Multiplayer stats have existed for as long as we can remember. Because these numbers stem from person to person interaction, oftentimes the seriousness in which these stats are treated is far above single-player achievements. However, with the advent of stat-tracking in today’s more popular shooters, such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Halo Reach, and Battlefield 3, the obsession over kill-death ratios (KDR), win-loss ratios (WLR), and other statistics has reached an all time high. Why is that?
So I did incredibly well in Modern Warfare 3, but who cares? I had fun and if I don't have fun then what's the point of playing games?
To speak from personal experience, I have been supremely guilty in obsessing over stats. I had played many shooters up until I started doing this, but I can’t exactly put my finger on what made me obsessed. The game was Call of Duty Black Ops, and I was addicted to buffing my stats. I wanted a higher KDR, a higher WLR, and a higher score per minute, at least initally. I spent at least 80 hours using the absolute best setups in order to raise all of my stats. At my pathetic endeavor’s peak, I had a 2.2 KDR, 1.85 WLR, and 340 score per minute in team deathmatch(not amazing, but above average) Then, I wanted to further prove myself. I decided to try to maintain those same numbers, using worse guns and perk setups. Thus, a new addiction began. I kept purposefully handicapping myself to derive more and more satisfaction from doing well with awful setups that put me a massive disadvantage. However, the right skill set and a (hopefully) stable connection could allow me to consistently do well against players using better weapons and perks.
All did not stay well in my stat-obsessed world, though.
I began to watch my numbers trickle down as I started to play other games. I couldn’t keep up the same level of play when other fun games were drawing my attention away. I purposefully stayed away from the game as to not destroy my hard-earned numbers. Every time I got back on to play with friends, I was constantly stressing over how good or bad I’d do the next game as to not lower my stats. Growing tired of all annoyances in multiplayer games, I took a huge break from shooters and other online games to get better head space. When I came back, I had a sudden realization which I don’t quite understand why it took so long to actually hit me. Stats never decide who the better player is, and if they do, who cares?
A lot of people do actually.
And now we have Call of Duty: Elite. Bring on the pain, suffering, and copious amounts of nerd rage!
Again, to draw from another personal encounter, I just recently tried out the new multiplayer maps for Modern Warfare 3. The only way to access these maps is to play with the fellow players online who purchased the season pass/stat tracking subscription: Call of Duty ELITE. So, generally speaking, all of the players I played with that day, at least in some small way, had plenty of concern for how they played and how they won. Most of the session went fine, until at the end of one game, someone from the other team began screaming at me for how much better he did than me. Although his ratio was significantly better than mine, I had more kills and was 2+ in my game KDR. Besides, I had fun playing so why should it matter? Obviously it bothered this guy. When we get to the game’s lobby screen, the man continues to scream about how much of a “scrub” I am, and how he can’t wait to destroy me again. He also comments on how my KDR is 5 point lower than his(1.9 for me, 6.4 for this guy, meaning he probably plays defensive). To my surprise, we end up on the same team. I keep quiet while the game is played, trying to pull off kills and get the win for the team. My angry “friend” who had been screaming at me about stats has now directed his yelps of nerd rage at the other team and our team, saying how he outplays everyone and his statistcs are so much better than everyone else. Mind you, this guy sounded like he was in his 30′s, which just reinforced the bad idea of a basement dwelling vampire. The game we are in ends, and I finally speak up about how much the guy never moved from one spot the entire game; this would explain why I ended up with more kills than him, and many more deaths. The man continues to scream at me, then leaves the lobby. He got so worked up on stats, even though they don’t change anything. He is not alone though.
Xbox 360 and all the necessary pickings for online play. Not exactly the appropriate tools for getting a job or even a girlfriend.
The reason the stat-tracking services in modern shooters exist is not necessarily a way of friendly competition, but more so a way to assert one’s self over everyone else. If one’s rank in a leaderboard is 20878, he or she has justification to feel like a better player than everyone under that number. It’s a small way of proving to everyone just how good or bad you are. For some ridiculous reason that I can’t even explain, people just really care. If you don’t believe me, go hop onto Playstation Network or Xbox Live and keep your chat level open. You will hear things, usually stat-related, all the time. People (including myself at one point) obsess unhealthily over these stats, and these obsessions destroy the number one concern in gaming: Fun.
Moral of the story? Be a part of the solution.
Bomb your stats. Try out different ways to play, even if you lose. Just have fun. Those numbers won’t get you a job, a girlfriend(or boyfriend), or anything remotely nice in physical sense. Stats only provide gratification to those who actually find them important, and judging from experience, those who find stats important aren’t really worth associating with. Hopefully, if everyone can just stop caring about stupid numbers, gaming for achievements and stats can die, and we as gamers can go back to having fun.
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