Domination Culture In Modern Gaming
When Winning Became Everything
My friend and I have been playing games together for two decades now. Over the years, we’ve seen a lot of changes in the gaming industry, from microtransactions to important features hidden behind DLC. However, the most concerning change is the rise of domination culture.
Domination culture is everywhere in 2022. Big companies are buying out smaller studios, and the quality of work produced is suffering. Meanwhile, e-sports and streaming have created a culture that places winning above all else, even in games meant to be played for leisure.
While it may sound like a platitude, winning isn’t everything. Games like Dwarf Fortress and Rimworld prove that losing can be as enjoyable as winning. I can personally attest to this, as my friend and I once had a memorable gaming experience where we lost but had a lot of fun doing so. Dwarf Fortress’ slogan is “LOSING IS FUN!” speaking a gust of fresh air into gaming culture.
In late 2019, before the pandemic, I befriended someone named Hunter on XBOX. We played together often, mostly on Battlefield 1 and APEX Legends. Hunter and my friend became quite close, and my friend even acted as a mentor to him, providing advice on shared family issues. I admired my friend for going above and beyond in their friendship.
We invited Hunter to join us in a new Minecraft world one day. This was the first time we had played Minecraft with him, and it highlighted the differences in generational attitudes toward gaming. As we surveyed the spawn point, my friend and I noticed these differences more than ever.
We sat on a hill overlooking the terrain and discussed the city we intended to build there. I commented on our lovely big tree in the valley’s center. “Let’s leave that tree for now; it would be a pain to cut anyways,” I told my two comrades. The bottom six or seven blocks of the trunk were gone within ten minutes.
Hunter quickly targeted this tree we admired for its natural appearance. He then disregarded the plea to preserve the nearby village and destroyed it within the first hour. This frustrated me, as Hunter’s actions reminded me of Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka.
My friend and I took a break from collecting stones for foundations to go fishing. It was one of our favorite activities. One memorable night, I invited my best friend to join me in my new ice fishing hut in a previous world. We stood there, fishing silently, at midnight on a Friday night. Suddenly, my friend spoke on the microphone and said, “Yeah, this is exactly what I want to be doing right now.” He wasn’t being sarcastic — we both enjoyed the simple pleasure of fishing and being in a virtual world, even if just for a moment. Since then, “This is exactly what I want to be doing right now” has become an inside joke.
While my friend and I were fishing, Hunter returned from somewhere else. He had been gone since we logged into the world. He told us he had lots of iron and suggested we start working towards the Nether portal immediately to get to The End. My friend and I were surprised. Hunter was rushing leisure and genius. He seemed to be in a hurry to accomplish everything, which was also causing him to rush us.
Before inviting him to our world, we had already told Hunter our plans and goals. We wanted him to hang out with us and do things together as a group, focusing on singular tasks or at least staying together. We valued his presence over his contribution to the stockpile of resources we would eventually need. We wanted him to give his opinion on city planning, fishing with us, and spending time together in our virtual world — not just in the Xbox party chat. Hunter could use some catharsis for all his worries, but we weren’t sure if he realized that.
I am sure many of you have that one friend who runs off on you in a Minecraft world. For the most part, people are individualists when it comes to Minecraft. Everyone wants their own “house,” everyone wants to run off exploring, and everyone wants their stuff to be “their stuff.” Don’t TOUCH THEIR STUFF! Getting a group to do anything together in Minecraft is like herding cats. I’m not naive to the fact that in the story, I sound like that sad dad trying to get his teenage son to hang out with him on vacation at the beach.
The glamorization of Minecraft streamers tends to make everyone want to be there either watching or, if lucky enough, to be invited into some hotshot’s Minecraft SMP so that you can feel close to significance for a moment of your seemingly ordinary life. It’s like standing in the window behind the hosts of Good Morning America with a sign. I don’t think that’s what most people experience when trying to join a group to play Minecraft. Most of the time, the story goes like the above. Log in, split up, gather a bunch of stuff, repeat the next day, maybe a third and fourth day, and never play that world again.
I wouldn’t say I like the meta in every game. No exceptions. I’m a fashion-over-function person, and I don’t expect everyone to be like me, but I had just hoped our young friend could calm down for one day and relax with us in Minecraft.
Domination culture and toxic behavior are two sides of the same coin. Although Hunter is not particularly toxic, he does refer to anyone who isn’t on our team as “this kid,” which bothers me since it assumes that anyone playing against us is a child. Despite this, Hunter takes losses in stride and is always willing to play again.
The domination culture in Minecraft is not always obvious, but it can be seen on PvP servers like Two Builders 2 Tools (TB2T), which is a well-known experiment in anarchy and human nature. However, even on these servers, roleplay is used to justify our most basic human behavior of dominating and destroying.
Other games like Paladins and Overwatch are notorious for their toxicity and the win-at-all-costs mentality. It doesn’t take long to see how easily people can become fragile and upset if they don’t win. From passive-aggressive spamming of the “Thanks!” voice emote to outright abusive trash-talking and threats to throw games, these games can bring out the worst in young people, even though they are fun to play.
You can be competitive and win, but sportsmanship should always be prioritized. Unfortunately, some people ruin the fun of games. With the world’s current state in 2022, there are more important things to worry about than our rank in Overwatch. I hope everyone takes a breath and remembers that gaming should be fun and not at the expense of oneself or others. Hunter didn’t ruin our game, but we realized we should teach him to enjoy slowing down.
As I’ve gotten older, I rarely finish games. I want the game to continue if I’m invested enough to reach the end. The best games don’t have endings; they keep you lost in their world. If a game makes you rush to finish it, it’s not worth your time. Who wants a good thing to end? Not me. The end can wait; I have fish to catch.”
