I am a very nice guy. I make friends very easily, can engage with strangers comfortably and am a devastatingly charming dinner companion. Modest, too.<\/p>\n
But even someone as patient and self-effacing as I am has his limits. And my limit is anonymous online gaming. I hate it. I can’t go into a multiplayer lobby and just play a random guy. (If you saw a bunch of twits spamming a Battle for Middle Earth II chat screen, you wouldn’t either.) Even on many serious wargaming forums I am a little antsy about starting up a PBEM game with WarDude113.<\/p>\n
It’s not that I have had a lot of negative experiences with this sort of thing. I haven’t. I’ve heard all the stories about hackers, cheaters, sore losers…the gamut of online crimes against fun. And just like I don’t have to be mugged to know that I shouldn’t walk back from the Metro at 1 am, I don’t have to be beaten by a cheater to know that I can avoid that situation.<\/p>\n
One big reason to avoid anonymous online people is that I have a reservoir of people I know I can game with. People I trust to be good opponents and who will provide a stress free experience.<\/p>\n
The first sign of a good gaming relationship is the acceptance that people are of different levels. As much as I love gaming, I know that I will not be the best at much of it. I have one friend who will always beat me in RTS – though I can make it close. I have another who I play wargames with (everything from Sid Meier’s Gettysburg to Birth of America, assuming we can get it to work right) who I expect a thrashing from almost every time out. Despite the predictability of many of the outcomes, there is never a sign of impatience or frustration.<\/p>\n
The second sign of a good gaming relationship is the teaching phase. Often a friend or colleague will get a game a week or two before I will. Being an idiot, I often jump right into multiplayer. Good gaming friends will often give a word or two of advice before, during and after the match. I’ve done the same with friends new to one game or another.<\/p>\n
The third sign is nagging. “You have to buy this!” Why? “So we can play it together.” Is there any finer compliment in the world than “We should play this”? (I’m starting to get a lot of this nagging about World of Warcraft.)<\/p>\n
As I think through my gaming friendships, most of them exist purely online – not in any real world context. I’ve met my wargaming pal only once. My other gaming friends are either Europeans, colleagues scattered through America or random names from a good gaming forum or chat room whom I think I can trust.<\/p>\n
Good multiplayer experiences can sure spoil you, though. Galactic Civilization II doesn’t have MP, Civilization IV does. Both are great games, but guess which one will have a longer life on my hard drive? (And not just mine<\/a>.) I’ve been a single player gamer for almost my entire life, but I have finally come to the point where a lot of gamers were a couple of years ago, seeking out multiplayer in every game. Good MP experiences have also made me hungry for real world human contact in gaming. Board gaming, DnD…anything to keep the rush of shared competition going between computer game cycles.<\/p>\n Friends and books two things you can never have too many of. I have Xfire. Look for me. If I can trust you.<\/p>\n