Am I playing the game right?

When I was in my early teens, I loved Age of Empires. I bought the original from my friend when the sequel was released. It cost me five dollars, and I paid with loonies. It came in a nice-looking jewel case, and the disk was mostly scratch-free! I took it home and installed it on my aging Windows 98 computer. I was hooked. The campaign was compelling, even though I never read a single line of dialogue. I played hours of skirmish games against the computer. However, I did not have an internet connection. My parents did, but I was not allowed to use it. I could stare at the multiplayer lobby, but nothing ever happened. I even borrowed a portable WiFi hub from that same friend to try and play online. Little did I know, my parents did not own a router that was capable of any sort of WiFi. Even though a third of the game was inaccessible to me, I made do and loved every second of it. During this time, I would go over to a different friend's house. This friend had a copy of Tekken and Smash Brothers Melee. We played together until his older brother came in and demolished us. We figured it was because he was older and had time to practice. We had fun on our own and enjoyed both games greatly. Eventually, my parents upgraded their internet, and I got to finally populate those multiplayer lobbies. To my bewilderment, I could not get a single thing built before being rushed and quickly crushed by an unbeatable force of optimal play that I had never even considered a possibility. It was a rude awakening for me. It took some time for me to realize that I was simply horrible at playing RTS games. Around 2007, I got my first laptop and started listening to video game podcasts and actively looking at information about games online. It was there I learned just how bad I was at those games. I was determined to figure out the "right" way to play, and this is how I found MOBAs and Counter-Strike. I'll spare you the details of my tumble into competitive multiplayer games, as that is a tale for another day.

Yes, everyone is better at video games than you. Thankfully, in a lot of games, this does not matter. Games can be enjoyed at your own pace with your own rules. However, the effect of knowing just how good people can be at games is a feeling that I often experience. I know others feel it too, because I've seen it. Now more than ever, the information on how good you could be at a game is only a few clicks away. The effect this can have on me can make me skip a game altogether out of fear of not being good enough. I often see people asking in my chat, regardless of what game I'm playing, if a specific trick or play-style is cheating. Frequently, I'll see people talking about specific mods or plugins that, without them, the game is simply "unplayable." Within groups of streamers, I see people stating, "I'd never play that because I'm no good at those kinds of games." The question I have to ponder here is as follows: How do we fix this? Can we even fix this?

From the perspective of someone creating content on the internet, I am absolutely guilty of making people feel like they are playing the game wrong. I've caught myself sounding sarcastic when responding to a simple question about a mechanic, as if they should know it. I've stopped myself from correcting someone who was recommending a mod, and I've felt the need many, many times to encourage people to play a game my way instead of following a strategy that I feel is less enjoyable. There are whole channels and platforms dedicated to helping you optimize and be someone’s definition of "better" at a video game. This exists for just about every single type of video game.

At the end of the day, video games are toys, and we have to enjoy them at our own pace. I need to do better at helping people learn games in a way that is enjoyable for them while playing the game in question. For myself, I need to learn that it is okay to ask for help while playing and good to make mistakes. Hell, it is probably more entertaining that way. For the rest of you? It’s up to you to ignore all of the guides and strategies and simply enjoy the games you like. Alternatively, obsess over them if that is what you enjoy, and remember, there is no "wrong" way to enjoy a video game or toy that you paid for—unless it ruins someone else's game-play experience.

To be honest the thing that prompted this little write up was a question I got on Thursday about Quantum stockpiles. The user asked "Are they cheating (?)" After I told them no, I don't think so. They followed up by saying "That is why I put the ? in (?)s"

Thanks for reading.

I'm still working on finishing that caves of Qud roll-play play-through on stream. I hit some road bumps on Friday so there is still more to do. Dwarf Fortress returns Tuesday and we'll work on a new fortress. My idea for this one is a small smithy specifically for gear for adventurers. As a spot to retire and gear up a few chosen runs. Then after that is complete I'll build a "Fortress of Heroes" and we'll figure out specifics when we get that deep. Streams will likely be Tuesday - Thursday this week.

I'm currently working on two projects but one is the focus. I need to finish my Ghost fortress video. The blockade video will drop when Adventure mode releases. Whenever that might be. After that I want to edit this Qud roll-play run. That'll likely be a easier video to cut as the game play is much more linear then Dwarf Fortress.

Until then. Watch this space and keep an eye out for updates.