Do you ever get afraid to play online?

[allainah]

Yeah I have agoraphobia and my anxiety is super bad lol even playing with friends in mario kart gives me a lot of anxiety and I can't play very long, I just feel like a burden and i'm too boring/bad at playing tbh. I also feel ignored a lot but I don't engage in convo so I really can't complain about that.

I've never even tried online games with VC/chats because I know people would be mean to me ;-; Heck even the game Don't Starve Together I play ALONE LOL, don't starve alone ;D

 

[Jhine7]

I’m not a fan of talking to people online, but online where I don’t have to talk to anyone, like Mario Kart, is a lot of fun!

 

[Nooblord]

I’d play games online more but I don’t like sitting in lobbies and waiting…

 

[RemMomori]

Most of the time I don't get too nervous playing online. The games I play online like Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon don't require me to interact with others, even in animal crossing when I go online it was only for the purpose of trading so I had an idea on what to say and these trades never lasted very long. However in games that have roleplay or less structure to interacting with others like Roblox I get nervous and even left a game once because I saw a person, yes I am that anxious. A couple years ago I was on Roblox in highschool and was playing on my own when someone had wanted to roleplay with me, I got so nervous that I exited the game and went to eat dinner. I eventually stopped playing Roblox and haven't played since I was in highschool.

 

[Kitsuragi]

i wouldn't say afraid, but i really dislike gaming online because people can be super annoying if you dont play the exact way they want you to. in online games, i almost always ignore the chat and will mute anyone using microphones. its mad annoying. but, casual games are fine to chat on for me, like tower unite

 

[WriterofWritings]

MMOs or games like League of Legends, I've never really wanted to try; that kind of coordination isn't my thing.
But if it's a fighter, like Tekken or another game with that style, I like to play online sometimes. I almost immediately regret it though because I realize just how bad I am at it compared to the others who play online. >.<

Oh, and also Rocket League; that one isn't so bad to play online, it requires some strategy but it doesn't really change depending on who you're playing with, and it's a lot of fun! Until you accientally hit the ball into your own goal and want to vanish out of embarassment.

 

[Xara]

all the time. the only online playing i really do nowadays is the occasional new horizons trade, and i’m irrationally anxious before every one. it’s nobody’s fault as everyone i’ve traded with has been so lovely and kind, i guess i’m just anxious that i’ll mess up the trade somehow or come across as rude/unfriendly because i tend to keep my trades short and sweet without much small talk (not because i don’t want to talk! i’m just awkward and anxious and never know what to say or how to respond to things lol), etc. i’ve done over 1.3k trades between new leaf and new horizons and the anxiety is still always there, so it’s just something i have to cope with. it’s definitely not as bad as when i first started trading, though.

i’ve also played with friends a few times which definitely made me more anxious than trading, but every hangout was successful and awesome as well. it has nothing to do with the people i’m with and i’m always scared for nothing, anxiety and fear is just... my default, i guess lol.

i’m set to play mario party superstars with other people for the first time this weekend, and i am insanely nervous and excited about it lol. i’ve been practicing lots to ensure i actually know what i’m doing and how to play, but i’m still scared i’ll mess up or embarrass myself or slow down the gameplay. ;w;

 

[Aquilla]

Oh definitely. I have a lot of social anxiety and lots of it in online games. I still play them, but it takes me really really long to feel comfortable enough to actually interact with people. I mainly play mmorpgs (so games where you kinda depend on playing in a team/guild and can’t accomplish much alone) and it takes me ages to find enough courage to chat openly and talk to strangers.

 

[Gene.]

Oh this is something I feel so strongly about. I get really nervous to play online team games, I always feel like I may let my team down or throw a game, and it makes me feel terrible. But when it comes to something like MK8 Deluxe, where I'm playing alone technically, I don't feel that crazy anxiety. I do get little butterflies when trading with some on on New Horizons though!

 

[Halloqueen]

Can't say afraid would be an applicable descriptor, no. Maybe nervous excitement sometimes, but only in certain circumstances and not very often.

Mostly tend to just play with friends, but sometimes I'll play with strangers in things like Super Smash Bros. or other fighting games, or Pokémon (usually for battle competitions to get shiny legendaries when they do those from time to time) or Mario Kart (basically just when TBT has events featuring it). Ideally I want to be competent in my performance even if I lose, but I don't care what anyone thinks of how I perform. Basically just there to have fun. Losing comes with the territory, I'm not a professional, so it's whatever. It no doubt helps that there isn't really a way for the strangers to harass me or anything considering these games either usually don't have text or voice chat or I don't bother using it. Regardless, point is, nothing for me to really stress over about playing with people.

 

[SinnerTheCat]

Oh totally, I don't think I've ever felt not stressed when playing a team game! MMOs are fine for me since there's so many people who don't really bother you and multiplayer games where you basically play alone like Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros are okay too, but games that are strongly based on teamwork like League of Legends, Valorant etc are like hell to me. I do have fun while playing them!! But the thought that creeps in every now and then that I'm letting my team down by doing something wrong in the game and not being able to communicate my genuine sorry for the thing is super stress-inducing for me. I remember genuinely enjoying these games 100% only when I was playing with my irl friends and speaking with them over voice chat

Also, as much as Among Us should be an enjoyable game, I'd never play it with random people - it'd be like hell for me. Lying is not my strong suit and I always act suspicious, so any type of mafia game with people who don't know me well is incredibly difficult haha

 

[Bluelady]

Yes, definitely! There are some competitive game modes that I won't even touch, because I know that there's another person watching and possibly judging the moves that I make. The rewards of the match would have to be really good in order for me to get over this fear. Even then, I purposely try to stay in the lower/easier tiers. It's easier for me to get over this fear in a game like Animal Crossing. The nervousness is still there, but everyone that I've traded with thus far have been so nice. So it kind of balances out in the end.

 

[Snek]

Slightly, when it comes to Pokémon. I'm more afraid what the traded Pokémon's stats look like than the person I'm trading with. I used to be terrified Pokémon trading with others though, out of the fear that I'll get snubbed and I lose my trade evolution forever.

 

[Loriii]

Right now I only play Salmon Run on Splatoon. Sometimes, I play with different people on the server if I don't like to freelance the rotation or after I reached 999. And no, I'm not afraid. I play hours and hours of FL and same playing with people if I feel like to. The only thing I'm afraid of are playing with randoms on FL at 800 and above, having 19-21 quota at the start lol. But I guess, that's part of the challenge and fun. As for the rest, I only play single player games. I have a lot of them (backlogs) on other consoles, and can't afford to spend more time playing online in other games

 

[themysterybidder]

i guess i’m just anxious that i’ll mess up the trade somehow or come across as rude/unfriendly because i tend to keep my trades short and sweet without much small talk (not because i don’t want to talk! i’m just awkward and anxious and never know what to say or how to respond to things lol),

This is what I do! I am friendly and don't mind messaging in a DM but when I get to someone else's island I take ages to type, I'm worried they will think I'm loitering!

 

[porkpie28]

I don’t really like team games I am ok with online games like mario kart etc Pokémon raids sometimes gets me mad lol

 

[Romaki]

I have anxiety, but I don't mind games such as TF2 or Mario Kart. I suppose each onlinebase is different, but I never made bad experiences in TF2 myself. I've met toxic players, but if you don't engage with them they'll leave you alone. If not, you can change the lobby. It's like one in a thousand games, it's not worth remembering because it's not saying anything about you.

My worst experience is being bullied in Minecraft. I'm very good at Trouble in Mineville and I got so good at the maps on Hive that I knew advantage spots and where traitors would meet up. If you don't know the game, it's a bit like Among Us. If you're very good, you can spot certain behavior. I outplayed a group of people once and they immensely targeted me after that, always following me and killing me instantly. Annoying to most, but due to my anxiety I felt so terrible and it ruined my enjoyment of the game, so I never touched it again. The game is dead now anyways.

I just hope it happens to no one else. Before that situation, I could actually help someone going through something similiar on Hive. All it takes is for some person to have your back and go against the server. But Minecraft back then was more toxic than regular gaming I'd say.

 

[Seastar]

Definitely. I only really feel okay going online in Mario Kart, even if I don't do that well in it anyway. I tried that Splatoon 3 Splatfest demo and that just reminded me why I wanted to stick with only the story mode.

 

[JellyBeans]

personally no but that’s because i tend to avoid overly stressful online gaming situations so i guess technically i would lmao. playing things like Mario kart online doesn’t phase me at all because I’m in my own ‘bubble’ and don’t really have to interact with anyone, whereas i know if I were to get into any kind of team game, or god forbid one you might need comms (I’m thinking valorant etc) i would 100% be scared to talk to people, and equally scared I’m gonna let the team down or something

 

[al-tirah]

Maybe when I was starting but now I enjoy it.