Saying less, talking more: my antisocial multiplayer experience

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Freedom of speech in multiplayer is overrated. It's hard to argue that when people have the power to say anything to their teammates or opponents online, things can go south pretty quickly. For every affable or witty stranger you meet in a multiplayer match, there seem to be at least five players who derive their self-worth through anonymous aggression. That's one of the many reasons I've come to appreciate the way some games utilize controlled conversation, retaining most of the good and expunging the bad. They force you to be creative in how you communicate, while feeling infinitely safer for an antisocial gamer like me.

I've found myself drawn to two games that implement brilliant systems for limiting - but not eliminating - the dialogue between players. There's Hearthstone, where you can only communicate via a stock selection of six basic emotes, with unique voiceovers to match your chosen character. Meanwhile, you've got the messaging system in Bloodborne, which continues the Souls series' tradition of letting you leave notes for other players. It relies on a fill-in-the-blank format that offers more possibilities than Hearthstone, but still ultimately confines what you're allowed to express to other players. And though I can technically say less with these systems than all-speak text or open voice chat, they make we want to socialize so much more.

If you've never been a shy person, the idea of fearing multiplayer communication might seem strange. And it's not that I fear the conversations themselves; it's more about the ways they can detract from my gameplay experience by putting me in an awkward or uncomfortable position. Nobody likes being berated by strangers, but in the multiplayer arena, people seem to assume that everyone just has a thick skin by necessity, and that whoever's on the other end of that monitor or TV screen can take it. Those assumptions create a space where one person doesn't see the harm in a little smack talk, and another observes something very hostile that they want no part in.

I'll admit, straight-up, that I can be a pretty antisocial guy - the kind who's perfectly content to sit in his room playing games while a party rages in his living room. But I can also be outgoing when the situation calls for it (meeting someone for the first time, a job interview, dating, and so on). It's just that this extroversion can only be maintained for so long before I need a break, and being chatty with people I don't know on the internet feels like an expenditure of that same energy. I still want human connection in games, of course - otherwise, I'd simply avoid multiplayer games altogether. But it feels like I've been conditioned to assume that taking part in an online conversation with a stranger will either detract from my experience or waste my time and mental energy altogether.

Riot Games has put a ton of effort and resources into reducing 'toxic player behavior' in League of Legends, spending what must be thousands of dollars at this point to analyze what makes people act like a-holes, and what subtle tweaks can trick them into curbing their a-hole-ishness. But Hearthstone and Bloodborne sidestep the need for any of these psychological cues or slaps on the virtual wrist for bad sportsmanship, because their mechanics for multiplayer exchanges simply don't permit the kind of behavior that LoL is determined to correct. They solve the problem by preventing it from ever happening in the first place, without taking away the possibility for making connections and building rapport.

The most obvious benefit to limited correspondence between players is the fact that you'll never be on the receiving end of a verbal assault, whether it's some pre-teen screaming at you through a mic or a grown-up spewing profanities and racial epithets like their life depended on it. But there's also a strenuous side to any nice conversations you strike up with strangers. It's that awkward feeling when you want to stop talking, but they don't; when you seriously consider moving someone from your friends list to the blocked list, just to avoid that sinking feeling when they send you an unwanted invite to join them. I can vividly remember playing World of Warcraft and feeling like I owed my time to people who I only knew through guild chat, prioritizing their concerns over my real-life responsibilities. That's pretty unhealthy when it stretches for weeks on end.

My disillusionment with the value of online interaction wasn't just a product of being a hardcore MMO raider, either. There was that one time I was having a friendly chat with a Diablo 2 player, and we got to talking about how we both liked fighting games. For whatever reason, he saw this two-hour conversation as an invitation to ask if he could stay over at my house if he ever attended a tournament nearby. Or the day that I legitimately felt like a worthless piece of subhuman garbage after being berated in League of Legends by a premade group of teammates for losing us the game. Whatever made that Diablo guy feel so attached, or those LoL players so hateful, exchanging words was the root of the problem, and it made me vulnerable. After a while, saying nothing just felt so much safer.

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Saying less, talking more: my antisocial multiplayer experience

Hubble Telescope celebrates 25 years of mind-blowing imagery

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NASA celebrates 25 years of discovery and beautiful imagery with the Hubble Space Telescope this month.

Although Hubble was launched from space shuttle Discovery in 1990 the telescope did not produce any images until 1995, because the large mirrors were put on incorrectly. A series of space-walks were conducted by astronauts to fix the mirrors and get Hubble back in business.

Since 1995, when the first image from Hubble was transmitted to Earth, the telescope has inspired generations of space enthusiasts with the stellar images of supernovas, nebulae, galaxies and planets.

Hubble has made more than 1 million observations since its mission began. The school-bus sized telescope can see more than 13.4 billion light years from Earth, making it one of the most productive scientific instruments in history.

Hubbles images have inspired symphony orchestra compositions, spotted galaxies thatshouldnt exist and made some of the greatest discoveries in astronomy.

NASA released a special collection of images from Hubbles portfolio and will host events around the world leading up to the anniversary on April 24. There are no events planned at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center, but many allow online participation. See a full list of events here.

Take a look at the Hubble Telescope 25 anniversary gallery above and prepare to be amazed.

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Hubble Telescope celebrates 25 years of mind-blowing imagery

US soldier killing in Afghanistan: Inside attack on NATO forces kills American soldier – Video

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US soldier killing in Afghanistan: Inside attack on NATO forces kills American soldier
A U.S. soldier and an Afghan soldier died during a firefight in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, according to an Afghan military official. A group of U.S. army soldiers was leaving a provincial...

By: TomoWorld

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US soldier killing in Afghanistan: Inside attack on NATO forces kills American soldier - Video

NATO soldier killed in firefight between US, Afghan forces

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Jalalabad (Afghanistan) (AFP) - An American soldier was killed Wednesday in a firefight between US and Afghan troops in eastern Afghanistan, the first apparent insider attack since Washington announced a delay in troop withdrawals from the country.

So-called "green-on-blue" attacks -- when Afghan soldiers or police turn their guns on international troops -- have been a major problem during NATO's long years fighting alongside Afghan forces.

Wednesday's attack marked the second such fatal incident since the start of the year, highlighting long-simmering tensions between Afghan and foreign forces.

The gunfight erupted after an Afghan soldier opened fire on an American delegation outside the governor's compound in Jalalabad, the capital of the militant-infested province of Nangarhar.

"US soldiers returned fire, killing the shooter and wounding two other members of the Afghan National Army. We are investigating to find out the motive behind the shooting," Nangarhar police chief Fazel Ahmad Shirzad told AFP.

An American soldier, who was part of a unit devoted to training and advising Afghan forces, was also killed, US officials told AFP.

The "incident in Jalalabad today resulted in the death of one Resolute Support service member", said a brief statement from Resolute Support, the new name for the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

Monica Cummings, the US embassy spokeswoman, said the incident occurred after a senior US official held a meeting with the provincial governor in Jalalabad.

"All Chief of Mission personnel of the visiting party are accounted for," she added in a statement, without offering any more details.

- Fierce mistrust -

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NATO soldier killed in firefight between US, Afghan forces

US soldier killed in firefight between NATO and Afghan troops, sources say (+video)

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Jalalabad, Afghanistan An American soldier and an Afghan soldier were killed when a firefight broke out between Afghan and NATO coalition forces at a compound where a senior US diplomat met a provincial governor in eastern Afghanistan, police and US sources said.

A handful of others from both sides were wounded in the shooting, which erupted shortly after the diplomat left the compound aboard a helicopter, according to US and Afghan sources.

The NATO soldiers involved in the incident were American, according to Afghan police, and had been leaving the venue to return to Camp Gamberi in east Afghanistan where they were stationed.

NATO issued a statement saying one of its soldiers had been killed, without divulging the nationality, though a US source told Reuters that the dead soldier was American and two Americans had been wounded in the clash.

Two Afghan soldiers were also injured in the shoot out and it was unclear who had fired first, police said, adding that an Afghan soldier was being questioned. They had no other details on the American casualties.

The US embassy in Kabul issued a statement on the incident without referring to casualties.

"We are aware that there was an exchange of gunfire involving Resolute Support service members... All Chief of Mission personnel of the visiting party are accounted for," the US embassy said.

The frequency of "insider attacks" in Afghanistan has fallen sharply this year as most foreign forces withdrew from the country in 2014.

A small contingent of around 12,000 NATO troops remains in Afghanistan to train Afghan forces after the combat mission officially ended last year.

Wednesday's incident was the first since January, when three US military contractors were killed by an Afghan soldier in the capital Kabul.

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US soldier killed in firefight between NATO and Afghan troops, sources say (+video)