I can’t remember when it was in the 70′s that I first started playing video games. It was probably before my dad bought an Atari VCS, the one with the wood finish, it was probably round a neighbours house and possibly on a Binatone machine, it’s all a bit of a haze now. But for the sake of a definite year, lets say 1979. So 32 years ago, I started playing games. Back then it was all Pong, Combat and Basketball. At the time single player games weren’t much fun it was all about winning against your brother or the neighbours’ kid.
During the 80′s and 90′s, the single player game came to the fore, Mario, Sonic and so on. There were multiplayer games but they seemed like an add-on. The bit the developers did when they had five minutes, after they’d finished the main game. Now it’s gone full circle and playing against people is becoming the main thing. Whether it be MMO, Action shooter, platform or racing game, we’re encouraged to go online and face our opponents.
I used to enjoy winning against my family and friends. Now I’m older, my family (obviously) don’t live together and if my friends have a PS3, they generally don’t have the same game or aren’t available to play at the same time. So playing online means playing against people I don’t know and can’t see. Seeing someone play as you defeat them is for me one of the joys of multiplayer gaming. The look on their face or the howl of frustration is so rewarding.
That said, I’ve played Warhawk a lot. In the three years since I first downloaded it, I’ve played it at least once a week. The community that plays is still quite large, so it’s remained a good game. I can run about, do my own thing within the structure of a Team Deathmatch, Capture the flag or whatever and I enjoy my support role. I imagine the faces of the people I snipe and bomb to be the same as mine when I’m mercilessly killed. You can use a headset to talk to the other players but it all seemed a bit daft. If you had a couple of people playing that knew each other, there was just an endless stream of inane chatter, so I turned off the ‘chat’. Other games though encourage you to talk to people to add depth to the collaboration.
This is where I have an issue. Being 39 now, I’m quite uncomfortable with the idea that I’ll go online and find I’m playing co-op with a 13 year old. That seems wrong. If it’s my friends, people I know well, then I’m fine with it. Me and my friend Dan (who’s 38) had a great time playing Grand Theft Auto 4 against each other. However some games allow other players to ‘drop-in’ and the chances are you have no idea who they are and vice versa.
The latest case in point being Little Big Planet 2. I was playing a level yesterday and a box appeared saying that “username” would like to play too. I could accept or refuse. Naturally I refused. That sort of title is bound to mis-match ages. A few games don’t ask, they just drop the player into the game. You could argue that I shouldn’t play such games, but I like platform games and have really enjoyed the Lego series of games (Indiana Jones, Star-Wars, Batman and Harry Potter). However just as in the 80′s I saw films on video that I wasn’t old enough to see, the age ratings on games don’t stop kids playing them. Therefore the same thing can occur on Call of Duty or whatever.
The world being as it is, just as I’m averse to playing video games with much younger people, there are people who actively seek inappropriate contact. So what can be done? I think it’s a difficult thing to fix. It’s possible that when setting up an online game the servers take into account the age of the players, but just like fake ID, the system is dependant on the user putting in the correct info. So kids may want to appear older and some adults appear younger. It’s a really difficult thing to police. I hope they sort something out though.
Or is that just me? Feel free to leave comments below. I’d love to read other’s opinions on this.
