As regular readers will be aware, I have been recounting my foray into the world of online gaming in my Diary of an Online Virgin series. I explained my history of online gaming, which was both unpleasant and short. Back in the days of Quake 2 and Delta Force I fired up my dial-up modem and dipped my toe into the multiplayer waters, which promptly resulted in the toe being shot off… repeatedly… while being subjected to a lot of verbal abuse. However, recently I once again took the plunge into the online world, after a hiatus of over a decade; joining some friends on Battlefield 4 on Xbox 360.

As part 2 of my article showed, my first go at the game was less than a success, with my dreams of ninja-like sniping quickly being shot, burned and, indeed, stabbed into oblivion. I retreated from the game humbled and embarrassed, only grateful that my lack of headset had saved me from the inevitable ridicule I so surely deserved.

However, one loaned headset from HBK UK and a pep-talk from Skamdalous and IAN1B2M3 later and I was persuaded to venture back into the fray; headset on head and new weapon loadout in hand.

And boy was it a revelation!

The transformation was immediate and palpable. From a lone figure spending 10 minutes to crawl onto a hill only to be knifed by random strangers, I was now transformed into a running, gunning Rambo figure; or at least that how it felt. Just the change from precision sniping gear to the more forgiving carbine weapon class made a huge difference.

Now don’t get me wrong, I was in no way a better player for making this change. I still ran hell-for-leather direct into enemy fire; still saw that respawn counter so often that it became more familiar to me than most of my family members’ faces. Hell, I’m pretty sure at one point I managed to shoot a perfect outline of an enemy into a wall without actually hitting him… That actually takes some kind of anti-skill.

But the thing is, as inept and hapless as I was, I was still enjoying myself; partly because I was actually able to get some kills. Yes, many were machine gunning players in the spine as they doing something else, but damnit they were my kills; each as beautiful and meaningful as the last.

Then I discovered the Stinger. For the uninitiated, that’s a guided anti-air rocket launcher. The Stinger became ‘my’ weapon. It didn’t matter what I was doing at the time; if I saw a helicopter I’d down tools and chase after it with my stinger, determined to down it. And down it I did, often times. Yes, I took a death or a stabbing to do it, but it was worth it. I can’t put my finger on why, but those stinger kills were satisfying as hell.

However, what I think made the game infinitely better above all else was the headset. HBK UK was adamant I’d  have a much better experience if I had voice capacity but I was sceptical. If I’m honest, I was sure he and Skamdalous were only interested in getting me on voice chat so they could laugh at me as I clowned my way into Battlefield oblivion. However, I should have had more faith in them. Instead of abuse, what I got was advice, teamwork, laughter and, basically, a bunch of friends having a great time. The old adage of ‘most things are better with friends’ rang as true as ever and just experiencing the game was much better for it. The deaths didn’t seem as annoying and the great moments were even greater.

What I came to realise is that online multiplayer games aren’t that different from offline games when it comes to the factors that make them enjoyable. The key aspect that came to the fore with the Battlefield experience for me was immersion; something I bang on and on about (as any of my regular readers will no doubt attest).

When I was playing on my own as a sniper without a headset; isolated in a gaming sense as well as a personal sense; the experience had very little immersion to it. I was acutely aware of being a person sat in their living room, being terrible at a computer game. When I changed loadout and got a headset, I was very much still a solitary gamer sat being terrible at a computer game and one that was now talking to himself at that! However, now I had a group of like-minded friends to distract me from the reality of my terribleness. Enthusiasm and enjoyment are contagious and before you know it we’re forming battle plans, talking through situations and voice-chatting as if we’re really there and several hours have passed in the blink of an eye.

And that, my friends, was the moment that I realised that I’d missed out on over 10 years of a bloody good thing.

There’s nothing complicated about why online gaming is fun really. It works on several perfectly natural levels. One is the sporting/competitive level, where it’s fun to challenge other humans to a game of skill and win. The other is on a social level, where it’s fun to hang out and interact with other people, enjoying a shared experience.

To fully enjoy the game you really have to go all in and get hooked up with a headset and just get chatting. The subsequent times I’ve been online without a headset have paled in comparison, perhaps something that was a factor in my lack of long-term enjoyment when playing Titanfall, as I had no headset and no Xbox One-owning friends to talk to anyway.

This has now changed so perhaps another run is required to see if the friend-factor can change Titanfall from a take-it-or-leave-it title to a time-draining risk to my life and relationship?

Either way, I must confess myself to being a thorough online gaming convert and to say something I rarely ever do:

I was wrong!

However, as a small revenge for humiliations when learning the game, I’m placing a bounty on the heads of HBK UK, Skamdalous and IAN1B2M3. Anyone that can prove they’ve killed any of them on Battlefield 4 on the Xbox 360 will win a set of custom dog tags to commemorate the achievement (seriously!) Bonus if its a tagging, its all 3 of them or there’s excellent video/picture evidence! Hunt them down!

Keep an eye out for more Diary of an Online Virgin articles as I try my hand at more types of online multiplayer games to see how they come across to a newcomer.

If you want to join me as I take a tour of various online games as part of my journey, please feel free to add me. I’m Shamino77 on basically all gaming facilities I have; currently Xbox 360, Xbox One & Steam in the main.

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