Game Brain: Mic it up, please

By Brian Diefenbach
Western Herald

Humanity has come a long way in communication from scratching lines into clay. We can receive text, pictures, and video instantaneously from a friend halfway around the globe on a device that fits into your hand.

So why is it that some online gamers have such a hard time communicating?

Microphone headsets are the standard communication devices for multiplayer on PCs and consoles. Some PC gamers kick it old school and type all their teamwork and trash talk out. Not as efficient, but better than nothing.

Classic deathmatch-type gameplay is more forgiving of the lack of communication. When all you have to do is kill the enemy team members, there’s not a whole lot you can do for your team, except brag and order them around.

Then you have games like “Team Fortress 2” and “Left 4 Dead” that require coordination between teammates. One can only contribute so much to the team by killing the enemy. There comes a time when you have to actually look out for someone other than yourself.

On consoles like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the microphone headset is your only link to real-time communication. It allows you to hang out with a group of friends in “1 vs. 100” and share answers, or coordinate the game plan for the night.

Because of the mic, I’ve learned who my Xbox Live friends are as people. I may not know what they look like, but I know their personalities. They don’t make rude noises into the pickup. They’re polite enough to let the rest of us know when they have to leave for the bathroom or talk to their spouse. In all, they keep things polite and fun.

In our lingo, there are “mic’rs” and “no-mic’rs.” The mic’rs are, of course, players that have their headsets plugged in. They receive all transmissions from other players (unless they’ve blocked a particular player. The no-mic’rs don’t even have their headsets plugged in; they can still hear faint murmurs over their TV speakers, but are otherwise completely cut off.

Just because someone has a headset plugged in doesn’t mean they are talking. Sometimes, the player is a quiet person who just doesn’t feel like talking. Maybe they accidentally left the transmit switch off, so their voice isn’t being heard by anyone else.

On the other hand, joining a room full of mic’d up players can be intimidating. There’s always a chance that the “mic’rs” are bunch of bullies who enjoy ridiculing new players and kicking them from games for no reason.

At the very least, a fully mic’d up game lobby usually means that most of the players know each other. The new guy coming in should prepare for a whoopin’, because the friends are likely to all stay on one side.

In my group of friends, “no-mic’r” is tantamount to having cooties in 2nd grade. We do not want them on our team. When you have zombies rearranging your insides in “Left 4 Dead,” you want a teammate that can hear your cries for help.

Very rarely do we allow no-mic’rs on the opposite team. It’s an application of the golden rule; the other team is going to be frustrated with a useless teammate and will give up on playing against us. In my experience, you’ll have a much more satisfying game if you treat your opponents courteously.

You don’t have to say something every second, but there’s no excuse for not having a headset plugged in for online team-based play. Most commercial USB headsets are compatible with the PlayStation 3. If you’re feeling extra swanky, you can upgrade to Bluetooth.

Headsets come standard with the Xbox 360 Elite, and are a good investment at $20 retail. Comfort and quality vary, but off-brand models that cost a bit more than Microsoft’s standard model are usually worth the extra cost.

To be fair, my friends and I will politely ask a no-mic’r to plug in their headset. If they don’t comply within a few seconds, we give them “Das Boot” and kick them from the lobby. If we’re feeling a little more juvenile, we’ll ask them what our favorite cereal is. The answer, of course, is Kix.

An exception is made for friends who are splitscreening, or sharing the same console and TV. Ideally, both players should have working headsets, but this doesn’t always happen. Splitscreening itself is a whole other inconvenience to team play, but we are willing to cut our friends some slack.

There are a few situations where no-mic’rs are unavoidable. When someone unexpectedly leaves a game, chances are their vacancy is taken up by a no-mic’r. A few games like “Left 4 Dead 2” have a voting process for kicking players out of the game, but this is the only recourse for teams afflicted by no-mic’rs.

In the end, it’s all about common courtesy. Most people play online to have fun with their friends and keep things civil. My friends and I have little tolerance for non-communicators AND verbally abusive players. It’s all fun and games, but we like to win occasionally, so some team coordination would be nice.

If you don’t use your headset and still manage to single-handedly win the game for my team, maybe I won’t be so hard on you.

Brian Diefenbach, a copy editor and columnist for the Western Herald, is a senior majoring in graphics and print science. For more Game Brain, visit WesternHerald.com.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=14079

Posted by heraldstaff on Jan 27 2010. Filed under A & E, Weekend Scene. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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