Too good?

[Che]

In the world of online multiplayer games:

• What is the point of playing a game that you almost never win?
• What is the point of playing a game that you are miles above everyone else at and always win? (definitely the rarer of the two)

Is it fun if you aren't winning? Is it never going to get boring if you completely outplay everyone?

Discussion, go!

[Xithor]

Not winning I think would be more motivating for me to continue to play and try and be able to conquer those people that ar destroying me lol if I was the strongest in the entire game and never lost that has it's perks too but I might get bored of that after a while because without a challenge I feel like why continue playing a game. I play the game in order to best the best that the game has to offer. I know it's not a MMO but in FFX I rarely fight anyone anymore because all my characters inflict 80,000+ damage with some always hitting for 99,999 damage so there is no challenge with fights anymore so I just play blitzball for the most part. Even though I win those matches 6-0 on a regular basis it's just more fun to play that then not be challenged by any opponents except those in the Arena in the Calms Lands

[Jin]

This is why I never play online games. I suck at them and it's pretty boring to lose constantly. People can give the "you should just practice and get better" speech all they want, but what's the point of playing games if I'm not enjoying myself? Practice isn't fun, it's either boring, frustrating, or both. If I'm going to spend $70 on something, I want to enjoy it; it shouldn't be a chore. Hence, I don't play online multiplayer.

The sad thing is how online multiplayer has virtually replaced local multiplayer. Playing with 15 other douchebags online will never be as fun as playing with 3 other douchebags in the same room. Even without bots.

[loaf]

It's fun being the best. And dunno what you mean almost never win, I remember seeing my name at the end of a mach telling me I won.

[Heartless Angel]

I usually don't do PvP in MMOs until I'm good enough to win against a fair majority of my enemies. Whenever I get too good, I just quit for a bit, wait for some new stuff to come out then start playing again when people have passed me.

[Josh_R]

I haven't played COD MW2 in a month or so. I got tired of beating the shit out of people on xbox live.

When I play Halo or something I don't really get pissed if I lose my match in Social Slayer. It depends how the match goes. If I put up a fight, but my team brings me down what is the point in getting pissed. I did good, they should be mad. I used to lose at games like Tekken, Soul Cal, and Street Fighter all the time. It didn't make me dislike the game. Now I am the shit at all except Street Fighter, still get my ass handed to me.

For me I guess it is oneway. If I am winning all the time I get bored. If I am losing I am happy cause there is room to improve.

[Furore]

If either of those two conditions are the case for me I likely won't get any enjoyment from it and will only play as a favour to someone or something. I tend to avoid online games in general these days though as the prepubescent kids who somehow manage to buy 15+ games usually agitate me.

Been in some local LANs though every so often and those are always fun regardless of skill due to the people I'm playing with. Other good part is we play some of the games from close to a decade ago that carry a deal of nostalgia and have a level playing field (no perks or anything other than additional health/damage modifiers that are usually turnoffable). Unreal Tournament FTW!

[Block]

Not winning I think would be more motivating for me to continue to play and try and be able to conquer those people that ar destroying me

I whole heartedly agree.

[Rocky]

as long as you have a good attitude, your skill goes up a lot when playing against people that are much better than you. You eventually become used to their playstyles and you just know what to do in more advanced situations.

as for the first question, if I'm having a blast and/or getting better, then I'm okay with losing. I used to play halo1 with my cousins, and I would lose 9 out of 10 matches easy. The skill gap in that game is like climbing a cliff compared to console FPS games. Because of those reasons, I had so much fun getting wrecked each time lol. I was still getting better, but it was something that I had to work for.

for the second question, I dont mind winning every game as long as I'm getting something out of it, like money at tournaments or if my rank/level is going up from kicking a newbie's teeth in.

[SOLDIER #819]

Psych seems to say that people tend to do their best and enjoy themselves the most when they are faced with an opponent that is slightly better than them. Anything more or anything less and they won't put their all into it. People will have different perceptions of what "slightly better" is, though.

That said, I don't really care about that when it comes to most multiplayer games. I like being able to play with people I know. If that isn't the case then it starts feeling like a single player game, which I have enough trouble playing these days, only it's probably designed to be even more repetitive. It doesn't take very long to quit at that point.