Jolly cooperation

Yesterday I was playing video games with my friend, Tyler, when we lost a match by a landslide. Although we were discouraged and frustrated, one of the players from the other team sent me a message.

gg, wp

Four simple letters made the difference between me turning off my Xbox and readying up for another round.

For the non-gamers out there, gg stands for "good game," while wp means "well-played"*. It might not mean much to the person who said it, but getting a pat on the back after being absolutely dominated makes a difference.

I decided I want to study the use of language between players in video games, because it had such a profound effect on me and my team, so I experimented with messaging my opponents after each round. Sending positive messages such as "you did really well" or "that was a close game" resulted (for the most part) in positive replies and more amiable gameplay. On the flip side, belittling my opponents after beating them with phrases such as "get good" or "noob" (colloq. new player/newbie) only angered them, throwing off their game.

In fact, there's a term taken from poker often used to describe purposely angering an opponent to mess up their game - tilting. When a player is tilted, they are filled with rage and unable to play efficiently, letting their emotions get in the way. Some players use this psychological warfare to purposely affect their opponents, as it will weigh the odds in the tilter's favor.

Forms of tilting include sending rude messages or saying impolite things over voice communications, but there's an additional layer to language in video games: nonverbal communication. In most games, after you kill an opponent, they are forced to watch your character in what is referred to as a "Killcam," giving the player a spotlight to taunt the person they just killed. Traditionally, players teabag after they get a kill, which is the act of continuously crouching up and down on an enemy's body to establish dominance. In any video game that enables players to crouch, teabagging exists. It's known as "BMing," which is a loose term for a person who has bad manners, as they are purposely tilting the other team/player just to be rude.

Regardless of all the negativity that exists in video games, I think it's important to remember to be kind and courteous to your fellow players. Despite playing against them, intent on beating them, there's still a real person behind every gamertag - so play nice!

Image courtesy of Pinterest

*This is in the context of video games. Sometimes wp can mean "wrong person," especially when using instant messaging