Despite concerns about the pervasiveness of toxicity in gaming, most gamers are not toxic. Outside of extremely social MMOs, I suspect most people probably just play their games peacefully in their own little bubble and don’t really interact much with other players at all, either negatively or positively. Ever run a PUG five-man in World of Warcraft? Yeah, most people are just playing along, not making a big effort to socialize, just teaming up when they have to, answering when spoken to but not going beyond. I’m not judging anybody for this, mind you; if you’ve been playing online games for over two decades as some gamers have, you can kinda see why the shine of being everybody’s friend 24-7 has worn off.
And then, I hear stories like this one. Game dev @MotleyGrue recently tweeted, “There’s a kid across the road who clearly plays Overwatch with his window open. You can hear him calling strats down the block. Thing is, he’s totally supportive and wholesome. ‘YOU’RE DOING GREAT REIN!’ ‘YO TRACER THAT WAS SIIIICK.’ You go loud kid.”
And I wish I were that kid! I love this kid. I hope my kids grow up to be this kid. It’s such a little thing, being kind and supportive. It costs nothing and makes all the difference in the world.
Do you make an effort to be positive and friendly in MMORPGs?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
