I don't buy the notion that the push for optional easy modes in games is the cause of obsessive gamers bitching about "filthy casuals". Nobody is forcing the obsessives to play on easy mode.
I prefer to think that obsessive gamers who complain about "filthy casuals" are entitled assholes trying to be gatekeepers.
@starbreaker I couldn't agree more! The gaming community is full of people who seem to hold to the notion that they're part of some elite club. I believe the wonderful hobby of gaming should be accessible to all.
@DictionaryPlus @ayachan I don't mind online coop as long as I don't have to actually talk to anybody.
Take Destiny 2 as an example. I can do all of the multiplayer without talking to anybody; it consists mainly of follow the other players, shoot the aliens, and revive them if they go down and you can get to them. This even applies in team pvp since I don't have to worry about friendly fire.
Likewise for Dark Souls. Even PVP can be fun because of the dueling culture that's sprung up.
@starbreaker @DictionaryPlus Precisely! Splatoon 2 and Splatoon for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Wii U, respectively, are exactly the same. The first game had no chat option and the second game only allows chat in private play groups.
Those sorts of online games where you don't communicate actively are absolutely the best.
@DictionaryPlus @starbreaker Oh, I don't mind multiplayer so much if you're playing with the right people (read: your friends and loved ones). Outside of that, it can be pretty awful; I am thankful that none of the games I play require me to actively communicate with jerks.
@ayachan @DictionaryPlus I'm an American man. I don't have friends. :)
@starbreaker @DictionaryPlus Well, for what it's worth, I think you're pretty awesome. ^-^;;
Do American men not have friends in this day and age? Being a Japanese-Hawaiian girl, I really don't know much about the experiences of American men.
@ayachan @DictionaryPlus Apparently it's a "crisis". Here are some old links if you're interested. I haven't seen anything more recent lately.
https://www.salon.com/2013/12/08/american_mens_hidden_crisis_they_need_more_friends/
@starbreaker @DictionaryPlus I think the Salon article you shared put it best: "men desire the same level and type of intimacy in their friendships as women, but they aren’t getting it."
I've spent a great deal of time studying the effects of toxic masculinity on society as a whole...including its impact on other men. Seeing stuff like this doesn't really surprise me, although it does break my heart. :(
Thanks for sharing.
@ayachan @DictionaryPlus You're welcome.
I've been fortunate in that I have a strong and enduring friendship with my wife, but keeping that relationship alive hasn't been easy because I never properly learned the skills for doing so.
Having cats helps a bit, too.
@starbreaker Fantastic. ^_^ I'm glad you have such a good, tight-knit support network in your life.
@starbreaker You're welcome. ^_^
@ayachan @starbreaker my closest friend are all females. I just feel a closeness with them that I want in a friendship over males. I do have a few guy friends whose company I enjoy, but, it is difficult for me to enter into a conversation with them right off the bat.
It’s weird.
@DictionaryPlus @ayachan Talk about the wrong things with guys, and the homophobia kicks in. It's ridiculous.
@ayachan Unfortunately, it isn't just gaming. Every hobby and fandom has obsessive types trying to play gatekeeper.
@starbreaker Ugh. Tell me about it. Elitism knows no bounds. If you really think about it, it all goes back to tribalism and the fact that humans survived for most of their time on this planet by being very exclusive about which other groups they connected with. So when you get involved, you begin to behave in abhorrent, protectivist sorts of ways; it's plain awful. :( And you see it with essentially any hobby, fandom, way of life, etc.
@ayachan Frankly, I'm glad that my stories aren't popular enough to have a fandom. I'd feel obligated to police it and crack down on the obsessive fans who question others because they don't know what Josefine Malmgren's measurements are.
I mean, I don't even know that and I'm the friggin' author. It just isn't relevant to plot or characterization. All that matters is that she's a petite blonde who dyes her hair brown so techbros will take her more seriously.
@starbreaker You'd be in the company of authors such as J. K. Rowling, who go out of their way to fight nasty fans and/or people who harass fans on places such as birdsite. The truth is that fighting bad fans has to be one of the most thankless and impossible of tasks in the world.
You gotta love toxic masculinity. Male fans can be really creepy sometimes. x-x;;
@ayachan You're right. It's one of the worst kinds of emotional labor one can do, and probably one of the hardest, because the obsessive types are the ones who would buy your shopping lists if you were to publish them.
If you think dealing with toxic masculinity in others is fun, try being a man and struggling against it yourself. It's so easy to rationalize sometimes, too, like when I had the flu at Christmas. I justified refusing help by saying it was to avoid spreading the disease.
@starbreaker It sounds absolutely awful. x-x;; I read an article once--I forget where, sorry--that talked openly about how men were the primary victims of toxic masculinity. From what you're saying, it sure sounds like that is absolutely the case. :(
@ayachan @starbreaker hence why I prefer single-player games.