Playing Multi-Player, Interactive GamesOnline
Imagine that you were asked to play football for your country in an important international game that was being televised to a global audience and when the referee blew his whistle to begin the big game, you confessed to your captain, that you did not know the rules of football, in fact that you had never played football before, but that you had played pool a few times.
How do you think that you, your captain, your team mates and the whole viewing audience would feel? Embarrassed, annoyed, disappointed, let down? This is how lots of beginners (newbies) think about going into a huge, online, interactive multi-player game like 'Dungeons and Dragons' for the first time. They are worried that they will spoil the game for everyone else.
And it is a valid point, but everyone in that game was a newbie at one time and there are steps you can take to learn a few tips before you start playing. The very first thing to do, is find the game that you want to play and read the manual. And then read it again and again. The game you choose may also have a practice area, where you won't upset the experienced players.
If you see the letters RTFMafter you have asked a question of someone, you will know that you did not read the (effing) manual carefully enough and that it is time to read it again.
You can also join forums about the game in question. Frequently there is a forum attached to the game itself. People are much more friendly and will be far more indulgent in the forum than in the game. Trust me, the Wizard of Daz would rather be asked where the bathroom is when he is in the forum than while he is battling his archenemy!
You also need to acquaint yourself with the controls of the game. There will be shortcut keys for items like inventory, spells, armaments, jump, cast a spell, turn left etc etc., so learn them until they are second nature. Again, it is very tedious if every time someone meets you in a game, you enquire: "Excuse me, but how do I ....".
Don't be surprised if players begin shooting you on sight, if that is how you propose playing 1
the game. Which brings us to another important point: it is only a game. You win some and you lose some and like chessor checkers, if you lose, you just reset the game and try again. Don't let your demise be boring when it is unavoidable. Resign yourself to your fate, fall on your sword and begin again.
The last necessity for a great online multi-player interactive gaming experience is a fast Internet connection and a reasonably new computer although the connection speed is the more vital.
Other players are not going to wait for your arrow to kill them as it flies from your bow and speedsacross the screen towards them at a snail's pace - they will just side step it, walk over to you and put you out of their misery with a dagger before your arrow gets to where they once were.
Owen Jones,the author of this article writes on many subjects but is currently involved with Cat Cannon Games. If you would like to read more, pleasego over to our web site entitled Kitten Cannon 3.