Lessons from online games and the Internet

Okay, so, in the entirety of my online life (which started roughly... 6 years ago, when my parents finally gave in to me and my brothers' demands for high-speed internet), I've played MMOs for a good majority of time. However, being the World's Greatest Noob at the Internet can have some drastic changes on your life. Some of mine are listed here; you're not required to follow them or anything, but just some food from thought from a guy who learned the most about life from behind a computer screen.

Think about what you're going to say, then think about it again:
This is probably one of the most biggest things I learned. No matter what you say, you're always going to end up thinking that some part of it sounds pretty stupid. Early in my online years I was very hot-headed and very prone to entering conflicts with other forumers/players/socialites. Half of the fact is attributed to this:  not thinking before speaking. Nowadays, I find little point in talking to others unless its relevant to the task at hand, but I really am quite shocked at how stupid I was in my olden days.

Get over it, it's not as bad as you think AND/OR "it's just a game":
Another thing, most conflicts done over games should just be let go; it's trivial and completely stupid. And doubly so for the Internet; everyone's entitled to their own opinions; respect them for that, even if they don't respect yours. I learned this lesson the hard way because I held my opinion over everyone else's, and even got into a fight where opposing victims that I attacked in a MMO brought the conflict to my online social life (the blog post on Gamespot where we waged our little war was subsequently deleted after reparations by me). I was so ashamed of the fact that it was probably the primary reason why I went inactive on my Gamespot account so fast. So I learned that getting angry, especially on the Internet, will get you nowhere. Fast. There's always going to be haters, so just ignore them and keep moving; and you'll live longer that way, too.

Hey, this typing stuff's pretty handy!:
As of 4 years ago, I had started taking a Keyboarding class in my freshman year at high school. I picked up on it pretty fast and was blazing through like a hot knife through butter. Then I brought my newfound skills online. Not only has it helped me develop my vocabulary (typing long and hard words is FUN!), but it also improved my social skills. Funny to think that I used to type at 40 WPM using 2 fingers, and can now type at 80+ WPM using my hands at full capacity.

Culture - it's both stupid AND intriguing:
Let's face it: If you're good with the Internet, you're going to be able to tell what's mainstream and what's not
just from a moment's glance. My parents go by the assumption that the Internet rots your brain; it doesn't, especially if you're young and impressionable, and have a fascination with games and technology.

 

The Internet taught me more about the ways the world and people work moreso than my parents have ever done so (and boy, am I glad they didn't). In addition, it's also taught me how to fit in with my generation; if you'd seen me 4 years ago, I would have definitely been classified as a "creeper"; nowadays, I look like your stereotypical arrogant American teenager (I'm not arrogant, really, I'm not; or maybe I am, just by making this blog post. I'll have to contemplate on that later).

Now, if you've not known yet, I am an otaku; oh, yes, love anime, love the cutesy-artsy style of them, the high-pitched voices, the abnormal love/hate relationship people have with the way the characters
look, can't get enough of it. Japanese culture fascinates me (as do the questionable games that come out of it every year; I've played about 6 or so already), but not to the point where it becomes the driving point of every conversation that I'm in; in fact, it's probably one of the LAST things I would pick as a conversation topic, with ANYBODY. Around where I live, openly admitting that you like anime pretty much puts you (indirectly) into the weird category; people give you weird looks, don't want to talk to you, point fingers and laugh behind your back; the whole nine yards. Anime is great and all, but only in short doses, and it is definitely not something to obsess about; NEETs and hikkikomoris, I'm looking at you (for those who get the reference).

Now about music culture: I love Linkin Park. I listened to their songs for about 10 years or so, on the radio.
I did not find out who Linkin Park was until after using the Internet 6 years ago; need I say more? It's a great tool for researching new artists who fit into genres you like, and for scoping random songs to see if you like them.

Reflex - ain't it great?:
As of this post, I am a Counterstrike veteran of 14 years. I'd originally started with Super Marios Bros. and Duck Hunt on the NES (which I still own, and still works, by the way), and was eventually introduced into CS by my uncle. I was completely fascinated; what was this amazing new game, with the cool-looking guys in combat suits and shooting each other with guns? So I got hooked, and throughout the years, my reflex has improved... a lot. To the point where twitch-based games are quite easy to get used to, and my thought processes can make flexible decisions on a dime.

Oh, please, do talk:
I'm not talking in online life here, folks. I mean in real life. Flap that mouth as much as you can (within reason).
Being on the internet is nice and all, but if you don't speak out once in a while, you're going to feel it. Myself,
I speak with a very, very, very subtle lisp, and it likes to make itself loudly known when I'm talking to people I don't know. I attribute this to my introvert-ness. So please, do talk. And if you already do; keep talking. It's good for your health.

Do or die!:
You play games. You see, you do, you learn. At least, that's how it works for me. Most of the time, people don't really know how to play (or they do, they just do it horribly). In online FPS (especially CS: Source), I'm constantly surprised to find myself within the top 3 almost every round. Do people have trouble playing? Perhaps they're busy talking to someone? Or maybe they have carpal tunnel syndrome? No, most of the time, I find that its people playing that have no skill whatsoever (subsequently followed by the one guy that has 0 kills and 26 deaths whining that his team sucks). Learn how to play the game; learn it so well, that you can recite the game mechanics in your sleep. Okay, not really. But LEARN HOW TO PLAY! It'll help you, it'll help your buddies, and your clan/guildmates, too! There's nothing I hate more when I enter a PUG in an MMO and find out that the healer can't heal for crap even if his life depended on it.

Game over, man, game over!:
This actually applies all the way to the time from before I began online gaming. I used to hate dying in video games; I hated it so much that I oftentimes actually stopped playing games altogether because I kept dying. Then along came CS in all its glory and I learned that fact that dying isn't the end (just like that one part in Metal Gear Solid 3). I know how games sometimes like to put it in; the unbeatable level or boss in where you're just meant to die (not as often anymore thanks to the mainstreaming of gaming), but you end up wasting all over your healing items and curse yourself as you die, only to find that you're SUPPOSED to die, and end up going off on the TV.

Hi, I'm [censored] DeltaX, and I like to [censored] [censored] [censored]:
Come on, guys, profanity and vulgarity aren't everything. It doesn't get your point across any easier, and it sure as heck ain't going to make you sound any more mature. Just think about it: if you didn't swear in your sentences, they'd be shorter and more easier to say! That being said, I find that people using language so casually on the internet irritates me. Don't be a lower-ladder scum of society; you're better than that.

Hating on people does not make you cool:
Yeah, we know you like to be that hipster-cool guy-gangzta-gunslinga-pimp on the internet, but do you really think you're fooling anyone? Hating on other people does nothing. Except, well, maybe escalate drama, promote violence, and/or maybe eventual death through assassination in real life beacuse one guy just happened to get the other's home address. Simply put: don't be an ass.

Did I really say that? Oh, well, it doesn't apply RIGHT NOW:
Hypocrites. I'm sure you've had your fair share of them (heck, I think I'm being a hypocrite against myself in this very blog post!). The cool, arrogant people on MMOs who think it's bad for people to whine about game mechanics, but okay for them to do so (a prime example on an MMO I used to play on). It's easy to spot these fellers; they run in packs and often, are in the same guild or clan, and are also very arrogant, brash, and insulting, and enjoy fighting authority and reason, like GMs/moderators and more mature players. Avoid like the plague, and kill whenever possible; their instances can vary from your standard raving idiots all the way up to the dominating guild/clan on the server/game. The responses you can get from them are quite amusing.

Good people over good equips:
This one goes without saying. It doesn't matter if that healer has horrible equipment; I know he's good, so I'm going to recruit him! He'll keep us alive a lot longer than that uber-rare-equipment healer that always thinks he's the tank.
 

That's it for now, and remember:  food for thought!
 

-Delta