Pro Gamer bullcrap

[Mastakilla]

Does anyone else feel annoyed by this pro gamer metabolic end product? Overdoing the metabolic end product on competitive levels?
I feel the whole point of games isn't understood anymore, I thought they were for fun?
Why is everyone trying to be the best? Getting pissed off when they don't win?
I don't really get it...

People are acting like it's a sport, or some kind of achievement, it's crazy.
I can KINDA understand it in FPS games, wanting to be a decent player and all,
but even then there's a line to be crossed in overdoing it.

The worst thing is when it happens in MMORPGs though,
people slaving away for 12 hours a day lvl'ing their characters and when they hit the lvl cap
they feel like they won the world cup, and act like it aswell. Very annoying.
I play Perfect World for several hours a day myself, but because I find it fun to do so.
But nearly everyone in there wants to be the best?

Maybe I'm just ranting because I'm a newb :3
PSYCHE

[synthetic]

Nice thread

Pro Gamers test their skill and equipment reaching as far as possible and then further. Ultimate goal is fame and hard cash.

Then there are some people who just tend to give their maximum because we ARE talking about competitive entertainment. They generally dont get paid for it and generally aren't that talented to begin with. Please dont forget that this attitude towards games is emotionally rewarding and fun for many people. Many of my friends in dx or in ao fall under this category, too. It just depends on how far someone takes it, I can have huge fun using nothing but pistol be it in 0augs or atdm, for example. I can find it enjoyable to grid monsters for expensive yet rare loot for days in an mmo, monsters that are so low level that I gain 1 experience per kill (compared to several hundred thousand from a single high level enemy). Or take part of the social events in mmos which usually are rather hilarious in one way or another. But at the same time I can enjoy breaking down the enemy score wise as well as mentally in a shooter game or looking at the 30+ levels gained during a single day of power leveling in an mmo.

Third category would be people who dont give ratsass about leveling in mmo or gaining skill in FPS. Unless they are extremely skilled at RP and somehow pull off some ACTION without relying on conventional methods, I dont really understand them. I am yet to see dx-themed RP in dxmp, although it has had many interesting moments in general. It usually belongs to MMOs. If you have no skill or knowledge, dont want to get better and youre not otherwise interesting, then I am as puzzled about such individuals as you are about 'pro gamers'.

The sore loosers in all this belong to all categories and there really isnt much to do about them.. they have their fun slaughtering beginners or exploiting in mmos, but others are not blind and as long as your friends can share your opinion on such individuals then all is well on this planet.

As far as understanding it in MMOs goes.. MMORPG for one is made of series of tasks you need to complete. Is it not rewarding to complete the task before others, or gain more than others from completing it better or through a more thorough strategy? Getting to maximum level is the ultimate goal, reaching that is of course most satisfactory. What they do from there is their own problem, but I dont see anything about it that could be misunderstood. Unlike most other MMORPGs the game I occasionally play, Anarchy Online, has another level of competition - the armor as well as weapons can be overequipped to insane lengths using your math, game knowledge, farming abilities and plain patience. For example: there is an item I cant get equipped that easily at lvl 60, so I have to do some running around and probably spend some. Then of course you have some guy whos gotten it on at level 1. Does he win much from it? Nope. But I suppose the outcome or parts of the process meant fun for him. (I have played that MMO 4 years and I am not maximum level yet. You need about 2 months of hard grind to reach maximum level in AO. Of course there was someone who did it in one week, but all the fun he got out of it was being banhammered by admins)

[synthetic]

Or to make it short: play games the way you find fun in them, find friends who find the same tasks fun, and ignore those who whine. They are obviously doing it wrong.

I havent slept 24 hours so I might end up with long posts more so than usual, my apologies : )

[Tidus]

Because thats the fun.
Some players have fun to reach this point, where they can call themselfe progamer.
The way to the "Pro Gamer" is the normal way we all play a game, but some players go much further.
When you came to the last level, they call the max level just a step to the finish.
Then comes Equip, skills, Pets, and other stuff you can gain in games.
Then the skill, the player got. When everythink is reached for a player, then he starts calling himself a "Pro Gamer".
My opinion of this so far

[synthetic]

Before someone comes here to whine about the "pro gamer" label, let us just call those experienced players. Professional Gamers or Pro Gamers earn living, to a point, from gaming. This aspect takes away most of what wed call fun, while the feeling of accomplishment remains and is likely much more amplified considering that they do work much harder to keep their status.

[Tidus]

Yeah, its a lot of work, but who says that they dont have fun doing this?
When you want to keep your status, you have to "work" and then the fun is in the background.
But thats normal i guess

[Mastakilla]

I suppose competetiveness is fun, but there's some line that can be crossed, where people start abusing others when things aren't going their way, or making up excuses when they fail miserably.

Also, a thing that amazes me, in Perfect World for example...
When the expansion came out and a new race was introduced I was a lvl 60 myself in about 2 months playing time,
and a week after the expansion came out I already started seeing lvl 80 Assassins (from the new race)
kinda shocked me. As I was already playing 4+ hours a day myself. LOL

By the way Ken, haven't had any sleep myself so we're on the same level here

[Tidus]

Its not that hard to lvl up a class these days.
Oracles and Hyper EXP stones are the key

[ShadowRunner]

If you aren't playing for money, then you are not a professional, it's your hobby. If you are playing for yourself, then you are a gamer, not a pro gamer. So I doubt any DX player is a pro gamer. So yeah, this pro gamer thing is balderdash!

[Jima B]

The gaming industry is a little too mainstream now. Everyone calls themselves gamers and this, frankly, annoys me a tad. It's like me calling myself a "Television Enthusiast" because I sit around and watch TV all day. I'm also a couch conneseur and dog spotter.

I don't hate pro/extreme gamers for being pro/extreme gamers; I hate them for who the are as people. Leeching off of parents and family to an insane degree, well into their twenties and sabotaging all opportunities to learn essental social skills in order to survive later in life, instead simly leeching off of the government.
If a pro gamer upholds a job and begins to support his/her self at a respectable age then I have no issue with that. That's just dandy. If winning lots of prize money is the case, then go for it, great on them.

[SPAZ ROFELZ]

The thing is, the real professional gamers don't just sit and game all day. They actually have to exercise to keep their mind sharp and all that metabolic end product. All in all, bitches dun know bout ma diabeetus.

[synthetic]

The thing is, the real professional gamers don't just sit and game all day. They actually have to exercise to keep their mind sharp and all that metabolic end product. All in all, bitches dun know bout ma diabeetus.

lol

[~[FGS]Próphèt~]

Nice thread

/Seconded

As far as understanding it in MMOs goes.. MMORPG for one is made of series of tasks you need to complete.

Well for most MMOs that's the case, but, again, Guild Wars is the exception to the rule ;P
Max lvl is 20 which is insanely easy to attain. After that the game is only getting started.

As far as competitive playing goes in GW, well it does exist, but that's kinda obvious, 'cause Arenanet (the devs) organizes a monthly tournament for guilds to fight each other. But the cool thing is, you can choose if you want to do PvP (which is competitive and filled with elitist fucktards, but still great fun to play ^^) or PvE (also with fucktards, but not that competitive, cause well ye, everybody is lvl20 in a day...).

All in all I don't mind competitive gamers, as long as they realize there is so much more to life than that one game they play.

[synthetic]

Well in guildwars those goals are different raids or simply farming pvp kills, I suppose. Ive sometimes wondered about Guild Wars, but never purchased it. One question, though: the pve content, I suppose it comes down to farming different hard to obtain items when youre all the same level anyway? AO as an example has 220 normal levels, umm.. ~40(?) research levels, 30 alien levels (latter being insanely hard and/or boring to grind, harder than last levels of the 220). They have integrated pvp into the game in a way that in order to obtain certain excellent armor pieces or weaponry (not the best in the game luckily) you will have to pvp to farm points.

[~[FGS]Próphèt~]

Well in guildwars those goals are different raids or simply farming pvp kills, I suppose.

There really isn't a farm for PvP skills as you have the beauty of PvP-only chars. Those chars can only PvP (obvious) but have the advantage that they have all skills unlocked, that you have already unlocked on your whole account (so on every char you have or don't have, as skills can be bought with balthazar faction as well. You can earn balth fac by simply playing any PvP format). They also have direct acces to max armors, max weap and max mods (for weap and armor). So PvP (unlike most other MMO's I know) comes down to pure skill, as everyone has the same, max gear/armor.

Whereas in PvE you need to unlock every skill on your toon, cap every elite, spend fortunes on nice elite armor sets, buy expensive mods, etc.

One question, though: the pve content, I suppose it comes down to farming different hard to obtain items when youre all the same level anyway?

No. Guild Wars is an instanced team game. It all comes down to finding a good team build so you can defeat mobs in Hard Mode (unlocked after you finished a chapter, for that chapter only and for every lvl20 char you have), where the most fun/gain is at. Hard Mode offers a substantial boost to build creation and opting for ideal builds, as foes in HM have 33%-50% faster movement, casting times and are more intelligent (will flee from AoE damage faster, melee won't bunch up on one char, but rather attack multiple chars in a party, making it harder to prot/heal), etc.

You do however have titles you can strife to, but they show more dedication than real skill (bare the PvP titles then, and one or two PvE titles).

Ive sometimes wondered about Guild Wars, but never purchased it.

I can really recommend it, it's not your typical MMO, but is great fun nevertheless!