When you’re playing games with other people, there is always a high possibility that arguments will occur. Sometimes these disputes could be over who gets to be what character and some can even extend to accusations over cheating. With all that said, I felt the need to address these issues further. Below are my 5 annoying scenarios of local multiplayer gaming.
1. “It’s my house, I’m Player One!”
Anyone who’s anyone knew of this scenario fairly well.
“Mom, I’m going over my friend’s house to play games!”
You trudge on over there, your friend lets you in and you rush to the location of their console and pick up the controller all ready for an epic adventure.
“What are you doing? That’s my controller, I’m Player One!”
It’s always disheartening to hear that when you play games with friends, yet you’re guilty of this too. No silly outsider will have ultimate control of my console! At the same time, being Player Two, or worse, at your friend’s house makes you feel powerless. You’ll be playing Golden Eye, or Super Smash Bros and your favourite map is overlooked in favor of the worse stage in the whole game. This is all because you weren’t Player One. However, that’s not even the worst of it! The horrifying instance of being Player Two leads me onto the next law…
2. “I’m using the official controller, but you can use the MadCatz one!”
This isn’t necessarily restricted to one particular make or model, but it point stands for itself. Why do you never get the good controller? That isn’t to say that the non-official controllers were bad, not even by a long shot. However, there is something about the controller designed for the console that is so much more appealing.
Official controllers are always the best3. “Can I be so-and-so character today?”, “No, that’s my character”
The restriction imposed upon any second player, whether they’re a family member or just a friend, is a common one. You always respond with the usual comment when they utterly destroy you in competition.
“But you’ve been practicing with that character, use another one and play me again!”
This generally ends in one scenario.
“No”
There is a blunt refusal to choose some other character in fear of defeat. Respect diminishes in an instant with this response. Remember that day when you finally got that game and you sit down and practice until you’re good enough to defeat your competitor? Well, it’s been 5 years since the game was released and by now everyone else had moved on. Why didn’t parents understand the plight of a Player Two gamer?
Friends can be so cruel4. “Stop using your own character, it’s not fair!”
The most heinous of acts when playing over your friend’s house is he / she will start using custom made characters to get the win over you. By today’s standards, created characters can only be so powerful. Back in the day, a custom character could, and would be the most awe-inspiring character to ever grace whatever game you were playing. And would they be fair to you, their so-called friend? Of course not, they would abuse that character to no end.
You’ll also get that friend who tries to be oh-so clever and customizes a pre-defined character, then tries to select it without you noticing. This is most apparent on beat ‘em up’s and once they get that flawless victory pose, they lie to you upon questioning such an overpowered character and state it’s a standard character! Such slander!
5. “Stop looking at my screen!”
This particular topic was incredibly controversial back in the day. I say back in the day because no one played online then. Online gaming wasn’t even available at this time, and instead Split-screen was the way to go. Even now, people play on one TV, yet the problem always persists of “screen watching”. We’re all guilty of having done this in one way or another. You’ll always find two categories of “screen watchers”. The first is the straight out denial “watchers”. These are the worst kind of people. You accuse them when they’ve killed you before you’ve even navigated that corner. They respond with the terrible lie of:
“I didn’t! I’ve never screen watched in my life!”
For the rest of the game, you keep taking sweeping glances towards your now mortal enemy to catch him in the act. Everyone knows that he cheated. He just didn’t have the care to admit it.
The second scenario is the grinning admittance of looking at your screen. There’s no real verbal response when accused, just a grin and a snide laugh to indicate their scamming ways. You feel hurt, yet not as hurt as those that lie about their screen watching antics. Those people are just the absolute worst!
Did you have to live your life with these burdens, or were you an only child and friendless? The hardships of a young gamer can be so stressful. Let us know your experiences down in the comments section below!
