Left for Dead Online

I have recently discovered the awesomeness that is Left for Dead online, and have spent the last day and a half watching (and sometimes participating) in the fascinating online aspect of this game. 

I didn't grow up playing MMOG's, so games like World of Warcraft were completely astounding to me when I first discovered them. It still never ceases to amaze me that people from all over the world are now able to connect with and play games with strangers on the other side of the planet. Then I realized that all of my male friends, who are avid players of multiple online games via either computer or gaming console, are completely unfazed by this notion. 

While I giggle with delight because through Wii, I am able to play Mariokart with someone in Japan, someone in Canada, and someone in New York simultaneously, they look at me and roll their eyes. I realized how completely jaded our generation has become by the marvels of modern technology, and this creation of a kind of global "ambient awareness" of people we have never even met, whose avatars we are now interacting with on the screens in our livingrooms. 

Game-playing, which was something once reserved as an activity between friends -or at least acquaintances- is now shared between millions of strangers, who are able to interact competitively and in the spirit of good zombie-killing fun. I watched in awe as a roomful of my friends logged on to Xbox's Left for Dead online and were immediately inserted into the midst of a zombie-killing melee- the in-progress match between two teams from around the world. They would immediately leap into action, talking into their headsets to strangers on their team, setting up tactical formations and gauging the skill of the opposing team. I was amazed at how casually they struck up a conversation with the faceless people at the other ends of their headsets, shooting zombies and calling to each other. You know, something like,

"Hey, are these guys any good?"

"No, they're pretty terrible. But thank god you're here, I finally have team members."

*laughs*

"Okay so go barf on that guy and I'll jump him. After you've called the Horde, '__' will strangle that other guy."

"Alright."

"Oh man these guys SUCK... hahhhahaah this is hilarious oh hey I'm going to add you by the way.."

"Yea sure."'

I don't know about you, but this kind of interaction between complete strangers from hundreds of miles away just blows my mind. My friend even scrolled down his Xbox "friendlist," explaining how he had met each contact, how skilled they were, and how often they played together. 

Through this medium, Left for Dead online players are essentially verbally interacting and working as a team with dozens of random strangers every day, coordinating strategy, watching each other's backs, laughing at the other team, making small talk, and often "friending" each other- knowing each other by little more than the sound of their voices. In the hundreds of hours my friends have logged in to L4D online, who knows who they have talked to, played with, and cooperated with? In this type of medium, nothing matters- not your age, your ethnicity, your looks, your popularity, your socioeconomic status- all that matters is that you're pretty good at being a team-player and killing zombies. People who would never even have dreamt of interacting in real life have probably played together as a team in L4D online, sharing a sense of camaraderie and adrenaline. 

You are not expected to make witty small-talk or have a sexy avatar. There are no social codes that you must abide by- just watch your teammates' backs, and they will chat with you amicably without judgment. It is simply an entire world (or country) of strangers united in the spirit of having fun.

I know that Left for Dead is not the only game offering this kind of no-strings-attached "digital intimacy," but it is certainly one of the most fascinating. And (in my opinion) the most bloody fun. :]