We use language to communicate ideas, and language can also be used as a weapon of deception.
Words like “justice” and “patriotism” can be used to push whatever bullshit you want to push under a guise of virtue, for example.
The solution is to be more accurate in your speech, and decide on a precise, specific definition for every concept. So that when I say a word or a phrase people understand EXACTLY what I mean. This helps separate the good from the bad, and doesn’t allow people to misuse the good terms to promote bad things in practice.
In gaming specifically I’ve seen some bad trends in recent years that cannot be objected to in a satisfying manner because they don’t have a clear name, and I’d like some help in making up proper names for them, to separate what I like from what I don’t like.
The word “competitive” seems to mean different things to different people, so let me use a temporary term until we find a better one. Let’s call it “Competitive V1”.
The definition of a “Competitive V1” game is that the players start on equal footing, with access to all the tools, and the difference between them will be based on the skills the game measures and on player choices.
For example Street Fighter is a “competitive V1” game. Both of us can buy the game for a standard game price, pick whoever character we want and if we both pick Ryu, both Ryus will have the same stats/power level.
Some games not “competitive V1” because you can pay (much) more and/or grind more to have an advantage over me, even if not a direct advantage, an advantage in versatility since you get access to more tools while I’m limited. This does not mean the games are not fun, or that they are not deep, only that they are not “competitive V1” since the players are not on equal footing.
When people bitch about a game being “pay 2 win” they usually get shut down by people who praise the game since you can “get everything for free”, but that free involves grind so you still replaced one barrier with a another.
Some f2p games don’t put tools behind a wall of excessive amounts money and/or grind. When I mean excessive I mean that buying all the tools should cost like a standard game, while many f2p games will require much more than standard game price to have access to all the tools. (Not talking about cosmetics, but things that can affect the match.)
Games that are “competitive V1” (Can I pay standard price and get all the tools immediately? Yes.)
Street Fighter (A standard videogame with no RPG leveling bullshit)
Killer Instinct (f2p but has that “buy full game for standard price” option)
Dota 2 (f2p but only locks away cosmetics)
Startcraft
Games that are not “competitive V1” (Can I pay standard price and get all the tools immediately? No.)
Most popular CCGs (MtG, Hearthstone etc. etc.)
Most MOBAs (either you have to grind anyway for LoL runes, and buying all the cast costs hundreds of dollars which is way beyond standard VG pricing.)
World of Warcraft Arena or whatever that is they play on eSports events
Many muliplayer modes of FPSs, where your character power and/or versatility increases as you play and gain levels
Feel free to suggest a word or a phrase that can elegantly replace what I called here “competitive V1”, and feel free to tackle more concepts that could use a clearer definition themselves.
