The Pain of Mediocrity
I went to the Halo 3 party tonight pumped. I was all set to shoot some fools and rock some heads. I returned downtrodden and beat down. The problem was not that I got rocked. I did alright. Sure, in my frustration, I insisted that I “sucked,” but that was not really true. I consistently held my own against players who far outmatched my experience and talent. The problem is I never won – except when I was on a team with the best player against a team that outnumbered us (a boon when you are playing to a pre-determined kill score). After awhile, I became frustrated with my inability to break past the glass ceiling of 4-6th place, and I had to stop playing.
In some ways, it is easier to be the ‘noob’. You suck, everyone knows you suck, and the bottom-most place on the scoreboard is warmly reserved for you. You accept it gratefully and cheer with the group when you get the odd headshot. No one expects you to win, least of all yourself, so the bitter thrall of disappointment has little sway over your enjoyment.
Conversely, if you are one of the skilled players, it is inevitable you will find yourself in the lead some portion of the time. You might not win every round, but you will win some, and many of the lost rounds will be close battles. You experience the pain of defeat, but it is matched by the excitement of victory as well.
On the other hand, if you are above the ‘noob’ threshold but below the ‘ownage’ one, things are much rougher. You will never lose, but you will never win. You will dominate the ‘noob’ players, but the skilled ones will handily best you most or all of the time. You are doomed to struggle desperately but ineffectually.
Maybe I am just too competitive. I grant that possibility.
I might also suggest that Nintendo realized the pain of mediocrity a long time ago, and they have been taking pains to remove the sting of that fate for a long time. Games like Super Mario Kart, with its red shells and star powers, and Super Smash Bros., with its hammers and beam swords, go to great lengths to even out the playing field between the skilled and the mediocre. It even gives the new players an advantage from time to time.
The reason Nintendo’s philosophy works, when it is working (not all of their games pull it off), is that it rewards effort along with skill, but not so much as to make skill useless. Skilled players will always have an advantage, no matter how lucky the new players might get. Their advantage over the “middle” playing field is less distinct. If I mix my solid driving skills with a few, well-aimed red shells, there is a good chance I will snatch a victory or two from an expert driver in Mario Kart. Similarly, my friend might be outmatched in a straight fight in Smash Bros., but with the help of a lucky hammer or Bob-omb, he is sure to beat me – or at least cleanly kill me – a few times.
Most Halo parties deconstruct to a few seasoned veterans farming kills off the rest of the party. Nintendo games deconstruct to a back-and-forth tango between veterans and casual players. I believe that is the genius behind Nintendo’s games – especially Super Smash Bros. Melee/Brawl, a game series I am convinced will always hold the top spot for parties around my place.
lizardlad01 said,
January 12, 2009 at 12:31 am
Too true!
furrp said,
January 12, 2009 at 2:51 pm
When my niece was 5, she used to handily beat me at Wii sports.
cid182 said,
January 14, 2009 at 9:36 am
I’ll disagree here, Mike. Halo does provide the tools neccesary to create a balanced experience for everyone via handicaps. Granted, if you’re playing with highly competitive people who only like to pwn n00bz then I think your experience is shaded by the company you keep. But in a party setting, when it becomes obvious who the most skilled players are, handicaps should be activated (and adjusted through-out the night) to make it fun for all involved.
There should also be a focus on balanced teams, both in skill and numbers. There are alternative game types (like Rocket Race) which don’t require much “standard” skill to do well in. Even the more typical objective based games (CTF, Assault, King of the Hill, Oddball, etc) you still need people to carry the bomb/flag/ball or drive the carrier around – my point is you can lack the shooter skills and still play an important roll for the team.
nhiemenz said,
January 14, 2009 at 11:18 am
I’ll concur with cid. Even when I was at my suckiest at Halo, I won the first king of the hill match I ever played. Capture the Flag was also one of my favorites, as a new player can have a lot of fun (and success) grabbing a dropped or unattended flag and making a run to the finish line. I almost always scored at least a point in Capture the Flag matches, and it was the most satisfying to KNOW, absolutely, that you helped bring the team to victory.
Mike said,
January 15, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Mostly, this was just my personal experience of being frustrated at not breaking through the skill barrier. Then, thinking about it, I realized that I seemed to have much better times being mediocre at more forgiving games. Or maybe I’m just naturally better on Nintendo.