Competition. Good or Bad? It has always been said that a little competition is good, as long as it is healthy. Competition is a great motivator. Competition gives people an incentive to get things done and encourages people to try their hardest. However, competition can turn ugly when people get resentful. Jealousy can lead to hate, or force people to take dirty or unethical measures. Competition does not flourish well with egotism. A good example of the interaction between competition and egotism would be saying something like, "now it's personal". Monday Night Combat is a very personal game, the community is small and most people know each other in some way. The essence of all competition is outplaying your enemy objectively and personally, it is a match between two great rivals. You are competing against others to achieve victory. In theory, competition should be empowering no matter the loss or win, yet in this day and age with our just man up mentality, has changed competition to I am better than you. Our new mentality towards competition is why a death is such a big deal when someone who is, supposedly inferior to you, got a kill on you. Most of the time that person who was supposedly inferior got you with something you know is just newbie-friendly, juice, grapples, airstrike, explosive sniper rounds, head crab, etc. So why do people constantly complain about gameplay, say they are done, yet keep on returning to the game? We all have pride and want to preserve it, people usually return to prove that they are good and want to keep the image they have amongst others, which is also why dying from anything you would consider mediocre from someone considered inferior is unacceptable. In Monday Night Combat, even prior to the actual match sitting in the lobby, there are many things you can start taking note of. When the clock starts ticking down in the lobby, you can start looking at who is on which team and what team is stacked more. Based on your observations made during match-making, you can begin to gauge the amount of effort you will have to put into the game and the amount of stamina and attention span you will be putting into that match. Once the game commences, you can start to look at the scoreboard so you can pick classes that will counter your opponent or choose accordingly, to accommodate the team. When the match begins, the first few gunshots you exchange with your opponent and other players placement will soon tell you which team is in favor. When you start matches the way I outlined earlier, after a while, you will begin to subconsciously calculate the balance of the game and what role you should be playing for a team win. How does an attitude of, "just a game", flip so quickly to "a personal matter"? How about we think of a hypothetical situation: Edward Coug, the destroyer of the universe, comes out of nowhere and head crabs me and kills me with his overpowered assault. I am now frustrated and angered because all Edward Coug does is eat boxes of fortune cookies. Later on in the match, I was caught in a fury of Edwards many juice chains, not only does this make me look bad, my KD ratio has suffered(very important), I look BAD in front of my online friends AND my dog. The game that I loved because it was about fun and team objective play became a game of personal matter. This little snob Edward Coug, the destroyer of the universe, needs to be leveled and paved into the dirt, or there will be no justice. An eye for an eye? Try an eye for your life. Is that why you play video games? Let us talk of some examples of overinflated egos plus competition. JackTrips summoned OxyTeam just kill me in the game, personally, I found it to be an amusing challenge. When you come upon a situation like, 2v6, 3v6, or whatever the odds are and you have no doubt a loss is inevitable, do not just give up or rage quit. When JackTrips called in Oxyteam, it was about them wanting to kill me, in my mind it was just another challenge as to how I was going to operate. The goal of JackTrips calling in Oxyteam was just that, to kill me, I do not give that pleasure to my opponents without a fight. There are plenty of other frequent forum users who did the same thing as OxyTeam. In situations like those you must fight fire with fire, the result, tactical team versus stacked team. When tactical team versus stacked team occurs, a regular public match becomes a game of sudden death in which, everyone is required to lay all the chips on the table and put on the game face. Tactical versus stacked matches are not only about winning, they are also about showing your opponents that wit, skill, and tactical thinking are more powerful than stacking a bunch of your high level friends and using the same techniques that have been used ever since someone won that famous match doing so. When the odds are against you and you stay in the match to try a new tactic against stacked teams, or show that you are not afraid of anothers bot level, it will be the talk among the community no matter the outcome. Ever hear someone say, if you want breakfast, you will have to catch it? Ever try to relate the saying, if you want breakfast, you will have to catch it; to your own life? There are greasy diners full of metaphorical breakfasts all over this town, think for a bit, before you know it you will be eating steak and eggs served by Mickey Cantor himself. Winning or having good stats, what is more important? The win versus stats arguments are a never ending debate that can and has gone in numerous directions, it is just a personal preference. So how then, is a player noticed? Do you get noticed because you are a team objective type player that will disregard all danger in order to achieve your goal? Is it because the player is hitting your face with a shovel and your inability to quickly retaliate, what made another player stand out from the crowd? Is it more memorable to win as a team with mud all over your face? Is it a matter of individual performance that triumphs over all else as you dance in a pool of your own blood? What is the byproduct of competition, after countless clashes? When people begin to build a sense of self-worth, this sense is split between egotism and self-esteem and will always hang in the balance within each and every one of us. We often misinterpret the difference between egotism and high self-esteem. How does an egotist differ from a person with high self-esteem? We tend to take mental notes on what our eyes have revealed, yet rarely do we consider the limitations of our eyes perception. Let us clarify some differences between egotists and persons with high self-esteem. Egotists are essentially insecure people who are attempting to cover up their own suspicion that they are not quite as good as others, usually by acting like they are more important than you. Persons with high self-esteem do not determine their self-worth by comparing themselves to others, neither publicly or in their own minds. An egotists sense of self-worth is mostly determined by external conditions, circumstances, and events. Egotists promote their self in order to convince themself of their own value through the feedback they receive from peers, fans, voters, employees or even their own children. Egotists often strive to be high achievers so they can receive the acclaim of others, in the hope that this acclaim will somehow prove their worth. For persons with high self-esteem, sense of self-worth is mainly determined by internal conditions like attitude, compassion, belief, desire, personal vision, and also tend to have a direct sense of their relationship with divinity. I am not referring to divinity in the religious sense, rather; to know thy self, honor thyself, and love thyself. It is extremely important to understand that having a high level of self-esteem does not equate to being egotistical and loving yourself unconditionally does not equate to narcissism. Why do humans feel compelled to show a display of arrogance in the presence of others? How do you benefit by criticizing others relentlessly? When was the last time you paused and gave the other person a chance to speak? Have you not smirked at the misfortune of others? Who has inspired you to be antagonistic? Humans will always make excuses for misconducts, but never have they thought of taking the effort to reciprocate. What I am trying to get across to you is this. We want to have fun, but what does fun mean? Fun is usually an activity that we enjoy, thus, we gain satisfaction. There are countless activities available, each have their pros and cons. Let us take hiking, for an example; some people like to go and mountain climb, while others like to travel through the path paved in bark dust and discover Mother Nature. Some people would rather go to the gym and swim because they enjoy the cold chill of the water, while a merfolk is also there blazing through the pool like cutting butter. Some like to jog around the track for a mile, while others must sprint the whole mile to prove that they are faster than anyone there. Have you ever seen a person that is mountain climbing start taunting passers-by for not having the guts to do what he is doing? What about that swimmer? Ever see that merfolk telling anyone who wants to swim in this pool to start practicing their lung capacity, and are only allowed in it if they can blaze through the water like him? Do you think people are impressed by sprinters who can outrun normal joggers, but never will they be able to outrun their little beagle? Here is something you should try: The person that is mountain climbing could politely inform anyone nearby to check out mountain climbing. Mountain climbing can be dangerous, so you could suggest the people look into it and also go with a professional group when you are a novice. You can tell them the truth, it is a thrilling experience and you will probably be scared many times. As you gain more knowledge of mountain climbing through others, the satisfaction of overcoming obstacles with your own bare hands feels amazing and empowering. The merfolk could politely ask the other swimmers if they are interested in a race, and in doing so, have made an acquaintance. Forming a group with similar interest and expanding your circle of friends is never a bad thing. After all, who does not want to ask you what it is like, being merfolk in a gymnasium? Oh, and do merfolk wear speedos? The sprinter may be faster than other people, but he does not need to be in overdrive mode full-time. During his phase of cooling down, he could jog with the others, talk to them, discover what they want to achieve. Are they jogging for health purposes? Are they jogging just because they like to? This might be a good time to talk to them about your goals, and that you want to outrun your beagle. Some things are just the way they are, but you would not let a little, "impossible", get in the way of it being "possible" now would you? The situation is only as good as you make it to be, and it can be as bad as you try to make it to be. We will try Monday Night Combat: XENO played against iDeadEye several times with different teammates and maps. At the end of some games, messages were exchanged, but nothing degrading. Never had a conflict with iDeadEye on the forum because it doesn't matter. [Insert forum name] played against iDeadEye several times with different teammates and maps. Hostile message exchanged. What is this on the forum? What is this post? WHAT? Lies and misinformation are being spewed about me and my friends! Good thing I have a photographic memory, here I go! Rage ensues. XENO got killed by a Level 0 in a crossfire match. XENO makes friendly remarks about how the master of the universe just got destroyed by a level 0. This person should be famous. [Insert forum name] got killed by a Lv 0 in a crossfire match. Complain and whine. This is all Uberent / fault for making such a lousy game. If my teammates weren't such terrible players and actually did their job right we would have won. XENO played a private match and lost. XENO thanks the other team for the game and laughs at specific points of the game. Constructive and positive words can only lighten the mood of the team that lost, which in this case, mine. [Insert forum name] played a private match and won. I'm the reason why my team won and you will forever refer to me as the best player of all time. This might just be a good time to go sign up at http://www.MLG.com and start pro gaming. XENO left MNC to play other games. Doesn't need to tell anyone. Who cares? It's not like I had a funeral or anything. One thing I've learned in life, never give up, only then will you discover how powerful your mind is. [Insert forum name] left MNC to play other games. I should definitely make a topic before leaving, just so I can see the reaction of people. If there were enough tears shed, I might just stay for the group hug. Does everything I say and do make me a saint? No. Several times I have made immature decisions and they make me no different than others. What is the bottom line here? What is it that I am trying to get across to you? Show kindness. Be understanding. Reciprocate the process. Kindness. Understanding. Reciprocate. Kindness. The quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Understanding. Sympathetically aware of other people's feeling; tolerance and forgiving. Reciprocate. Respond to (a gesture or action) by making a corresponding one. The true measure of your wealth is not measured by what you are able to accumulate, but by what you are enabled to contribute. A generous person forgets what he gives and remembers what he receives. Learn, earn, return. These are the three phases of life. Writer: XENO Editor: Turntables Amen.
Have you though about being a teacher or a mentor of some sort. When you want to speak your heart, man, you do just that. With your post, you hit many nails on the head (especially the farewell threads).
The reason why Xeno didnt make one because if he did people will just post something like: "A non-PM players leaves, who cares. " He would have just gotten trolled completely. Better for him to not post it.
You act like this is a phenomenon unique to games. Citing your running, swimming, climbing examples - those are not competative scenarios. In fact, they are largely cooperaive scenarios. It is like smack talking during Blitz once the bot level has been locked... Let's compare to something competive; Trash talk between people in racing competition? Let's look at the case with the accusations against Caster Semenya that lead to certain...investigations. What about the talk against Lance Armstrong and mechanical advantages he has? Don't get me started about Nascar and Formula 1. Swimming - ever pay attention to the Olympics when they talked about the advantage that suits gave, and how they wanted to change rules to force certain clothing and swimcaps to be outlawed? Climbing - I have no idea. It isn't really all that competetive that I know of. Maybe Hillary had some smack talk when he went on the Everest expedition, I have no idea. Let's expand to typically competetive sports in health clubs; Basketball? Yeah... Football? Yeah... American football? Yeah... Baseball? Yeah... Volleyball, racquetball, heck even GOLF all have their people that are the type of people you are talking against. Not to belabor the issue - I get what you are saying. There are sociologists and psychologists that have done studies about this - if you are interested in reading I can suggest a few books and studies.
MNC was used as an example because most people who visits these forums had played MNC. MNC is the common interest of the people that frequent visit here so naturally I will be using something that people can relate to rather than question my examples. I've played sports. I'm sure we all have. And watched sports. And I don't ever recall talking **** or saying anything disrespectful to other people. I've seen people break their rackets in tennis after losing a game. I've seen people throw their baseball bats at the other team (and the person was quick to dodge). I've seen people get into fights during a basketball game. And? I've made more acquaintances/friends in those events that would had made us enemies, including video games. It's not an phenomenon; it's an advice I'm sharing because people are too self-centered and selfish to realize that there's more to it than just me. That was my point, so what's yours? PS: List the books, I'll do some reading. Preferably books that are available at amazon. Amen.
My point is there are reasons for this behavior, and in some capacity it is not necessarily a bad thing. Is it OK? To some. To me? Not usually. I don't talk smack unless it is to my real life friends and we have that kind of a relationship. I just find human interaction interesting. I studied it some, and find that some of your observations are in conflict with mine, and a lot agree with mine. I appreciate your viewpoint on the subject matter either way
If you have any disagreement, share away. True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing. Educate me on your thoughts. Teacher or mentor? I've thought about it, but doubtful. Amen.
just read some more of the first post and it seems like Expectations are Retarded (Im mad at the Pub Assault) v2
This is my new favorite thread in these forums. Also, if you really wanted to answer all of those questions, you'd have to delve into psychology. A field far to complex and erroneous to care about. Good thoughts though.
I agree that psychology is interesting, but many theories such as the oedipus complex is at most intriguing, if not disturbing like frotteurism in the criminal mind section. Education teach people many things, but it doesn't teach common sense. Try Best_Jeff, sounds more befitting. Amen.
"There's an American doctor who wrote about the effect of competition on his life. He went to medical school in Switzerland and there was a fairly large contingent of Americans at that school. He said some of the students went into shock when they realized that there were no grades, there were no awards, there was no dean's list, no first or second in the class at the school. You either passed or you didn't. He said, 'Some of us just couldn't take it. We became almost paranoid. We thought there must be some kind of trick here'. So some of them went to another school. Those who survived suddenly discovered a strange thing they had never noticed at American universities: students, brilliant ones, helping others to pass, sharing notes. His son goes to medical school in the United States and he tells him that, in the lab, people often tamper with the microscope so that it'll take the next student three or four minutes to readjust it. Competition. They have to succeed, they have to be perfect. And he tells a lovely little story which he says is factual, but it could also serve as a beautiful parable. There was a little town in America where people gathered in the evening to make music. They had a saxophonist, a drummer, and a violinist, mostly old people. They got together for the company and for the sheer joy of making music, though they didn't do it very well. So they were enjoying themselves, having a great time, until one day they decided to get a new conductor who had a lot of ambition and drive. The new conductor told them, 'Hey, folks, we have to have a concert, we have to prepare a concert for the town.' Then he gradually got rid of some people who didn't play too well, hired a few professional musicians, got an orchestra into shape, and they all got their names in the newspapers. Wasn't that wonderful? So they decided to move to the big city and play there: But some of the old people had tears in their eyes. They said, 'It was so wonderful in the old days when we did things badly and enjoyed them.' So cruelty came into their lives, but nobody recognized it as cruelty." - Anthony de Mello
Xeno, that was disgustingly hypothetical. I never once got close to headcrabbing you. Though, I did tank-charge you into oblivion that one time. Cue the video.
