Tamriel Vault - How does Competition affect Fun in Gaming or Other Activities?

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How does Competition affect Fun in Gaming or Other Activities?

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WuYiXiang

October 15, 2016

I sometimes play competitvely, but even then, I'm on the casual side of the spectrum. I mainly play for fun, but if I get some prize money, I won't complain, y'know?
Legion

October 18, 2016

Gaming under those circumstances can still be fun, just as physical sports under those circumstances remain fun. But maybe "fun" is too narrow? It's a rush, really. A chance to prove yourself, a chance to become great at something that millions are only mediocre at. It's the majors! A person does not spend six hours a day honing a skill that doesn't give something back. It's joyous, it's a source of pride, and though it has it's low points, especially when losing, it only hurts so much because the players care so much.

It's probably worth distinguishing between types of fun, though. The fun I experience while playing Skyrim is nothing like the fun I've experienced while playing competitive* Gears. I imagine it's the same for most. The day-to-day for competitive gamers is likely also in line with their passions. For how long it stays that way, I don't know. Competition could eventually lead a player to become jaded and fall out of love with the game, or even the gaming community. Passion and career aren't mutually exclusive, but not all passions can be careers. It just doesn't work for some. For others, competition is exactly what they love about gaming. So yes, it can still be fun. It just comes down to the individual player.

*Online ranked matches with full parties and nothing but pride on the line
The_Lex

Member

October 18, 2016

In ESO, there are hard-core raiding guilds, such as HODOR, who are always competing for the best group scores in 12-person trials. These guilds mandate that their members are always present for raids, always have the best gear, and always push the boundaries of what their character and character class can accomplish. The weird thing about it is, scores are irrelevent to the game. You don't win anything except bragging rights ("We finished Maw of Lorkhaj in xx time"; "We're the first guild to finish xx on hard mode"). Despite this, the LOVE it and they LIVE for it.

Me? It would drive me insane. I would totally lose my love for gaming...period. But, to each his/her own I guess.
Mortiferous

Member
October 18, 2016
Competition causes a metagame, a metagame causes people to conform to a certain "superior" playstyle to correspond with the metagame, this leads to lack of creativity, which leads to...
- Yu-Gi-Oh!'s current state.
- Dark Souls-level community hostility in game XY.
- A self-hating fanbase.
- Tryhards/Elitists.
- People complaining about how the game lacks creativity.
- People complaining that something is too strong and needs a nerf.
- People thinking they're the best players in the world because they abuse XY mechanic/weapon
I'm all for competition, I enjoy it. But the way it is handled now makes it not-so-fun for most involved that don't use the metagame. I'm not on the required skill level to know how to fix it, but these are the problems at hand.
Competition causes a metagame, a metagame causes people to conform to a certain "superior" playstyle to correspond with the metagame, this leads to lack of creativity, which leads to...
- Yu-Gi-Oh!'s current state.
- Dark Souls-level community hostility in game XY.
- A self-hating fanbase.
- Tryhards/Elitists.
- People complaining about how the game lacks creativity.
- People complaining that something is too strong and needs a nerf.
- People thinking they're the best players in the world because they abuse XY mechanic/weapon
I'm all for competition, I enjoy it. But the way it is handled now makes it not-so-fun for most involved that don't use the metagame. I'm not on the required skill level to know how to fix it, but these are the problems at hand.
The_Lex

Member
October 18, 2016
Mortiferous said:

Competition causes a metagame, a metagame causes people to conform to a certain "superior" playstyle to correspond with the metagame, this leads to lack of creativity, which leads to...
- Yu-Gi-Oh!'s current state.
- Dark Souls-level community hostility in game XY.
- A self-hating fanbase.
- Tryhards/Elitists.
- People complaining about how the game lacks creativity.
- People complaining that something is too strong and needs a nerf.
- People thinking they're the best players in the world because they abuse XY mechanic/weapon
I'm all for competition, I enjoy it. But the way it is handled now makes it not-so-fun for most involved that don't use the metagame. I'm not on the required skill level to know how to fix it, but these are the problems at hand.
Well said.
[blockquote][b][url=/profile/Mortiferous]Mortiferous[/url] said:[/b]

Competition causes a metagame, a metagame causes people to conform to a certain "superior" playstyle to correspond with the metagame, this leads to lack of creativity, which leads to...
- Yu-Gi-Oh!'s current state.
- Dark Souls-level community hostility in game XY.
- A self-hating fanbase.
- Tryhards/Elitists.
- People complaining about how the game lacks creativity.
- People complaining that something is too strong and needs a nerf.
- People thinking they're the best players in the world because they abuse XY mechanic/weapon
I'm all for competition, I enjoy it. But the way it is handled now makes it not-so-fun for most involved that don't use the metagame. I'm not on the required skill level to know how to fix it, but these are the problems at hand.

[/blockquote]

Well said.
Noodles

Member
October 18, 2016
Mortiferous said:

Competition causes a metagame, a metagame causes people to conform to a certain "superior" playstyle to correspond with the metagame, this leads to lack of creativity, which leads to...
- Yu-Gi-Oh!'s current state.
- Dark Souls-level community hostility in game XY.
- A self-hating fanbase.
- Tryhards/Elitists.
- People complaining about how the game lacks creativity.
- People complaining that something is too strong and needs a nerf.
- People thinking they're the best players in the world because they abuse XY mechanic/weapon
I'm all for competition, I enjoy it. But the way it is handled now makes it not-so-fun for most involved that don't use the metagame. I'm not on the required skill level to know how to fix it, but these are the problems at hand.
About a year ago I was playing a lot of Guild Wars 2, an mmo. In this game, much like ESO every class can potentially fill any role. So I built myself a mage capable of decent tanking. This was far from the meta setup even though my build did its job just fine. There were some occasions when I got kicked out of the group because of this. Of course, I did not change my build since I was having so much fun with it.
[blockquote][b][url=/profile/Mortiferous]Mortiferous[/url] said:[/b]

Competition causes a metagame, a metagame causes people to conform to a certain "superior" playstyle to correspond with the metagame, this leads to lack of creativity, which leads to...
- Yu-Gi-Oh!'s current state.
- Dark Souls-level community hostility in game XY.
- A self-hating fanbase.
- Tryhards/Elitists.
- People complaining about how the game lacks creativity.
- People complaining that something is too strong and needs a nerf.
- People thinking they're the best players in the world because they abuse XY mechanic/weapon
I'm all for competition, I enjoy it. But the way it is handled now makes it not-so-fun for most involved that don't use the metagame. I'm not on the required skill level to know how to fix it, but these are the problems at hand.

[/blockquote] About a year ago I was playing a lot of Guild Wars 2, an mmo. In this game, much like ESO every class can potentially fill any role. So I built myself a mage capable of decent tanking. This was far from the meta setup even though my build did its job just fine. There were some occasions when I got kicked out of the group because of this. Of course, I did not change my build since I was having so much fun with it.
Mortiferous

Member
October 18, 2016
Noodles said:
Mortiferous said:

Competition causes a metagame, a metagame causes people to conform to a certain "superior" playstyle to correspond with the metagame, this leads to lack of creativity, which leads to...

Yu-Gi-Oh!'s current state.

Dark Souls-level community hostility in game XY.

A self-hating fanbase.

Tryhards/Elitists.

People complaining about how the game lacks creativity.

People complaining that something is too strong and needs a nerf.

People thinking they're the best players in the world because they abuse XY mechanic/weapon

I'm all for competition, I enjoy it. But the way it is handled now makes it not-so-fun for most involved that don't use the metagame. I'm not on the required skill level to know how to fix it, but these are the problems at hand.
About a year ago I was playing a lot of Guild Wars 2, an mmo. In this game, much like ESO every class can potentially fill any role. So I built myself a mage capable of decent tanking. This was far from the meta setup even though my build did its job just fine. There were some occasions when I got kicked out of the group because of this. Of course, I did not change my build since I was having so much fun with it.
That might be true, there are obviously exceptions to what I said because some people become so talented at something or so motivated by something that they create a breakthrough, which could either flop or become meta itself, or (less likely) they could keep playing it and enjoying themselves with their own unique little playstyle.
[blockquote][b][url=/profile/Noodles]Noodles[/url] said:[/b]

[blockquote][b][url=/profile/Mortiferous]Mortiferous[/url] said:[/b]

Competition causes a metagame, a metagame causes people to conform to a certain "superior" playstyle to correspond with the metagame, this leads to lack of creativity, which leads to...
- Yu-Gi-Oh!'s current state.
- Dark Souls-level community hostility in game XY.
- A self-hating fanbase.
- Tryhards/Elitists.
- People complaining about how the game lacks creativity.
- People complaining that something is too strong and needs a nerf.
- People thinking they're the best players in the world because they abuse XY mechanic/weapon
I'm all for competition, I enjoy it. But the way it is handled now makes it not-so-fun for most involved that don't use the metagame. I'm not on the required skill level to know how to fix it, but these are the problems at hand.

[/blockquote] About a year ago I was playing a lot of Guild Wars 2, an mmo. In this game, much like ESO every class can potentially fill any role. So I built myself a mage capable of decent tanking. This was far from the meta setup even though my build did its job just fine. There were some occasions when I got kicked out of the group because of this. Of course, I did not change my build since I was having so much fun with it.

[/blockquote]

That might be true, there are obviously exceptions to what I said because some people become so talented at something or so motivated by something that they create a breakthrough, which could either flop or become meta itself, or (less likely) they could keep playing it and enjoying themselves with their own unique little playstyle.
WuYiXiang

October 18, 2016

Speaking of metas, I scoff at those. I used to get a lot of hate from my teammates for playing off-meta supports in League of Legends, but they all came to respect them supports in the end. Of course, I've since quit League, so it doesn't really affect me. I still like doing "off-meta" (is there a meta in single-player?), though to a lesser extent. Heck, the other day, I was playing a sword-and-board Rogue in Dragon Age Origins (Duelist/Bard/Legionnaire). xD
Mortiferous

Member

October 19, 2016

WuYiXiang said: Speaking of metas, I scoff at those. I used to get a lot of hate from my teammates for playing off-meta supports in League of Legends, but they all came to respect them supports in the end. Of course, I've since quit League, so it doesn't really affect me. I still like doing "off-meta" (is there a meta in single-player?), though to a lesser extent. Heck, the other day, I was playing a sword-and-board Rogue in Dragon Age Origins (Duelist/Bard/Legionnaire). xD

In terms of single player meta, I can only think of Skyrim, which would probably be a playthrough uninfluenced by roleplay and using full Daedric with Dragonbone weapons... I think.
The_Lex

Member

October 19, 2016

Mortiferous said:

WuYiXiang said: Speaking of metas, I scoff at those. I used to get a lot of hate from my teammates for playing off-meta supports in League of Legends, but they all came to respect them supports in the end. Of course, I've since quit League, so it doesn't really affect me. I still like doing "off-meta" (is there a meta in single-player?), though to a lesser extent. Heck, the other day, I was playing a sword-and-board Rogue in Dragon Age Origins (Duelist/Bard/Legionnaire). xD

In terms of single player meta, I can only think of Skyrim, which would probably be a playthrough uninfluenced by roleplay and using full Daedric with Dragonbone weapons... I think.

And armor/weapons buffed by the resto potion loop exploit.