Do you ever get afraid to play online?

[PacV]

Like, what if i'm not that good? I don't know why that happens to me…

Like when i play Smash or Mario Kart. I mean, i know there are WAY BETTER players than me, but i don't know why i'm sometimes afraid to touch the online button.

 

[QueenCobra]

I’ve always been tempted to play Mario Kart online…. I’ve never played any video game online before, but I’ve definitely considered it lol.

 

[LadyDestani]

It depends on the level of interaction for me. If I'm just competing against others online and never have to coordinate or talk to them, then I usually don't have a problem going online. I know I won't always be the best, but it can still be fun to challenge other people. Plus, I think your skills grow more from playing against others versus playing against NPCs.

However, any game that requires me to interact with the people I'm playing with or against, form parties or teams, work cooperatively to complete dungeons, etc., sends me into a panic attack. I can't even do a trade in Animal Crossing without trembling and hyperventilating and there's no competition involved in that. My social anxiety hits harder online for some reason, except for forums where I have time to think about things before I post.

 

[Belle T]

Same as above. I don't give a toss if it's something that doesn't require actual interaction. I just treat the other plays as highly advanced AI. But any game that involves coordination and strategy, I will not play unless I know the people who I'm playing with. I just can not do it.

 

[Neb]

I don’t own many games with online features to begin with. When they do have online multiplayer however, I typically play for the sake of trading Pokemon or to play with a friend. Competitive modes with strangers don’t usually interest me. On the rare occasion I play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe online I’m usually decent though. On most races I’m around 3rd place.

I typically avoid games that require socializing because I don’t feel comfortable meeting strangers on video games. When it comes to making online connections I prefer forums. That’s why you’ll almost never see me play MMOs.

 

[Croconaw]

They always try to pair you up with people at a similar skill level to you, at least with the games I play. I play Madden online a lot, a football game, and they’ll always try to pair you with someone with a similar skill level. It’ll say that they seem to have paired you with someone above your skill level, and ask if you’d like to concede early. You are then given an option to keep playing or leave the match. It’s also similar in Mario Kart, where you’ll be matched with people who have similar ratings.

 

[-Mars-]

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[zarf]

Sometimes I do, particularly for 1v1 games. I play a lot of Puyo Puyo and online is FULL of Japanese pro players who have been practicing for years. It is really hard to not just get obliterated and feel like you're garbage. But if you don't fight strong players then how are you going to get stronger yourself? At the end of the day, I'd still have fun playing the game too so that's all that matters. It's really important to know how to have fun even when you lose!

 

[Loriii]

I don't play online games on other consoles. It's a combination of like I'm mostly interested on single player, I didn't invest time to try online so I'm not good with it or I'm just not interested at all. On Nintendo, I played online in a few of their games such as Mario Kart and Splatoon. I only play excusively Salmon Run now. That's the only thing I'm interested to play on, freelance or sometimes, with people on the server. As for the the rest, I stopped investing time with them.

 

[Introspective Onlooker]

I won't lie that sometimes, for someone who prefers to be alone and quiet, it's a bit weird buying villagers from other towns/island. I don't have this feeling with Splatoon, but that's mainly because the meat of that series is its Multiplayer. That's not the case for Animal Crossing. Just today, I felt a bit nervous going to another TBT's member island just so I could buy a villager that previously left my island because I accidentally let her go.

 

[themysterybidder]

Not very often play online, only games I play online are Mario Kart and New Horizons. I once came 1st in Mario Kart, Rainbow Road and was thrilled! New Horizons is much more fun for me, as everyone's island varies so much, also you can shop, interact with the other player and even villagers.

 

[oddbear]

yeah…
the only online games i have are nintendo switch sports, acnl, and acnh
nintendo switch sports doesn’t really bother me but when i trade with people on either animal crossing i will start crying lol

 

[Beanz]

i don’t play any competitive online games, the only game that i’ve played online that is remotely competitive is mario kart 7. im not afraid to do trades on animal crossing either, i think that most of the animal crossing online community (especially tbt) is friendly.

 

[Aria Nook Violet]

Yes I am afraid because of social anxiety but because I'm aware it is an anxiety that came from trauma I like to challenge it. I don't have many chances to challenge my anxiety in life so I resort to the online to help me. I have been making baby steps with fighting it and online games are one way I decided to go about it. If I get the time or are invited to a AC town I will do it for example and I'm even thinking of picking up ESO again (it's an mmo) when I can to help with it too.
Like some people mentioned when playing games like Mario Kart where there is no player interaction I don't get anxious at all because there is no interaction. Animal crossing online stresses me a bit but as I see nothing bad is happening I slowly get less anxious as time goes on but even though I'm nervous I feel real happy because I was able to do it and fight my illogical fears.
However games where the community is known to be toxic like LOL or shooting games I avoid at all cost and don't even want to touch it. As a girl some online spheres can be damaging if I am not mentally strong to take it and those I fear but is a very logical fear.

 

[Drawdler]

For games with teamwork, yeah! It really doesn’t help being afab with a very girly voice really. When it’s solo, it’s not so bad but still depends a bit on the game. CTRNF actually makes me feel like a boss online because I’m the person who beats casual players by 30+ seconds. I am genuinely good at that game. Fighting games make me more anxious because while 1v1 they feel more personal and I feel like I’ll get called out for playing bad or using some strategies. I’m not that good at any of them. Mario Kart is very casual anyway so it’s never been a problem on something like that or Pokémon, I never thought about the online in them very seriously.

 

[nerfeddude]

When I used to play League of Legends, I would never go into matches on my own, only with my friend. Mostly because a lot of LoL players are...well...toxic. And I hate when people are pointing out(in rather rude way) that I messed up. Like, I know that I died quite a lot, but when I asked for help earlier, I was ignored multiple times, so leave me alone, okay??
Other example would be Smash. Sometimes I feel confident in my skill, but other times I'm SUPER AFRAID of going into quickplay matches or join random arena(I actually never did that, because I'm afraid that people would kick me just because of the character I play). And mostly this fear(or tilt combined with anger) is the reason I perform much worse than I could
But even if the game doesn't require any pvp skill, I still feel a bit nervous when it comes to online play. I guess it's because I have troubles communicating with people

 

[xSuperMario64x]

I'm honestly terrified to play online w others and I think it's because online experiences can be so unpredictable. if I'm playing with a friend it's not too bad, but playing by myself is too anxiety-inducing for me to do it often.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

Yes - especially since I always seem to get the toxic people being rude to me despite trying my best to stick to the meta or the unspoken rules, etc. But I don't let it stop me!

 

[Moonlight.]

yes but it's because i have really bad social anxiety lol. i don't necessarily mind that much in games like splatoon since there's no voice/text chat but i've fallen out of pc multiplayer games for that reason.

like man i'm already losing in the game do you have to start hurling out insults and slurs too (overwatch was especially horrendous with players like this but i imagine it's an online issue in general )

 

[pochy]

yes, i couldn’t continue journey because of the online interaction thingy. it’s a nice game tho