Gaming and friendship have been synonymous across the decades. From pals clustered around a pair of controllers playing sports games on the Mega Drive or Amiga to people learning moves and tricks in the arcades, there’s been a constant social evolution among gamers.
In the online era, early friendships were built around a love of exploring in places like Quakeworld and the booming MMOs like EverQuest and Meridian 59, with a mix of online and offline communications between guilds, combat games squads and mod builders as communities blossomed around the burbling of modems.
The move to service gaming, from Minecraft to Rocket League, and Monster Hunter to Call of Duty, sees hundreds of millions of players trying to get along, when they’re not killing each other. The scale of these audiences might make it seem tougher to build friendships, but every single player started out as that one lonesome pointer on the map.
The massive growth in player numbers, plus the need to protect privacy, can give people that together-but-separate vibe about communities, but there are still plenty of ways to get involved in entertainment games. Our heartfelt guide on how to make friends in the online gaming universe can help.
The Other Gaming Journey on the Other Side of the Screen
Most games have strong online communities outside of the specific game and official forums. They can build up around popular players with streaming channels on Twitch for new games. Or, for more established titles, there are plenty of forums, Discord channels, and websites for the specific game or dedicated teams or cultures that build up around them where you can make friends online.
Legendary games like Starcraft have fan bases that stretch around the world with 150,000 daily players after decades of play, with very strong communities keeping the player base active.
The more established the game, the more ways there are to communicate and make friends, from social media chat to reacting to in-game news, updates and helping fellow players with problems.
But whatever your social ambition, it all starts inside the game. Pick times to create a regular online presence where you are likely to meet the same players, and start engaging at the in-game social haunts or hubs. Join in on voice chat, rather than being a silent partner in missions or quests, and try to add value rather than yakking away.
Playing the Community Game
Whatever your community goals, you need some knowledge and love for the games you are focusing on. Pick two or three titles you have an innate interest in and get deep into their lore, leveling up or mastering boss battles and make sure you’re present for new updates, community events, controversial episodes and so on.
Join in the community debate around these issues and events, share your character’s exploits, tips and tricks in text, screen capture or video form on your social channels. Engage with others and build up a conversation, especially with people you interact with in the game.
Things to avoid include asking newbie questions in higher-level conversations, treating normal or base-level achievements as something awesome, and trying to gain rewards.
Meeting the Community
Gaming has spread far and wide beyond the screen, with massive fan and official gaming events for the likes of QuakeCon, BlizzCon and many others. Here, hardcore fans gather for the big reveals, epic tournaments, and social activities.
Most players can’t make it to these events, so they trickle down to regional and local events, with everything from local Minecraft building groups to Hearthstone gatherings. All of these are great ways to meet in real life, expand your community and knowledge, and actually get out of the house.
Back online, once you’ve settled into your new community, you can play a more valuable part by becoming a forum moderator, a team manager for esports games or taking on other roles to grow your authority online. Or, in creative games, join in groups and get building on projects that interest you and share your creations.
Even if you’re just looking for some regular friends to play against, the more visibility you have, the more players you will find. As an additional bonus, this kind of management and organisational skill makes a neat extra on that CV/resume.
Make A Career Out of the Community
A growing number of people who work in the games industry started out as fans of a particular title or company, and became contributors via fan sites, arranging events and sharing news.
While there’s no guarantee, your love for a product can stand out and attract the attention of the developers or publisher, giving you a more formal role in the community, and helping you attract fans from around the world.
It goes without saying, any player bringing negativity or a toxic attitude to a community will quickly end up being banned or ignored. So bring your most positive person to any community, each day during play and among the social discourse, even around negative topics (industry redundancies being a popular one at the moment).
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