Your Opinion: Is Sportsmanship a Relevant Concept in Videogames?

NBrookus · August 2016

Imagine for a moment, an Olympic track event where athletes get deliberately tripped and injured by the opposing team. Or a losing Rose Bowl team yelling physical threats at the other team on national television. These are both examples of poor sportmanship that no one would tolerate.

Yet daily in Cyrodiil we see hate whispers, unsubstantiated accusations of cheating, exploitation of broken sets and mechanics, zone chat harassment and threats, sniping on duels, large zergs running down solo players nowhere near active "war zones" and other behavior that demonstrates that many players show no respect for other players (enemy or ally) and appear to be solely focused on winning regardless of method.

On the other hand, we have pvp guilds that reroll factions to help balance servers to make a better playing experience for all, many players that silently DON'T engage in trollish behavior, and I know I get a lot more "gf" whispers than nasty ones.

What do you believe? Is sportsmanship a valid concept in a videogame war, where the consequences are digital, the teams are neither fixed nor regulated, cultures mix which have differing ways of expressing sportsmanship, and no one gets physically hurt? Is it silent enim leges inter arma? That sportsmanship is as important online as offline? Or somewhere in between? And if you do believe in sportsmanship, do you always succeed in holding yourself to that standard?

KenaPKK · August 2016

The internet is anonymous = name and reputation aren't on the line, and games seldom have sportsmanship rules or enforcement.

Sucks but that's why people act like ***.

heystreethawk · August 2016

A man got to have a code.

Scamandros · August 2016

I confess to doping before raid night

Totalitarian · August 2016

Sportsmanship is relevant in video games. I'm not talking about saying 'good game' after every match or fight, but just the simple groundwork which spills over into real life: Don't be a complete scumbag, and don't be a sore loser. It helps to create a tolerable atmosphere for all players to be able to have fun in, because in the end, that's usually why we play video games.

As for the relative anonymity of people in video games, allow me to say something: the worth of someone is best judged by what they do when you're not looking, not what they do while you are looking. You don't have to put a special act on in a video game because the repercussions generally won't follow you in real life. You get to see the true character of someone.

Ackwalan · August 2016

You've never been a lineman in a football game.

Rylana · August 2016

For me its a mixed bag. I genuinely try to be sporting, but that nature tends to get used against me more often than not.

Recent example, I was asked on Azuras to limit my group size to 12, by an opposing faction member that routinely runs around in balls of 40, with a solid 10 man in the middle of them.

My only reaction was one of utter contempt because to me that just sounds like stacking the deck and forcing me into a handicap. My groups run 12-20, rarely more, and honestly I dont ever "intend" to zerg anyone down, unless theyre being a pain in the ass and constantly harassing a siege line or ganking someone with 2-3 guys. To me that becomes fair game, you attack me, I attack you.

However, night before last, a GoS reunion group of 12 people were out and about on azuras, and we crossed the Alessia/Drake lock (common dueling ground), and it was amusing to us that we stormed our whole raid on horseback right past a pair of duels in progress, but we didnt attack them. My hope is it startled the hell out of them, but they also took a modicum of respect, we could have easily killed them, but they were harmless.

Coincidentally, this same subject is the one and only reason I no longer accept 1v1 challenges in game from people I dont know or have an actual rivalry with. The last time I accepted, i ended up getting 5v1ed and talked trash to. Perfect example of sportsmanship being taken advantage of.

frozywozy · August 2016

Video games in the beginning were made for kids. It changed alot since but still today, a major part of gamers are very young and have no concept of respect and manners. On top of that, like kena mentioned, people are hidden behind a screen and since their reputation doesn't matter, they will use all different kind of personalities to drop people down while getting themselves up. I compare this to the intimidation on the fat kid in primary school. Pretty much the same results in the end.

We can only hope that parents will keep educating their kids the right way and show them that respect work as much with people on the internet than it does with people you speak with face to face.

Mojmir · August 2016

Scamandros wrote: »

I confess to doping before raid night

amateur, it's maintenance and I'm on that ***.

BigBragg · August 2016

I like good sportsmanship, but I can rage with the best of them. I am also on the fence about unwritten rules that people like to toss around in video games. The only one who actually makes rules are the ones who code the game, but I have also seen some things that strike me as down right dirty. In the end I try to have fun and play with sportsmanship, but not impose my own personal rules on others.

LegendaryChef · August 2016

To be honest I personally try to respect people as much as possible but in reality some people are just asking for it

9/10 of my deaths I get tbagged anyway from people I've never even spoken to or met before so I guess there isn't really much sportsmanship in Eso.

Chuga_Rei · August 2016

CE has been around and abused for 2+ years. Sportsmanship in this game in meaningless imo.

Though 95% of the people in game will tell you im super friendly(like in real life) i also cant help but troll people who hate whisper me for a reaction. My guildies(past and present) will tell you im laughing 90% of the time in ts, and usually singing or making little excited squeek noises the other 10% lol

[Edited to remove baiting comment]

Luigi_Vampa · August 2016

Do you know how much *** professional atheletes talk to each other during games? We just don't get to hear it on tv. Probably not in the Olympics as much but NBA, NFL etc... It is not always friendly.

Edit: Also just look at the doping in MLB, various Olympic atheletes and other professional sports. Let us not pretend that sportsmanship is any more prevalent in the real world then on the virtual world. People would cheat even more than they do in professional sports if it was easier to get away with it.

TheDarkRuler · August 2016

heystreethawk wrote: »

A man got to have a code.

Behaving on a code is good.
Getting more experience/gold/AP is better.
Thats the mentality everyone in PVP follows.

Ghostbane · August 2016

The opposition varies on if they deserve it or not.

KenaPKK · August 2016

Chuga_Rei wrote: »

this game in meaningless imo.

ftfy

heystreethawk · August 2016

TheDarkRuler wrote: »

heystreethawk wrote: »

A man got to have a code.

Behaving on a code is good.
Getting more experience/gold/AP is better.
Thats the mentality everyone in PVP follows.

https://youtu.be/cryMVK1PwuQ?t=22

ToRelax · August 2016

TheDarkRuler wrote: »

heystreethawk wrote: »

A man got to have a code.

Behaving on a code is good.
Getting more experience/gold/AP is better.
Thats the mentality everyone most players in PVP follow.

You don't need nor can you expect the other players to follow your code. Sure it makes for a much better atmosphere if most players respect each other. But it's still better to be alone in that than to let yourself be overcome by emotions just because the other players show no respect themselves. Plus, you'll play much better that way.

yodased · August 2016

The people who cheat, exploit and grief others in this game don't see it as a bad thing. How can you convince someone to act differently if they believe their actions are justified, warranted and accepted to be ok?

You can't, it's hot air.

incite · August 2016

Euthopy

rendolpheb16_ESO · August 2016

Teabag > Sportsmanship

Nuff said.

Publius_Scipio · August 2016

You shouldn't care about whispers or getting bagged. If you care, and I do mean care about what happens in a video game, then care about CE use or those exploiting bugs.

Avenias · August 2016

In a balanced game yes. In ESO hell no.

Sandman929 · August 2016

I don't know if it's sportsmanship or not, but I don't send messages to people I don't know to brag or whine and I don't teabag other players I've killed...mostly because I'm not 11 years old.

raviour · August 2016

pvp is like a sport with no referee and like an endless football season or golf tournament. usualy after salty whispers i have a nice chat n we become friends kinda. ofc there r some idiots out there but u just put them on ignore. i like to /laugh /shovel /cry or /sweep a dead enemy but we r all in the game for the lols.

killing obvious questers is unsporting imo but if they r near your forts they gonna die. i find most enemies are sporting and its nice to be nice. i made NA char so i don't have to nightcap here or run around trueflame finding 1v1s if i want late action.

some ppl r defenitely unsporting and spy or do deals with enemy but its a war zone so this is to be expected.

Sallington · August 2016

I'm of the opinion that a teabag is a virtual handshake. A "good game", if you will.

saiyan_84 · August 2016

the hate tells are hilarious and they add that extra spice in pvp.

Agrippa_Invisus · August 2016

Sportsmanship is very important, IMO.

Without it, you strip the desire of your opponent to give you a good or fair fight. Remove his fun from the game and he'll find a way to remove your own. Once that gets doubled down on, it is only a matter of time until someone walks away and stops playing entirely.

Whether it be the rageteller sending paragraphs of filth in /tell, to the cheating jerks who still want to be recognized for their accomplishments, or the zerging guilds who flip whole maps when no one's logged on... each of these type of bad sports lower the amount of fun that exists in game for their opponent all without regard for them. Their selfishness and lack of good sportsmanship reduces the number of opponents they will have in the future.

It's only a matter of time until such players log into the game and end up wondering 'Why does no one log into the other factions to fight anymore?'

But then again, I may be giving them too much credit for self awareness. They may just go 'dang, this is boring, time to go play Overwatch' and never realize that they were instrumental to making it like that for themselves.

Odditorium · August 2016

I still live by the old school gamer code born from the 70's and 80's arcades. And D&D.

yodased · August 2016

Agrippa_Invisus wrote: »

Sportsmanship is very important, IMO.

But then again, I may be giving them too much credit for self awareness. They may just go 'dang, this is boring, time to go play Overwatch' and never realize that they were instrumental solely to blame for to making it like that for themselves.

Sorry for the edit, but this is what I have been saying the entire time. The problem is though, perception is reality and their perception is it is ok.

If you want to identify the toxic elements of a gaming community, or any community really, look for the word: "just"

it's just a game
it's just an exploit
it's just a teabag
it's just a nightcap

The justification of these behaviors to me is the worst part. When a person tries to explain that to the other side, they are more than likely going to be hit with a major wave of *** and negativity surrounding the person themselves and not the topic at hand. Personal attacks of ones "skill" within video games is a perfect example.

Person 1: You are cheating.
Person 2. (is cheating) Get Gud.

Won't ever change as long as their is no consequence.

Agrippa_Invisus · August 2016

yodased wrote: »

Agrippa_Invisus wrote: »

Sportsmanship is very important, IMO.

But then again, I may be giving them too much credit for self awareness. They may just go 'dang, this is boring, time to go play Overwatch' and never realize that they were instrumental solely to blame for to making it like that for themselves.

Sorry for the edit, but this is what I have been saying the entire time. The problem is though, perception is reality and their perception is it is ok.

If you want to identify the toxic elements of a gaming community, or any community really, look for the word: "just"

it's just a game
it's just an exploit
it's just a teabag
it's just a nightcap

The justification of these behaviors to me is the worst part. When a person tries to explain that to the other side, they are more than likely going to be hit with a major wave of *** and negativity surrounding the person themselves and not the topic at hand. Personal attacks of ones "skill" within video games is a perfect example.

Person 1: You are cheating.
Person 2. (is cheating) Get Gud.

Won't ever change as long as their is no consequence.

That's a fair edit. A different way of saying the same thing, assuredly.

And you're right, too. Especially in regards to the use of certain cheating tools that people have gotten unbanned from using. On EP, especially, this is almost a nightly /zone conversation topic. I'm sure you're aware of why.

They just. He just. She just. It just. No. No. No. It's not 'just'.

Like using racial slurs and then going 'it's just a joke'. They're saying that, and saying 'it's just' because they know the behavior is abhorrent but are trying to minimize it to deflect the negative connotations that go along with it. It's a way of not being responsible (or trying to make oneself not feel responsible) for the negative behavior that they're directly contributing to.

It's never 'just' something. It is what it is. Cheating is cheating, insulting bile is insulting bile, nightcapping is nightcapping. Etcetera.