Just read article in local newspaper about a study being done on gamers. The study suggested that its not necessarily the violent content of games that leads to violent behavior, but rather the frustration gamers experience when they don't master the game. Andrew Przbylski of Oxford University, and Richard Ryan of the University of Rochester, concluded that much of the rage like behavior after playing PC / console games is not related to the actual game content. "The hostile behavior some gamers experience is actually linked to a sense of failure. ... stink..." at playing. Whats your experience? Does a poor gaming session frustrate you?
This is why you see it more in competitive games than non-competitive. In non-competitive game it's easier to judge yourself not to suck.
Example: made a friend throw his stick yesterday.
I think it does affect you more than you know. If you are involved in a game, which most times you are or you wouldn't be playing it. If the game creates frustration, which, unfortunately, an awful lot of later titles do, then it can ruin your day and cause unnatural behavior.
Most modern games are primarily designed to challenge and not entertain. You can lose a hundred times a day, this is bound to have a bad effect on people.
I think this is especially true for those of us in the US where we try to make everyone feel good and instill the idea that everybody should win (kids that play games all get trophies in some places so as to not hurt the losers feelings...) so it's no wonder with all these various factors affecting many of us here that our reactions to losing a little... over the top. Of course, no one wants to lose all the time, just human nature there.
I know it affects me, but being aware that it affects me allows me to 'get over it' more quickly, usually before bed time
However, this is only for multiplayer stuff, I have never gotten angry about single player (other than bugs, but that's a different kind of frustration). When I get on a bad run in FUMBBL, I usually do have to just stop for a bit and do something else to clear my head. But, again, knowing this makes it easy to manage.
On the other hand, when I get on a good run I feel pretty good about life in general
Are gamers violent? We don't seem very violent. Maybe if you are a admin on a game forum or a bag of Cheetos, I could see thinking gamers are violent, but that's it.
Casual gamer wimps! As a GTA 5 player I feel nothing but anger when I get into trouble with the law. Its ridiculous! The AI knows where to find you, they will try to kill you for the smallest of mistakes, and EVERYTHING ends in death!!! Aggghhh!
Call of dutys AI is the same, it cheats. It's not a good AI for copying and knowing stuff it shouldn't. Its a cheating AI and I hate it! How else can a enemy halfway across the battle field stop, turn towards me, throw a grenade in such a way were it explodes the moment it lands. HOW!?!?
I guess the study is right. But for me dumb and cheating AIs make me angry. Thankfully Frogboy has done right by me/us so far...
DARCA.
Most modern games don't have perma death, so you never actually lose...
You should have seen the rage at the arcades in 80's when all you had was three lives.
Depends on what we call a "poor" session. Sudden PC reboot, or just CTD, caused by buggy engine, without saves made prior shut-down or, worse, ruinied saves (wave games with single save file)? Someone distracted you without apparent reason, like your wife asking you where are her hairpins and you're bald or buzzcut, you don't need hairpins even theoretically? Bad controls/GUI, which aren't helping, like press spacebar to everything, or showing "helpful" images, irrelevant to controls you're currently using (yeah, right what I need - triangle on PC)? Simple feeling that currect game does not reflect your current mood? Improper balance in game, including bad testing, and game is console-based, so no saves on demand, and for some reason your character just stuck out in the open under enemy fire on hardest difficulty? Game openly cheating on you, doing something you (and your AI opponents) shouldn't? Spawning enemies right in front of you, without even trying to present this somehow, making you wish for Picard and Riker for double facepalm? Idiotic decision made by devs, which tried to pose their mistakes as virtues in the name of the Greater Good players' convenience (calculations in cloud, aha)?
I think it depends on the gamers age. The violence of of a bloody FPS alone might not do it, but repeated play time of it and similar games on a young mind can help to mold their brain which is still forming even as teenagers. I'm not neurologist, shrug. There are reasons why a 5 year old isn't exposed to torture horror movies, same for computer games like the grand theft auto series. I think as adults we are less affected by depictions of violence, however I do think it can still affect us to some degree the same way constant images of the same type of female body can make us value a woman more for her body than ability to perform at a job, as an example. As well military simulating computer games, while of course not really simulating being a solider/sniper/etc., to me seem to glorify, excite the player, etc. with unreal war experiences. Thus making joining the military seem fun and exciting and cool. In other words a recruiting mechanism that seems subtly, intentionally, erroneous. So it can affect our perceptions of shooting people, blowing things up, etc.
Also I think the gamer rage has something to do with being safe behind a computer screen. Sure with friends in a safe place gamers might throw shit, curse, etc., but the kind of negative language they use when not around other people and behind a computer screen is childish, intending to belittle, and thus to make themselves feel superior and better. So their reaction is to take control while in this anonymous setting by attempting to make the other person lesser in a way that they would not do in public. Whether its the gaming or their on 'true' self coming out is debatable.
Sure I get frustrated while playing video games. But also when working on cars and recording music. The problem is internal, not external.
It goes back to the person dealing with it.
My experiences depend on the game. When I lose in Company of Heroes as Wehrmacht I blame the US for being OP. When I lose as US however I don't get angry and I'm really impressed with how Wehrmacht managed to win over me.
When I lose a hardcore character in Torchlight, Diablo II or Diablo III I blame the game for putting me against 8 monsters and a boss in a cramped space with very little chance of manuvering. Even if I teleport out of there or quit it doesn't matter. I'm still fucked since when I go down again, the monsters will be were I last left them....
In Blood bowl (the 36h I played of it with my Undead team) I raged a bit when a valuable player died.
Should a gamemechanic such as jumping or whatever not work and cause me to lose = instant rage!
Speaking of jumping. Doesn't anyone remember the rage Mario bros caused? That was a game to drive you crazy.
My own experience is getting frustrated when the game controls are not obvious. Some games require the player to click a certain way, or in a very specific location. When the location is not easy to see, etc., and my character gets killed because I can't click fast enough to actually hit the 'right' spot on the big, massive, clearly seen and obvious door, I get a bit fried. I get killed, not because i don't move well,or didn't come prepared. I get killed because of a sloppy interface mechanism.
sloppy interface mechanism= Armored Core 3 and 4 if you didn't customize the layout.
Your post is REALLY making me feel player rage ElanaAhova by thinking about all these stupid games...these...abominations! (cue incredible Hulk rage.)
I think there's probably some merit to that study, though I would say it's not exclusive to video games at all. Something about society in general that cannot accept losing or failing at anything. It's a completely foreign concept to me, and seems unhealthy. People always need a scapegoat, something or someone to place blame, in everything, not just gaming.
I always crave a good challenge, and in modern video games it's often hard to come by. With Civ V, I can only play on Diety with all alternate victory conditions turned off (they are much too easy- only Domination is challenging for me). It is to the point where I mostly play multiplayer, even in games not well suited for it, because that's the only place I can get my "fix". When I lose or fail, I always look to see what I can do better. I always try to improve myself, it's part of the challenge that I love. Not just in video games either. I was always much better at math and science (and music) and terrible at communication and language, so I spend a lot of time on message boards spewing my horrible grammar etc. It's a form of challenge, and I like that.
Nope. If game behaves honestly, I don't need to blame anyone or anything should I fail, because this is my fault.
I can accept this study. I watched people get enraged over games. Frankly, I did get enraged when I played Ghouls and Goblins... but my Mother took care of that from me. As I played games she would walk in front of the screen and talk at me (intentionally making me lose), where I would get frustrated and she would say, "Did you pay a quarter to play it. No... So get over it." This happened quite often and she didn't restrict the types of games from distinction of violent or non-violent. Taught me that it is only a game in the end and I accepted the fact that I will lose sometimes and I can get better.
There are clearly some games that play better to mature audiences, than young children. The point that needs to be addressed is the immersion in these violent games. I can play a violent game as long as I'm not fully immersed. I can also alleviate any frustration as long as I don't get immersed into the game... it's a game, as I've always been taught.
As to the trophy for any place, all that did was prevent the first place trophy winners from saying "Haha, you didn't get a trophy." it didn't give any good feelings of hey you lost... but at least you got something. It holds the purpose of saying "You shouldn't gloat over your victory." (do that too often and rage will ensue from the non-winning teams.)
'player rage' in gaming is pretty much accepted as the norm these days.
I cannot tell you how many times (over the many years I have been part of online gaming) someone has indicated they would 'rape my bottom' (and much worse......things which cannot/should not be repeated) should I happen to best them a time or two in an online videogame.
Many times this sort of reaction (rage) is actually not coming from the 'younger' generation either. How do I know this? Because thanks to Xbox LIVE and/or TeamSpeak / Ventrillo or other in-game voice functionality you are being harassed not only via text typing and one can usually tell a 12yr old from a 50yr old by voice.
I love threatening to rape bottoms on the interwebz!
@monk, post #20: <humor> Maybe its (sometimes) just part of the 'roleplaying' that comes with playing in an alternate "universe/game?" </humor>
No. The kind of harassment I'm speaking of has been in 'competitive' online multiplayer gaming since the beginning. The words being used and the medium have simply changed. Years ago you would get it in typed chat. Now you hear it over the in-game/lobby voice chat.
Plus griefing in online games has actually become a pastime for many. That is to say, the act of intentionally doing nothing else but attempting to ruin someone else's enjoyment of the game has become a source of enjoyment for many online. It is truly sad, but it is a solid part of any/all popular online multiplayer games these days.
'Griefing' and 'player/nerd rage' aren't going anywhere any time soon!
Yes, you're right, unfortunately. I'm into flight sims (WWI & WWII mostly) and when playing on online servers that allow anyone to join you can often find some people will jump in to man your rear gunner position and then proceed to shoot their own plane up killing you both... Fortunately, most of my games have a kick/ban function but these "kiddies" often just create a new handle and jump in again. One of the few reasons that I rarely do multiplayer any more, unless it's just with people I know. I'm not a competitive type and just play these things for enjoyment and stress relief and therefore don't appreciate that particular mindset very much.
A buddy of mine complained several times that his session in Farming simulator was ruined because some other people, deliberately placed vehicles into hard to reach areas, forcing him to reset vehicles. Due nature of game, getting vehicle and implement back may be rather lengthy process.
Personally I remember people deliberately jumping in front of vehicle you're driving in BF, only to force you score teamkill and then punish you in addition, to make system kick you, because you "stole" the vehicle they were aimed to use. What is funny is that they left the vehicle instead of using it later, even if it was viable.
Matchmaking that mixed experienced and new players is also quite... "interesting", and I'm not speaking about gear (some games has fixed selection without unlocks), but about skills only. Obviously someone who spent hundreds of hours will be more skilled than someone who just bought the game. Thankfully majority of players just get along, yet there are few, maybe even just one, who will start to gloat how he "dominated" some "newbies". Well, if you like to dominate, why not to play dominoes?
At first I thought I notice these things because I played a lot of "physical" games - be that football (I mean real one, not that uparmoured version of rugby ), hockey, or, I don't know, tabletop games of all kinds, from abovementioned dominoes to ADnD, so people tend to be more... content there, especially in hockey where you could be whacked with goalie stick or smashed on board, outside of usual fistfight, of course.
I don't have much experience with online games of the old, but I have impression people there were all gentlemen-like, in three piece suits. Maybe it was that way, when Internet was not that available as it is now, and people had better manners. Or they always were like it, only because Internet wasn't widely available and few of us could travel a lot, we couldn't see that.
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