test content
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc

How Star Trek in-game community is like a public restroom

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
So, you need to use the restroom. You find a public restroom, and you go inside. There are already some people in there. You don't know them, you don't even want to talk to them. Maybe you'll say "Hi", but it seems awkward.
You do your "business", avoid eye contact, wash your hands, and leave. You never see those people again, and even if you did, you wouldn't recognize them.

This is like the auto-team instances in the game. You go in, sometimes there's someone inside, or sometimes someone comes in after you. You all have the same goal, but you don't speak to each other, or even look at each other. You do your "business", warp out, and you leave the team.
There's a good chance you wont see them again, and even if you did, you wouldn't recognize them.

Does this seem like a fair analogy?
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Haha, very apt analogy :D

    You also sometimes get the awkwardness of also meeting them in the next place you go to (i.e. the next system on the Patrol mission).
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    haha, not a bad analogy
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Good point!

    Although it's a clean restroom and the people could be (my guess is they are) friendly there is really no need to talk to eachother.

    Nothing lost when you make a mess, instantly finding a new cubicle if you're not happy with your current one,

    My guess it is because it is not a team effort. No LFP is needed (except infected etc) Therefore no demands are being made to be a good team player. you can just sit in your cubicle and do your business, or even read the newspaper during, who cares...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    that is called a "false analogy"

    you don't have to play

    you do have to go to the bathroom

    one is a game, the other one iis where they put a toliet and a sink for people to clean up

    avoid eye contact? there are no "eyes" or people
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    attacko wrote:
    that is called a "false analogy"

    you don't have to play

    you do have to go to the bathroom

    one is a game, the other one iis where they put a toliet and a sink for people to clean up

    avoid eye contact? there are no "eyes" or people

    You don't have to use a public restroom, either. As for the having no "eye contact" in the game, that translates into not clicking on your teammates ship and looking at it, or examining his character.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Good point!
    you can just sit in your cubicle and do your business, or even read the newspaper during, who cares...

    Great addition to the analogy. Other people in the restroom can still do their business without your help.

    Just like in-game, you can sit at the warp-in point and do nothing, or just follow your team and not fire a single shot. Doesn't really matter, just like in restrooms, they don't need your help.

    They might get annoyed if you're standing and watching them pee, just like in-game they might get annoyed if you just sit there.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    "You don't have to use a public restroom, either"

    really?

    you mean you can explode or get arrested?

    i suppose so
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    If I see someone in battle with more than one ship I target the nearest ship and take them out
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    i hope that last line is not made into a bathroom analogy
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    If someone slides down the sub-space urinal rift, Im gonna throw up! :mad:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOfrPu5c93s
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Close analogy, but you left out the annoying foot-tappers and throat clearers.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Ehh...

    Sometimes this is true; but only when I don't bother to initiate some sort of conversation. If I'm feeling talkative often people will open up more. I think the key thing is everyone is (initially) just aiming to 'get the job done' - which honestly is nothing new to MMOs* - and if no one breaks the ice, then people tend to stay silent.

    It's not so much a public restroom imo, but rather any public place - if you go there and there's people around, and you say nothing, no one is going to say anything to you either. It doesn't mean people don't want to be friendly, but perhaps they just aren't sure what to say - after all; they don't know you from anyone else. You could be a complete TRIBBLE for all they know. So the key is, make an effort to be 'known'. The more people get comfortable, the more likely you are to have a real team that talks and actually fights as a group.

    I'm not saying it'll always work - some people aren't really wanting to be conversational to begin with; but if you don't make the effort, then it's pretty much a guarantee the team is going to stay quiet and no one is going to really bother to get to know anyone else.


    *This is important I feel. A lot of people, maybe out of nostalgia, or maybe forgetting they had made friends in unlikely ways in other games, seem to assume that it was becuase another game 'required' a team that that happened. In my experience, even a game that requires you team to do things can still easily end up in the 'public restroom' zone.

    FFXI for example: You HAVE to have a team if you want to level, barring a couple specific jobs. There's no way around it, mobs are far, far too difficult to take solo for most people. That didn't stop me from encountering many, many 'silent' teams. Some worked well, some failed horribly, but until someone spoke up and people got friendly they stayed quiet. - EQ1 as well had the same thing. (Which makes sense, FFXI is kind of "EQ1 with Chocobos" in a lot of ways.)

    WoW was the same, most instance runs, at least when I was playing, would end up pretty darn quiet until someone spoke up and broke the ice. Well and mostly the same with WAR too (though oddly to a lesser degree for whatever reason; I'm not sure I could explain 'why' though).

    Both of the above are why I ended up with a static group of friends through most of both - cut down on issues with bad players, kept us from dealing with harassment because our builds weren't 'ideal', and of course made leveling a lot of fun. (Especially in FFXI... holy TRIBBLE that game would have sucked without them... ><)



    So the TL;DR version is - if you don't like quiet teams - speak up, try to engage them in a little banter; be friendly. It won't always get you responses, but it's got a lot better chance than you also remaining quiet. It doesn't matter how the game is put together if people aren't willing to at least try to get to know each other.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    I predict people will talk more if they run at higher difficulty levels. On normal, they may be quiet because they are actually asleep, or household pets.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    i like the analogy...shame that, like a public bathroom, someone comes along and cruds all over the toilet seat (people ****** your analogy for no good reason).

    i think the issue with the auto group is that there is no communication pre-requisite so its basically let the game auto group, do your business and leave

    in other MMO's without this feature, there was some mandatory dialog required with your PUG prior to grouping, so that forced icebreakers, and subsequently encouraged more conversation within the pug after the group is formed.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Pretty interesting Analgy.

    And Attacko is here trolling to? Guess he got tired of where ever he was trolling before.. :rolleyes:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Naevius wrote:
    I predict people will talk more if they run at higher difficulty levels. On normal, they may be quiet because they are actually asleep, or household pets.

    From what I've seen in higher difficulty levels, I don't think anything will change. At this point, the higher difficulty just increases the NPC's hitpoints and resistances, so the battles take much longer.

    Even more reason to put a weight on your keyboard to make your ship keep turning in a circle, set auto-fire, and alt-tab out and surf the web for 10 minutes.
Sign In or Register to comment.