Last week I wrote about how gamers have started getting away from console gaming and social gaming in general. Gaming has transferred itself from arcades to homes, and from homes to online, in a matter of a few years rather than decades.
What online gaming has done to social gaming may be irreversible–it has taken gaming out of the more social environment of the home and placed it in a virtual zone that is nearly unreachable except to the single player. Along with becoming more and more online (and yet more and more isolating), gaming has become uber-competitive. The fallacy here is that games must be won to be enjoyed.
But gaming does not have to be competitive to be fun. Nor does it have to be won to be enjoyed. That is like saying that food has to be eaten to be enjoyed–and anybody who’s ever stood outside the kitchen smelling cookies baking can tell you food can be enjoyed without ever being eaten. Sometimes, it’s the gossamer touch of experiencing happiness that is all you need, like the scent of cookies wafting toward your nose.
My Social Gaming Anecdotes
Some of the best times I had with friends back in the day was just getting together and beating face on games like Soul Calibur and Super Smash Brothers Melee–me and three or four guy friends, all madly tapping buttons to do fighting moves and directing our characters around the screen.
More shouting and laughing went on than cussing and ditching the controllers aside, thankfully, and we all managed to have fun. It wasn’t about winning so much as just playing around (even if we did have some mini-competitions going on). The most prevalent emotion that veils those memories is camaraderie; I knew these guys well and we were all great friends, both within the games and outside them.
These days, I don’t get together with that old group as much ( 🙁 ), but I do play some cooperative video games with my boyfriend. Playing some Gauntlet II: Dark Legacy or Marvel Ultimate Alliance gets us working together, and we have a lot of fun whomping up on imaginary bad guys. ^_^ Not only do I get to spend time with my love, but I get to show him how my knack for screwing around and not getting the mission done can actually lead to finding secrets within games. 😛
Getting Back that Gamin’ Feeling
Because of my experiences, I don’t think social gaming is lost to us forever. As long as we have real-life friends who can come over to our real-life dwellings, and as long as we still eat real-life food with these friends, we can still game socially. Here is how I think social gaming can be won back from the brink:
Building a Social Gaming Night
- First, invite a few friends to get together at your house/apartment. However many is comfortable for your dwelling–no need to have 20 people at your apartment if you can only seat 3, right?
- Make or get easy party food, like nachos, wraps, chicken fingers, vegetable trays with dips, mini pizzas, etc. Pretty much any finger food you and your friends like would be great. (Good food + gaming = good times guaranteed.) And don’t forget drinks–ask ahead of time what everyone would like to drink so that you have it on hand, if possible. (Alcohol isn’t preferred if you’re going to be using kinetic controllers…just sayin’.)
- Make sure you have comfortable seating for everyone, or at least clear floor space in front of the TV you’re going to be using for game night.
- Bring out some of your best multiplayer console games. If you don’t have any games like that, renting or borrowing some games would be the next best option. Great options for multiplayer game parties would be:
Conducting Your Gaming Night
One of the best things you can do is to keep your computers and phones off during gaming night. I know, I know, we’re all welded to our personal gadgets these days, but just for a night, put them all in a safe place away from stray gamers’ flying feet and hands, and just enjoy being with your friends in the same room. Twitter, Facebook, and the rest of the Interwebs will not miss you for a few hours while you enjoy yourself, and you’ll be much more fun and have much more fun if you’re completely engaged in whatever’s going on. (Take it from me, just writing a status about what you’re doing is lots less fun)
Second, if you have more players than can play all together at once, make up rules for taking turns on the controllers. With my old group of gaming buddies, we used to take turns on fighting games with the rule of “Loser of this fight gives the controller to the one who isn’t playing.” Whatever makes sense for your group and for the game you’re playing, just make sure everyone gets an equal chance to play.
Third, switch games every so often. Smash Brothers is awesome, but not for five hours. Change up the game discs about every 45 minutes to an hour or so, just to keep things fresh, unless you all are really having fun with the one you’re playing. This way, nobody gets bored or tired of the games, and the group keeps trying new things.
Fourth, resist the urge to go online with your gaming console. When you have four or more real live players in the same room, who needs the online world?!
Fifth, keep paper towels and wipes handy for drink/food spills and greasy hands. You might not think you’ll need them–you will.
Sixth, make a rule: “No drinks on top of the console/TV/anything electronic.” Speaking from sad experience here. 🙁
Lastly: make sure that you’re not keeping anybody out too late. Between jobs, family, and personal time, not everyone has the ability to game all night–be considerate of each other’s time, and you’ll be more likely to get another gaming night together sooner rather than never.
Summary
If we work at it, social console gaming can come back in a big way. Not only is it freer entertainment than paying to play an online game every month, but it’s a great way to get back in touch with your favorite examples of humanity in a relaxed setting. It’s just more fun with everyone in the same room!