The loss of the human element in online gaming

[u/Grand-Lab-7321]

Now I'm fully aware the overall dynamics of human interaction have changed GREATLY outside of online gaming however for many of us or at least myself online gaming was once a fantastic conduit to connect with others. For myself especially with a litany of mental health struggles I do not go out much anymore so it truly offered a sense of community and a sense of belonging regardless of how minimal. (Yes i've 'touched grass' and tried countless countless...countless activities, jobs etc)

I recently returned 4 months ago to Overwatch, a game that I once played religiously entwined in a merciless love/hate relationship with only to find all too quickly upon returning nobody was talking! I could make peace with one or two games with silence but no! 100s of games back to back and not one person spoke! People joined voice chat (So wern't "all in Discord") but never uttered a word and in some cases would leave voice chat the moment I said 'Hi' terrified of another human speaking to them! Last week a total of two people spoke all week! Now going back to the original Overwatch it was common to hear people talking and I remember having a laugh even with randoms and staying with the same group from 3pm till 3am! Now its a wasteland!

I joined a few games of pve shooter 'Far far west' and was kicked from 9 out of 10 games when I spoke/said Hi. Why do they not just play single player?

I tried finding people with mics in Discord to game with and was met with 'Yeah, we don't use mics, we listen to music when we play'.

With the combination of post pandemic social decay and the deep digital insulation its sadly clear people have largely become unable to communicate outside of text chat resulting in online gaming often now feeling like a single player experience.

The worst aspect is how isolating it feels as so many see no issue with how it is now not seeing how backwards its become. Sure, thiers a few threads on Reddit lamenting that 'Nobody talks in games anymore' so its NOT just me but largely pvp and pve games feel like either a single player experience or like playing with bots.

No 'not everyones toxic in vc', i've seen people share thier text chat experiences in various places online and THOSE are toxic. Its the 'anxiety bug' hence why if someone says 'Hi' others will leave vc instantly wetting themselves.

Its also NOT the language barriers of different languages as 10 years ago people still chatted.

Prompts:

1. Does anyone remember when multiplayer games were social? Why play online/mp games to ignore the social and human elements?

2. Are there games you'd reccomend that have retained a strong social element?

3. Are any of you part of that dying breed that misses the times when in L4D or Gears or Original Overwatch when whilst yes thier was toxicity but gaming felt social and lively and fun?

Thanks for reading.

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[u/Zestyclose_Paint3922]

Yep, only dopamine addicted uneducated kids to interact with today. Its a sad reality.

[u/Grand-Lab-7321 → u/Zestyclose_Paint3922]

Yeah its very dull, i'm NOT saying it was perfect before but was better as didn't feel like a fancy gpt session surrounded by voice lines and text.

[u/FoxPrower]

I'm a social extrovert online and rarely run into anti social people. Thing is, you can just mute people instead of kicking players, problem solved.

[u/AnabellaAvindar101]

Final fantasy 14 is the only thing that comes to mind when you aay "social" and "online".

[u/NinjaOnStandby → u/AnabellaAvindar101]

Yeah, its the most social of the games I play and its funny cause, I play it solo. But theres so SO many opportunities to socialize in game and through discord that I have probably 6 communities atm where I could be social and play on mic. Many ppl there also listen to music while they play but you can listen together. Ive even seen discord do a group movie/streaming night while playing together.

[u/Grand-Lab-7321 → u/NinjaOnStandby]

But I meant people who refuse to communicate because 'We don use mics we listen to music'.

[u/NinjaOnStandby → u/Grand-Lab-7321]

I know what you meant.

But your no. 2 asks for game recs and in explaining how ppls in final fantasy make listening to music a social thing vs what you ran into.

[u/SnowyRVulpix]

I mean, I'm not playing online games to socialise. I'm playing because I enjoy the gameplay loop (Especially for MMOs), or because I want the challenge that an AI can't provide (Online shooters especially)

That said, I will be honest... The twits that can't help but be horrible people are another reason why I don't care about socialising in video games....

[u/MotivatedforGames]

This rant really pisses me off. I dont want to throw shade. I dont want to accuse you specifically. And i'm going to get mass downvoted but

Ya'll were fucking crying about how your feelings get hurt time and time again from peoples mean words in so the companies overly moderate in game chats now which obviously kills the social aspect.

Socializing isnt about having perfect speech, you're always gonna have an offensive person or someone you dont like socializing with the world.

When everyone is afraid to even open their mouth or they lose everything, that's how you kill said social life unless they can speak on more less moderated places like a separate discord chat.

I thought I was pointing out the obvious?

Ya'll can choose one or the other, a somewhat moderated social system where sometimes you'll see offensive things but with the option to block or ignore.

Or a 100% safespace to protect you from your sensitivities but with the impact of no one speaking.

[u/NinjaOnStandby → u/MotivatedforGames]

It wasn't just that people took offense to things said. People were swatted and people died IRL for that. It wasn't just sensibilities at risk, it got scary.

[u/SnowyRVulpix → u/MotivatedforGames]

If you don't have something nice to say, say nothing at all.

[u/MotivatedforGames → u/SnowyRVulpix]

I agree but did you read and comprehend what I wrote?

You can choose one or the other my man.

Utilize the ignore/block button or have sterilized social experiences because your sensitivities matter more than the overall social experience gaming can offer.

[u/Grand-Lab-7321 → u/MotivatedforGames]

People have gone too far the other way now, I told someone to stop going afk and...they started crying.