ON THE MARK

Though I’m not some shining beacon of righteousness or purity, it is with some small amount of pride that I say that I’m not one to drink, smoke, or get into any recreational drugs. I’m not the kind of guy to go out and stalk the bars for a lovely lady, nor am I the thrillseeker who gets a kick out of driving fast and having his veins pumped full of adrenaline. My life, though boring as ever, is safe and stable. But there has to be a vice, right? Yes, and that vice is playing online multiplayer video games. And let me tell you, for me, it can be as destructive as alcohol or drugs.

Before I go on a rant, I’d just like to reassure you all that not all multiplayer games are destructive. Some even encourage good values and pressure us to cooperate with each other. For example, lately I’ve been playing Valve’s 4-person cooperative shooter Left 4 Dead 2, and it’s almost always a riot. You and three other survivors have to get from point A to B while carving a path through a horde of the infected who want you dead. One survivor by him/herself is bound to die by being incapacitated by a special infected, but when all four are together and supporting one another, the group can do anything. It brings people together, and since the only opponent is the computer or AI director, there are no hard feelings.

But then there are other online games where there are two teams pitted together or it’s a simple free-for-all. Sometimes there’s teamwork, but in all of the games I’ve played, teamwork comes second to one’s arrogance. Because games like Team Fortress 2 or Call of Duty reward players for kills and points rather than assisting each other, the games encourage players to disregard their teammates and demonize their enemies. In my experience, I’ve had times where I felt like I could rely on a few players only for them to switch allegiances, hunt me down and belittle my skills. Hell, the bad times outweigh the good times when I can’t go a single game without someone being a complete jerk online.

I suppose that’s a problem with anything online, that sense of anonymity. Give a man a mask and a stone, and he’ll fling it because no-one will know it’s him. But when there’s an audience to entertain and a target to attack, there will always be someone behind a screen making an ass of him/herself without fear of consequences. The mindset is usually ‘I’ll never see this person again, so I might as well try to make his or her experience a living hell while I can’ or something else along those lines. I play video games to have fun, not to have my experiences driven into the ground by a couple of cowards who get their kicks playing with peoples’ emotions.

And so, after nearly 3,800 hours playing a game I once enjoyed so much, it was time to quit. When the thing you love starts to hurt you, there’s no choice but to set it aside and get on with your life. I still have fond memories of playing with friends and learning important things, as well as socializing with a bunch of fine people, but I can’t allow myself to be tortured any longer. It was like an addiction I couldn’t kick until a completely terrible day came along.

Rant over.