Good at games? Not so much.
I suck at one of my favorite recreations.
I think I've known it for a while, but let's be honest - I am not good at video gaming. Console games or computer games, regardless of genre - I fail at all of them. It's becoming more noticeable as there's greater and greater emphasis on online play, whether co-operative or competitive, causing me to try to retreat further and further into the ever-shrinking refuge of single-player-dom. Dawn of War II is really bringing it out right now; its style of gaming (stripped down, high-twitch-factor, heavy micromanagement RTS) is one that I don't feel at all comfortable with, and rather than play people online and risk proving myself an utter scrub (and the inevitable hazing that will go with it from J. Random Online Gamer), I refuse to play. I'll get it eventually, I'm sure, but for now I just say, "It's not for me, I'll suck," and retreat. It's the coward's way out, I suppose.
Thing is, I don't play games to get good at them. I don't play to be competitive, or to hone my skills and become a killer player. It's not limited to video games either. I dislike competitive play in CCGs, because the time required and the intensity needed to remain competitive and to play at that cut-throat level just stresses me and wrings out all the entertainment value for me. I play games to relax, to be entertained, to kick back and unwind. For some people, that means hardcore competition, but that's not me. I'm such a type B-personality introvert that I just want to have a mild bit of challenge against no one in particular, or maybe a fun game with good friends, and that's about it. It's not that I won't play to win, but playing only to win sucks the fun out for me. Throw in the general abusiveness of the online gaming community, and I'd rather just not take part. The main downside is, this leaves me out in the cold.
(And honestly, even with friends, I'm sometimes too embarassed to play, just because I am so bad. Many of my friends utterly break games for fun, while I flounder just to get through.)
And yet, even though I suck, I still enjoy playing. I'm a masochist, I think. I even entertain thoughts of playing online before my own nervousness gets the better of me. (Yes, I play WoW, but almost exclusively single-player). Maybe taking the time off of video games over Lent will give me some time to reflect on why I'm so horribly nervous over the whole thing.
I think I've known it for a while, but let's be honest - I am not good at video gaming. Console games or computer games, regardless of genre - I fail at all of them. It's becoming more noticeable as there's greater and greater emphasis on online play, whether co-operative or competitive, causing me to try to retreat further and further into the ever-shrinking refuge of single-player-dom. Dawn of War II is really bringing it out right now; its style of gaming (stripped down, high-twitch-factor, heavy micromanagement RTS) is one that I don't feel at all comfortable with, and rather than play people online and risk proving myself an utter scrub (and the inevitable hazing that will go with it from J. Random Online Gamer), I refuse to play. I'll get it eventually, I'm sure, but for now I just say, "It's not for me, I'll suck," and retreat. It's the coward's way out, I suppose.
Thing is, I don't play games to get good at them. I don't play to be competitive, or to hone my skills and become a killer player. It's not limited to video games either. I dislike competitive play in CCGs, because the time required and the intensity needed to remain competitive and to play at that cut-throat level just stresses me and wrings out all the entertainment value for me. I play games to relax, to be entertained, to kick back and unwind. For some people, that means hardcore competition, but that's not me. I'm such a type B-personality introvert that I just want to have a mild bit of challenge against no one in particular, or maybe a fun game with good friends, and that's about it. It's not that I won't play to win, but playing only to win sucks the fun out for me. Throw in the general abusiveness of the online gaming community, and I'd rather just not take part. The main downside is, this leaves me out in the cold.
(And honestly, even with friends, I'm sometimes too embarassed to play, just because I am so bad. Many of my friends utterly break games for fun, while I flounder just to get through.)
And yet, even though I suck, I still enjoy playing. I'm a masochist, I think. I even entertain thoughts of playing online before my own nervousness gets the better of me. (Yes, I play WoW, but almost exclusively single-player). Maybe taking the time off of video games over Lent will give me some time to reflect on why I'm so horribly nervous over the whole thing.