Is modern society far too competitive?

[JonathonWally]

One is that game companies are actually starting to bend to the wishes of competitive gaming leagues, which means games are officially being designed to no longer be fun or have engrossing storylines but to be a tool for tournaments. I'm not going to name any names (Halo 3).

Both the original Unreal Tournament and Quake 3 Arena came out in 1999. Both designed for those purposes.

So what you're saying is because since those games don't appeal to you and your vision of what video games should be it's bad for society that they're made?

 

[Skywalker]

I think you're coming off as a bit condescending, and that you're probably not very good at video games.

It comes across like a rant by someone who sucks at games and was always picked last in gym class.

Now I miss dodgeball

No no no, the dodgeball is supposed to miss you.

 

[Canadave]

It comes across like a rant by someone who sucks at games and was always picked last in gym class.

Now I miss dodgeball

No no no, the dodgeball is supposed to miss you.

In Soviet Russia, ball dodges you!

 

[Holdfast]

Do you think society has gotten far too competitive to the point we compete in frivolous things just to say we're the best?

I don't generally worry much about society, preferring to consider individuals. I believe that if you have happy, insightful individuals, society will take care of itself in due course.

In this case, I'm of the "no-harm, no-foul" school. If they enjoy competing, good for them. If they don't, they can stop, and find something they are good at. Or at least, something they're less worse at and therefore can enjoy. ie find where there relative competitive advantage lies, as that holds the greatest opportunity for happiness. To start with though, they need to have insight into whether they enjoy the competition or not.

 

[Rett Mikhal]

There are actually societies here on earth (I can't think of examples right now) that specifically discourage competition. I think it's been shown that these cultures have much less aggression. I wish I had studies around, but I'm lazy and can't find them at the moment.

And what have those societies achieved? Have they invented anything of comparable importance to the wheel, the printing press, the steam engine, or the telegraph? Have they sent men to the moon?

Man, I miss those times when people cared about progress. I think these days if you challenged someone to a race to Mars they'd just twitter about it.

You mean, like Star Trek geeks?

There aren't any rules about enjoying Star Trek... I mean, if you want to argue continuity until you're blue in the face you can but all continuity error arguments can be defeated by one word: Budget.

That's just bad, irresponsible parenting. Would you let your kid drop out of school to become a professional poker player?

I would like to imagine a life without offspring. But if by chance I had a child and he/she chose a life playing a game instead of a life in the pursuit of knowledge and happiness I'd just shoot myself.

Maybe it's Times New Roman when you're composing offline, but in here it's Verdana, baby!

Well not according to my Firefox settings. Times New Roman is the only font for the internet.

One is that game companies are actually starting to bend to the wishes of competitive gaming leagues, which means games are officially being designed to no longer be fun or have engrossing storylines but to be a tool for tournaments. I'm not going to name any names (Halo 3).

Both the original Unreal Tournament and Quake 3 Arena came out in 1999. Both designed for those purposes.

So what you're saying is because since those games don't appeal to you and your vision of what video games should be it's bad for society that they're made?

Not all games have to have an epic story (chess has no story, look how long that's been around). But the Quake series was never really known for story and Unreal Tournament was specifically designed for multiplayer. That's fine because that's what they want to be. My gripe is when games that had excellent stories or single player campaigns, like the first Halo (which also had the best controls, by the way) suddenly don't care about being good and just become mediocre because they put the entire budget into multiplayer.

I guess I have to take it with a grain of salt because the gaming industry is a business first, second and third, entertainment venue fourth. Still. Knights of the Old Republic is a massively multiplayer online RPG now and there's so much wrong with that I could scream.

To start with though, they need to have insight into whether they enjoy the competition or not.

Well said.

 

[sidious618]

There aren't any rules about enjoying Star Trek...

Clearly you don't frequent the new Trek film forum.

 

[JonathonWally]

Not all games have to have an epic story (chess has no story, look how long that's been around). But the Quake series was never really known for story and Unreal Tournament was specifically designed for multiplayer. That's fine because that's what they want to be. My gripe is when games that had excellent stories or single player campaigns, like the first Halo (which also had the best controls, by the way) suddenly don't care about being good and just become mediocre because they put the entire budget into multiplayer.

I guess I have to take it with a grain of salt because the gaming industry is a business first, second and third, entertainment venue fourth. Still. Knights of the Old Republic is a massively multiplayer online RPG now and there's so much wrong with that I could scream.

Halo has always been overly generic and unoriginal. It gained clamor for being the first console FPS with a good controller layout and for using warm earthtones in it's color palette instead of the typical cold blue.

 

[Caliburn24]

As far as video games specifically, I gave up caring about single player campaigns/modes almost a decade ago. Almost every game nowadays has a single player mode that is designed to be beaten easily and by the lowest common denominator of player. In the old days of the 90s there was many games that were hard to beat, and just beating them was a mark of pride. Not so with games today.

So play it on a harder difficulty you say? I don't care about those, they just make more enemies or the enemies hit harder. All that really happens is that I have to play slower and more carefully. Bah!

Multiplayer is the only thing left that is challenging and fun. No AI can match the unpredictability and cunning of a skilled human opponent. No victory against an AI gives nearly the thrill as that against another human.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Along the same lines, I'd say eating competitions, like the hot dog eating competitions. Why is this even a competition? Pie eating I could see being fun, but hot dogs? Seriously? It just encourages bad eating habits, and it's gross. Whatever happened to just taking time and enjoying food?

 

[Amaris]

Along the same lines, I'd say eating competitions, like the hot dog eating competitions. Why is this even a competition? Pie eating I could see being fun, but hot dogs? Seriously? It just encourages bad eating habit, and it's gross. Whatever happened to just taking time and enjoying food?

The problem I have with eating competitions is that a lot of that food gets wasted. I realize it's all for fun, but when you've got millions of people in the U.S. alone going hungry, and thousands upon thousands of hot dogs, pies, hamburgers, just about any food item that will be half eaten, wasted entirely, well, that just seems like an asinine thing to do.

 

[Kestra]

There are actually societies here on earth (I can't think of examples right now) that specifically discourage competition. I think it's been shown that these cultures have much less aggression. I wish I had studies around, but I'm lazy and can't find them at the moment.

And what have those societies achieved? Have they invented anything of comparable importance to the wheel, the printing press, the steam engine, or the telegraph? Have they sent men to the moon?

“In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”

Fuck if I know. Good thing I didn't say something like "these other cultures are superior to ours in all ways and clearly competition is bad!"

Switzerland does have some pretty awesome chocolate, though.

 

[Amaris]

I don't know, I think the cuckoo clock is pretty good! I mean, look at the craftsmanship!

 

[STR]

Pie eating I could see being fun, but hot dogs? Seriously? It just encourages bad eating habits, and it's gross.

Gross? I know someone who won a pie eating contest. It wasn't a fake whipped-cream pie either. It was a cherry pie eating contest. Do you have any idea where cherries end up after a contest like that? She was snorting them out for 5 minutes afterwards.

Digressing, people are hyper-competitive because that's what they were raised to be. I worked a sales job for 3 years, and all of management are Type A's with either a superiority or inferiority complex that motivates them to push themselves extremely hard in a belief that they have 100% control over their life. It's kind of interesting to watch from the outside. From the inside it's f'ing hell.

 

[RJDiogenes]

There's definitely too much competition. In a civilized society, cooperation and appreciation should be the dominant philosophies.

There are actually societies here on earth (I can't think of examples right now) that specifically discourage competition. I think it's been shown that these cultures have much less aggression. I wish I had studies around, but I'm lazy and can't find them at the moment.

It would be great to study them and learn to apply their philosophy to modern culture and business-- it would be nice to see seminars not focusing on turning people into ever-more-efficient and dehumanized machines.

 

[Alpha Romeo]

I think all alcoholic drinking is pointless.

Clearly you're not trying hard enough!!

Seriously, who cares? If you don't like to compete, don't. Otherwise its a completely normal aspect of life.

 

[Rett Mikhal]

Digressing, people are hyper-competitive because that's what they were raised to be. I worked a sales job for 3 years, and all of management are Type A's with either a superiority or inferiority complex that motivates them to push themselves extremely hard in a belief that they have 100% control over their life. It's kind of interesting to watch from the outside. From the inside it's f'ing hell.

Really, all problems with modern society can be traced back to the evils of management. What do they TEACH in business school?

I think all alcoholic drinking is pointless.

Clearly you're not trying hard enough!!

Clearly the thousands of dollars I've saved by never wasting it on booze proves I'm trying just hard enough.

Seriously, who cares? If you don't like to compete, don't. Otherwise its a completely normal aspect of life.

It's all in the pursuit of knowledge.

 

[JonathonWally]

Clearly you're not trying hard enough!!

Clearly the thousands of dollars I've saved by never wasting it on booze proves I'm trying just hard enough.

It's fun waking up in a random place next to random people who's name you don't know.

 

[scotpens]

Switzerland does have some pretty awesome chocolate, though.

I don't know, I think the cuckoo clock is pretty good! I mean, look at the craftsmanship!

And don't forget the Swiss Army knife. I wonder, though -- how tough can an army be whose official knife has a wine opener on it?

 

[STR]

Digressing, people are hyper-competitive because that's what they were raised to be. I worked a sales job for 3 years, and all of management are Type A's with either a superiority or inferiority complex that motivates them to push themselves extremely hard in a belief that they have 100% control over their life. It's kind of interesting to watch from the outside. From the inside it's f'ing hell.

Really, all problems with modern society can be traced back to the evils of management. What do they TEACH in business school?

Not nearly enough ethics and philosophy. Not that either of us should pretend that any of that would really sink in. Most people go through the motions of college just to get the diploma and learn nothing aside from how to play beer pong at a competitive level. Little actual knowledge is learned, which is why most of those manager's are idiots without the ability to do basic math, despite the fact that finite math and/or econometrics were a required part of their major.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Pie eating I could see being fun, but hot dogs? Seriously? It just encourages bad eating habits, and it's gross.

Gross? I know someone who won a pie eating contest. It wasn't a fake whipped-cream pie either. It was a cherry pie eating contest. Do you have any idea where cherries end up after a contest like that? She was snorting them out for 5 minutes afterwards.

I wasn't saying pie-eating was gross. I was saying hot-dog eating was. You took it out of context.