Originally Posted by The Red Queen
Originally Posted by snowram
Qualifying the act of playing video games with other people a "nuisance" is downright sociopathic. It would be like saying you don't need social relationship with anyone because ChatGPT is a thing.

Okay, I’d suggest we steer well clear of psychological diagnoses of other forum members.

Personally, I might also call the idea of playing with others a “nuisance”. While I can’t speak for kanisatha, that would be more than half joking in my case. But with a kernel of truth that for the time I spend playing a game I do appreciate not having to worry about the effect what I’m doing has on others or trying to balance their desires and preferences against my own, and possibly all the more so just because those are things I do worry about very much in other areas of my life and are sometimes sources of stress.

I’ll admit that I do sometimes also worry that all this says something less than flattering about my mentality and social skills, but still wouldn’t welcome unsolicited comments on that from others!
I sure do love to play games solo, but the advantages of multiplayer just can't be denied. Saying that all multiplayer is a nuisance is insulting to all those who partake in it. It can be a fun social activity where you can find and play with friends, it can be a competitive experience where you fight against something that isn't arbitrary lines of code, it can even be a creative endeavor where you can partake in the construction of something bigger than you can ever achieve (see sandbox games). I can't see any difference between video games and any other activity that can be shared with others. Having a multiplayer on a game such as BG3 makes so much sense to me since each character of a group is complementary of the others. Each person can fit a role and specialize in it, making it a different experience from having to juggle with many mechanics all at once.

By the way, wasn't this thread about turn based vs real time? I think the debate has shifted quite a bit there.