Game Etiquette – Don’t Be A Dick
by Adam R
Let me get this out up front: I love Halo: Reach. This game is everything Halo should be, with amazing game play, streamlined menus, near infinite customization options, and subtle nods to Halo games past, this is quite literally my digital wet dream. That said I would just like to ask other members of the community to quit fucking it up for me! Through the past week I have yet to play a game in which at least two or more members of my team didn’t have their heads shoved completely up their ass. Here’s why in no particular order:
Rule 1
You’re not that important. Sure I know your favorite weapon is the sniper rifle and you totally “merk” with it (whatever the hell that is supposed to mean), but that’s no excuse to waste your own team mate simply because he picked it up first. Let him/her have their fun and simply pick it up when it respawns. Gosh! (This rule also applies to tank/banshee drivers as well.)
Rule 2
Make up your damn mind. Once during a game I saw someone hop into the gunner seat of the warthog, seeing as they needed a driver I offered my services by hopping into the driver seat. As soon as my character was settled the other player dismounted from the gun and got into a different warthog, only this time in the driver seat and took off without a gunner or support of any kind. This kind of behavior is frustrating to say the least.
Rule 3
Know what the hell you’re doing. On far more then 5 occasions I’ve been an inch away from a killing spree on a warthog turret only to have my driver bail out for some unknown reason. I wouldn’t mind so much if I had got some kind of warning, or if they didn’t leave me RIGHT IN THE LINE OF FIRE. When the opposite team is already chucking grenades trying to slow down the charging vehicle, it doesn’t really make sense to leave your team mate, not to mention the piece of equipment that gives you an advantage over standard load outs, as a sitting target.
Rule 4
Similarly, if you see one of your team engaged in relatively close combat DO NOT throw a grenade to “help” them. Nine times out of ten I usually end up killing the guy but dying anyway because some idiot on my team thought he was helping. Not only do I die now, but that guy I had just worked so hard to prevent from killing me now gets the point for my death anyway.
Above Left: Warthogs work better with drivers, oddly enough. Above: Grenades really don't work that well in close proximity, seriously.
Rule 5
If it’s a team game, act like it. There’s an old rule in warfare that there’s strength in numbers, the same holds true for Halo. Try to stick together, not too close to make a target for a well placed ‘nade, but close enough to give back up a team mate who might need it. Even if you can’t keep together due to map size, keep one eye on the team’s status indicators. You know those flashy pretty lights on top of everyone’s head? You see orange that means someone’s in trouble; give him a hand even if it leads to the oh so dreaded “Assist” medal. Really who cares if you don’t get the point for it. Doesn’t matter if you have the highest score on the board by 50 kills, if your team loses, YOU lose.
Rule 6
Follow Wheaton’s Law: Don’t be a dick! Seriously, talking shit to your own team, or even the other team for that matter, doesn’t prove anything. Put it on the field and show them what you can do as opposed to beating your own chest and bragging about it before the game even starts like some kind of cave man. You win and they try and verbally insult? Tell them to look at the scoreboard and think about who they are saying “sucks a big floppy one”. You didn’t win? Have some class; telling the guy who beat you that you’d beat him up in real life doesn’t make you any better of a player, and you only come off as childish and makes us glad we just rubbed your nose in the loser dirt.
Whew, ok I’m done for now. I know this article may seem a bit whiny but, really, a solid week of these shenanigans would even drive you this far, I’m sure. And of course I realize that some players just aren’t as good as others, and accidents happen. This post is for the losers who put themselves above the others in the game with the belief that they are somehow more entitled then the rest of us. It’s a game, so just fuck it and have some fun!
Last five articles by Adam R
- Injustice: Gods Among Us - E3 Preview
- Halo 4 - E3 Preview
- If Music Be The Food Of Love, Game On
- RIP to Shreds
- Lost In Oblivion
I don’t play very much multiplayer so haven’t experienced most of those rulebreakers that you have encountered so many times. I don’t understand why a voice on the internet means lack of common decency. I hate bad losers, but I despise bad winners even more.
Good first article, even if I’m not a Halo fan.
A brilliant first post which doesn’t just have to apply to Halo, but most other games with multiplayer.
I’ll be honest, if people actually followed this, I’d start playing multiplayer again.
I need to get involved in our gaming nights, though
Great job, Adam!
Great first article man.
In my last 4 games, rule one has been broken by my team. Not had rule 2 im pretty guilty of at times. Rule 6, the golden rule, is broken far too many times in halo reach match making and in most FPS multiplayer. Sad but true.
Anyways you also rate about a 9.0 on the Acme Swear-O-Meter, but that only nets you extra cool points around these parts!
thanks guys this really means alot to me =]
As far as the swearing is concerned, this started as a blind-rage induced rant and Mark was nice enough to pick it up. i usually try and be civil… eh who am i kidding? fuck that =]
Great first article, and one I agree with. Tossers on Halo: Reach are really unlike any other kind of tosser on any other game. I don’t quite understand what it is, but they’re much more obnoxious and frustrating.
If only we could prevent them breeding…
Good rules!
May someday people finally use them!
I’ve not been blessed with the experience of Reach multiplayer yet however I’ve come across similar situations in other games. Shower of bastards the lot of em. Anyway, congrats on the first article!
Never been more glad that I don’t play Halo and typically avoid shooters like the plague! Love the rules though and thoroughly enjoyed the article. I can only imagine what a shitty fucking experience this game must be and highlights why I also dislike multiplayer. If they wired offenders’ pads up to the national grid and provided us ‘normals’ with a zzzap button, online gaming would be a lot more fun.
Now… these problems listed above are primarily why I’m not in to multiplayer much at all and if I have to venture into multiplayer territory, I prefer to do so with people that I know and trust. I have only ever played with strangers on XBox live ONCE as far as I remember, and that was the Lost Planet demo with two guys who threw so much hate in my direction for actually being able to shoot them. Yes folks, I did what was asked of me and was pulled over the coals because of it… I listened to them bitching at each other over how this “n00b” (that’s me, by the way) was able to shoot at them and they couldn’t see me. It’s called SNIPING. It’s why we were equipped with SNIPER rifles.
Another time I recall wishing I had just stayed in single player was a Command & Conquer session with a complete stranger. No sooner had I built my power station and my barracks than this guy sent four bombers over to take out my entire base in one fell swoop. I typed up the question of how he was able to do it so quickly and he just told me that I was too slow. No, sorry… the game has a set time to build each structure… I click on the power station and it takes that long to build regardless, then I click on the barracks… so how this guy was able to build a power station, then barracks, then the air field AND four bombers which would also have had to be fully equipped… is beyond me.
People just don’t play fair, and it’s why I loathe playing multiplayer unless it’s with friends. Even then… you don’t want to get in to a vehicle if Pete is driving. That’s suicide. Good to have you on board Adam!
I rarely experience these issues. I wonder if it’s cos I’m the one doing them
Cool read Adam.
This is why I rarely dabble with randoms on XBL. Common courtesy goes out of the window entirely.
Pretty much every game is victim to it to. When you see your town being trashed online in Kingdom For Keflings you know we’re doomed as a species.
Good article, Adam. Respect is actively jewish.
Nice article man – very much enjoyed this and can relate totally to the issues described. Have yet to try Halo Reach (I can wait until it gets cheaper tbh) but I remember well exoeriencing everything you describe on Halo 3.
I read this whole article nodding my head and anticipating the next rule’s explanation. Great article that is so true, especially to halo. I just wish everyone would read it and be more considerate when playing. It might just be a game, or a relatively inconsequential death but its what puts us off.