Monday, September 13, 2010

Mini-Cast: Rage Quitting





To rage quit is to just leave the game because you're either angry at another player, you're about to lose, or for a lot of reasons! But is it ever justifiable? Let's find out on this Gamers Corner!

I'm sure everyone reading or listening at one point has rage quit a game. You're playing online against some guys, and they are slaughtering your team with no hope in sight! And it doesn't help that the other people on your team have the combined IQ of a Cicada. But it's not just restricted to multi-player, is it? I mean how many times have you been playing a game, went without saving for a while, and then died? Now you've got to go through every bit of level you just went through! Screw that!

These are all pretty understandable reasons for rage-quitting, but should it be done?

Well, yes and no.

Yes because there are absolutely reasons to just leave a game.
And no because sometimes doing it is just being a jerk.

You can rage-quit whenever you want in singleplayer, since it's only affecting you. You aren't potentially ruining the game for anyone else, because you're the only one. So rage-quit by yourself all you want.

As for multiplayer, there are absolutely valid reasons to drop out of a match. If a player is harassing you, you certainly don't have to sit there and take it. Most games now have a mute feature, though, so you don't have to really quit to get away from morons like that.

If people are glitching, or cheating, or otherwise proving that they need third-party, outside help in order to win because they are some spoiled only-child who is used to always getting what they want then yeah, I'd quit too. Playing against cheaters isn't fun.

And there's lag! You can't really blame someone for quitting when the game is barely playable because the host is using a toaster for a modem.

So when is it not OK?

Really, only in one instance: When you're just losing. And I don't mean losing like I mentioned before, where your team-mates have the combined mental capacity of belly button lint. I mean: Just losing. You always see it near the end of a round where the other team is about to lose and a bunch of them drop out just before it ends. Guys, let's be honest here, who cares about your win/loss ratio? Do you think girls will be impressed by it? No, they won't. Get real, and lose with some dignity. Because when you just quit like that, you're doing the gaming equivalent of taking the ball and going home like a whining child.

Winning is great. Who doesn't love to win? But some of the best games I've played were games that were lost by a slim margin. The tension, the suspense, the final fight for victory! That is way more exhilarating then winning by a large margin.

But even if you're losing by a large margin, and it's just because the other team is legitimately better then you, just suck it up for a round! Some games, like Starcraft, allow for an opportunity to forfeit early when both players know you're doomed. But if you send out an attack force early and it get's destroyed, don't just quit because your only strategy failed. Grow up and stick it out! Try something new! Have fun with it! It's a game, after all.

But what do you think?
You think rage-quitting is always permissible?
Or perhaps there is never any excuse for it?
Or maybe you have some example or reason to rage-quit that I missed?
Let me know!

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