In SC2, It Is Right to Hate Your Opponent!

SC2 is a video game, sure, but isn't it more than that? Mallows hierarchy of needs suggests that we ascend to the higher levels of existence when we satisfy basic needs. At the very height of his assembly is self-actualization. I suspect that most people who play SC2 are in a state of self-actualization. Therefore, SC2 must be more than just a video game. It is an arena to actualize our skill, determination and competitive edge. Furthermore, it is a way to prove ourselves against an equally matched opponent who is striving for the exact same fulfilment we are. Our id projects the need to self-gratify and our ego has the need to create value in ourselves. Defeat is more than simply losing armies and structures – losing a game – it is losing a gasp on self-assuredness and even losing a part of our perception or reality of ourselves. Therefore, anger, BM and hatred are a sensible reaction to winning or losing a match. Our need to project victory at all costs, or shelter our ego, in loss, at all costs suggests that we should act or react this way.http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Perhaps our ego and tempers get in the way of a happy-go-lucky mentality to play SC2. But let’s face it; this game is a game of war. You’re killing your opponents units and you’re having your own be killed in combat. We probably don’t always think of it this way… like “Yes, I'm slaughtering so many human marines right now with my roaches… muahahaha”… but at times it does feel good to crush our enemy in a battle and watch the digital bodies litre the map. I believe that, in the back of our minds, we all find pleasure in the explosions, cries of death and limited gore created in SC2.

There is an old joke (or saying) that goes along the lines of… If two men are attacked by a bear in the forest, to survive, one man does not need to our run the bear, he simply needs to out run the other man.

If two opponents meet in an SC2 game (be it 1v1 or team games) they don’t need to outplay their opponent. They need to kill him. This killer instinct is in direct relation to our survival instinct. To simply outplay your opponent does not necessarily mean you will win the game. You need to have a killing instinct, you need to have an urge to destroy him, to put him down and never have him come up (unless you que up against him again in another game lol). In the book, 48 laws of power, one of the laws states that if you’re going to defeat your opponent, you should destroy him utterly. Artosis once said, if you’re ahead, get more ahead. Day[9] once said, “Just go fucking kill him”.

To just go fucking kill him takes you past the urge to simply play well. You must digress to a survival instinct, the killer instinct, and unleash your prowess, skill and hatred on your opponent. http://cgt411.tech.purdue.edu/covey/48_laws_of_power.htm

SC2 is an equal-opportunity playing field. Your opponent is of equal skill. The map is almost perfectly balanced. In this context, a mindless brute cannot surely win a match against a quick witted, conniving opponent. The need to play well is probably a more intellectual need than the need to simply kill your opponent. I think you could argue that a player who simply wants to learn the game and be skilful and not necessarily win is the “higher” player. But let’s face it. We all want to win!
You need to balance your hatred with prowess. You need to start a game cool and collected, and in the moments where it proves to lash out and destroy your enemy, you should never hesitate to do so. Do not be afraid to utterly destroy, humiliate and crush your opponent. Do not shy away from victory.

I think we can all see, now, why your opponents will BM you both in defeat and victory. Now that we understand our nature we can invite BM openly and even enjoy it.

Be honest with yourself. You could lose the game. Prepare for an emotional uprising and prepare to lash out at your opponent. On the other hand, you could win the game as well. This too will be an emotional experience and you may lash out at your opponent in triumph.

If you are the victor, prepare for BM from your opponent. Brace yourself, it could get messy depending on how much they associate SC2 winning and self-worth. Try not to react in a negative way to the BM. Accept it as a natural reaction to loss and move on. I'm not saying do not respond. Feel free to respond and defend yourself. But when it is all said and done, leave it behind you in the past.

Some could argue that BM is unsportsmanlike. I agree, but only in a public arena. Sportsmanship, as we know it, is usually defined when other people are involved in watching the match. Sportsmanship is often guidelines for how spectators wish to view player’s conduct. What they see and what they know are two completely different things. Players banter and BM each other all the time in traditional sport. Does the crowd hear about it? Are the players “playing” a certain “sportsmanlike way?”… Is it all an act or a preferred perception? Or is sportsmanship moral guidelines for how players should respect and treat each other…?

I strongly believe that there is no place for BM in a professional, spectacled event. However, two nerds gaming hard on their own time, in their own rooms, 1v1 on the internet!??! COME ON!!! BM AWAY MOTHER FUCKER!

I’ve played many, many off-line SC2 events. Even still, I've encountered BM in person; after the game, out loud between two players. Was it a professional match? No. Was it being watched by many other people? No. Where emotions and pride at stake? Yes. Did they have a right to make a fuss out of losing or winning? Yes. Did they make up and shake hands after? Yes. Was anyone really offended by it? No.

I've been playing SC, Brood War and SC2 ever since each was released. I've always been in Masters league and I casually play throughout my weeks. I enjoy the game a lot, and I actually refrain from BM as much as possible ^^.

I'm 29, married and we're expecting. I work at a homeless foundation as the manager of volunteer resources. Previous this employment, I was a caseworker working directly with homeless men and woman and I also had a brief (year and a few months) gig working for a highly successful software company.

I love family, music, friendships and beer.