To Be A Single Player Again.

I’ve never really considered gaming a particular sociable affair. Sure you indulge in rare social gatherings where friends participate in virtual altercations, pursuing personal satisfaction from vanquishing you, further alienating themselves from any future invitations. But I’ve always believed it to be an activity pursued independent of friends, family or any living organism that isn’t forming on the discarded remains of the chicken korma that’s resting on you’re Call of duty t-shirt that you’ve been wearing for 4 days. I realise that this is an often exaggerated perception but one that’s still an accurate portrayal of modern gamers, even if we don’t care to admit it. Of course now at the behest of corporate oppression where complete games have been compartmentalised into episodic formats or DLC and dispensed into individual subsidise’s like toys in cereal box’s, we’re encouraged to partake in communicative activities where being “on-line” and “interaction” with other people is a necessity. Having a required router to play a game is such a nuisance to begin with. Sure most gamers have access to on-line functionality, but it isn’t always reliable. It only takes one error to completely eradicate 45 mins worth of progress. For games not to produce dedicated areas for social abstinence such as myself creates undue limitations when you’d think games would function more efficiently when offline? An absurd notion I’m sure you’ll agree, but even with uninterrupted broadband connection you’re still be left to deal with real people.

Let’s be honest, valour, chivalry and honour are reserved for the brazen and foolish when it comes to on-line allegiances, which are all scheduled around other people’s agendas. These interim comrades, most likely some irritating twerp that sleeps in a bunk bed shaped like a car will sever all association with you if it means there own self-centred hide is safe and thereby rewarded with money, experience, dancing in you’re blood or other resources. And it’s these disreputable ingrates I’m supposed to be sharing the simple pleasures of gaming with? I receive enough abuse from a moderately difficult single player game let alone a system populated by hate filled teens that apparently enjoy fornication with my mother! No, no the essence of gaming is the purity of solitary interaction. To immerse yourself in fantasy realms deprived of reality, not real people discussing what they want for dinner before they settle down to watch the Voice! Ugh, how can you pretend to imitate the role of a daring space commander if some whiny little snot nosed, mucus swigging numb-nut, is being chastised by his mother for not studying for his arithmetic exam tomorrow?! With single player campaigns you don’t necessarily have to be good, talented or even remotely competent to progress and enjoy yourself. Being on-line requires a concerted effort to master the controls, study the environments, acquire a persistent resolve to perfect every facet of your abilities, to become a functional utility in a team and ensure a fragment of success. If you have the required time to dedicate the requisite hours to succeed in on-line campaigns then I applaud you’re tenacity and misanthropic segregation. Seriously I commend you! Me, I barely have time to sneeze without my girlfriend wondering where I am.

I’m sorry, I’m a little more emotionally unsettled than I normally am. I haven’t slept very well and I’m fairly sure I’ve already written a tirade identical to this one before? I guess when it all comes down to it, when you really put things into perspective, people are annoying. Simply……annoying. That is all.

Do you prefer the pleasures of single player or the more sociable form of interaction? Let me know in the comments below. Cheers.