Writing the Unwritten Rules of Online Gaming - Page 2

Remember what you're playing
I agree that certain in-game tactics are annoying (I've recently witnessed a spawn-camper in Rainbow Six Vegas get booted from the game for that) but seriously people have some focus. Shouting at me because I've just crashed my car into your car on Burnout is ridiculous. Would you shout at the console if you were playing offline? Thought not! Also, if I'm in a player match on my XBox 360 and you call me a "****ing noob" then you're gonna get blacklisted. Everyone starts somewhere, and if you want people with high skill levels then go to the Ranked matches.

"Language, Timothy"
Why is it almost always the 12 year olds (ok so I'm stereotyping here) who fall foul of this one? I remember one particular occasion playing Project Gotham Racing 3 online. I was in second and not too far behind the guy in front of me who had been silent all race. Coming up to the last corner and he completely missed the racing line, slammed into the barrier, and left a nice gap for me to slip past and claim victory. Was he annoyed with himself? Nope. He decided instead that the appropriate course of action was to yell at me "you ****ing ****ing ****-****. You could have ****ing well let me ****ing win". Priceless. Another member of the blacklist club!

Be a good loser, and a good winner
There is absolutely nothing wrong with losing. Lets face it, a minimum of half the people online at any one time are about to lose. So be gracious about it (see "Language, Timothy"). However that goes for winning too. If you can't be gracious about winning and thank someone for a good game, then don't expect not to be taunted even more when you get beaten by them.

Camping vs. Role-playing
Ah my personal favourite. I fall-foul of this one all of the time. There are times when camping is just plain wrong. Camping a spawn point so that none of the opposition team can ever re-spawn is stupid. That doesn't make for a game! However, finding a strategic point in a map which was put there intentionally, and using a sniper rifle to good effect. Well where is the harm in that? That's what the level was set up for. If you want to take me out then come and get me, don't just take the hump and abuse me for it!

Article Author: Graeme Smith

Graeme is a 30-something living in the West Midlands in the UK. A gamer since he was young, he now doesn't have enough time to play games or take photographs because he spends time with his family. Graeme also owns and runs The Psychotic Monkey.

Visit Graeme Smith's author page — Graeme Smith's Blog