ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

Commencing operation . . .

Overview

I have recently released a new category to Absolute Ascendancy known as the Gaming Zone, so why am I writing an article against online gaming? It seems contradictory, given that I am trying to push gaming into a positive light. Well, you will find that I am a walking paradox, and while I am a massive advocate for gaming in general, there are some dangerous pitfalls that I feel needed to be addressed. Hence this article highlights what is probably my biggest gripe against gaming in general. The online capabilities of video games are both a blessing and a curse. It is great that people can now connect all over the world and play their favourite games together. With this great potential, however, lie a couple of poisons that must be guarded against to prevent good gaming from becoming corrupted into toxic gaming.

1. Toxic Gaming Environments

In the same manner, as you should stay away from toxic people in the real world, the same advice applies to any online environment also. Often people will participate in matches where other players are randomly gathered to face off against each other. Do not waste your time exchanging curse words with a bunch of ten-year-old kids; you do not need such frustrations in your life. You want to slam their faces against the wall, but forget about it and find new people to play the game with.

It is imperative to also protect your identity within online environments as these days, you cannot be too careful. Cyber bullies, scammers, hackers, and online predators all pollute online gaming environments, and they are all looking for ways to exploit naive, unsuspecting individuals. There have even been cases of swatting, where people call up a police team to raid the victim’s house due to some non-existent danger. Highly illegal but possible to accomplish if your personal data falls into the wrong hands. 

Also, some online games are filled with degrading filth. Overly sexualised characters and straight-up pornography are present in some games. Grand Theft Auto is a prime example, but there are other games out there. Be careful not to feed yourself poison while you are gaming as it will literally kill your potential as a human being. If you want to be mediocre trash, then always get wasted, do drugs, spend all of your time on social media, and on your smartphone playing games, which leads nicely into point number two.

2. Gaming Addiction

Online gaming can be exceptionally addictive, and this is one of the most significant poisons with the online gaming world. There have been incidents where people have died because they spent several days in a row gaming without eating or sleeping. They became so immersed and trapped within the game, they could not escape, and they paid the ultimate price for it. It could prove challenging to step away from online games, particularly ones where a reward system is in place or the game is cooperative, and you would be letting the team down if you did not show up frequently.

Another addiction to watch out for is the gambling and in-game purchasing nature of some online games. It can be oh so easy to get hooked onto a game and end up spending far more money on upgrades than intended. Especially be cautious of any freemium game which requires you to sign up with your credit card to initially play the game for free. Soon enough, you will be tempted with multiple purchases to progress the game, and this is how freemium games make their money. It is a very sneaky tactic companies are using to lure people in and then extort them once they are addicted.

The Solution

When I was in my early teens, I would often spend in the region of ten to sixteen hours each weekend gaming online with the friends I had made there. I certainly had a lot of fun, but in the present day and age, I could not imagine pulling off that kind of feat. I no longer play online games, and much prefer face to face meet ups with my friends, sat around a table playing board games instead. There is more of a social, and community feel, and it is less addictive as well as there is a natural termination point where people need to head back home.

The best solution as always is to eliminate the circumstances which could give rise to the problem in the first instance. Prevention is always better than the cure! As I said, I do not play online games anymore because I know first-hand how addictive they can be. If I want to play Tekken or Crash Team Racing with other people, I will invite my friends over, and we can play local offline multiplayer. I do not care about rising through the online leader boards or getting rewards for playing online. I have higher priorities in my life and do not have the time these days to get obsessed or addicted to online games. If you must play them, however, then I recommend being strict with yourself with regards to the amount of time you are allowed to spend playing them.

Conclusion

Gaming is a wonderful thing, but be super careful not to fall into the two pitfalls described above. Stay away from toxic gaming environments and guard yourself against gaming addiction.

Mission complete – Overlord Drakow signing out.