One gaming-related insult I cannot stand!

[DiscoRhombus]

I used to act like a tryhard in TF2. Ending a game on Badlands in like a minute with a scout before anyone got a chance to understand what the hell was happening. That was fun.

And I don't blame the other players for "being bad" either. Truth is, if I wanted to play supercompetitive TF2, I would have moved to a server with better players.

Tryhard is a legit term. When everyone around you is dicking around and you're the only one using pro strats trying to get perfect scores, you're a tryhard.

The thing I don't get is why you care. If your satisfaction in a game depends mostly on how much praise you get from people, why don't you use a subpar setup, do good with it, and prove to everyone that you're also good when you're not serious? Oh what's that? You can't be good unless you use the current FOTM bullshit OP stuff?

Then you're not good.

This is the exact mentality I don't understand. Am I really restricted to playing a sub-par game if nobody else feels like playing properly? Should I just play a bit worse so everyone on my team and the opposing team isn't offended by my desire to play to the best of my abilities?

Also, there's another assumption I don't like in there. I play exactly how I want, I don't use the most OP combinations or strategies. In fighters I play the fighters I like (Abel in SFIV, Q in 3rd Strike... who is absolute bottom on the tier lists) and that doesn't stop me from doing well. When I suck I still play those characters because that's how I have fun.

My satisfaction doesn't depend on the praise. My satisfaction comes from being able to take a moderate amount of pride in my abilities and progress. That satisfaction is just lessened when I see what a negative impact it seems to have on everyone else. I realise it's only a game and that I shouldn't take the spiteful responses of unknown online players to heart but I don't understand why being good at a game is almost as polarising as being awful at one.

 

[2xDouble]

There comes a point in competitive games where it's just not fun anymore. When you don't just want to win, you have to win. The game stops being a game, becoming an obsession. That, boys and girls, is the realm of the "tryhard".

This is an all-too-real psychosis, on par with gambling or food addiction, and must be treated as such. It's not an easy thing to hear, I know that, but there is help available if you ask for it.

...anything else is just poor sportsmanship.

 

[DiscoRhombus]

Then your satisfaction depends at least somewhat on other people's impression of how you did. Saying otherwise is lying to yourself.

I see your point but I still feel there's a distinction. I don't care if I'm completely ignored for my performance every match. I don't want praise. I just don't want to attract negative comments and criticism when all I'm trying to do is enjoy myself in a multiplayer game.

 

[TheSteeleStrap]

I just don't like terms in which there is not a definition that people can agree on.

 

[Church185]

I used to act like a tryhard in TF2. Ending a game on Badlands in like a minute with a scout before anyone got a chance to understand what the hell was happening. That was fun.

And I don't blame the other players for "being bad" either. Truth is, if I wanted to play supercompetitive TF2, I would have moved to a server with better players.

Tryhard is a legit term. When everyone around you is dicking around and you're the only one using pro strats trying to get perfect scores, you're a tryhard.

The thing I don't get is why you care. If your satisfaction in a game depends mostly on how much praise you get from people, why don't you use a subpar setup, do good with it, and prove to everyone that you're also good when you're not serious? Oh what's that? You can't be good unless you use the current FOTM bullshit OP stuff?

Then you're not good.

These are the exact kind of people that I would consider a tryhard. Granted I've never actually sent people messages calling them that, but I see it from time to time. BF3 was particularly bad. You could usually tell who was a tryhard by looking at their stats. Their top 3 guns would be M16A3, M416, and AEK. All of those guns were broken and OP at one time or another, and all of the tryhards would run the same setup. I just coped by picking them off at long range with the AN-94. Most of them couldn't hit the broadside of a barn at medium to long ranges.

TL;DR I don't call people who are better than me tryhards. Only the people who beat me because they used some OP shit.

 

[kurokotetsu]

This is the exact mentality I don't understand. Am I really restricted to playing a sub-par game if nobody else feels like playing properly? Should I just play a bit worse so everyone on my team and the opposing team isn't offended by my desire to play to the best of my abilities?

Well, yes. It is a bit of respect to the other players. If the other player are new or not as good as you or that aren't really trying, just playing your A-game with them will probably crush them, leaving them completely deprived from their fun. So step down, try different things (lpaying not you main character, for example, me and Link in SSB) and give them a handicap. You can still win and trying to win isn'0t forbiden, but it evens the playing field with less skilled players so everyone can enjoy the game. Have you tried that racing backwards thing? It might be fun. You are still testing your abilities, you can still compete to see who does it better or faster. Or just leave the server to one with people who are playing more competitively or in the same style as yours. It is perfectly fine that you have fun your way, but if you completely ignore other player's feelings it is a lack of etiquette. It feels selfish, that only your fun matters, nobody elses. Yes everyone is responsible for their own fun, but when interacting with other people their actions may impact it, so keep that in mind.

 

[DiscoRhombus]

This is the exact mentality I don't understand. Am I really restricted to playing a sub-par game if nobody else feels like playing properly? Should I just play a bit worse so everyone on my team and the opposing team isn't offended by my desire to play to the best of my abilities?

Well, yes. It is a bit of respect to the other players. If the other player are new or not as good as you or that aren't really trying, just playing your A-game with them will probably crush them, leaving them completely deprived from their fun. So step down, try different things (lpaying not you main character, for example, me and Link in SSB) and give them a handicap. You can still win and trying to win isn'0t forbiden, but it evens the playing field with less skilled players so everyone can enjoy the game. Have you tried that racing backwards thing? It might be fun. You are still testing your abilities, you can still compete to see who does it better or faster. Or just leave the server to one with people who are playing more competitively or in the same style as yours. It is perfectly fine that you have fun your way, but if you completely ignore other player's feelings it is a lack of etiquette. It feels selfish, that only your fun matters, nobody elses. Yes everyone is responsible for their own fun, but when interacting with other people their actions may impact it, so keep that in mind.

I get where you're coming from completely and if you saw my earlier posts on the issue you'd notice that I mentioned that very point. That against a new player I will give them the opportunity to get back in the game. To teach them a few things if I can, especially in fighters. I don't like to ruin everyone else's fun just so I can feel awesome. But every now and then you will utterly destroy someone. Sometimes by pure luck. You'll keep running into them in a game like COD, or they'll set out to get you and you just come out on top. It's not always intentional. But if I do face a better player, which I do often, I try to learn from their victories rather than just get mad. I've learned some interesting shit from people owning me. It's one of those things where you just have to admit you were bested. I think a lot of people struggle to seperate their ego and their performance in a game.