Massively Multiplayer Mayhem

More likely than not, the majority of gamers who frequent Game Central know about our huge passion for the game Team Fortress 2 by Valve Corporation. It’s no secret, and we make no attempt at hiding it  – I love the game, most of my fellow writers love the game, and a large majority of our community members love (and even discovered our site!) through Team Fortress 2. If it wasn’t for Team Fortress 2, I’d go as far as to say that Game Central would have never been founded, and this die-hard community of rabid PC gamers would never have been united into one compounded group of awesomeness. So, needless to say, we owe the game quite a bit.

I still play Team Fortress 2 a lot to this day, yet without quite the same level of fervor and dedication as in the past. However, now when I play Team Fortress 2, I don’t find myself hopping on to create beautiful works of gib-art from the exploding corpses of heavies and soldiers. Rather, quite the opposite, I find myself becoming frustrated with some of the gameplay changes that have taken place. Yet despite these minor complaints, I find myself drawn to the game purely by the social aspect; by the sense of community the game supports. I’ve managed to suck more fun out of Team Fortress 2 simply by talking, laughing, joking, coordinating, planning, strategizing, and shooting the shit with my fellow gamers than I have by any gameplay element or story hook woven by any other game. It’s bizarre to think that the most fun I’ve had in a game hasn’t really been the game at all – rather, the people who play the game that mold and form the amount of enjoyment I carry away from each and every play session.

Team Fortress 2 really supports – wait for it – teamwork!

Of course, this isn’t exactly new. Gaming communities have been existent since gaming first dipped its feet into the endless depths of the Internet. However, with the advent of in-game voice communication, this sense of community and camaraderie has only been  intensified. Communities and friendships in games are formed on a far more personal level now, and it’s quite the stark contrast to the ‘ye olde days’ of gaming in which in-game chat and IRC were really the only ways of actively communicating with one another. And, let’s face it, who wants to stop dead in their tracks in an intense multiplayer game to type up a message?

I had a chat with a non-gamer friend recently, and he asked why I liked to spend so much of my free time playing multiplayer games. He argued that games were entirely repetitious, and that modern games were no less repetitious than, say, Pac-Man or Tetris. Of course, I promptly responded with a proverbial “STFU!”, yet as the words slowly sunk in, it really made me realize that he was right. Games, or at least multiplayer oriented ones, are repetition. In World of Warcraft, you’re doing essentially the same quests over and over again. In Team Fortress 2, you’re always trying to capture the same points, and in Demigod, you’re always trying to destroy the enemy citadel. Sure, the outcome may differ upon multiple play-throughs, but how you arrive to the ultimate conclusion involves the same methodology every time.

And yet, I wouldn’t have games any other way.

Let’s look at sports for example. Like multiplayer PC games, they’re also based around repetition and  heavily influenced by social interaction. After all, you can’t form a team without having communication, right? Now, because of the static “repetitious” nature of both sports and gaming, strategies are allowed to be derived and evolved by participants. This sense of coordination and teamwork really builds friendships; and when those friendships are large enough and far-stretching enough, the friendship becomes a community. A lot of people complain about the linearity of games; and yet, if games lacked linearity, there would be no true incentive for friendships, teams, and communities to develop!

A good example of a multiplayer game totally lacking in linearity is Second Life. I myself have never played the game so I may be off base with my assumptions, but from what I’ve seen and read, the Second Life world seems to be a cold, lonely place. Flying penises aside, the game doesn’t support the social growth of friendships and communities simply because of what it is.  There is no goal, there is no objective other than that set by the individual player himself , and as such, there is no incentive for players to form friendships, groups, teams or communities with one another.

I have no clue what is going on in this image, but it doesn’t look like it’s building friendships or communities.

Not to say that there have never been friendships formed through Second Life, as I’m sure there have, but I’m also sure they have been through the targeted completion of some goal or objective set by one or more of the players themselves. Again, this links back to the need of linearity and goals in games to produce viable long term social networks amongst participants.

This isn’t all that surprising, really. Let’s think about real life social dynamics for a second. How did you meet most of your friends? I’d bet my game collection that you met the majority of your real life friends and acquaintances through the pursuit of completing some sort of goal or objective. On a sports team, in the office, during classes, whatever. I’m no psychologist, but from my personal experiences and observations humans tend to form much greater bonds and friendships through the pursuit of a common goal, as opposed to through any sort of abstract meeting or forced introduction with one another.

Gamers are never alone.

Even though in Team Fortress 2 I’m doing the same task over and over, night after night, week after week, I’m still having fun. And I’m not having fun because I enjoy seeing exploding cartoon corpses, I’m having fun because I’m engaged in a social situation with like-minded gamers, tackling a goal or objective with them and having a great time doing it.

I think we all ask ourselves at one point and time why we game. For each person, that answer may be different. But I encourage you, the next time you ask yourself this question, consider the friendships you’ve made through multiplayer gaming. Ask yourself if you’d still be playing games to this day if it wasn’t for the bonds and friendships you’ve made through multiplayer experiences. As for me, the multiplayer dynamic has really managed to stranglehold my interest in gaming. If it wasn’t for the numerous exciting and enjoyable experiences with fellow like-minded gamers, I doubt I’d be nearly as active a gamer as I find myself to be – nor would I likely be writing this very article.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go blow up some of my friends in Team Fortress 2.