The Evolution of First Person Shooter Online Gaming Culture

By now online multiplayer gaming has been around for awhile. Initially online gamers could only communicate through keyboard means, but then voice chat (and now video chat) came into play, creating a whole new slew of problems, although it was very innovative and helpful, too.

First person shooter gaming culture certainly has changed since their initial blossom. I remember the days when I first started playing first person shooters online; my first online shooter (players could, if they wanted to, swivel between first and third person) was "Socom" for the Playstation 2. It was the first game that came with a headset for the Playstation 2. At the same time X-Box Live was becoming increasingly popular, too, so many online gamers were becoming accustomed to communicating and dealing with others through the means of voice communication. The PC had both beat, with programs such as Ventrilo allowing PC gamers to use voice chat, which came in handy when playing games like the original "Call of Duty".

Initially people were very relaxed online - very few gamers would lash out, scream, yell, howl, or instigate fights through the voice communication. And, if someone did instigate a fight, generally others would help break it apart and relax tensions; usually this would work. The novelty of voice communications made many people very anxious - never had players been able to communicate with complete strangers using their voice. Many players were anxious, and the thought of trying to cyber-bully someone, for whatever reason, never stumbled upon their mind.

As time progressed, so did the evolution of the shooter community. I started playing the new games that came out in the genre, most notably the ever-so-popular "Halo 2" - the first online multiplayer Halo game. As stated before, most people were very relaxed, but I did start to take notice of something - more people were becoming pests. There were more people creating problems by arguing, using obscenities and racial slurs, and instigating fights. I knew it was bound to happen - bad apples would always be around, so it had to be tolerated. The anonymity of online multiplayer games was beneficial for these people, as they probably had to let out their emotions through this emotional cyber-vent. Annoying to, you know, regular people such as myself and the majority of other gamers out there. At that time, compared to today, it was tolerable.

I took some time off from profound first person shooter gaming. While I played from time to time, I didn't purchase an X-Box 360 until the release of Call of Duty: World at War, so I missed a lot of the progression of the FPS online community. When I came back, I was pretty astonished - people (of all ages I might add) were incredibly rude. "Gamers", and I use the word loosely, were yelling and screaming. In the lobby some people would yell into their microphone at the top of their lungs for no apparent reason. Someone would scream obscenities at another player without provocation. An apparent "gang mentality" had enveloped the FPS gaming community, which was apparent when there was a group of players, sometimes a clan, that would try and cyber-bully other players for no apparent reason.

Things progressively have gotten worse, especially within the Call of Duty series. I love the series, so I picked up the next one - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The game itself was great, although unbalanced (but that's another story). However, the community got incredibly worse. I don't want to say that every kid playing the game was ill-mannered, but a large amount of the children would scream into the microphones (keep in mind that this game is rated "M For Mature", whereas these children were easily <13). Now I've played with some kids before, even having some in one of my clans back in the day on Socom. Some of these kids are great, and can comprehend the responsibility of using voice communication. However, in today's day in age, it seems that most children cannot handle it - vulgar language runs rampant, especially in games rated for a much higher age. The worst part is that parents then get angry and blame video game companies; But where did these children acquire these games? One time I went to GameStop and saw a mother purchasing Grand Theft Auto 3 for a child that looked no older than 13.

My love for these games only grew, despite the download spiral of the online community. While some games had great communities still, most FPS games did not - they were quickly deteriorating into oblivion. I went further and purchased Halo Reach and Call of Duty: Black Ops. These are the games in which I have seen the pinnacle of the decline of the FPS community - an abyss of vulgar language, terrible attitudes, yelling, screaming, and tension. One time I got into a lobby in Call of Duty: Black Ops to have a guy attack me and another player for no reason. This cyber-bully was followed by a few of his friends, so he was trying to look "cool" I guess. But still, when the advent of voice communication came into play for FPS online multiplayer games, these things rarely (practically never) occurred. Now it seems there's either a cyber-bully, loud mouth, or a screaming child in any and every lobby. It got to the point where my friends and I would play in private chat so we didn't have to listen to such things. It's hard to concentrate on game play when you have a confirmed 12-year-old singing Justin Bieber lyrics at the top of his lungs.

Despite the deterioration of the online community in a majority of popular shooter games, I still love these games. I still purchase them, and I still play whenever I get the chance. Luckily many games (if not all) have added in the "Mute" feature, which allows players to selectively mute any player they choose within a game. While this doesn't solve all problems, it certainly helps.

Overall, though, the communities have gotten worse. I don't know how much worse it can get, either. Back in the day when I first started playing Socom, many players shunned the idea of glitching/cheating online, as it completely ruined the experience. I saw, even in that game, as time progressed that players were increasingly do it. Some cheats even allowed these cheaters to knock people out of games, become invincible, and even fly in the sky to rain down terror. Today, on X-Box Live, most cheats, glitches, and exploits are patched relatively fast, which is logical since it's a pay-to-play system. However, in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, there was a time when every single game I went into players were glitching. And these weren't small glitches, either.

In the end, as corny as it may sound, there is no honor in FPS online gaming. A haven that was once ran by players looking to better themselves or play competitively has turned into a cyber-abyss of cheaters, glitchers, and unruly players screaming obscenities and causing unnecessary problems.