How has NS impacted your life?
CommunistWithAGun
Local Propaganda Guy Join Date: 2003-04-30 Member: 15953Members
Local Propaganda Guy Join Date: 2003-04-30 Member: 15953Members
<div class="IPBDescription">you're only going to read because of me posting</div>I'm curious as to what, if any, changes have occured in your life (Better or worse) from being "touched" by ns, even miniscule changes.
I'll share first:
Positive
I made some e-friends that I still cause havoc with (tpyo and company)
Negative: Got a little TOO engrossed and let a few other games and hobbies pass me by when I played this a LOT (Back in 04/05)
I'll share first:
Positive
I made some e-friends that I still cause havoc with (tpyo and company)
Negative: Got a little TOO engrossed and let a few other games and hobbies pass me by when I played this a LOT (Back in 04/05)
Comments
Improved oral English skills a lot.
Learned leadership skills.
Learned to not be a ###### <b>all the time</b> just because I'm good at a computer game.
<b>Negative:</b>
Could've learned something cool instead. Like playing an instrument or something. IDK.
-Im a pretty happy motherf*****. No stress, ever. All vented through NS.
-Thousands of hours of pure entertainment with no cost (wouldve had Net anyways)
-I have that many more stories to talk about with my closest friends, from all the crazy matches over the years.
-It might sound funny, but i believe i've learned quite a bit about leadership through Comming so much (pub and competitive alike, both teach lessons)
-My love for the game has led me to create a professional mapping portfolio, which will likely be my 'in' into the game industry and a hopefully prosperous (but always <i>fun</i>) career
-NS' importance placed on every aspect of 3d architecture, mixed with my mapping, has actually given me a much more aware perception of the world around me. You can map for CS etc and only ever care about the floor; the rest is all scenery. NS, every nook and cranny needs to be considered and balanced, creating a far more 'full' experience. This mixed with my having started Parkour a year ago, has really opened my eyes to the world around me; i've regained that simple curiosity we all had in our childhood <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
<b>Cons:</b>
-Thousands of hours spent playing videogames <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />. This was the same with CS before, but I feel those hours were far better spent when they were on NS.
-The career path im heading down is risky and may not be prosperous compared to the other jobs I perhaps would have entertained (since i have a degree). But goddamn, I'll sure be far happier.
<b>Overall:</b>
No regrets. Love this game, always will.
<b>Pros:</b>
I own one of those Official TSA shirts.
Improved confidence -- was such an epic weenie before I got in the chair, less epic now
Slightly improved teamwork/communication -- negative marks for screaming
The most insane, epic LANs that people talk about for months after they're over
<b>Cons:</b>
I own one of those Official TSA shirts.
My girlfriend thinks I play too much, but is strangely silent when I offer to compare productivity levels. (owned)
Whenever I get too far into NS (8 hours a day) I start to relate everything in terms of NS. I even went so far as to use fade/lerk roles as an analogy for a relationship to my girlfriend.
[edit]
I reckon a lot of people are going to mention learning leadership through commanding. Two people, not including myself already have... It's true. It really does affect you. Before getting in the chair I was always "maybe", "could you" and a general weenie. After I got in the chair I started thinking about making decisions. The workplace was helping me develop this skill at the same time as well. I thought, "make a decision and go with it, if it's wrong, don't do it again". After the chair, instead of being petrified of making mistakes, I confidently pulled everything I knew into that one moment and made a crack-decision with it, and then ran with it.
I never saw mistakes for wonderful opportunities to learn. It's like when I first joined comp play. A lack of skill can be translated into mistakes and the more mistakes I made the better I got. I wasn't making nearly any mistakes in pubs and it got boring, but when I joined comp play I was labeled a pub hero and summarily dominated upon. It was fantastic!
Many of us are net-dwellers, always behind the screen and keyboard, interacting with text and smilies. Few of us are the confident, football-hero types from highschool, so getting in the chair is quite a change. Suddenly you're changing the gameplay experience of 5 other people. Your team losing or winning is now in your judgement, and really, that's not something many of us experience before the age of, say, 25(?). I don't know because I still haven't experienced it outside of NS and I'm 22.
You could comm a little and never really gain the benefits of improved leadership, confidence, etc.. but if you are trying to <i>master</i> commanding then you will.
It also taught me that the majority of people are idiots and have no grasp of appropriate strategy or effective tactics.
To be honest, anybody interesting in getting into politics should first spend 100 hours commanding in Natural Selection.
it can also exacerbate a god complex, see:
<!--quoteo(post=1662874:date=Dec 4 2007, 02:29 PM:name=Rapier7)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rapier7 @ Dec 4 2007, 02:29 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1662874"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Commanding in NS ... taught me that the majority of people are idiots and have no grasp of appropriate strategy or effective tactics.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo(post=1662848:date=Dec 4 2007, 07:42 AM:name=fanatic)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fanatic @ Dec 4 2007, 07:42 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1662848"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><b>Negative:</b>
<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->Could've <!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--><!--coloro:#696969--><span style="color:#696969"><!--/coloro--> learned something cool instead. Like playing an instrument or something. IDK.<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
gotta watch out for that, man
It also gave me mapping. I echo what was said earlier about thinking about EVERYTHING. Atmosphere, minor adjustments, points of entry, blocking field of view. Geez, I sometimes catch myself admiring architecture and thinking where the good ambush spots would be.
On the negative side, time pull has been an issue. I've also joined up and done some comp, but it's a bit late in the game and I just don't have the time to dedicate myself to awesomeness.
However, there's always some of the crazy awesome people I've met, both fun to hang with and fun to laugh at.
<b>Positive</b>:
- hands down, learning how to deal with people being on of the community admins
- the community on the whole. It's great fun to meet all kinds of people
- Helped me choose my degree, I like dealing with people (in Psychology)
- fun, lots and lots of fun games
<b>Cons</b>:
- Time, can't deny that <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
It's kinda weird, but I'd probably be quite different if I hadn't found NS.
- Being introduced to a new, exciting sub-genre that brings team strategy and tactics onto the same level as individual ability
- Putting ideas across on forums and learning arguing/debating techniques
- Gaining a greater understanding of level design (balance, specifically)
- Not feeling the need to upgrade my PC to run newer, sparkly games, and spending the money on other things
- Getting different perspectives via the community
- Financially supporting an independant game that I genuinely believe in
- Watching modders turn into indie developers and 'living the dream'
- Seeing some of the most exciting level design you're ever likely to see for the Half-Life engine on the Mapping Forum
<b>Cons</b>
- Reaching the point where I wanted to player competitively but not having the time to join a clan <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" />
- I've lost a lot of time that could have been used to do something constructive (like get a job)
- Being intolerant to people who singlehandedly screw a game up through inexperience
- All the games that were lost at the 2 minute mark and ended at the 15 minute mark
- Never having released a map for NS :/
- Feeling betrayed when the forums/community was severed for months on end.
Five years ago when I started to play Natural Selection (release day) I was just like any regular video game player with an interest in programming. I never really thought about being a game programmer until some time after the release of NS. I am not sure what exactly did it, but over the first months of ridiculously long balanced games (yea, I am calling 1.04 balanced.) I knew that game programming was something I wanted to do. So I took more programming courses in high school and now I am going for Game Programming at Full Sail. Soon enough I will be graduating and I hope to work on a game that will impact someone else the same way Natural Selection has to me.
Oh yea, and I got to meet some really awesome people along the way.
looking back 3 years ago or so, i really feel i missed out on a lot of things because it was always easier to just hop on an ns server than find out something else to do. i happily enjoyed the company of people 5,000km away rather than having tried to find (possibly) better company closer. and i dont really remember what it was that finally made me move more and more on to other stuff... maybe it was my acquired addiction of cigarettes, maybe the scene just got more boring.
i also dont know what kinds of people i'd have met had i spent all those weekends playing ns on something else instead. but i have made some friends in the ns universe aswell, some of whom i have met face-to-face (or bottle-to-bottle), and a few more who i'd really like to see. if anyone from <3, levi or sauna is reading this, try to get a hold on me on facebook or something :D (no i'm NOT addicted to facebook... yet).
Eat that one.
Met good people
Had ###### loads of fun
Became an admin
Learnt how to model some stuff
Cons:
eh?
Good topic, btw
I know a guy from H.S. who went to full sail. Did some animation program. Last time I heard from him he told me he's joining the army.
Teached me alot about insulting and quick wit in-game.
Con's
Wasted alot of time back when I was doing my A-Level work and dropped it's standard of quality.
-NS has given me a chance to vent out all the aggression and stress I've got
-Competetive taught me to vent it out in the game, not the players
-Improved my communicating skills
-Met tons of nice people
<b>Cons</b>
-The time wasted on a game.