Talk about Gaming Attitudes and a Temporary Farewell to the Game

[OneeSama 86]

Hello, OneeSama here. I have posted two articles on this forum two months ago: a quick guide for beginners and a post about Isida nerf. I haven't really been active here since then on the forums here, but I did participate in a couple of newspaper contests and hopefully I have done well for the ones that haven't announced the winners yet.

 

What I really want to talk about today is attitudes. Tanki Online is a game with a younger player base than most other online games I take part in. With that said I do enjoy playing games with younger peers. I started gaming by playing Nintendo games with younger family members, and I haven't stopped playing with them to this day. With younger age, however, comes with impatience, rage, and impulsiveness. This is observable throughout the entire gaming world, not just Tanki. There are reporting and moderating systems in every gaming community for a reason.

 

I don't want to talk about the cheesy "don't get angry at a game" rant people give when facing rage and toxicity. What I want to talk about is how do we approach a game like Tanki Online and how we get the most fun out of it.

 

What Gaming Is

 

We play video games for different purposes. Some play to pass the time. Some play to hangout with friends. Some play to satisfy an addiction. I unfortunately fall into the last category. The sole reason I picked up Tanki is to fulfill my gaming desire while I am transitioning to a new computer without any other games installed.

 

No matter the purpose, gaming became the solution to all of us because it is fun. It fills us with energy when we are feeling down. It provides a platform for people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy something together, to enjoy some simple, innocent fun.

 

The recent rise of competitive gaming has given change to this ideal. We as gamers are attracted by the idea that not a single second of our gaming experience will be the same from now on. We face different opponents in different battles, and we can wield different setups into combat to determine who are the better players. Everything will be exciting, if we play to win.

 

If we play to win, then we will think actively about strategies. We come up with ideas about the best ways to win, and we stick with those ideas. Words like "meta" becomes a keyword in every gaming discussion, and the equipments and playstyles in the game are compared and ranked; eventually we come up with the idea of how the game should be played, and we segregate those who don't follow those hidden rules. We type "noob shaft" when a player uses Wasp and Shaft in close range combat and does poorly. We tell them they suck. Sometimes we tell them to kill themselves. We explain to them that the game is not supposed to be played this way, and the fact that he is playing the game like that is ruining our experience. The worst part? They don't listen. They keep doing what they are doing, and they hinder our performance and rewards.

 

This is what we see now across gaming communities. For games like Super Smash Brothers there are character tier lists. For card games there are ranked tiers for decks. For games like Tanki there are optimized setups which we perceive are the correct ways to play the game. Yes, we might have won more games. We might have trumped more opponents, but what else comes of this?

 

Winning is certainly fun. We don't feel good when we lose. We don't feel good when our opponents type "GG noobs" as they leave the battle triumphant. We want to crush them. We want to squish their bodies, mutilate their flesh under a falling chunk of concrete, and watch their blood splatter across the walls. We want them to beg for mercy as we take away their final hope of victory.

 

This is the reason why toxicity exist in every online game. We play to win, not for enjoyment. When we play a single player game, we defeat the final boss and say "hm, that was an enjoyable experience." When we play a multiplayer game, we defeat the opponent and say "damn those guys sucked" and move on to the next battle. The difference here is that we are no longer playing the game for the gaming experience but to pursue a sense of self-fulfillment. We think that if we won a game we will become better than our past selves, but deep inside we know it's not true. After a gaming session, when we head back to real life, nothing has changed, and we all have felt this feeling of emptiness.

 

So why don't we enjoy the game for what it is? We play games for fun, so why don't we try something new? Why don't we try to experience something different, something unique, something other players who are purely focused on winning aren't enjoying?

 

Departure from Tanki Online

 

Personally, I will be leaving this game temporarily. It is not because any of the recent changes nor any negative experiences with the game. This game has a fantastic concept and I hope the developers can realize their vision of an action packed shooter game. About the recent changes, I think it's something people will just have to adapt to. We can have players cry about the game not being Free-2-Play friendly, but eventually the screaming will stop, and the game can continue to develop on its merry way.

 

I want to thank the developers for creating this game as it has provided me with dozens of hours of entertainment and a community to share my experience with, but I don't think this game perfectly fit my taste as well as my future plans for my gaming career. I will be streaming other games starting in around three weeks. Maybe Tanki will get some offhand spotlight then since it is a game that definitely deserve more players, but unless that happens I will be bidding farewell to the game.

 

For any of you interested in my gaming endeavors, I have recently started to produce video game guide articles on Reddit under the name of u/Kappacitance, and I am planning on opening up a blog website as my collection of guides grow.

 

For the rest of you all, I have enjoyed being part of this game, and I hope I will be able to see you guys again sometime in the future.

[Hex 11,520]

Approved.

[VaudeVille 1,428]

What you said about MMO games is very true. Though this is one of the better communities of which I've been part.

[Blackdrakon30 2,943]

Interesting perspective. I wish you good luck in your future writing, may it go in your favor.

[Kevred 1,586]

 We want to squish their bodies, mutilate their flesh under a falling chunk of concrete, and watch their blood splatter across the walls. We want them to beg for mercy as we take away their final hope of victory.

 

deep

 

honestly though what u said i completely agree with

people just dont view games as the fun theyre supposed to be

[Penguin40 1,714]

deep

 

honestly though what u said i completely agree with

people just dont view games as the fun theyre supposed to be

Wait, Kevin the Joker's still alive?  :unsure:  :o  :huh:

 

Anyways Sama, great job there, I need to agree. With new advances come new good, and new bad :c  :(

 

And good luck whereever you go!

[asifmehmood 1,576]

Glirl , nice article

[Kevred 1,586]

Wait, Kevin the Joker's still alive?  :unsure:  :o  :huh:

 

Anyways Sama, great job there, I need to agree. With new advances come new good, and new bad :c  :(

 

And good luck whereever you go!

i missed u too homie <3

[NERF836 202]

Nise.