Why are today's game players so negative?

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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby Anonymous81 » Mon Jan 16, 2017 2:28 am

Because misanthropy, outrage, and trollishness are now the new normal in all areas of life, not just on the internet. It's just most prominent in online gaming discussions imo (present company excepted 99% of the time) because for some reason, gaming discussions have always incited enormous defensiveness and factionalism.

But yeah, it's everywhere. Look at the political climate. Look at any discussion, anywhere, about anything, online. It's disheartening and worrying, but there's little we can do about it sadly.

I also think the internet has changed how people communicate in not always healthy ways. It's cliche to say it, but interesting sociologically and psychologically, that people will say things to one another - and more pertinently, THINK In ways about one another - that they never would face to face.

The lack of nuance, social cues, body language, tone of voice etc. seems to make people online default to the worst possible, most defensive attitude toward absolutely everything anyone says. And the gamification of everything - likes, dislikes, followers, etc. trying to establish a digital presence - seems to encourage a territorial response in people. Like, this comment/webpage/account is my turf, and I want to get likes for it and if I get dislikes or people attack my turf, I have to defend it etc. (Not me personally, but it seems this dynamic happens constantly.)

I used to think the internet, because it connects the world, would be the greatest facilitator of better communication between different views and ideologies ever created. Now... I'm not so sure. Sometimes I fear it's fundamentally altering how people think about and empathize with one another.

There's a more benign, but still worrying, side to this too, though. Because it's mostly text on a screen, when people express concerns or criticisms of a thing/person/product/position/whatever, it gets default interpreted as an utter rejection or disdaining of its target, even if the reality is that there's a more nuanced opinion beneath the words that would read in person - because of tone of voice and other cues - more like, "I have these criticisms, but I'm not totally negative towards it either." Essentially, people just assume the worst, and then get defensive.

Second to lastly, some of it is also just that people are more conscious consumers now, and more aware of their own interests and needs, with many more options at their disposal. They also have more information about the history of a company and have more of an ability to play armchair analyst (and this happens with everything - people think they're authorities on everything now after reading about it for an hour on the internet) and so they're more cautious and wary and less willing to simply trust corporations whose job it is, ultimately, to extract money from them.

And lastly... while I dislike the word "entitled" and think it gets thrown around way too much... there is also just an element that we've all grown up for generations now without a world war, with declining rates of disease, longer life spans, supermarkets filled with prepackaged foods, and advanced technology at our fingertips and in our pockets that our ancestors couldn't even dream of in their wildest imaginings. In short... yeah, we're slightly spoiled and aren't always mindful of that or as grateful as we could be for what we have imo.

I think all of the above plays into the sense that everything is so damn contentious and filled with consternation and venom all the time online. But I also think that perception, likewise, is a product of us assuming the worst. I think things are actually less dire than we might assume based on the surface image it might give, again, because of the text on a screen + anonymity vs face to face dynamic.

For instance... I'm hyped as hell for Nintendo Switch and have one preordered. But I bet based on my lengthy posts about concerns I have about it, many would assume I must hate the thing and can never be satisfied. I think a lot of it is just that disconnect between thought, text, and real human interaction.

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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby sand4fish » Mon Jan 16, 2017 3:08 pm

Being negative is just a life perspective, so nothing wrong there IMO. But if we are talking about constant whining without reason, it has to do with the unrestrained nature of the internet and the satiation of our basic needs a thing of the past like people here mentioned already. Anonymity with no age restriction and the easy information allow us to scan over a headline (without delving too deep into an issue) and just give out a quick opinion on anything. And as complaining draws attention quicker on a discussion board along with the likes of trolling and bullying than anything else, there you are the reason for gamers to be more "negative" than not.

I should mention console wars into this, which includes the Switch. People simply can't be happy for other people who own different machines because they have to somehow justify their expenditure and investment on their own console of choice. If the PS4 PRO had a portability feature, I doubt PS4 players would scream gimmick over it. Or how everyone calls a Nintendo a kiddie catering company, but then they are quick to go and shout for Nintendo to turn into a 3rd party and have a Mario game made for the PS4.

All I hope for in this forum is that I'm dealing with adults here and if so, complaining shouldn't be a problem as we all can be reasoned with.

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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby OL » Tue Jan 17, 2017 12:31 am

Why are today's game players so negative?


Because fuck you, that's why.

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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby Himuro » Tue Jan 17, 2017 1:30 am

:sad:
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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby Mr. Frozen » Tue Jan 17, 2017 1:58 am

shredingskin wrote: Pretty much because it's internet language.

Most of the people in real life would go "meh, this is kinda shitty", and online they just go rampage mode. It's also how news work, how clickbait works, and some marketing strategies work. Most people don't really have a medium/means/relevance to be "heard" so they scream at the only outlet that gives them the illusion of doing so.

Also there's a lot of competition, we are more aware of money, we have access to more information (specially for gamers).

And also things in the industry are kinda stagnant. And gaming is a hobby that actually requires quite a lot of time, so people get more invested and that can make people feel more attached/emotional about the subject.


I agree with this. I actually take regular breaks away from the internet to keep me from from getting to sad and grumpy. I occasionally go on solo week long camping trips just for me to give my brain a reset. I'm not talking about the "lets go rent a cabin" type camping either. I either go camping in the mountains, or deep in the forest. I like to really get out there, ya know? Going out in nature and having my major concern is to not get mauled by a bear or freeze to death really makes you forget about all the other trivial bullshit that you worry about when in complete safety.
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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby KidMarine » Tue Jan 17, 2017 4:04 am

I did something similar. Totally divorced myself from games for about 7-8 months. Didn't play any, didn't visit any video game forums (except here), unfollowed almost every video game related person on twitter. Concentrated on my other interests, started going to the gym again, reading more often and going out more. I found myself feeling a lot happier, and it put things into perspective for me.

Having said that, now I'm back into video games I can feel myself feeling more and more miserable. Maybe it's just because it's winter which is always depressing.
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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby Henry Spencer » Tue Jan 17, 2017 11:55 am

It's an internet thing. Just go on Twitter/Reddit/NeoGAF/Facebook/Youtube and you can see it all of the time. Everybody on the planet has Asperger's nowadays, lol.
I think it does affect you mentally without realising. Ultimately people enjoy a good ol' moan. Especially here in the grim dark Northern regions of the UK. :mad:

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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby Hyo Razuki » Tue Jan 17, 2017 2:36 pm

I think people today have better access to information so they know the market better and know what other games can do.

The industriy's willingness to rip off and exploit gamers has reached unforeseen heights. There's all the dlc crap and the preorder thing has just gone mental, completely out of proportion. It's not even just limited to special games anymore. Tons of games get the "Limited Preorder Edition", "Day One Edition", "Master Edition", "Deluxe Pack", "Toilet Paper Edition" and so forth.

I'm not saying those bad sides of the games industry weren't there in the past, I think they have been highlighted and emphasized lately. And people tend to be more willing to call out the bs.

Let's take Capcom for instance. Their business model with Street Fighter has always been to release one core game and then go on with slight alterations of it - each sold at full prize. Like SF2 ----> SF 2 Turbo -----> Super SF 2 ------> Super SF 2 Turbo. But nowadays instead of just going to buy Street Fighter 5 Turbo Minus Hyper plus Beta people just start complaining and rightly so.

Capcom releasing SF5 with only 16 characters and no decent single player mode lead to sales figures way below their expectations and ultimately made Capcom step back and open the dlc story mode (which still sucks, btw.) to all players, giving them the choice to pay by real money or ingame fight money.

Capcom is just one example I chose. The problem is prevalent in all major developers/publishers. I think all the cash cow milking has gone past a critical point which has caused the majority of gamers to be more wary and sceptical than before.

Just as new media have amplified bad sides in the industry, the same goes for consumers and the "bitching for the sake of bitching" syndrome on almost every gaming-related forum, YT channel and so on.
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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby south carmain » Tue Jan 17, 2017 4:00 pm

Henry Spencer wrote: It's an internet thing. Just go on Twitter/Reddit/NeoGAF/Facebook/Youtube and you can see it all of the time. Everybody on the planet has Asperger's nowadays, lol.
I think it does affect you mentally without realising. Ultimately people enjoy a good ol' moan. Especially here in the grim dark Northern regions of the UK. :mad:

It is rather contagious, I became a right grumpy twat after a few months of posting on internet forums before realising that I was being rather pathetic and none of it matters.
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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby Himuro » Tue Jan 17, 2017 6:46 pm

Henry Spencer wrote: It's an internet thing. Just go on Twitter/Reddit/NeoGAF/Facebook/Youtube and you can see it all of the time. Everybody on the planet has Asperger's nowadays, lol.
I think it does affect you mentally without realising. Ultimately people enjoy a good ol' moan. Especially here in the grim dark Northern regions of the UK. :mad:


But that's the thing. How did it get this way? I've been using the internet regularly since 1998 and I don't recall it ever being so negative or exhausting.
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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby Mr. Frozen » Tue Jan 17, 2017 11:30 pm

Himuro wrote:
Henry Spencer wrote: It's an internet thing. Just go on Twitter/Reddit/NeoGAF/Facebook/Youtube and you can see it all of the time. Everybody on the planet has Asperger's nowadays, lol.
I think it does affect you mentally without realising. Ultimately people enjoy a good ol' moan. Especially here in the grim dark Northern regions of the UK. :mad:


But that's the thing. How did it get this way? I've been using the internet regularly since 1998 and I don't recall it ever being so negative or exhausting.


The internet didn't become social until the mid 2000s. Prior to that the internet was nothing more than a soruce of information for most people. Nerds and geeks were the only type of people on the internet. Now, everyone and their mom has access to the internet. My hypothesis is that more people means more conflicting personalities which leads to more negativity.
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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby Sonikku » Wed Jan 18, 2017 12:49 am

Which leads to more stupidity.
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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby mrandyk » Wed Jan 18, 2017 12:53 am

It's not just video games. Just about any non-niche social gathering on the internet is going to be a cesspool of negativity. My facebook feed and forums for sports, video games, and news are full of negativity. Everything sucks.

If you're on a niche board, such as our own Dojo, negativity is more at bay. To illustrate this point, I'm called the 'N word' on a near daily basis online, but am never subject to a personal attack here. There's something about a tight knit community that strays away from the incredibly negative and anti-intellectual dialog.

I suggest you try to find these types of informed forums and stay away from the highly trafficked ones where stupidity and negativity reign supreme.
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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby Monkei » Wed Jan 18, 2017 2:12 pm

Himuro wrote:
sand4fish wrote: I guess now it's the right time for me to say to you that you must accept Jesus in your life. ;-)



But Yu Suzuki is already in my life.



You're the king of all cringe evokers.

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Re: Why are today's game players so negative?

Postby Himuro » Wed Jan 18, 2017 2:38 pm

It was a harmless joke. Sandfish's joke about needing God was equally as "cringe" and far more random/off topic. You clearly aren't willing to participate in this discussion because you have come into a thread discussing online negativity with the intention to insult people and call people names so I'll just ignore you from now on. If you aren't willing to contribute while having the time to call people names for innocent jokes then you can kindly fuck off.
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