Really, what's the purpose of arguing over games?

[Legion]

Any ideas?

Well I think people need to stop looking at games as this unique and special thing that "says something about gamers", because the kind of attitudes you see in regards to gaming happen with pretty much any form of entertainment. Hell, at least when it comes to games you don't tend to get people getting into mass brawls like with sports.

In school it used to be what television programs and music you liked. If you didn't like X reality show or band then you weren't "cool". I guess for some people that kind of attitude never truly goes away.

Most people participate in internet discussions because they're looking for someone to validate their preconceived notions. If they find resistance they get pissed off and will jump on anyone who disagrees with them. The narcissism of the internet.

This too, as the kind of behaviour you describe is a lot more common on the internet. Anonymity does wonders for peoples "confidence".

I saw somebody insult Morrowind here on The Escapist and my knee jerk reaction was "fuck you, you don't know shit about games." (exaggeration) It's a brief thought- I mean, the briefest- but some people don't even leave it there, they develop the thought to make it as insulting as possible.

My problem with people like that is that they can't give their negative opinion of a game without directly or indirectly insulting people who do.

It's very rarely "Morrowind didn't do anything for me because I didn't like X feature, I found Y quest boring and I didn't like the controls".

It's almost always "Morrowind is shit, what the fuck do people even see in it? The levelling system blows, the quests suck and the controls are only the kind of thing people with too much time on their hands can manage to learn" (I have never played Morrowind, I used it as an example as you did).

 

[Pink Gregory]

My problem with people like that is that they can't give their negative opinion of a game without directly or indirectly insulting people who do.

It's very rarely "Morrowind didn't do anything for me because I didn't like X feature, I found Y quest boring and I didn't like the controls".

It's almost always "Morrowind is shit, what the fuck do people even see in it? The levelling system blows, the quests suck and the controls are only the kind of thing people with too much time on their hands can manage to learn" (I have never played Morrowind, I used it as an example as you did).

Exactly what I'm talking about. I just wonder why people are like that, is all.

 

[Warlock41]

I think it's about passion, people always get heated and defensive over things that they are passionate about.

But to be honest, not everyone can have a calm discussion about things without taking other people opinions as a personal attack.

 

[ninjaRiv]

My problem with people like that is that they can't give their negative opinion of a game without directly or indirectly insulting people who do.

It's very rarely "Morrowind didn't do anything for me because I didn't like X feature, I found Y quest boring and I didn't like the controls".

It's almost always "Morrowind is shit, what the fuck do people even see in it? The levelling system blows, the quests suck and the controls are only the kind of thing people with too much time on their hands can manage to learn" (I have never played Morrowind, I used it as an example as you did).

Yeah, exactly. I think a lot of arguments could be avoided by including what IS liked. "I didn't like the journal but I like the monster designs" or something. Or if there isn't ANYTHING they like, politeness works, too.

 

[rob_simple]

I always assume the kind of people you are referring to are stroppy teenagers who are still at that stage where they reckon they've got the whole world figured out and it's everyone else that's the idiot for not seeing what a brilliant mind they are in the presence of.

And even if that's not true, I find it really helps to imagine that is the case whenever I argue with someone whose opinion goes beyond differing interests and into the realm of overzealous worship.

 

[lacktheknack]

Maybe they simply can't stand the fact that Silent Hill 2 is inferior to Silent Hill 3. </pot-stirring>

In seriousness... because people like having authority, even false authority. You'll find that the people who throw their weight around on choices of gaming tend to do the same in other aspects of life.

 

[lacktheknack]

Yeah, exactly. I think a lot of arguments could be avoided by including what IS liked. "I didn't like the journal but I like the monster designs" or something. Or if there isn't ANYTHING they like, politeness works, too.

Balance is always a good way to remain civil, yes.

And I always find it hard to believe there isn't a SINGLE thing that isn't redeemable about any given game. There's always something. Heck, I even can appreciate "Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing" as a tool for trolling the hell out of your friends.

 

[Lygus]

Escapist is one of the most civilized forums on the internetz theze dayz and we still get questions like this?

Welcome to reality. Here, shit happens, as in everywhere. I once visited sports forum, and... didn't go back to it, ever. It was obvious that the crowd wasn't following any substantial rationale and was basing their opinions on instincts or false truths.

Personally, I love the opportunity of anonymous discussions provided by the internet. It sometimes brings so much to the table that, if a specific person was writing THAT comment/reply under his real name, his friends would've perceived him as an idiot who takes things too seriously, blahblah.

And yes, most of the people are basically attached to their very own, absolutely correct truths. On the other hand, I love flexible folks who admit they were wrong and carry on. That takes courage, even in an anonymous environment.

 

[Frission]

My problem with people like that is that they can't give their negative opinion of a game without directly or indirectly insulting people who do.

It's very rarely "Morrowind didn't do anything for me because I didn't like X feature, I found Y quest boring and I didn't like the controls".

It's almost always "Morrowind is shit, what the fuck do people even see in it? The levelling system blows, the quests suck and the controls are only the kind of thing people with too much time on their hands can manage to learn" (I have never played Morrowind, I used it as an example as you did).

I'll just use this post, since it says everything that needs to be said about this issue.

Imagine that someone gets pissed off due to this post, because they find this insulting. They then write a somewhat aggressive and scathing reply which makes the original poster angry because they were just "stating their opinion". Eventually the thread spirals into a gigantic impotent rage fueled fireball.

You only need to look at recent Dark Souls and Mass Effect 3 threads to see that phenomenon in action.

The lesson here is that politeness goes a long way.

Welcome to reality. Here, shit happens, as in everywhere.

This is also a good explanation. Shit goes down. The question might as well be "why are people so mean"?

 

[Random berk]

Yeah, exactly. I think a lot of arguments could be avoided by including what IS liked. "I didn't like the journal but I like the monster designs" or something. Or if there isn't ANYTHING they like, politeness works, too.

Balance is always a good way to remain civil, yes.

And I always find it hard to believe there isn't a SINGLE thing that isn't redeemable about any given game. There's always something. Heck, I even can appreciate "Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing" as a tool for trolling the hell out of your friends.

I'd be quite interested to see how you apply that theory to something like Transformers: The Game. That's the unplayable tie-in to the Michael Bay movie, not War for Cybertron.

 

[lacktheknack]

Yeah, exactly. I think a lot of arguments could be avoided by including what IS liked. "I didn't like the journal but I like the monster designs" or something. Or if there isn't ANYTHING they like, politeness works, too.

Balance is always a good way to remain civil, yes.

And I always find it hard to believe there isn't a SINGLE thing that isn't redeemable about any given game. There's always something. Heck, I even can appreciate "Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing" as a tool for trolling the hell out of your friends.

I'd be quite interested to see how you apply that theory to something like Transformers: The Game. That's the unplayable tie-in to the Michael Bay movie, not War for Cybertron.

Do I get to punch any one of those blasted bots in the face?

 

[Hero of Lime]

I don't like picking fights, especially on the internet, especially about something as trivial as games. I prefer to respond to stupid assertions and people who sound like total jerks. I really don't mind having a good debate and discussion about gaming but those are rare to find on the internet, especially in a comments section or most forums.

The Escapist is pretty good about it, probably thanks to the strict modding, however that thread about Link's coolness almost had me type things I would never otherwise type out of pure anger.

 

[Random berk]

Yeah, exactly. I think a lot of arguments could be avoided by including what IS liked. "I didn't like the journal but I like the monster designs" or something. Or if there isn't ANYTHING they like, politeness works, too.

Balance is always a good way to remain civil, yes.

And I always find it hard to believe there isn't a SINGLE thing that isn't redeemable about any given game. There's always something. Heck, I even can appreciate "Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing" as a tool for trolling the hell out of your friends.

I'd be quite interested to see how you apply that theory to something like Transformers: The Game. That's the unplayable tie-in to the Michael Bay movie, not War for Cybertron.

Do I get to punch any one of those blasted bots in the face?

You get to tickle them in the face. But it is animated to look like a punch. You're also armed with some of the most high powered airsoft guns that Cybertron ever produced. You don't fight the robots so much as erode them. The storyline in each mission is about as complex as the battles in your average RTS. And the transformations... My God. Those were awful beyond words. After all the mid air transformations and leaping about that they showed in the movies, you basically had to park the vehicles before being allowed to turn into a robot. And the same thing went for robot to vehicle transformations. I was young and stupid when I bought that game, and it was the hardest lesson I ever ;earned about gaming. At least until I discovered CoD multiplayer.

 

[lacktheknack]

Yeah, exactly. I think a lot of arguments could be avoided by including what IS liked. "I didn't like the journal but I like the monster designs" or something. Or if there isn't ANYTHING they like, politeness works, too.

Balance is always a good way to remain civil, yes.

And I always find it hard to believe there isn't a SINGLE thing that isn't redeemable about any given game. There's always something. Heck, I even can appreciate "Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing" as a tool for trolling the hell out of your friends.

I'd be quite interested to see how you apply that theory to something like Transformers: The Game. That's the unplayable tie-in to the Michael Bay movie, not War for Cybertron.

Do I get to punch any one of those blasted bots in the face?

You get to tickle them in the face. But it is animated to look like a punch. You're also armed with some of the most high powered airsoft guns that Cybertron ever produced. You don't fight the robots so much as erode them. The storyline in each mission is about as complex as the battles in your average RTS. And the transformations... My God. Those were awful beyond words. After all the mid air transformations and leaping about that they showed in the movies, you basically had to park the vehicles before being allowed to turn into a robot. And the same thing went for robot to vehicle transformations. I was young and stupid when I bought that game, and it was the hardest lesson I ever ;earned about gaming. At least until I discovered CoD multiplayer.

So I get to semi-technically punch the horrible bots in the face, and the game elongates the amount of time I get to shoot them.

I will never play, but that sounds like two silver linings to me!

 

[Random berk]

Yeah, exactly. I think a lot of arguments could be avoided by including what IS liked. "I didn't like the journal but I like the monster designs" or something. Or if there isn't ANYTHING they like, politeness works, too.

Balance is always a good way to remain civil, yes.

And I always find it hard to believe there isn't a SINGLE thing that isn't redeemable about any given game. There's always something. Heck, I even can appreciate "Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing" as a tool for trolling the hell out of your friends.

I'd be quite interested to see how you apply that theory to something like Transformers: The Game. That's the unplayable tie-in to the Michael Bay movie, not War for Cybertron.

Do I get to punch any one of those blasted bots in the face?

You get to tickle them in the face. But it is animated to look like a punch. You're also armed with some of the most high powered airsoft guns that Cybertron ever produced. You don't fight the robots so much as erode them. The storyline in each mission is about as complex as the battles in your average RTS. And the transformations... My God. Those were awful beyond words. After all the mid air transformations and leaping about that they showed in the movies, you basically had to park the vehicles before being allowed to turn into a robot. And the same thing went for robot to vehicle transformations. I was young and stupid when I bought that game, and it was the hardest lesson I ever ;earned about gaming. At least until I discovered CoD multiplayer.

So I get to semi-technically punch the horrible bots in the face, and the game elongates the amount of time I get to shoot them.

I will never play, but that sounds like two silver linings to me!

Your optimism is inspiring, I'll say that much,

 

[Ishal]

What's the purpose of anything? It's just something that I sometimes like to do. My friends and I tend to be like-minded when it comes to games so I don't get much of an opportunity to argue about games. And yes, I sometimes like to argue about things that don't matter or don't exist. I assumed that this was the case for everyone here.

We're human beings, we're wired for conflict for better or for worse. Sometimes I really like to tear into some of my friends for liking certain things. But in the end, we know when to call it quits. What's better? Arguing on an internet forum or doing something else to relieve stress, perhaps more destructive?

It's when we attach extraneous concepts to people who hold beliefs that we get into trouble.

"That guy? He's just a Nintendo nostalgia-drone, he'll swallow all of Miyamoto's spunk that is passed off for games from now til forever. BUT since he is a nintendo fan that must mean he hates all modern games that aren't Nintendo products! HOW DARE HE?!"

Once we start doing that ^^^ then we're in trouble.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

What the OP describes isn't an argument; it's simple shouting. An argument implies one actually gives supporting reasons behind their stance. Arguments are fun. Shouting is not.

 

[Vausch]

Because it can be fun to see other people's viewpoints on a subjective medium and maybe attempt to shine a light on a concept or subtext they might have missed?

It's like any other medium, arguments can bring about discussion and help further it.