out and having fun. Yeah, it still sucks to get smashed in a game, but it’s really about hanging out with people online that I know aren’t douchebags.
May 16th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
While I do agree that the skill required in some of these shooters and fighting games online is nothing short of monumental I still feel like Multiplayer gaming is where I want to be for the foreseeable future.
I sit down with a single player game like FF13 or Assassin’s Creed 2 and all I am thinking about is getting back to the online mayhem of Modern Warfare 2 or Super Street Fighter 4.
I think the key is to just find a few people to play with and just imagine yourself fighting against computers. My brother and I constantly just play multiplayer games on Xbox Live while sitting in private chat not listening to any of the other fools that are spouting inane shit. It really helps out a lot. Try it.
Also John I’m throwing down the gauntlet again for a street fighter duel. I seen you online the other night but I had to leave so I couldn’t throw out a challenge. Just a couple rounds would be fun I think. Anyone else on Robot Panic wanting to throw down could join us in an endless battle lobby. What do you say?
May 16th, 2010 at 6:00 pm
You realize you’re essentially challenging an infant to a wrestling match, right? No joke: whatever “skill” I gain in these games is all lost shortly after release. I play the hell out of them for about a month, committing all the moves to short-term memory, and then completely stop and forget. But hey, I’m not too proud to get my virtual ass kicked. Hit me up when you see me on next.
May 17th, 2010 at 10:50 am
I have L4D2 on PC, sadly…. We do need a Chromehounds replacement.
May 17th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Oh yeah, and until I get unlazy and find pics for the new RP science articles, here is L4D2 science podcast http://www.themarriedgamers.net/?p=5394 phneri, king quagmire, and leftybrowns about the “I sucks” and the “no I don’ts” and the “workin’ the dohickies.”