Sven0330Sven0330Virginia
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Loving State of Decay 2. First time I have pre-ordered and played a game right away in a long time

Sven0330

Sven0330's Blog (44 followers)

Apr01
Maturity In Gaming, Or Lack There OfPermalink
Hello again to the world of TA Gamers.

Here is my Great Random To Do List for 2015...oh wait...no it's not...no one gives a shit about that. Why don't I write a real blog instead...laugh

Last week in one of the comments on my blog, someone brought up that for many of us we may improve our gaming abilities as we get older due to maturity, particularly emotional maturity. I liked the comment quite a bit and it spawned a whole other blog in my head about efficiency and maturity in gaming. To start it off...I think I will re-cap last weekend.

So, last weekend my cousin had a bachelor party in Atlantic City, NJ. Thought that would be a good example of lack of maturity ruling the night. Tons of drinking, gambling, clubs, and other things I won't mention due to the apparent "take the night to the grave with you" speech given by the best man before we all got started. Let's just say my cousin had his t-shirt and 2 different pairs of boxers ripped off of him by some various ladies and has welts on his backside to go with it. I don't think my brother in law, my other cousins, or I had ever laughed so hard as a group before at the thrashing we had paid for him to receive on his bachelor night. Money well spent by our group laugh. I being the quiet and quirky nerd of this whole group stood back of course most of the night and egged on all the "entertainment" to make sure they took care of the bachelor. Made me feel like the old fuddy duddy of the group (maybe because I was the second oldest next to my brother in law) but also made me realize I am a hell of a lot more mature than all the other guys we were with. Hell, I was the one that they gave the extra key card to my cousins room knowing that I would be the sober one to drag his ass back to sleep it off at 2 AM (which as the accurately predicted, happened almost right around 1:30 AM when his speech became incoherent and his walking became very humorous). Here is the group of cousins and brother in law before the night went really crazy...as always I am the tallest one there...being 6'4" sure does make me stand out in every group.

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While it was fun to be with family and to witness things I have never seen in my life, truth be told I would have liked to be back home in my comfort zone with my wife. For most of us on this site, I think this is our typical comfort zone...

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Hey, that looks a lot like his gamer pic...how did he do that? Must be magic...or bacon. Magic wrapped in bacon? We all know everything is better if you add bacon to it...

So clearly, back to topic, I had the whole concept of "maturity" on my brain most of this last week and weekend. Maturity in gaming seems to be an interesting topic to say the least (well, I find it interesting) since gaming itself is looked at as an immature pastime or way to spend ones time. A lot of us are stereotyped to look, act, and heck, even sound a certain way if we are gamers. It isn't just male gamers either, as female gamers are stereotyped just as much, if not even harsher than male gamers to the point where many of them choose to not talk online and remain anonymous so no one finds out their gender so they can avoid verbal abuse that is thrown their way (or harassment).

How many people think of this as a gamer out there?
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Or think of girl gamers like this...
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When the point is, we are so diverse that you can't put a type or look on us. I am not saying that we are all hunks or attractive here (heck, I know I am not...look at that huge bridge on my nose in my pic...which has been broken playing basketball) but we are also not all trolls, overweight, or incapable of social skills like we are portrayed to be.

THIS is where I think maturity comes in. When you think about it who are the most vocal people in games when you play online? Most of us aren't (unless we are boosting, doesn't count. Talking about playing a ranked match with random people) we tend to be quiet or in many cases even polite. It is the immature kids out there that are shouting obscenities, screaming things that would make an angel cry or the devil blush, and overall act like complete little d-bags.

What's funny when I think about it is most of them aren't always that good. Most great gamers I meet are quiet...until you start talking smack to them. I will give you my favorite story I know of for a gamer that would beat the living crap out of people and never trash talk them about it.

I used to work with a guy named Mike Christopher Bennett at Gamestop (had to use his full name, since because of his initials we always called him McB which I will refer to him as such for now on) McB was a hilarious kid, fun to work with, but when it came to Dance Dance Revolution he was a trash talking dick. Don't get me wrong, McB was GOOD at that game. He went to tournaments and also knew all the best DDR players from around the area by name and initials from their high scores. He could do the songs from memory without the machine in front of him. He would go to arcades, buy people games so he could destroy them in it and then tell them about it. The epitome of a immature gamer in my mind. His favorite place was the bowling alley arcade in Maryland (keep in mind this was back in 2004/2005 when we still had some arcades floating around). One day, McB is in the arcade lighting up the machine and another young guy walks up and watches him. In his typical fashion, McB offers to buy him a game so he can play him (and crush him) and the guy humbly accepts. McB asks him directly "So, you any good at this?" Mystery guy just says "I'm okay at it I guess..." McB's response "Well get ready cause I am about to whip your ass!"

What McB didn't know is this guy was the regional DDR champion, the one who's initials he knew and memorized from all the machines he had played on around Maryland. He soon found out quickly, as this guy stomped McB into the ground so hard and badly that he was stunned into silence. When the guy put in his initials, McB jaw hit the floor and he then knew who he had just faced. The regional champ just looked at him and said "You're pretty good, but you talk too much shit. Next time keep your mouth shut and just play..." and walked away.

I laughed at McB for quite a while over that one. Point is, guy was good, but he didn't have to tell everyone he was good. Didn't even introduce himself to him, just played him and then left. I wish more gamers took this mature attitude. I know the folks I associate with (for the most part at least) are like this and that is why they are on my friends list. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't tolerate all that immature acting like a D-Bag while gaming shit. I always hope that makes me a better gamer as well as when I approach a game, I do it logically and with a strategy rather than shout expletives or trash talk my way to victory (except for the occasional shouting of "HE GONNA GET IT!!!!" Can't resist that one but normally hardly anyone ever hears it).

Think I lost the topic of my blog because I ended up ranting and telling stories, but in the end I think mature gamers are better. Most of the more sensible folk out there I play with know how to talk to another human being properly, take a loss and not let it send them into a titanic rage, or just shoot the breeze with you while you shoot each other in the face. I also find mature gamers are more efficient. I can't boost with folks anymore that just cannot get on board with strategies or efficiency, cause you then have someone blow you up cause they "got bored" while boosting Grand Theft Auto online. Might be funny to them, but sure pisses me off.

I think the other thing is a mature gamer doesn't need to hit a certain age, just needs to not act like a D-bag or a dick while gaming with others. Sure, there are 6 year olds at there that can probably whoop my ass in quite a few games and not have to tell me about it, but I would wager that many cannot complete some titles I have been able to master. Isn't that the whole point to gaming anyways, to find your nitch and what you like? Not everyone (or anyone for that matter) will master everything. For me, I just want to have fun and not suck. Think I am doing okay at that so far \o/

And with that, I will say adieu. Happy achievement hunting to all until next time!
Posted by Sven0330 on 01 April 15 at 00:21 | Last edited on 01 April 15 at 14:36

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tornprince2012 I agree with every word.

Except for fuddy duddy laugh

Seems you got a real nice elbow to your beauty of a nose. Mine didn't gave in, ever, despite being smacked quite a few times with M16 while my time in the army. Lots of calcium, I guess wink

Can I say to AI " I am going to whoop your ass"? headspin
Posted by tornprince2012 on 31 Mar 15 at 23:24
ScutumMagister The story about McB was very funny and hopefully a good lesson for him.

Regarding the overall topic, I agree 100%. I've actually written about this very thing myself and it's true that people acting like complete dicks, or not if they're mature, has no age limit. It's incredibly refreshing when you do encounter a gamer that is mature as it makes it a lot easier to get along with them even if you're on the opposite sides of a discussion. Too many people of all ages seem to express their opinion by cussing at someone or insulting them, be it trying to express their dislike of something or that they disagree with someone. Good case in point is pretty much every time Major Nelson tweets anything, there's pretty much always someone like that trying to verbally attack him. It's incredibly immature and just furthers the stereotype that all gamers act like immature kids but I would like to think that the majority of us are better than that.
Posted by ScutumMagister on 01 Apr 15 at 04:40
Gamble204 IMPROVE gaming ability ? ( top of blog ) haha look at me I'm so smart I used brackets "genius" but really you should know my gaming ability is getting better on the daily it's just endles (only sven would understand this)
Posted by Gamble204 on 01 Apr 15 at 05:05
Mr Granstaff As you get older, your nose is gonna need some support beams for that bridge!

ROASTED!

Nah, I'm kidding. You're still gonna need support, but wrapped in bacon, of course.
Posted by Mr Granstaff on 01 Apr 15 at 13:32
Sven0330 @tornprince- awww, why hate on fuddy duddy? It is a fantastic word laugh Be happy you never broke your nose, it is not a fun experience. Some young kid pretty much did a head butt to my face during a drive to the basket. I kept in front of him, shadowed him well, and I stopped him, just a little too much with my face...there was a lot of blood...then I played 3 more pickup games laugh

You should totally yell to the AI "YOU GONNA GET IT!!!!" but the whooping of their ass also does well
Posted by Sven0330 on 01 Apr 15 at 14:19
Sven0330 @ScutumMagister- Glad you enjoyed the little story. Sad that I haven't seen McB in over 9 years so I have no idea if he learned from it. He was still a cocky bastard when I met him at that time and had all ready been humbled, so I am guessing didn't do wonders for him laugh

I need to go read your blog now about maturity and how some gamers hurt our image. I don't follow Major Nelson really (saw him on Gamestop TV when I worked there, that was about it) but feel for the guy if he has to put up with crap like that.
Posted by Sven0330 on 01 Apr 15 at 14:22
Sven0330 @Gamble- Man, I have a hard time following your writing there bud laugh Works much better in party chats when we are online. You do get better over time from what I see, the only thing is your frustration outweighs the improvement that leads to shouting of expletives on your end wink
Posted by Sven0330 on 01 Apr 15 at 14:26
Sven0330 @Granstaff- Nose wrapped in bacon, guess I could carry the smell wherever I went! I should get a beam for that bridge on my nose! That Slovak nose of mine could use one (my family is from Slovakia, not making fun of Slovaks here. Plus I have heard every Polish joke known to man based on my heritage). I know when the doctors attempted to reset/fix it my nose had been broken into 3 pieces in there, so if I want it "perfectly straight" I will have to have them re-break it to fix it again. No thank you...I'll just have a crooked shnoz warped in bacon
Posted by Sven0330 on 01 Apr 15 at 14:29
ScutumMagister @Sven0330 - Ah, I see. Yeah, probably not then. Some people never learn.

Actually you can ignore that part. I read my blog post again (it's a wordpress blog, just started using this one here last night) and it only touched on that briefly, I would have sworn I wrote more about it though. Oh well, it was almost midnight after all lol.
Posted by ScutumMagister on 01 Apr 15 at 14:32
a Fi1thy Casual I played Halo for years - from Halo 2 onward the multiplayer had me hooked. I loved it. But I could not hold a candle to my little brother who was so exceptional, he was recuited into a Halo 3 team. I was so proud of him for it, and being someone who was still in high school, he emited the maturity you are talking about here: didn't rush into games trash talking people, didn't introduce himself as a "Halo Pro Legend" or any of that other shit. He had the competitive spirit, but he didn't have the ego that went with it.

Although I was no where near the same league as him, he would still want me to play in doubles tournaments with him around the state. Most of the time I would drag him down, but he didn't care: it was family time and we had a blast. We did win a few (thanks to him - my bro with a sniper could no scope like you wouldn't believe). The kid was phenomenal.

His team, however, was not at his maturity level. At all. He had one guy on his team that would talk trash all day long, and then rely on luck, or my brother, to bail him out of jams. It was sad, but what was worse was my brother could not see it. He could not understand how his teammate was dragging their team down, and actually thought of him as "the best in the group".

Anyway, after a few months my brother's team is taking on other MLG teams trying to qualify for tournaments, and the guy my brother has propped up for quite some time just has no leg to stand on in the games. At all. One game, from another unknown MLG hopeful squad, left the guy with a K/D so atrocious, my brother finally had it. He had worked hard, and listen to this guy prop himself up for months, only to see when the pressure was on the guy fold and buckle. Worst yet, when my brother confronted the guy, he was told that the other teammates didn't care for his poor attitude, and he was out of the team. My brother stopped playing Halo after that - he was understandably desinfranchised.

A few years later, my brother is living with me and we see the Reach Beta is coming out in a few months. I guess that sour taste from the prospect of MLG was finally gone, and we booted up 3 for shits and giggles. His first match in ranked slayer the kid went 32-0. No one could stop him. I had 6 measly kills, and the other two guys made up the difference to 50. My brother, at the end, just chuckles and says "Wow, that was a lucky round, huh?"

I swear, if that kid found 3 other players with his attitude and skill, they could have taken that top spot in MLG.
Posted by a Fi1thy Casual on 01 Apr 15 at 15:08
DefiantZero Aww man he called me immature... I can't help it when im playing ranked online matches and I win...
Posted by DefiantZero on 01 Apr 15 at 15:55
Mr Granstaff @ https://www.trueachievements.com/EMPATH1C+MIM1C.htm - Sometimes people like your brother just needs a friendly nudge in the right direction. Encouragement will go a long ways. I know it's not realistic, but hopefully I run into more gamer mentalities similar to your brother. Awesome story too. Much better than this blog. :P
Posted by Mr Granstaff on 01 Apr 15 at 16:24
a Fi1thy Casual @ Mr Granstaff - Yeah, we all encouraged him, and were seriously proud when he found a team. Unfortunately the whole experience soured him to concept, despite my continued encouragements.

Now, I am sad to say, his gaming preferences are more in line with the Playstation...
Posted by a Fi1thy Casual on 01 Apr 15 at 17:58
Xpovos Any chance the local guy's initials were AP?
Posted by Xpovos on 01 Apr 15 at 18:11
Sven0330 @EMPATH1C MIM1C- That is a fantastic story. I agree with Granstaff that it is a shame your brother couldn't get a group of similar minded players together. It is a good testament to show that I think the best gamers don't need to tell you they are good, they just show you...

I might agree with Granstaff, that story may have been better than my whole blog laugh
Posted by Sven0330 on 01 Apr 15 at 20:36
Sven0330 @Defiant- Nah, I have never called you immature. You help and never hold it over my head when you destroy my kill ratio in GTA V. Prayer on the other hand...laugh
Posted by Sven0330 on 01 Apr 15 at 20:37
Sven0330 @Xpovos- I wish I knew what the initials were, again I haven't seen McB in over 9 years and have no idea what place he is hiding under. Also considering I don't live in MD anymore would make it hard to find out. Wish I could tell you.
Posted by Sven0330 on 01 Apr 15 at 20:38
Xpovos It just seemed to fit the profile of a buddy of mine, and that seemed like something he might have said/done. It would be pretty hilarious, at least to me, if it were him. He used to go up in MD frequently because there were better arcades up there and more DDR machines. Pump it Up too. For a while he was going down to Kings Dominion something like 4-5 times a week because it was the best place to go for DDR in the area, and that was a 120 mile round-trip for him.
Posted by Xpovos on 01 Apr 15 at 20:47
Luc1d Dreaming Well, I have dark hair and wear glasses so I'm not doing much to overturn the girl gamer stereotype...

The DDR story reminds me of one time I was jamming with my brother. I was on drums and he was playing bass, and he was pissing me off with his usual Almighty Know All attitude. I didn't say anything to him, but I just started alternating bars of 4/4 and 7/8. He tried to follow, but soon had to give up and admit he couldn't do it. There was no lasting effect on his giant impervious ego, but it felt good to knock him off the throne of his arrogance for a little while. Obviously it wasn't the most mature thing I've ever done, but I have no regrets.
Posted by Luc1d Dreaming on 02 Apr 15 at 14:38
Sven0330 @LeakyTinCowJudo- Nice for knocking your brother off the throne there! Unfortunately you can put gamers in their place from time to time but they still never learn.

As for the stereotype thingy, nothing wrong with dark hair and glasses smile As you know the main point was that we are all diverse and don't just fit one type of look. At least you don't have the huge broken bridge on your nose that I have laugh
Posted by Sven0330 on 02 Apr 15 at 15:22
Mr Granstaff Watch out! The support beams are failing! Run for your liiiives!
Posted by Mr Granstaff on 02 Apr 15 at 15:26
DefiantZero I can't help it though just destroying everything in my path.
Posted by DefiantZero on 03 Apr 15 at 14:53
Sven0330 @Granstaff- cry I wish I had a clip I could show from Scrubs where the psych doctor there says she can pinpoint anyone's weakness instantly after meeting them. She looks at Elliott and says "eyebrows" and Elliott is suddenly sobbing and bursting into tears. My nose used to be my most self conscious feature I hated...now apparently I make fun of it with you laugh

@Defiant- There is a difference between immaturity and efficiency wink I would like to think you are on the efficiency side (deadly efficiency)
Posted by Sven0330 on 03 Apr 15 at 15:38
DefiantZero Fair enough lol.
Posted by DefiantZero on 05 Apr 15 at 13:11
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