In this part, I will talk about my answers to my own survey...'cause, well, I'm also a huge Hytale fan whose identity is heavily centered around gaming.

I won't mention this in my final draft, though.

Video Game Background

First Time Playing Any Video Game

I played my first ever video game, Pokémon Crystal, in 2003.

The Game Boy Color I used to play actually belonged to my big brother. I can't remember how I got my hands on it, but everyone in my family was chill.

Genres

I mainly play action/adventure, hack-and-slash, open world, and RPG video games.

Now you know why I'm obsessed with exploring the real world and beating people up along the way.

Gaming Hours Per Day

7 or more hours. Yeah, I'm that crazy.

Single-player or multiplayer?

Single-player. I don't like multiplayer, especially if it's competitive.

Why are you hyped for Hytale?

Lore, modding, PvE, roleplay, and similarity to Minecraft.

The similarity to Minecraft was what drew me towards Hytale in the first place. My younger brother actually showed me CaptainSparklez's reaction to it.

I'm a huge fan of lore in general, being someone who has read Harry Potter and played Yandere Simulator and Genshin Impact.

The way I imagine Hytale's modding capabilities is that Hytale can potentially be transformed into a completely different game or even a pure utility app, unlike other games.

I'm mainly looking forward to fully-featured mods based on my favorite games, specifically Genshin Impact and Pokémon. Minecraft has Pixelmon, so I expect the same for Hytale.

Let's see what scientists can do with Hytale. Maybe we can use Hytale to make a breakthrough in engineering or medicine.

I imagine Hytale to have a Devil May Cry-like hack-and-slash combat system which I am a huge fan of 'cause I like wrecking foes with fancy, well-chosen attacks. It's not like the mindless point-and-spam-click combat of Minecraft 1.8 or the slow but still point-and-click combat of 1.9+.

The skin system in Hytale is far more versatile than in Minecraft, being more than just a single texture file with two layers for the head itself and any headgear. In Hytale, you can have actual layered clothing like jackets, and some can even swing around as your character moves!

What worries you the most about Hytale?

Difficult combat, missing content, monetization, and an extremely early release.

As seriously as I take video games, I still consider myself a casual gamer. I am nowhere close to being competition-ready in any video game so far--I still get rekt in Pokémon battles and my aim in first-person shooters and Minecraft is terrible. My artifacts are trash in Genshin Impact.

As such, I'm mainly worried about enemies that have intelligent and merciless AIs, as well as resources being hard to find or movesets being difficult to unlock/use.

I got the missing content idea from Skyrim which has several unused Skyrim Civil War content. The Civil War content in the released version was so shallow, it was basically "go to this place and kill stuff" rather than the lore- and puzzle-filled content of the main story.

Skyrim aside, I also thought of Genshin Impact only including the nations of Mondstadt and Liyue (not all seven nations) in Version 1.0. I'm thinking Hytale might only include Orbis in its first release.

I'm sure you know, being the greedy little thief I am, I hate spending money. As such, I'm really looking forward to Hytale being free-to-play or something. Thankfully, Noxy is staunchly against pay-to-win mechanics.

However, I'm ready to shell out $60 in case it's priced like a triple-A game.

The "too early release" option was aimed solely towards me. I'm an aspiring Hytale YouTuber, after all. However, I'm very close to graduation, so I want to focus on school first. I think I'll have my graduation ceremony in October 2021.

Video Game Behavior

How likely are you to do the following in a combat-based game?

Make a plan before playing the game.

I know I should have put a 9 or 10 because of my name, LunaticTactician, but I wanted to be realistic. Usually, when playing single-player games, I don't make a plan because, if I lose, it's purely my fault and I can always try again. Sometimes, I intentionally don't make a plan so I can get used to the games' mechanics.

I mainly make plans before multiplayer games. Being part of a team means we trust each other to do our part. For me, making a well-thought plan is, for me, common courtesy to my fellow players.

I know I retracted my co-op plan to play single-player, but my tactical blog posts still stand for the most part.

Aside from Hytale, the last time I made a game plan was a Resin spending plan for Genshin Impact, but it was mostly bullet points rather than my typical essay-size plans.

Rush the enemy head-on while thinking in the middle of the fight.

Like a competitive multiplayer gamer, I crave some action. Making a plan is one thing, but actually making it work is what truly wins battles, I think.

Sometimes, I feel either lazy or anxious about my combat abilities, making me want to stay on the sidelines and support my team by gathering resources or fortifying our base.

But, in addition to my desire to fight on the front lines, I also feel I have an obligation to, which is why I want to enhance my frontline combat skills. Two of my old teammates are ranged attackers who wear little or no armor while I'm the only Lightning Bruiser in the old team, so my role was to Draw Aggro using Hit-and-Run Tactics.

I'm still preparing myself to Draw Aggro because I feel like Kweebecs and other allied factions are Red Shirts when they're on the player's side.

For games that feature optional stealth: Sneak up on enemies.

I generally prefer to sneak because, #1, many games with optional stealth tell the player to be stealthy and I can't help but get hypnotized; #2, it's a nice balance with playing beat-em-up games that don't have stealth; and #3, it's fun and it saves resources when I take out all the enemies with one hit (usually a backstab or headshot) each without losing a single point of HP.

On the other hand, I rush an enemy base if I either want to finish a level quickly (usually due to me needing or wanting to do something else in real life) or I'm raging in real life.

In team multiplayer games, whether or not I rush depends on whether the enemies are AI-controlled or human-controlled. I will rush AI-controlled foes head-on unless I'm alone because of my hypothesis that most gamers prefer to rush head-on--I need to Draw Aggro for the team and, if possible, use any support abilities.

On the other hand, I would sneak into a human-controlled army's base regardless of the playstyle of my team.

How likely are you to do the following in a competitive multiplayer game?

Try to cheat/hack the game.

I can't really explain it--I simply find it morally wrong.

That said, I have been a Minecraft server moderator.

Stay close to your allies.

I often rush solo in competitive multiplayer games because I want to get to the enemy as fast as I can without slowing down to keep up with a slower teammate. The sooner I can secure a win for the team, the better.

If I pair up with someone, it's usually on a whim.

I'm far more likely to stay close to friends because we're more likely to coordinate a strategy. Also, again, I can Draw Aggro.

Chat to other players about the latest memes/trends.

This was inspired by my inability to keep up with topics that aren't related to the game back in my old Minecraft server. There were debates about which musician was better, there was Ugandan Knuckles, and so on.

Makes me wish I exploited these non-tactical conversations back then to backstab some fools.

I'm the kind of player who likes to focus on the game while it's going.

Then again, I strangely become even more productive in school after having a casual conversation with a person I like, even if that person disturbs me in the middle of my studying. It does not apply to gaming.

I'm more likely to do so outside of an ongoing game, say, in a waiting lobby. Then again, the memes and trends I usually talk about are those related to the game.

Chat about the game's mechanics and/or tactics.

8. I'm LunaticTactician, after all.

I'm the kind of person who likes to stand out from the crowd and make unconventional tactics, so I feel confident I can share new information with other players.

Chat about the developers of the game you're currently playing.

It's no surprise that we remember the many times people complain about game devs and/or their decisions. I, too, have gripes with Hypixel Studios, being someone with a few conservative beliefs. They use "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" and celebrate...uh, pride month. (I deliberately did not use proper capitalization.)

In terms of actual gameplay, I often don't complain about devs; I'm more likely to complain about game mechanics or the meta without name-dropping the devs or saying "devs". It's like the saying "criticize the action, not the person".

When I do talk about the devs, I often try to guess their reasoning behind a decision. For example, before the summer 2021 development update, I speculated that Hypixel Studios was slowly adding more suspense to their Twitter postcards...while still keeping them mostly bare-bones to restore that explosive hype from the Hytale trailer once the beta drops.

Chat about real-life political issues.

This was somewhat inspired by GamerGate. Not gonna lie, I still get surprised when someone says they're a girl on a platform like a video game that doesn't require people to show their gender. As much of a hopeless romantic I am, I try to treat them exactly like I treat male players: with the proper respect they deserve.

I can't contribute much to a political discussion because I don't know much about politics. Also, I generally don't like starting fights (which political topics are prone to doing) unless I need to.

Chat about the game's lore.

No one in my old Minecraft server was interested back when I discussed Minecraft: Story Mode episodes shortly after they were released. They basically just got back to whatever the heck they were doing.

Then again, most competitive multiplayer games have little to no lore. Why waste your time swallowing the lore when you can climb to the top ranks?

I typically discuss lore only with dedicated lore nerds. I tend to get philosophical even in casual situations.

Call out/get angry at a teammate playing like a "noob".

As far as I know, I have never directly called any players "noobs" except for obvious hackers.

I only call players "noobs" either inside my head or when talking to other players besides those noobs.

Call out/get angry at a player who just beat you.

Same as when I think other players are "noobs".

Kill an enemy who was about to be killed by an ally (i.e. kill-stealing).

#1, I want the freakin' rewards. #2, if I deliberately hold back, I don't know who'll win between the enemy and my ally; I might as well guarantee the win. #3, I see it as my way of carrying the team and protecting my allies. #4, I want to do this to quietly bully teammates I dislike.

Steal an item that was about to be picked up by another player (i.e. ninja looting).

In general, I often play honorably, so I respect the effort other players make to defeat a powerful enemy that dropped a very useful item.

I WILL do this to enemy players, though. I'm the kind of fighter who likes dirty-but-still-legal tactics.

In role-playing games (RPGs), how likely are you to play the following classes?

Warrior

Warriors typically aren't the fastest class in an RPG.

Their purpose is often plain and simple: hammer away at the enemy with physical attacks. I prefer classes that encourage me to use a little more skill.

Assassin/Rogue/Thief

10.

No surprise 'cause I'm a rogue IRL. I'm fast, sneaky, and I specialize in critical hits.

In D&D specifically (though it's more of a tabletop RPG), rogues are highly versatile party members that can dodge-tank in the front lines, deal big damage with their sneak attacks, help a team safely navigate through a dungeon, and troll people with their words.

These three words are all commonly used for what D&D calls the rogue, but one word may be unfamiliar to another gamer, which is why I put all three.

Priest

Because I like unconventional tactics, I think playing a support class like a priest is Boring but Practical.

Mage/Wizard

Wizards are powerful and versatile, make no mistake, but I don't imagine my Author Avatar as a magic expert.

In first-person shooters or battle royale games, how likely are you to use the following guns?

Assault rifle

I enjoy the versatility of assault rifles; they can be used from both short and long range. They don't have the major drawbacks of the other weapons besides the insta-kill potential of the sniper rifle.

Heavy weapon

I consider these weapons to be very precious. If I rely on them too much, then I might lose my skill in more conventional weapons, I think.

These weapons are also painfully difficult to reload.

Pistol

They're only fun in a "pistols only" challenge. Otherwise, mashing left-click with them is a pain when I have to aim precisely at the same time, unlike melee point-and-click attacks where the short distance between the player and the enemy makes the enemy a larger target.

Shotgun

Shotguns are heavily reliant on good positioning, i.e. cramped spaces, to deal maximum damage. Almost every other gun has a longer range than shotguns, so in most situations, the long-range weapons will win.

Sniper rifle

I know sniper rifles are the Weapon of Choice of pro players, but I'm not yet used to aiming with them. Sniper rifles have much slower fire rates than other weapons, so they punish the player heavily for missing.

Submachine gun

I prefer the slightly better accuracy, range, and damage per bullet of the assault rifle over the fire rate of the submachine gun.

In games with magic, which spell are you more likely to use?

The spell that heals and/or strengthens me and/or my allies.

Again, I'm a specialist in the Boring but Practical trope. As flashy as heavy hitters are, they can do even better with support, can't they?

In single-player RPGs, do you focus on roleplay or do you try to make the strongest possible character?

Roleplay.

Besides some RPGs like Genshin Impact, there is typically nothing in RPGs that pressures players to make their characters as strong as possible. Strength is good, but being able to beat the game in a variety of ways, I think, is more important for the developers.

Of course, I still grind like crazy in RPGs I enjoy.

Real-Life Behavior

Would your family members or friends describe you with the following adjectives?

Determined, strong-willed, calm, and friendly.

Well, more like strong-willed and friendly. Many people explicitly tell me I'm a nice guy but also express fear towards me (i.e. Beware the Nice Ones), especially when I brag about my martial arts skills.

When someone I like has a problem, I'm usually there to help. Even if their problem seems difficult, I think even a little help from me can go a long way. If it doesn't work...oh well, at least I tried. (Filthy slacking mercenary.)

It turns out most teens are lazier than I am, even if I staunchly declare that I'm lazy. That's why, when I brag about what I do for a living, they get surprised at how "hard-working" I am.

When I put my mind into working, it's difficult for me to stop until I finish my work, hence why I consider myself to be strong-willed.

On a scale of 1 (rude) to 10 (friendly), how would you rate yourself?

I took several levels in Jerkass due to failed relationships, causing me to be more distrusting of people that aren't my family members or students.

I swear a little more often than before 2020 thanks to reading Mark Manson's The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck. While I minimize swearing when talking to friends and mainly use it to emphasize a point, I use it rudely on purpose when a stranger makes me angry or when someone I like has broken a big promise towards me.

The last time I remember I was extra rude, I told someone on Omegle who said sexually offensive stuff, "Go to hell, moron." I just wish I could've added some more philosophical stuff and swear words to flex my intelligence--after all, people fear my intelligence.

With friends, however, I'm usually willing to carry out big favors. I usually derive lots of satisfaction from doing so and I can easily reorganize my personal schedules, so doing these favors doesn't waste much of my time.

I do admit that I pretend to be interested in someone else's interests sometimes or pretend to be concerned when someone's feeling sad or angry, even though I know I shouldn't pretend.

Social Skills

In casual situations, who is more likely to start a conversation?

About the same.

NachoPizza is the only person I regularly start conversations with now, and though a little less often, he also does so. We regularly rant about our Genshin Impact problems, brag about our gacha pulls, and even do romantic roleplays involving our waifus (LT-Sucrose, Nacho-Ningguang).

Again, because I've taken levels in Jerkass, I often refuse to start conversations with other people. My former high school crush "Mareeta" told me (and this is paraphrased because I can't remember her exact words) that whenever I call or message her, she feels obligated to answer. I don't want that to happen to anyone, especially if a person is in a situation like attending a meeting or taking a class that will get them in major trouble if they get distracted by the phone notification I caused.

But you bet that, when someone starts a conversation with me, I will continue it.

In formal situations, who is more likely to start a conversation?

The other person(s).

I mainly thought about schoolwork when I answered this question. I hate it, which is why I don't study as much as others, so I'm less knowledgeable compared to the others. I often get corrected on the spot when I get something wrong.

In retrospect, I should've answered "You" (as in, me) because I'm not afraid to ask a boatload of questions during a meeting.

When dating, who is more likely to start a conversation?

Me. No surprise there.

I have two theories. One, people, especially girls, are more morbidly shy than ever before thanks to social media addiction. Two, men are the natural initiators while women are the natural...uh, receivers.

How confident are you in your social skills in a casual situation?

I perform best when hanging out with a single friend. In this situation, all of our attention is focused on each other. There's no third person (or fourth, or fifth, you get the idea) to suddenly change the topic to something I'm unfamiliar with and suddenly start a lively one-on-one conversation that I'm simply incapable of participating in.

Why don't you practice chatting with a group?

Admittedly, I value being polite more than not giving a fuck. As jealous as I admittedly feel, I was taught to share friends--let my friends have fun with their other friends.

I am also not obligated by law or by "company/school rules" to participate in casual group conversations.

How confident are you in your social skills in a formal situation?

I don't need to keep up with trends, "laugh", or otherwise pretend to be happy-go-lucky--I just need to pay attention to my work. That's it.

When I'm not the one doing a presentation, I'm usually the guy asking a ton of questions.

When I AM leading a presentation, I rarely feel shy about it--I present with plenty of confidence. I explain things as clearly as I possibly can.

Just don't make me suddenly jump into leading a presentation with very little preparation.

How confident are you in your social skills while dating?

In retrospect, I should've rated this higher--maybe 7.

Unlike most casual situations, I see dating as a strictly one-on-one thing. (First dates are an exception because I invite my mom as a chaperone in case my date is some kind of smooth-tongued criminal. I may be a powerful martial artist, but I'm terrible at avoiding scams.) See the casual situation question.

Perhaps I rated this lower because I put more detail into date plans than hangout plans with regular friends.

When I met NachoPizza in Singapore, I didn't make a complete plan. I simply informed him of what I look like and where I'll be, then on a whim, we decided to explore Gardens By The Bay, talk a lot about Pokémon, and reminisce about Smosh. Hanging out with a friend like him far from my home was one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done on a vacation--one that I've dreamed of since childhood.

On the other hand, when I met with "Mareeta" in a sports center, I prepared a USB drive for installing or troubleshooting Windows 10 on her PC. On the side, I practiced some photography as part of my schoolwork. (I didn't have a DSLR camera at the time.) I knew there was a boxing gym in that sports center, so I punched some bags and practiced WWE moves on the ring. Of course, we weren't gonna go away without playing sports together, so we played tennis...and I got rekt. This was also the first time I've tasted chicken flambé; the first time I ever heard the word "flambé" was in Miitopia.

Additionally, I restrain myself more because I believe, the more I respect a person, the more deserving they are of my politeness. You will notice that I sound as energetic as Bennett with friends but as gentle as Kaedehara Kazuha with love interests.

In the following situations, would you prefer to be alone or with a group of people? (1 = Alone; 10 = In a group)

Casual situations: being in a mall, traveling to a tourist spot, etc.

I'm usually in the mall for a personal reason, such as indulging myself in fast food, working out, or running an errand for my parents.

I strongly prefer traveling with friends over family members. Not gonna lie, doing fun activities for friends feels like contributing to a team. Doing fun activities for family members sometimes feels like blindly following orders.

School/work situations: making a draft, planning a project, etc.

I prefer to hold myself to my own standards than follow someone else's. I don't want other group members to suffer under my occasional incompetence; I prefer to be responsible for my own problems.

I also dislike keeping up with group members. I work best when I do a few large chunks at a time rather than many small ones so I can stay hyper-focused.

Do you think video games have affected how you think in real life?

10. Easy peasy.

Where do I even start? Video games are the reason I work out, practice martial arts, do voice acting, and want to do YouTube gaming videos for a living.

They contribute greatly to my English vocabulary and grammar knowledge, even if they're non-educational.

They're why I plan things step-by-step in real life; I have to do the same thing to win in gaming.

They're why I categorize people based on video game characters and traits, such as me being Xingqiu, my brothers being Dilucs, and most teens being Sayus with Sucrose's shyness turned Up To Eleven...and none of her intelligence. Men, in particular, are either Kaeyas or Lisas, again, with none of their intelligence.

Do you think your real-life personality is reflected in the ways you play video games?

I act roughly the same in multiplayer games as I do in real life.

I'm not the kind of player who is morbidly shy in real life but willing to take advantage of anonymity to be toxic. I am as polite in gaming as I am in real life, though admittedly, I restrain my rudeness a little more online due to nosy moderators, whether they are doing their jobs right (no pun intended) or are leftist scumbags.

The only people I troll outside of gaming are my parents and younger brother--this is usually light trolling by sending them GIFs of "cute" things like Klee when they make me angry, but sometimes, I also kancho my dad lightly.

When I troll non-family members in gaming, it's usually by stealth-killing them.

I have a similar character build in real life as my Author Avatar. I'm at least decent in bows, fists, lances, and swords, and I'm agile and capable of dealing horrifyingly painful critical hits, whether accidental or intentional.

However, I'd imagine my real-life self to be slightly better at magic while my Author Avatar is better with lances.

You'll notice that the way I play video games changes drastically depending on my mood. When calm (which is most of the time), I go through combat encounters with relaxed muscles and I don't mash buttons as quickly. When a deadline is approaching in gaming or real life, I mash buttons much faster, cut down on some tasks, and in general, play to speedrun rather than hoard resources or grind EXP. When angry, I KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Survey: Relation Between Video Gamers' Roles and Play Styles with Real-Life Behavior (Discussion Part 2)