
All People have a right to enjoy themselves just like you! So play nice.
Last night, I was playing a new game I purchased on Steam. While I was playing I noticed that my face was hot to the touch, my shoulders were tense. Yes, as you probably guessed, I was stressed. I was playing Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege. I was the last man standing defending the hostage on my team of five. But, something was strange about it all. How did I get here? I hadn’t fired a single shot and yet I was the last man standing on my team. I noticed my breathing getting heavier as I began to search for the remainder of the opposing team when I did what I felt was necessary. I held my breath, and took my first shot of the round. I shot the surveillance camera directly in front of me when one of my former team members comes on through voice chat saying “What are you F****** Stupid?!!…..Oh! This guy is a level 2! Hahahaha!”
Well, even though I gave away my position by firing on the camera, being an Aspie we think differently in terms of strategy than that of NT’s. My strategy in doing this was that I was taking out an opportunity for the opposing team to spy on my whereabouts, and hopefully flush the last man standing on their team out to where I could stage an ambush instead of searching for them, and being caught off guard. It backfired, and I was killed. It turns out not many of my former team members liked this strategy considering most of them like to jump like chimpanzees, run around faster than cheetahs, and kill with the efficiency of a Special Forces Op. They criticized me brutally for the actions I had taken. They made me feel like I was not worthy to be a part of the team.
What did I do after that you might ask? Well, I got offline, and went to my favorite social network, Reddit. I sought out the counsel of my fellow aspergians on the r/aspergers subreddit. I vented to them on the toxic/cruel landscape that we know as online multiplayer games. I was advise on numerous things such as games I should try, as well as the support, and the fact that I wasn’t alone in my frustrations with not being adequate enough in skill to play first person shooters (FPS) as some in our community.
So, I set out to do some research of my own. I came across several like-minded individuals in the aspergers community. One was writing an article on “Disabilities and Gaming”. He said he was a fellow aspie, and that he has a condition called “Dyspraxia”. I was intrigued, so I looked it up.
Have you ever had one of those “light bulb” moments where you were seemingly in the dark on something in your life, and all of the sudden the lights just seem to come on? Well friends, This was one of those moments! I am not condoning Dr.Reddit or Dr.Google, but, I, all of the sudden had a reason for why for all these years could not play guitar because of coordination, I couldn’t remember control schemes on the more complex PC or console games, I can’t seem to keep up with most on video games, I need to make a ton of lists to remember stuff that most can remember in their head, and I am very clumsy. It has been described as being clinically clumsy. The actual clinical definition describes dyspraxia as limitations on movement, and speech. Basically your brain is working faster than the body which obviously would affect the ability to play video games competitively as well as the normal day to day functions of life. Although just as being on the spectrum is different for everyone of us, dyspraxia is no different. Some will have problems with depth perception. Some with sequences in video games. Some with verbal speech, and so on.
Anyways, I just wanted to share with you my experience in gaming online with toxic people who think that just because we are behind the curtain of the internet, even if we are a “rookie” or if we aren’t. We all are different and shouldn’t be treated in such a way that we feel we aren’t worthy to lick the dirt off of their boots. We all have a right to enjoy ourselves in a safe non-judgemental atmosphere. So, next time you’re playing a game, remember you are talking to a real human on the other side who has feelings so, slow down, don’t take it too seriously. It’s just a game after all, and show some compassion towards others, build your team up rather than tearing them all down limb from limb.
Take care everyone,
Until next time,
-Matthew Perisho