"It's Just a Game"

[dimensional]

Well I think most people are aware its just a game they dont need to be told it which is what can make it so annoying.

Games are about having fun if you dont have fun playing something dont play it but also games have an objective if you are not going to bother to play towards that objective dont play with others who do seriously this is really F*king annoying people who join your game on left for dead (as an example) when you are playing on expert shoot everybody on the team then start laughing and when you thank the idiot for being a complete prick and ruining everyones efforts only for them to respond lol its only a game noob or some shit well thats a little annoying (yes they do get kicked but the damage is done).

Some people do take games to seriously honestly I will put up with people 99% of the time as long as they are trying and you know actually playing the game I will even offer advice if I think I can as long as they show a willingness to play the game and not have an abrasive personality I dont care if they are rubbish. If someone is having a go at you for not playing brilliantly even though you are trying hard well sod em these people are just as bad in my books ruining peoples enjoyment of a game by belittling their abilities.

I usually hear the phrase calm down its only a game from some family members when I am playing a game and they are about, if I so much as sigh or say ffs calmly in an even voice because the game is slightly annoying me (in some tricky part) I will hear that phrase and damn how annoying it is now im not just a little annoyed but super pissed off especially as some of them are extremely hypocritical bastards try telling them football/rugby etc is just a game when their team loses and they will go off into a rant if their not already in tears because it was an important match aw diddums.

 

[shrekfan246]

Actually, I'm fine with people saying that.

Not everyone is hyper-competitive. If you're getting genuinely pissed off at someone over their performance in a bloody video game then you might want to consider calming down a bit, maybe taking a nap.

If you only want to play with serious business types then join a team. Don't expect randoms to be as hardcore and uptight as you.

This right here.

I'm a fairly decent WoW player and I can pick up most of the classes pretty easily and get proficient with them quickly. It's easy to gear up, most of the classes have pretty obvious talents to spec into, and it's generally not really all that difficult to keep up with people who out-gear you provided you know what you're doing.

When I used to PUG heroic dungeons or raids, I would use "It's just a game" more times than I can count, because there are just so many people in the game who throw massive hissy fits if everything doesn't go exactly their way. I've had people rage at me because I was doing better than they were, I've had people rage at me because I was actually paying attention to boss mechanics, I've had people rage at me because I was doing exactly what I needed to do and they were the ones doing it wrong. I've had people rage at me because they died from their own stupidity, I've watched people on the bottom of the damage meters rage out at everyone else for screwing up if we died on a boss, I've been 25% of the total damage in a 25-man raid and watched everyone else bicker at each other for being bad.

And what do I do in all of those situations? Tell people that it's just a game and they should calm down. The internet gives people these massive, over-inflated egos that run rampant and unchecked even while they're being deflated by people who are legitimately better than they are. It's absolutely ridiculous, and especially in WoW where a lot of the people are so elitist and uptight about everything that new players are afraid of trying to get in to raids, because they know that if they screw up they're gonna get chewed the hell out without even getting any useful criticism on how they could improve.

EDIT: There are the obviously hopeless cases of people who do get helpful criticism and just go "LOL relax d00d, I kno wut Im doin!", but I typically just ignore those people outright because getting mad at them isn't going to do any good anyway.

EDIT The Second: I bet I probably come across with a pretty over-inflated ego in that post, so to self-deprecate a bit, let me just say that I would be laughed off of the entire server if I tried applying to join any of the top 50 raiding guilds in World of Warcraft. They wouldn't even think before denying me, because Dragon Soul already has a 20% nerf applied to it and my guild is still only 6/8 bosses killed in heroic mode.

 

[mikeybuthge]

I admit to using "Calm down bro, its just a game" to troll my friends, but really, there's never a reason to rage at a person for playing a game how they want. If its game-breaking for you, find others to play with, or report that person for fucking around in a ranked match, no biggie

 

[Nexxis]

I've seen that phrase used in situations where are a game touches on a serious issue (ie racism, sexism, religion, etc) and someone gets offended. The offended person rages about it, and another person says that their rage over it is unjustified because "it's just a game" and should not be taken seriously.

As for the phrase being used on the competitive side, I have mixed feelings about it. Personally I enjoy playing a game, winning, and improving, but only when I do it at my own pace. So I don't mind when another player gives advice. Just as long as it's not in the "n00b learn to play" attitude. I think a lot of people don't like to be treated that way.

 

[Vegosiux]

"Competitive gaming." If you want to game competitively, don't team up with random people; or rather, if you do, lower your standards for the occasion.

"It's a game. If you're not having fun, go play a more relaxed part a bit and come back later." is a legitimate comment to anyone who starts raging. Yes, even me. I actually wish someone would poke me with that if they noticed I'm losing my cool. A simple "Hey, calm down" carries a good chance of me doing just that. Especially if followed up by "It's only going to get harder if your nerves are bad". Cause...that's kind of true.

Now if they go "Lol, just a game, why should I bother to play well" or "Shut up"...now that usually makes the opposite happen.

Like someone who quoted me said: There is are many stages between perfoming good or bad. I just despise the lowest stage.

I don't know, but if I "despise" something, I go out of my way to make 100% sure it can't happen...such as not grouping up randomly, etc. And if I do group up randomly, I try to lower my standards for the occasion.

All in all I prefer singleplayer anyway...

 

[Savo]

Depends on the context in which they say it. If they are screwing around and are ruining the game for others, then its not a legitimate excuse. If people who take the game way too seriously are throwing a hissy fit because they lost, then yeah I have no issue with people reminding them that its just a game.

 

[Rednog]

This has been covered several times by many people, "it's just a game" is a bullshit excuse.
Why? Primarily because it never is just a game, it is people's time and enjoyment, and in some cases money. Your enjoyment of playing the game how you want to play, does not supersede the enjoyment of the rest of your team.

 

[The Pinray]

I will take advice seriously, but when I get with some ultra-nerd that rages and calls people noob then I will gladly drop a "Just a game." Because it is. Some of these try-hard neckbeards take video games WAY too seriously.

If I suck, then tell me how to get better. Don't drop all caps or yell into the mic like some complete freak of nature.

Because, as much as I hate to break it to them, it is just a game. Chill

 

[Asuka Soryu]

Video games are serious biz.

 

[Rastien]

"It's just a game" is an excuse I hear too often when I ask people to perform next time better because our defeat was in many parts their fault. Instead of just taking the advice (I always give advice how they can get better) they block with stupid shit like "It's just a game".

Please tell me you don't actually tell them that the defeat was their fault, but offer to give them this advice in a pleasant tone, rather than just...telling them straight up.

If not, no wonder they don't appreciate your "advice"...

Not in the slightest i never blame a defeat on a single person, i know full well i could have done 5 things better in each game. Games that i loose i re-watch in dota and pick out what i did wrong personally.

I greatly dislike people ragging on 1 person, i was literally trying to offer up some help to the guy. Usually its fine giving advice but for some reason this guy seemed to think i was making a personal attack against him : /

-edit Also i see alot of mention of joining a group/guild so ill ask here anyone intrested in playing some dota 2 matches usually about in the evening UK time for a few.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

If it's just a game and you don't care, then don't play the fuckin' game.

It is never just a game. It is something that you're doing at the moment. And if you're doing something it is probably important to you. If it's important to you then you should learn how to do it properly instead of making excuses for your incompetence.

 

[TheLizardKing]

Why do people hate it when you take games seriously? When i get pissed off at Dark Souls and my brother tells me "It's just a game", it pisses me off even more.

 

[Syzygy23]

Generally i see this used, in my case when im trying to offer advise in dota 2 on how someone could improve there play. For example trying to convince an Anti-Mage to keep back as hes just gonna get cc'd down. All i got in reply was "LOL Nerd! its only a game don't take it srs"

God fucking damn it, I hate it when someone does this in DOTA. Look, yes, its just a game, but most people want to win and you can single handily make that impossible by acting like a dumbass again and again.

If you don't care about winning, don't play MOBA games. Thats just my two cents.

Don't you think that maybe these DotA games are just poorly designed if all it takes is ONE bad player to ruin the fun for everyone? I mean c'mon! In almost every other competitive multiplayer game ever made, one bad player can be carried by two good players, or one exceptional player.

If it's just a game and you don't care, then don't play the fuckin' game.

It is never just a game. It is something that you're doing at the moment. And if you're doing something it is probably important to you. If it's important to you then you should learn how to do it properly instead of making excuses for your incompetence.

That argument falls apart when closely examined. There are degrees of importance we assign to the things we do, like getting to work on time. That is something your average person learns to do properly. Those same persons(people) might also like playing sports, but unless these people are pro athletes, sports won't pay the bills, so while they might play a round of rugby/soccer/etc. in their spare time, they don't really have much incentive to play it competently. The simple experience of playing at all is good enough, and probably all they have time for.

So lets apply this logic to videogames. What do videogames accomplish for any given player? Entertainment. Nothing more. Videogames won't feed you, bathe you, or pay your electric bills, it's a luxury we distract ourselves with because we find it fun. Whether we play them 'competently' or not is ultimately irrelevant, winning or losing is irrelevant, because there is no tangible benefit other than whatever the individual player decides(decided) was/is fun to them.

Just because I play videogames doesn't mean I should or need to invest the time to become ultra-skilled at them just so some asshat across the internet can feel good about his team winning. If someone is dragging your team down, YOU can quit the game and find a new team, or play a different game.

 

[Last Hugh Alive]

If I'm playing online and I'm playing competitively then I'll accept defeat if I lose, I won't pull the "its just a game" card when I lose. However, if I'm just casually playing online and some jerk is swinging his dick around talking down at me for not matching his skill, then yeah I ought to tell him to settle down and point out how it doesn't really matter. Nothing really outside of that context though.

 

[Daveman]

should just follow it up with "and you're shit at it".

 

[Syzygy23]

Generally i see this used, in my case when im trying to offer advise in dota 2 on how someone could improve there play. For example trying to convince an Anti-Mage to keep back as hes just gonna get cc'd down. All i got in reply was "LOL Nerd! its only a game don't take it srs"

God fucking damn it, I hate it when someone does this in DOTA. Look, yes, its just a game, but most people want to win and you can single handily make that impossible by acting like a dumbass again and again.

If you don't care about winning, don't play MOBA games. Thats just my two cents.

Don't you think that maybe these DotA games are just poorly designed if all it takes is ONE bad player to ruin the fun for everyone? I mean c'mon! In almost every other competitive multiplayer game ever made, one bad player can be carried by two good players, or one exceptional player.

And almost all coop oriented games can be fucked up by that one guy. The if coop is the carrying feature then you can say that it is "poorly designed" because one guys performance can save the day.

In Left 4 Dead or Killing Floor even ONE good player can carry a team of newbs to victory, and yet those games can still remain a challenge to everyone involved.

In the older Unreal games one or two good players could carry an entire TEAM. All of the above games require just as much if not more situational awareness than any MOBA out today and yet the ratio of good players per team remains more balanced and less stupid. If anything, they don't involve the concept of 'feeding', which is a terrible mechanic and is the cornerstone of the shitty MOBA design.

Seriously, how can you defend a game that won't let the good players be good at the game because everyone on the other team managed to make their numbers high enough to shrug off anything you can throw at them because you had ONE new guy just learning the ropes on your team?

Last time I checked, being skillful at something is supposed to be FUN and REWARDING, not an exercise in impotence and frustration.