Co-op Wins: How Video Gaming Breeds Connection

Lets talk about how Video Gaming Breeds Connection!

You know what I miss?

Video Gaming with some friends

Whether it was via couch or at the arcade, nothing satisfied me more than button mashing with (or even playing against) a buddy.

I was half watching a Marvel vs Capcom match-up via FightCade on YouTube yesterday and it hit me. Even though MVC is a Fighting Game, it reminded me how much I missed the feeling of playing a game in person with someone.

I remember how it was in the 90s and early 2000s growing up.

I'd either plea with my mom to have one of my boys come over and chill, or I'd sneak em' in when she was either out at a church engagement or working late.

I'd use my intuition in a stealthy way and pre-determine how much of a window I had to get some button mashing in.

Yeah as you'd guess, sometimes I'd lose big time. Sigh.

Looking back at my misadventures in Co-op gaming, I realized that it was the most natural way for me to breed connection.

There was something about having a physical presence there that made the gaming experience that much better.

So for today's entry lets explore my three personal observations and thoughts on how video gaming breeds connection.

The Dopamine Hit was Real AF

My genre of choice would always be beat-em-up side scrollers. Best series hands down was Streets of Rage (with Streets of Rage 2 being the absolute best in the series without question).

Whenever someone came over to hang, it was time to play all three games and beat them in the craziest and fastest way possible...before we got caught if my mom wasn't home LOL.

From the moment we put the game on, the blood was pumping! We were in our happy place. Ah the simple life I wish I could get back to! I'm sure you feel the same as you read this!

At the time we didn't know what it was, but the Dopamine of dropping hoards of enemies with the sickest combinations and tag team offense carried us through the experience.

It put us in a point of euphoria, where nothing else mattered except the experience and getting each other through to the final boss and the ending.

Sure, in the current day you can get the same effect via multiplayer games and online co-op. But, nothing beats hearing the button mashing of your friend next to you and sharing snacks and stories as you pushed through the lore of the game.

The experience gave us a massive boost of energy and put our reality behind us...the reality of being from broken homes without our fathers present, which was common for Black boys from the Bronx. Even for an hour or two, it was our gateway to the divine. To be and feel awesome, and to me that was everything.

Playing online is cool (I don't do it at all to be real) but feeling that energy boost with someone around you is like none other, and the more you feel it, the more you want to experience with said person or people.

Communication always Locked In Connection!

In the Army we had a saying to win we had to "shoot...move...communicate."

However, I would have to put communicate at the beginning of that continuous cycle.

You can't shoot (or play) if the lot of you aren't communicating.

As a whole, co-op gaming breeds connection through its promotion of communication. You have to talk if you're playing! There's no other choice!

One game I used to play (in fact it was my last MMORPG period) was DC Universe Online.

Yeah...that game Daybreak made to just take your money and then you wonder why you're so broke when you have kids LOL.

If you weren't text chatting, you had to mic up...of course I did this late in my play career. But my goodness it was a hoot. To hear and feel the emotions of people as we played. To strategize and crack jokes as we ran through the stages together. Thats teamwork!

I had a league (I miss those guys and gals to be honest) and we were constantly talking and aiding each other through the missions. Didn't matter who was on what level, we even accompanied the lowest level person through their missions.

But we couldn't do that if we were some random group and didn't talk to one another. We'd likely fail every time and miss out on some feats and achievements as well.

By communicating, not only do we improve on our success but its a gateway to strengthening the bonds we build. Can you have a friendship or even a relationship and NOT talk?

What if there's no energy there to communicate? It feels off!

Video games with someone is the perfect way to ensure that communication thrives even through shouts and laughter (another big benefit) and paves the way to my next point.

As you Play you Learn More

There's been conversations and research about the pros and cons of video gaming. Sure, it can pull you out of reality, promote violence, maybe even turn your brain to mush. But to me its such a flex.

It promotes hand and eye coordination.

It promotes critical thinking skills and strategy...depending on the types of games you play.

It teaches you about storytelling, for the game as well as the person you're playing with.

As you play the game together, something subtle happens.

You bond with the person and learn more about them as you go.

As the energy flows and the communication happens between the two (or lot) of you, you'll learn about their likes and dislikes, their life upbringings, their struggles, their goals in life...all while plugging and mashing your way through missions.

This creates a nexus of consciousness, where you really feel a sense of connection (or in some cases rivalry LOL).

I witness it in my kids when they play Roblox...a game I personally detest because...ughhhhhh.

Sure its got online features, but they all play the same game together on a public or a custom server.

There's times where my kids will sit next to each other and all play the same game. They'll shout, laugh, quip on each other, (which often causes verbal spats and leaves me to put on the referee shirt and blow the whistle LOL) but what I appreciate is it promotes unity amongst them.

The same happens with couples that play video games together. To be real I feel like that's something I missed out on. I never had a gamer girl. I want one...or at least someone that is down to play something together and laugh it up.

I'm not a heavy gamer by any means, but it would be a nice to have. Plus it would introduce me to games that are different from what I play now.

But, with co-op we have these moments to really bond with the person we play with. The more we do it, the stronger the nexus of connection becomes. The stronger the nexus, the better the teamwork.

Lets be real, we need more genuine connections in the world today. Video games is one way to build them.

If only we could go back to couch co-ops so you could see and experience the people you're playing with...the downside of the modern era of gaming.

I miss playing with people in person. Even arcade gaming.

If only I can go back to the 90s and early 2000s to experience that era of my life again.

But alas here I am, writing to you!

So if you aren't a video gamer, give it a go. Get some friends over and get your button mash on!

If you are a gamer, what games would you say are the best couch or online co-op games out there? Or rather, your favorites of all time? Let a brother know!

Lets get together! Come mash it up with the Writer Between the Lines!