Throttle Back on the FPS Criticism
You Real Soldiers: Take a Breath for a Minute About Us FPS Gamers!
by Spawn of Shooter
I wanna take a minute to tell hard core real world combat veterans to throttle back on laying hate on FPS gamers. Here’s why — not all of us think BF3 and MW3 is “real combat.” In fact, MW3 is the furthest thing from it. You can’t assume all of us think that way any more than off-base civilians should assume all military personnel are crusty warriors or for that matter that all infantry guys and doorkickers deserve awards for valor. There are douches everywhere. I think we should keep things in perspective.
This poster appeared a while back on Gruntworks — I know, because I think Gruntworks is awesome. Go read some of the comments from people on this poster though. It’s like they believe we’re all complete morons without a clue.
Listen to this for a minute: some of us have grown up our entire lives with a country at war. There are guys enlisting now who were in 1st and 2nd grade when those planes hit. You think we’re all clueless? What’s really funny is that some of you were just like us before you signed your contract (insert lisping guy with braces voice) “GUYS I WANNA BE A SNIPERRRR!”
My dad took me to see that movie Restrepo when it first came out. I went with my uncle again later. I was going to watch it a third time later, but I’d just gotten back from Kody and Wyatt’s dad’s funeral. He was killed in Afghanistan last year. I’m not stupid and my friends aren’t either. We know that real combat is the closest thing to real combat. We get that it’s a game and we play it that way.
Maybe you should ask yourselves if some of your frustrations about what you think gamers think is based on your own frustration. And also, you should make it clear what your background is. If you were a grunt, as my “Uncle Bulldog” was, you have a right to talk down to us. If you spent your whole time over there directing airplanes in a control tower on an airfield in Kuwait or working on the engines of an aircraft carrier, you prolly don’t have much more of an idea about real combat than we do. That isn’t disrespect for any military people but an Air Force band player doesn’t need to get all dramatic with us about what it’s like to have richochets go by your head and to have to burn poop.
Stop to wonder the background of the teenagers you’re talking to before you cuss at them on X-Box Live. A lot of them are toolbags. Some of them are missing their dads (or moms) and have seen their friend’s dads come home missing an arm or a leg or maybe in a box with a flag on it. If you want to make a difference, put some influence on the kids you can influence so they can understand. Make them take a minute to watch Restrepo or the Battle for Marjah, or just help them understand the difference, but remember they’re not stupid. They know driving a car isn’t the same thing as Simpsons Road Rage or Grand Theft Auto.
It’s a game. You have to keep it in perspective just like they do.
Also, if you don’t like Gruntworks you’re probably a dope smoking hippie yourself. Oh and it’s not our fault that a lot of you guys suck and we can kill you so easy. YOU GUYS should realize it’s just a game and change your tactics to fit in (talking to you Josh).
Anyways, this video is prolly not what it was like in Sadr City, but it’s funny to watch, and it doesn’t make us worry about you guys over there any less.
Tango Victor Mike for reading.
Spawn of Shooter
Spawn of Shooter is a military dependent and a gamer. His great-grandfathers, grandfathers, dad, uncles and the other arguably suitable role models in his life present a wide mix of military (some now LE) personnel from all four branches. These include a grunt CSM, a gunner’s mate, a retired Gunny from JSOTF-P, one green-side corpsman, a couple of MSGTs, a STA Marine, one FO, a couple MPs…you get the point. He likes first person shooters, gets his dork on in WoW and Skyrim and can competently shoot basic qual courses with a shotgun (20ga. not 12, yet) and pistol (still working on the rifle). He understands the advantages and disadvantages of living in the fishbowl that is base housing, loves Anthony’s Pizza and thinks the brassards on the base Courtesy Patrols are kinda jumping the shark. He’s on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SpawnofShooter
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11 Comments
I really don’t disagree with the general gist of this but there is a more basic problem here. I am a vet and a gamer. I can only go online for a few minutes at a time because most of the time when I try to chat and be nice, all I get is a bunch of trolls and haters that are more interested in talking rude and vulgar smack. Its a game and the fun gets taken out of it when anybody acts the fool. But there is no real way to report or complain. I ma not savvy enough for screen shots and such so that I can get this info to the people who could do something. There is no monitoring that I can see and hateful nasty little cretins are pretty much free to act as they want.
Smack talking is one thing but the level of just spewing hate is ridiculous. Spawn of Shooter should take the time to maybe help ban some of the “toolbags” as he calls them. I was on the line and did earn my right to talk down if I choose, to but I would prefer if maybe some real policing of these sites occurs.
OMG thank you for the most hilarious video I have ever seen. The idiot supply guy, ignoring you as you scream for ammo, then staring at you before running off was spot on. I run into them so much I wish teamkill was always on just to teach them a lesson.
At Dan above, I just ignore them. You cannot “teach” them to do the right thing except by not doing it yourself. Most folks grow up and realize that acting like an idiot is childish.
I do understand your frustration about not being able to do anything. It seems that the Admins are either not present or not doing their jobs in a lot of the games.
I’m a gamer, and a Vietnam vet (11C, 11B, & 11F). Bottom line is that non-gamers don’t understand gamers, and non-grunts don’t understand grunts. You have to simply the source of comments that annoy you, say “screw em” (to yourself, not online), and then ignore them.
Insert “consider” between “simply” & “the” in the previous comment.
Well done, SoS.
It may come as a surprise that we actually agree with you. We don’t think that MOST gamers believe that there is a connection or correlation between FPS and live combat.
Having said that, I have personally had amusing– and annoying– conversations with hardcore gamers who felt that their superior game play, quick reflexes, and firm grasp of infantry tactics in BF3, MoH, etc would make them good candidates for the military. And that’s who we were targeting with the post.
I’m a hardcore gamer. I played Skyrim and BF3 just last night (into the wee hours) so I’m certainly not hatin’ on ‘em. Just some of ‘em.
Keep up the good work, buddy. Gruntworks is gonna go like your Facebook page now.
“Jinx”
I’d just like to point out that there are 5 services, not 4…
Everyone forgets about us Coasties.
Sorry the Coast Gaurd is part of the department of homeland defense. Not part of the Navy or DOD.
ok, true story. so im enlisted in the navy and i was talking to people to see if they where wanting to enlist also. i go to this kid about 19 and he said i should go navy seal (i’d love to someday or SWCC) i told him im going in as a BM. He then said He would be awesome as a navy seal. so i asked him why would you be so good at it? his respones was “im a beast at call of duty and battel field and am awesome at it.” sad thing was is that he was serious. then i had to stop talking to him and turn away.
Kids are so cluesless about anything in the real world. I’m not surprised they think they can do good in the military, the average person doesn’t know how scary combat is, and how much it sucks to carry all that gear around all day. I would love to see a gamer who thinks he would be good in combat run 1 mile with full gear, he would be tired as **** lol. Im not a vet or in the service, so I don’t know **** about military life but I know physically 90% of the gamers wouldn’t meet the physical requirements.
Kelso … hard to believe that you’re missing the dude’s point THAT much. He’s already admitted that these games ARE NOT akin to combat. He’s already admitted that these games ARE NOT the same as being in the military.
The issue here, soldier, is that you haven’t yet shown that you understand that it is just a game.
Wise up.