Trash talk has been a factor in online gaming since the very earliest days of the system, but a recent interaction in ARC Raiders that has gone viral highlights just how it plays into the worst impulses of some players. Given the naturally competitive space of online games, it’s no surprise that some players decide to lash out in anger when games don’t go their way. However, some of these encounters can take a surprisingly dark turn.
One great example is a recent interaction between ARC Raiders players that was recorded and posted online. In it, one player reveals his frustrations that the other one just killed him in the game — and his insults become increasingly personal, harsh, and even physically threatening. It’s the sort of outburst that any online player has seen hundreds of times, but the quick escalation over less than two minutes in the clip highlights just how harsh that mentality can become in online gaming.
The ARC Raiders Beef Heard Around The Internet
A confrontation between two players in an ARC Raiders lobby has gone viral — and it underscores how the escalation of insults into threats remains one of the biggest problems with online gaming. ARC Raiders is a PVP game, where players can work together or just as likely target one another. The latter is what occurred in recent days to one unidentified player, who was focusing on the PVE elements of the game but was found and picked off by a PVP player. The video recording of the ARC Raiders lobby shows the PVE player finding the PVP player, who angrily reveals that he has placed a bounty on the other player and will make it his mission to ruin any other ARC Raiders experience the PVP player has. To the credit of the PVP player, he simply notes, “You go ahead and do that,” and brushes off all of the PVE player’s angry comments.
As the conversation continues, the PVE player claims that 90% of the ARC Raiders player base dislikes that kind of play, insults the other player’s personal life, and leaves after issuing a threatening “can’t wait to see you in real life.” For gamers with a lot of experience playing online titles, this interaction isn’t anything new. The escalation from gameplay condemnation to personal attacks to physical threats is just the sort of thing that happens when chat is available as an option for players. While some have questioned the validity of the interaction and argue that the entire scene feels staged, there’s a certain realism to the conversation that is reflective of plenty of player experiences.
Sometimes, A Game Becomes More Than Just A Game
Tensions can run high in online games, so it’s not uncommon for mistakes or underhanded plays to be met with anger and frustration. There likely isn’t an online gamer alive who hasn’t lost their temper while playing a game — and that includes this writer. There’s a certain level of that anger that can be understandable, which can bleed out into harsh confrontations online. However, the inherent anonymity that comes with the internet, along with the heightened tensions of competition, often serves as a volatile brew for vicious outbursts.
Players will lash out with slurs, make personal accusations, and even try to intimidate other players they don’t like with physical threats. This isn’t even against the game developers and publishers, who can only do so much with repeat offenders. It’s a practice that has led to real-world consequences, too, such as online hate campaigns targeting specific players. Players have even been swatted as a form of revenge for online disputes, which has led to actual deaths of uninvolved and innocent people. Even just raising the specter of that possibility, such as in the ARC Raiders confrontation that went viral, can cause a lot of undue stress and problems for people who had just gone into a game for the enjoyment of it. It’s also notable that it can feel especially targeted for gamers of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ community, further painting a grim picture of big swaths of the gaming community.
It’s even more staggering to see that in something like ARC Raiders, a game that has never tried to hide its PVP elements, whether or not the PVE player prefers that approach or not. The best part about online games is the way the internet can be used to connect players from across the world — but it’s also the worst aspect of that service as well, because people remain people and can give in to their worst impulses. The ARC Raiders interaction is an especially illustrative one, as one player simply allows the other to berate him to get it out of his system and gets increasingly harsh insults thrown his way as a result.