subject: How to Become a Great Online Gamer [print this page] Playing a new game can be pretty daunting some times, mainly in terms of messing things up for other people. Playing a single player game at home and making mistakes is not a problem, but when playing online you can potentially cause problems for other players based on your lack of experience. But making mistakes is apart of online gaming for everyone, newbies or pros alike. Never let this fear stop you from having fun. This article will give you the in's and out's of online gaming so that you can start with the confidence you need to continue on.
Learning to play offline is the first thing you should do when preparing to play an online game. You should definitely read any manuals available that come with the game for additional information. Or else, someone may say to you to "RTFM". Do you know what "RTFM" means? It means "Read The F****** Manual" and it's used by gamers to newcomers when they ask questions that are easily answered by reading the manual such as: "What do I do here?" or "Where do I go next?"
It wouldn't hurt to look up some game walkthroughs or online guides pertaining to you game of choice, prior to jumping into it. Spending even 20 mins reading a guide can differentiate you from a complete newbie to a player that appears to be experienced. And you could learn more from game specific Usenet newsgroups. In other words, you're going to need to read up a bit. Some of the information you would need to look up would be, how to create, control and equip your character with the best kinds of gear, and general strategies for playing in the game of your choice. Your gaming peers will definitely appreciate it if you take the time to research beforehand.
Learning how to play the game is definitely important, but so is learning the games graphical interface Having an understanding of where everything is located in the game, will speed things up for you, and generally make you a better player, and much more fun to play with. No one wants to wait for you to search for an inventory panel or message screen in a game when the location of these items is obvious to everyone else.
In certain games, dying can happen quite often, it's best to not let pressure get to you and keep your cool when it does. A character dying in a game is inevitable at certain points, and unless you willingly let go of a lose-lose situation, you'll run the risk of holding the game up for everyone else. If the game is over, the game is over, there's no need to prolong losing battles. There always another round to play. Make sure you do your best, but don't hold out waiting for a miracle to take place, let the game end and start a new round so everyone can continue playing.
On that note, do not take dying personally, everyone does it, no matter how good you are. Also remember not to take the game to seriously, it is just a game afterall. Whenever you do die, make sure you learn something from it, even if it's something as simple as taking into account how your opponent killed you. In order to learn to succeed you must first learn to fail, by learning from your mistakes, you will learn to avoid making them in the future. This will greatly improve your gameplay.
It's also very important to ensure that your computer is up to par in regards to minimum requirements to run the game at optimal levels. Don't try to play an online game with a slow computer or slow Internet connection. In fact, if you're still using dial up, maybe a offline game would be best for you. A slow processor and connection will ensure instant death because other players aren't going to politely wait for their own defeat. They're going to squash you like a bug.
Adding a good gaming video card, with a fast processor and a good amount of ram will ensure your pc is ready to tackle your favorite games.
Also something important to take into account is your control setup. If playing a PC game, it's important to have a good keyboard and a gaming mouse with plenty of buttons that will allow you to keybind all your important abilities or weapons. It would also be best to invest in a pc gamepad that is designed to help in the game of your choice. Wireless PC gamepads are available as well to cut down on the clutter, and there is no substitute for using a pc steering wheel when playing a racing game. There are pc gamepads available with many buttons that are designed to be used with FPS's, MMO's and RTS games.
Make sure to take these suggestions into account, as they will help you go from being a complete newbie to expert status very quickly. And remember to go easy on the newbies that you encounter when you've "made" it yourself.
At the end of the day no matter what you do, make sure you have fun playing, and don't think of it as a chore. Remember it's just a game..
