The Racer/Simulator Voice
On XBL many gamers have been hit with a little “culture shock” playing Project Gotham Racing 3 (PGR3) because they’ve been talking to folks as if it’s an FPS. Here is a good example of an FPS voice that doesn’t work so well in PGR3:
Player 1 has just caused Player 2 to go into a tailspin and move from place car two to place car eight instantaneously.
Wrong response…
Player 1: “Wow, I pwned you like a n00b. How does 8th place feel?”
Player 2: …silence...
Correct response…
Player 1: “Oh man, sorry about that. I thought I had the inside corner nailed, but I tipped a wall.”
Player 2: “No problem man, it happens.”
The problem is that many online racing gamers take things very seriously. You may find your XBL reputation drops like a squirrel shot with a horse tranquilizer if you speak as though you’re playing an FPS. Racing gamers do such things as apologize, notify a racer when they’re coming up for a pass (and usually give a direction), complement you on your racing prowess when you pull off a slight win over them, and typically end a game with “nice game guys.”
The Racer Voice is foreign to a die hard FPS player and can get them into trouble fast with the racing community. This does not discount the occasional racer that throws out every grammatical use of the F bomb when you slightly tip them but it does give you a sense of how a typical racer may speak. When playing racing games and other simulations against other online members it’s usually in your best interest to be less arrogant and aggressive and more friendly and forgiving.
Words of a frustrated racer/simulator: ”You only won because you’re an asshat.”
The FPS Voice
When gunning the community down in a first person shooter is normal that gamers offend the ‘gunned down’ using such words as “pwned”, “owned”, “no scoped your ass”, or “did you feel the prickle of my shotgun pickle?” The voice used in an FPS is often highly aggressive in nature and usually requires cursing and swearing both to offend and to complement. For what ever reason the FPS seems to bring out the kid in almost all of us. Usually this occurs in a game between friends, but more often then not you will also here this talk in a match of random gamers. It is suggested that you turn down your speakers when children are in the room.
Player 1 runs around a corner sees a very unskilled Player 2 and puts away his rail gun to pull out his “pea shooter” pistol and slowly caps Player 2 with five shots before they finally fall dead.
The response you never hear…
Player 1: Oh man, I totally got lucky on that one. I walked around the corner and caught you off guard. Best of luck man.
The average response…
Player 1: BOOM! Man if you had half the mad skills I have then I’d have used a bigger weapon. Pwned like a n00bzors bitch.
In either case Player 2 is rightfully dead and has no right smack talking back so silence is their best response. If Player 2 was truly caught by surprise they might indeed response to Player 1 with something like “shooting a man in the back requires 0 talent… next time we meet you’ll be lying face up in a tea bag.”
Most FPS players that lack aggression simply do not speak at all. At times a good smack talker is rewarded with laughter from both teams.
Words of a frustrated FPS’er: ”#(@* camper.”
The MMORPG voice
The role of a good MMORPG’er is to know when to be aggressive and when to be a dork (and when to be an aggressive dork). The aggression of an FPS player does not always work its magic in any type of RPG and massive multiplayer variants will be no exception to this rule. The FPS voice is just slightly too overbearing for most RPG folks. An RPG voice typically comes in three forms: friendly/helpful, aggressive/mean, or ignorant/silent.
The MMORPG voice: friendly/helpful
Many folks fall into this category because it requires them to act similar to how they would act in real life. If a person comes up to you on the street and asks where 5th avenue is then you would respond by:
- A: walking away as if they were invisible.
- B: Give them the best directions to your knowledge or politely say that you don’t know.
- C: Kick them in the crotch and squat on their head.
The MMORPG voice: aggressive/mean
Folks that play online RPG’s and are outright mean or aggressive tend to be younger kids from the online community. This sounds like a generalization or stereotype because it is just that. The only problem is that it tends to be true. Older folks know how to communicate with the real world in business meetings, customer service, and co-worker socialization. They tend to have kids of their own and have toned down their language (when not playing FPS games of course).
Younger folks feel highly protected by their monitor, keyboard, and mouse. They know that if they answer a question like “n00b. Why don’t you read the @%^*& manual you #*@) lamer?” are confident that the person they are communicating with has no idea where they are located in the world and therefore they have a feeling of confidence when acting like a prick to others. They may also have been told recently by their parents that they need to get off the computer and do their homework or go outside which can put them in a very mean spirited mood.
The MMORPG voice: ignorant/silent
There are a handful of gamers that just do not want to communicate with people they do not know. This may seem odd given that they are playing a “massive multiplayer” game, but it may be the content or the world that they love. Not you. This means you can ask them a very serious question or for help and they simply walk away from you as if you did not exist. Do not take this to mean they hate you. It simply means that they do not figure it is worth their time or energy to chat with you.
An ignorant/silent gamer may be a youth that feels you’re a stupid newbie but does not care to express that at the moment. It may be an adult who thinks the same way or perhaps has his newborn kid in his lap and his trying to feed them and game at the same time (I have been victim of this myself).
Lastly these gamers can fall into the ‘ignorant’ category because they either did not even see you ‘type speaking’ with them or they do not have their headphones on to hear your chatter. They may also not know the answer to a question or perhaps do not even speak the language your typing/talking in. Lastly, the gamer may have just recently gotten the game and has no idea how to communicate yet.
When is it correct to smack talk in an RPG/MMORPG?
The smack talking in many RPGs can be limited. A Player-vs-Player environment is where you will hear the most smack talking but some games such as World of Warcraft limit it because you cannot understand your opponents “language” thus talking smack is a moot point. Using emotes such as “/spit”, “/laugh”, or “/taunt” is your only substitution where a well placed “GOT PWNED?” might have gone.
Smack talking in an MMORPG is a dangerous area so tread lightly. It is ok to poke fun to a point but over emphasizing this (especially against your own team) can get you banned or suspended from the gaming environment. I know of a specific drunk system administrator of a “popular gaming site” that almost lost his account because he trash talked a little too much. Trash talk in moderation and usually against the opposing side (regardless of if they can actually hear your or not).
Words of a frustrated RPGer: ”If I had my vorpal scimitar of the ram equipped you would not have gotten away with that…I mean, we’re not even the same level!”
The Strategy Voice
Games included in this genre would be Total Annihilation, Worms, Total War (any of them) and perhaps even card games (solitaire, Texas Hold’em, Magic The Gathering, and others). These games, when played with others, require a very good judge of character before choosing the best “voice.” When you find yourself gaming with the silent types it is best to keep things silent and play along. If you find that the group is rowdy then it may be best to follow suit and toss around some F bombs.
Like Racing and Simulations the way you handle yourself can change the game dramatically for others. If you are up against a very weak opponent and are horribly crushing them then it is usually best to give them some credit and make them feel kinda good before you burn them to the ground. The strategist does NOT like to lose and a badly lost game could mean destruction for household objects. There is (usually) no need to rub it in. Just knowing they’re going to throw their controller against their TV/Monitor is satisfaction enough for most people.
When the group is rowdy/drunk there is a sense of “playing for fun” which usually means that you or your buddies do not mind losing, they are just in it to socialize and game. One should show their total domination by making fun of others and laughing at their expense. When being beaten one should continue to make fun of their beater and perhaps make creative excuses to why you are losing (note: “lag” is not usually a good excuse for online card playing unless you physically are dropped from the game).
Words of a frustrated strategist: ”If I knew where you lived I’d hunt you down and kill you where you stand.”
Other voices
Fighting gamer: see FPS
Puzzle gamer: see Strategy
Sports gamer: see Strategy
In conclusion, it’s best to know your game genre before speaking up over the microphone or typing at your keyboard. The online community is increasing and new game genres are going “online” every day so it’s good to watch and learn how others react before adding your own two cents. This is the best way to meet new friends and gives you a baseline to measure other folks on so that you can befriend them or ban them from your online experiences.
CodeMonkey
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