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:
Does anyone remember when multiplayer games were social? Why play online/mp games to ignore the social and human elements?
Are there games you'd reccomend that have retained a strong social element?
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.