WATCHMEN

Jumping onto the first MMORPG was an interesting experience. It wasn't exactly a shot of fun that swept me off my feet. It made me think and it made me wonder. It was different. A new experience. One that would keep me strapped into it for almost 10 years. Socially speaking, MMORPGs are great and we are social animals, so put 2 and 2 together...

Yet here I am making this post. Why?

A friend of mines, someone who was also in this guild, had told me something strange one day. I don't think it ever left me. He told me how tired he was of the genre, the communities and anything the whole gaming type had to offer. Truthfully, I thought this was crazy. If you weren't playing an MMORPG, what the hell were you playing? Consoles? Please...

WoW ruined the MMORPG genre. The sheer greatness of the game absolutely destroyed anything in comparison, and because of it, expectations were set so high that other games simply cannot compete. How many times did you go to a new, possible WoW-killer, only to have your hopes and dreams crushed? What's even funnier, is that people don't even try that 'WoW-killer' title anymore. It's just never going to happen.

After the constant let downs in launches, people begin to lose faith overtime, or just head back to the motherland - WoW. The issue with that is, while the motherland continues to milk her consumers, she herself grows old and her breast milk is turning to chalky powder. As good as WoW is, it is getting old and that doesn't only affect Blizzard's cash cow. See, that affects the whole genre. Other competitors are losing potential customers not just because their game may suck, but because people are genuinely growing a high disinterest in the game type.

Before we get into all those negatives, let's talk about the positives MMORPGs have provided.

 + Social Interactiveness (Take it good or bad)
 + Communities (Again, good or bad)
 + Experiencing people of different cultures, views, skill etc

As you can see, the general idea of MMORPGs is connecting you to other people - otherwise, why on earth are you playing these games?

What many people fail to acknowledge, (Just like they think the world is invincible and overpopulation is a 'myth') is that the MMORPG is also like a 'planet' that we had / have a part in succeeding or destroying. Drama, negativity etc, actually destroys communities. I've watched this happen in several games. While it may have been a thing to encourage others competitively years ago - this is a new age of people. In our lifespan, we've literally had two sets of MMORPG gamers collide within its timeframe of existence.

The newer gamer is more sensitive, wants to work less for more and in some ways either far smarter with brighter ideals for the future of gaming or absolutely a yoloswagger pea-brained idiot, stuck in their little bubble of insecurity. This also produces a dumber community, which makes it easier for those snarky business men to force what they think you want down your throats and don't you dare speak up against it...

And that's just the biggest issue. When a non-WoW team decides to make a game, they actually need their community moreso than the King. See, the King already has its grip. He knows when players quit his game, they'll come back. All they have to do is market it around the right release times. Not to mention, the King's influence on the player's mind has taken its set enforcement, so that player heading off to new shores already has their cup filled.

When that newling hits the shore, the developer welcomes - then the dev realizes this player has his ideals.
The developers have their vision for their game to be a success, but the success they imagined does not mesh exactly well with reality - the reality of WoW children. The producers know this, so they make sure the developers try to match ideals that can compete with WoW, enough to make profitable numbers at the expense of art. The original ideals are tarnished and understandably so. They cannot influence the gamer that their product is new, different and hey, maybe even better. See, we, the children of WoW are far past the point of return.

Even those who did not play WoW are also affected. Because it is a community. MMORPGs have always been a community and if majority the portion is affected, the rest will suffer the effects.

SWTOR placed a heavy blow on the industry. Actually it was so bad and disappointing that its literally set the doomsday clock for the gaming type. GW2, another possible potential, also helped to start sinking the ship. At last, Wildstar attempted their release as a 'return to the original roots' type of deal in a post apoc setting of MMORPGs, but by now, people are so far past this stage - in addition to the new age gamer having virtually no interest in grinds. This was a bad idea for overall success.

So where does this leave us now?

WoW itself is reducing in numbers. When WoD is released, it will be the last *great MMORPG* release and after that, nothing else will matter. Any commercial MMORPG planning to release after that might be asking for profitable suicide. As a business, the gold mine is depleting and the genre needs an evolution.

Leveling is boring, questing is tedious, we've fought Ragnarok in various forms a thousand times over, Arenas were fun but class balance is impossible... and so on and so forth.

We've been here a million times... when does it end? When does it change? When does it evolve?

The only hope for MMORPGs is literally an evolution of the genre. A complete change. The interest in sword n' board with magic in different forms, serve no purpose other than clinging onto an old, grey past...

slow down for a second

open the flowers and watch them bloom

your head does not spin unless you want it too

the choices you come after are the ones you want

it arises within you, bubbles and floats

there is no mystery but the one you create

even then, just an idea that floats

ninety miles an hour only to hit a wall

when he falls out of the car with a busted head

blood rushing down his face

he stops and thinks about the speed

wonders why it was going that fast

checks the pedal,

realizes he was the one that put it to the metal

laughs as dawn rises

he created it all along

every word comes from you, what does it do to the other

reach the mountain and listen to the wind

it does not care about a single thought that goes through your mind

your tears do not exist because the river is as dry as the desert sand

like an old ocean that once bloomed with life

with love, with harmony

harmony does not exist in slums

slums only show what was once there

like an olden shack, reminding you of the potential that could have been

all you can do is look at it and wonder

all you can do is just think about what can be

but what can be is not what is to be

it remains nothing more than it is

do you build it or destroy it?

build it, who knows what this can turn into

others start coming into the house, they feel your harmony

you share your harmony, we all love it

dance it up, this is where we all want to be

you want more, you take but you do not give

take, whore it, more, more, become the essence of selfish

too much joy, too much happiness, too entertaining, it becomes exactly what you did not want

the freedom you sought out for so long is nothing more than the exact thing you tried to evade

and soon you see yourself trapped in the same lie you came from

the same artificial world you were grown in, you try to bring it here

corrupt

you fester

you blame others for what you have done

cast a spell on the people you once loved

cast a spell on the people you resided in, the ones that loved you

suddenly all the happiness is gone - it becomes the next end of the spectrum

lash out, destroy, burn

are you happy now?

are you entertained?

the house is no longer the same

it tries to grow stronger, it tries to move on without you

you little piece of the puzzle, you little spec

get over yourself, you're not that important

you try to bring death, the house brings life

but you'll burn

you'll burn for the crimes you've done against her

she waits, she lurks, she's taken the blame - the hurt - the abuse

you've ripped her apart, disconfigured her, destroyed her, just for your 'happiness'

your 'entertainment'

but she remains resilient

you can only run for so long before it comes back to haunt you

and you'll burn

you'll burn for all that you've done in the same fire you brought on yourself

are you entertained now?

are you laughing now? is it funny, friend?

is this what you wanted to read?

where is the joke? where is the comedy? where is the punchline?

Here

You

I am Rorschach because I believe in absolute justice

I am Nite Owl because I want to make sure I do the right thing

I am Silk Spectre because I still crave love

I am Comedian because I choose to be a parody of society

I am Ozymandias because I see the bigger picture

I am Manhattan because I can create or destroy

I am Watchmen

I've been playing Ranked Warzones since launch across multiple servers. Like many others that were excited for competitive PvP, I was happy to step foot into something incentive. However, within the first month, I quickly noticed that was not the case and found the mode itself rather dull and stagnant. As a matter of fact, it's not even real PvP. It feels like a PvE zergfest with little to almost completely non existence 'clutch' factors. There are few and minor cases here and there such as good chained-linked CCs but they are so far and few between on both losing / winning team that the mode itself is just horrendously boring and laced with bugs.


Exclusiveness
This is arguably the biggest issue why ranked was doomed to fail. The state of this game's health is realistically not the best. When 1.2's ranked setback was announced, a great deal of subs dropped. Then those of us that stayed waited it out only for a not so healthy number to actually queue up. So what's the problem here? For one, setting up 8v8 is hardcore. You need to have dedicated players willing to do so as often as possible. That automatically ices out the casual player from getting a shot at competing with the big leagues, save for the kickball or pug group they get into only to be stomped by organized teams which discourages said player(s) from participating any further.

Let's be realistic. Even if this game had 400k subs, 40k per server and you have roughly 30 teams q'ing on a 'ranked-healthy' server, that number isn't even making it to 1% of the player population. Ranked is so exclusive to those who can afford it that it eventually tires out the same people who are constantly going at it. Again, stagnation even in its design.


Tiresome Concept
There is nothing special about 3 operative healers being unkillable. There's nothing unique about scoring a ball or setting up CC in mid. There's nothing impressive about using your little autoclicker to outclick the enemy team. It's absolutely boring sitting at a node waiting for action to come. Do you see where this is going? The objectives themselves are just... not fun. It is possible for successful siege PvP to exist in games but I do not agree with it for this one.

What's so awesome about defending a door for 7 minutes? Nothing. The only thing *fun* about ranked is that it's the closest thing we have to organized PvP and getting in there with an organized team is indeed fun. Setting up certain calls can be rewarding. However, that concept stays the same. It never really changes. Even if you push the envelope to try something different - what difference are you really achieving? The state of ranked is so tediously same-old, boring and frankly unskilled that I sometimes wonder if I'm doing old PvE content.


Bugs, Exploits and Disconnects
Another major factor adding to the demise of this mode is none other than the stability of the game's performance, coupled with players abusing the system for their team's benefit. I hate to say it, but this is one of the reasons that I cannot help but giggle at ranked being promoted as a 'true' form of PvP. Have you tried ranked huttball lately? Better turn on your autoclickers and hope for the best. Or if you're in the goal line, better hop on that 'glitched' pole so that you won't be pulled. Let's add to that - let's use lagbots to avoid people actually seeing us from capping until we're about 90% complete. 'Where did that guy come from? Didn't see him capping the door!'

What's that? You stepped into a certain spot and now you're suddenly in an invisible box and can't get out? Ouch. Let's not forget the random disconnects or heck, sometimes it even goes up to 2 disconnects per game. Just stuff like this. Especially when one person can alter and change an entire team's strategy, offensive or defensive output. I mean, what are you going to do if your jugg tank dcs? Or your node guarder's gone? Or both your healers are no longer in game?


Lack of Actual PvP
I can't explain how many times I've cringed inside when I heard the following statements

'Just peel, all we have to do is delay and we win.'
'Spec tanks / heals, hold em' here.'
'Throw grenades, stall them, delay them. That's all we have to do.'

I mean what exactly is ranked? A stallfest? Where's the actual PvP? Yeah you can have your focus targets, but let's just be real here. Once you cap that node in Novare or once you score the ball, what do the high end teams do? They just... stall. Are we really playing PvP here? Or is this just some bland stallfest?


Drama
Although if one were to make a conscious effort to block out drama, it can be avoided easily. Such is not the case for the majority. This is another aspect that few take the time to look over. 8 players mean most likely, it is going to be sponsored by a guild. Guilds sometimes tend to talk trash to each other under the nonsensical banner that this promotes 'friendly competition' which is highly untrue in a dying game.

Frankly it does the opposite. It discourages others from participating in a deteriorating community. The fact that arenas will allow solo queue is one of the best things BW has ever done for PvP on a whole. You are finally allowing people with no-ties, no-commitments to enter without being harassed by association. Now Arena might not solve drama issues, I'm sure there may still be trash talk here and there - but it will be far less scaled down than guild v guild idiocy which has more of a punch to the community than little 4 man teams.


Closing
Although I am smiling ear to ear writing this, knowing the fact that Ranked will be removed - I cannot say it is the wisest idea to lessen your options of playability in the game. I'm sure there are some who may enjoy this atrocity, and that's fine, no matter how small the number is. I strongly believe more options are better, but it is also understandable if this mode cannot be supported. Overall, even if Ranked WZs are removed in favor of Arena, the game will be looking forward to a much healthier state.

I do want to give you a thumbs up. BW, you are moving in the right direction.

Ten years ago if you spoke of learning online, people would look at you with a crossed eyebrow. That's not so much the case today, although in some cultures (which I won't speak about directly), people still tend to be a bit on the fence about it. But how untrue is it that one could simply just brush away everything they've experienced online? I fail to see how because something is in a different medium, that it means nothing. Of course, physical needs do apply, but are we not engaging this world anyway?

Our minds have the ability to choose how we feel. Who's to say nothing can come about from something?

Even if one says that this means nothing, that person is still here - still engaged.
Better that person never connected to this medium at all.

Life is all about learning. Even if we think we're stuck in a ditch, or a sense of aimlessness seems to creep about, regardless of whatever situation we're in: We're still growing. It's interesting to see that experience from multiple vantage points. Here in the online world, some of us tend to think that we can jump into escapism. Maybe that's the case for a few, and it seemingly works well, but at the end of the day, we all walk away learning something new. Whether it's about something, someone or ourselves.

A year ago when I started Watchmen, there was no set goal for it other than being a hardcore PvP guild. Like trees, growing and blooming in their different seasons, that goal also changed. I didn't enforce a dictatorship upon the guild because the stronger part of me had no desire to do so. For me, I wanted to see what would become of it if I had the voice to lead, but the respect to see others blossom. It's like watching a seed turn into a beautiful flower. Now of course that can come with its thorns. There have been cases where if things were more orderly, then perhaps certain feats could be accomplished. However, I find that logic to be beaten into the ground. I didn't want robots to go out and do my will. I wanted people to freely choose what they do.

To say I have not learned anything here in this gaming world would be a blatant lie. I'm not just talking about ranked strategies or becoming the best at some class. This goes deeper than that. I have watched people from the balcony, saw what they were and see what they've become. Today, I still watch that beauty unfolding with people I always knew would come around. In many ways, the online world has bolstered my experience in dealing with the physical world. I try my best to treat people the way I'd treat them outside these games, unless they give me reason not to. I don't hide myself. I'm me.

Losses, wins, laughter, sadness, anger, aggression, joy - all these qualities I've shared in the physical world, I've shared in the virtual world. So to why do some classify this as nothing? This is true beauty at its finest. We're engaged with each other here. We share our emotions. So why hide it? It can affect us. Although I am of the opinion that every experience is a net positive despite how hard some of them may seem, some tend to think of them negatively.

Understandably so. Some situations here may be absolutely horrendous, but at the end of the day, we could either take these experiences to bolster and strengthen us, or we can walk away sobbing with our heads down in defeat. So what will you? For me, I'll take this beautiful time I've spent (and still spending) with the people I love as something precious. Something unforgettable. A true testament that growth can be established with people in the farthest reaching corners.

I appreciate everyone here at Watchmen. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Macewinwar in particular for inspiring me to write this article. In many ways, he has been like an older brother I never had.

What is skill? What exactly makes someone adept at what they do? We've seen many adepts in various ways. Whether it be video games, karate, hunting, blogging, writing, dancing, singing and the list goes on and on and on. Point is there comes a time in one's life where you either meet an adept or you live long enough to see yourself become one. I'm not talking about simply learning a profession or just getting good at something. Anyone can tryhard and get success at certain feats. It does not necessarily make them skilled. No, you see, true skill is something a lot more than just trying to win.

People sometimes ask me how do you do what you do? What goes through your mind when you duel someone? What are you thinking?

Do you really want to know what I'm thinking? The answer may come as more of a surprise rather than an enlightenment. Truth be told: Nothing. Nothing runs through my mind. When I get into my absolute finest (in terms of 'skill caliber') there is no thought. There is no anger. There is no hate or hope. Desire, dreams, everything - I let it all go. There is only clarity. To me, when I engage someone in combat in my finest - whether it be a video game or real life fencing, to me, it is like a dance. Time slows down. Motions suddenly become realtime. I'm able to see or predict things that I cannot do when I am in a normal state. It becomes a form of meditation.

There is natural talent out there. Be it in the various fields that can come to mind, point is, there is natural succeeding in certain fields. However, like a wild stallion, these things must be tamed. They must be disciplined. Does this mean that your fire is gone? Do you suddenly lose your 'skill'? Not exactly. You see, part of being 'skilled' is understanding discipline. Gathering the strength is only the first step. Even if you do defeat your foes, at the end of the day, the greatest enemy is yourself. You have the power to make or break any situation. You must be at peace with anything you commit.

But Shin, why are you getting all 'Zen-like' on us?

Because I'm telling you how I operate in the success of my disciplines. Of course there are times when I may fluctuate. I'm still human. Nevertheless, there is an underline peace and knowing that carries me throughout any emotional outburst. It is a self-developed peace and it is the reason I continue to improve. Think for a moment. If one was to go in emotionally distressed in a 1v1 vs someone with a clear mindset, who exactly do you think would win? Emotions are a temporary state of insanity. We can alter and control them, but the outbursts are nevertheless nothing more than foggy clouds. They blind us and keep us down. Even if you are tryharding. The sooner you realize this, the quicker you will undoubtedly improve.

What do the Jedi do when they are not fighting?
Meditate

It's a mindset. A developed intuition. There is no cut off point for it. Like water, it continues to flow. It finds new shapes and carves new mountains. It sinks land masses and raises plants high. Skill is an ever-changing constant. One that can never remain the same. It is something that can be identified by other adepts. It is respected by those who can see it and awed by any who feel it.

True skill is not tryharding. True skill, like water, flows naturally.

The general consensus of getting somewhere amongst the greater share of gaming, is leveling. At least this is how it is with MMOs. Back in the day, leveling sounded like a pretty badass idea. Let's think about it. There was always that one guy or gal who was at a whole new level (literally) ahead of you and well, they were much stronger. Naturally we felt inclined to get that level or perhaps surpass that person. I know for a fact, I didn't just want their level, I wanted more. Now this is mainly speaking about the past, before games like WoW came about and set a more standardized leveling system.

MMOs back in the past had a tendency to have an absurd level cap. Mainly, the Eastern-Asian MMOs were grindfests. Personally, that's the root of my online gaming history. I tended to get caught up in those quite often. There was a lot less control than what games like WoW did to the MMO face. WoW took leveling and made it more 'fair' for fellow players. They added a reachable level cap and end-game content so that the player could have other things to do rather than just go from 51 to 62.

But wait a moment, if we do hit level cap and do end-game content, are we not just leveling up in a different fashion? Think about it for a second. When you're maxed level you still have more 'leveling' to do. You have gear to get, dailies to complete, arenas to do, points to gain and so on and so forth. So when exactly does the leveling really end?

Better just light the desktop on fire and end it for good. There's seemingly no end in sight. Even the newer MMO models of today's age (which, can't really even be considered that new) are still using these grindfest models of getting gear, leveling and achieving some feat for your 'entertainment'. Now, from the business point of view, if I make a game, then I'm not just making a game for your entertainment. I'm making a game to make money. I need to pay the bills. Bread for the kids have to come somehow. So you know what? I need to do what's necessary.

Why is leveling a good idea for the business man? Well, it automatically makes the player committed to a cause. Whether it be achieving max level, getting certain arena ratings, becoming top PvE progression guild or whatever. Point is, you're committed to my game and therefore that means you're paying that lovely little subscription fee. So as far as the business end is concerned, leveling is awesome! You can complain and moan all you want, but at the end of the day you're still doing it because let's face it - once we achieve that 'level' (Take level in various forms, not just the actual level) then we feel like the world's off our shoulders. We feel like we've accomplished something. And then? Then we want more... and so the cycle begins again in another form.

Whether it be grinding for new gear or clearing new raid bosses - we're at it again. Players in 2003 loved this model to a T. Players in 2013 are growing bored of it. So what do we do here? Do we remove 'leveling' from gaming? Then what? It all becomes all sandbox-like with no true commitment. The player has no goal to attain. Nothing to really chase after. Sure, the freedom's there to do whatever you please, but with no real goal, the player eventually loses interest. Which is why leveling is somewhat of a necessary evil. Now that we're in a transitioning age of gaming, we are realizing that the former model is bland and we're getting bored of it quickly.

We do need something to chase after but we don't want to feel obligated to do so. So how would you go about changing it without breaking it?

Sportsmanship has been an ideal people generally strive for in just about any major competitive game. Whether it's football, soccer, or even online games. Well, let's just be honest. We don't really strive for it in online games. At least not in non-MLG related games. For the most part, players online are out to win and generally they love to trash talk after it, or do something to make the losing team feel horrible. Speaking more for the hardcore, these players tend to add stress to themselves (or others) to attain these victories. Then if it is achieved, then we come to the conclusion where the winning team may have a word or two to the loser. So what's the two letters we're looking for?

GG

Good Game (aka GG) indicates exactly what it means. That's what we'd hope for anyway. But when do we draw the line and speak the truth when we actually don't think it's a GG? Why is it necessary to put on a mask and lie if one doesn't think it was a good game? Win or lose, there's some people that think a match might be outright bullocks. So again, who makes the rule that we have to say this nonsense for the sake of 'PR' reasoning?

Now don't get me wrong, there can actually be good games, but at the same time there can be some outrageously bad games. These are the times I'm pointing the scope at. Heck, one disconnects from your raid group and leaves you guys stranded without a healer or gets bugged and booted from your battleground. Enemy team absolutely slaughters you. Also, this enemy team doesn't quite like you because hey, you might just be the better team but their egos permits them to bring you into the ground at all costs. Not only do you guys get wrecked but these people have the audacity to say the letters 'GG'

Seriously, how the heck was that a GG? And furthermore, how dare you not respond by telling us GG as well! What? You said it's a BG? Bad Game? How dare you! Outrageous! You're not allowed to say that. Every and any game must be a GG because for some reason we all bind by this hidden code (that you are also bounded too) that you must say GG after every game, win or lose and you are absolutely not allowed to express how you really feel or that will make you a crying, whining baby. Understood?

Then again, maybe it's a fine idea to keep things civilized. At the same time, no one can doubt that undeniable urge in the back of your spine that's driving you to say how you really feel. Why do we lie through our teeth when we're brooding in the shadows? And let's not forget when this 'term' is used in a condescending manner. It's like insult on top of injury. So what should we do?

Bottom line is, in my humble opinion, we should be more truthful in terms of how we really feel. Now this doesn't mean you should go crazy and start saying this and that, but I don't believe we should be suppressing how we really feel inside just to build up passive aggression. It can be done in a civilized manner and you know what I think is the easiest route in achieving that simplicity?

BG

aka BAD GAME

After giving this much thought, I decided that writing an article on this would probably be best. When we were younger, we were introduced to games of various types. From our favorite SNES, to N64, PSX, PS2, Computers and the list goes on. We all remember that special time or times, when we originally picked up that controller and entered a whole new world. So games, like computers themselves came from our brains and imaginations. As such, they generally enact themselves out to fulfill our fantasies.

Whether it's brutal horror from slicing and dicing to something as simple as a puzzler like Tetris, whatever it may be, these things caught our attention. We played them and enjoyed them. They touched a spot in our heart, which is why we still keep coming back to them for some sort of spark. Even if one says they play for their friends, let's just be honest. We're gamers. We play games with our friends but we play games because we like to play games.

Remember that time when games started introducing multiplayer? At first it was generic Co-Op, then we rushed right into competition. Surprising? Well, not really. After all, we still have games talking about swashbuckling sword n' board, so competition wasn't far off from arriving at the dawn of gaming. Competition was fun at first. I mean, who didn't like besting their brother at Street Fighter, or showing your friends how much better you are at their record?

Friendly at first, sure, but as times went on, things started getting a bit more serious. Like fighters with swords and boards that evolved into nukes and bombs, we too - gamers, are no exception. We live in an age of competitive gaming that has frankly destroyed the moral highground. We live in an age where hackers, exploiters, cheaters and bug abusers run rampart with seemingly no end in sight. In addition, this is increasing at an alarming rate.

People tend to see these people as bad or horrible people, but can we slow down for a moment and think? Are they as bad as they seem? Are these people truly such evil folks? Let's take another example. A gun. A gun in itself, like an autoclicker is a neutral agent. Yet people tend to eye these things as 'evil'. How can a gun be evil? When did the gun develop a consciousness to purposely cause destruction? When did a nuke get up and decided 'Hey, I'm gonna' go blow up Japan.' Rather than looking at these tools as evil, shouldn't we be looking at the people?

But wait a moment! You picked up a gun! You used an autoclicker! By default, you're already a villain, right? I find this kind of thinking absolutely ignorant. It's plain ole' black and white type of thinking. Contrary to said belief, the world works a lot more different and things are generally not as simple as it seems. If I pick up a gun to defend myself from being shot at, and down my attacker, believe me - I will not degrade myself. I refuse to think I am in the wrong, or I'm evil because the world I'm living in leaves me no choice.

So what will you do when someone comes with a gun?

You have a gun to defend yourself, but are you going to sit there and let them fire at you because of this imaginary concept you developed in your consciousness known as morality? By default, morality itself is an unnatural factor to a human. It's an imagination. A concept that can be altered based on person to person. On one hand, you can think that you're doing God's will by not even touching that weapon. On the other, you can have a bush hunter tearing himself apart inside because he didn't bring enough heads (of his foes) to his chief.

Morality is an unevolved trait. Sooner or later, we'll all lose it. For example, if one was to pit equally skilled foes against each other. Whether it be gaming or not, the one that houses no form of a morality complex will almost 100% always win. (UNLESS SOME BUG LOLOLOL)

Point is, it clouds neutral and logically sound judgment. Even to the point where one would rather get shot in the head, rather than pick up a gun and fight for their survival. (Which btw, self-defense is completely natural for any creature to do - human or animal alike) This being said, what exactly makes gaming any different from soccer or those olden gladiator battles? Heck, all we've done is just encased civilized barbarism. We're still swashbucklers fighting for our survival. Sure, it may not be physical, but it is mental related. No matter how much you try to slice it and downplay 'oh it's only a game', who exactly are you fooling?

These games toy with our emotions. They can trouble our thoughts. They can make or break friendships. This is real. Not because it's online does it suddenly mean you are not involved. The mere fact you even gave thought to this post shows that there is an involvement. Mere fact you even respond to a whisper, a tell, or hate mail, proves you're already involved and engaged on a psychological level.

We're living in an age of gaming where the morality factor has been tossed right out the window. People (just like war) will do anything in their power to win. I will not stand here and villainize these people for doing what they have to do. Whether it's out of self defense, or if it's just those that are out to see the world burn. Whatever their reasoning is, just know that I will not stand by and be shot. Believe me, if you oppose me in such a way then it is automatically self defense. I will hold my gun and fire right back at you.

This isn't eye for eye. I'm not suggesting to take up arms to go out and kill people, or purposely bug and exploit others out of vicious intent. This is waking up to realize the gaming age you're in and the steps you may or may not need to take to assure yourself victory.