YOU GOT THE NEW HIGH SCORE!

So I was looking at Kotaku earlier today and I saw Rockstar’s announcement of an online service compatible with Xbox Live and the Playstation Network to record and display high scores and stats for…well…pretty much anything you do in Grand Theft Auto IV. 

This got me to thinking about the social nature of gaming when it comes to achievements and high scores.  I don’t necessarily mean in terms of the Xbox live achievements (though certainly they play into this), but rather the basic idea of completing some task in the fastest time, or with the most points, and then using that high score or ability as a kind of status symbol or marker of superiority through which we can challenge and compete with others.  How many out there look at the high score leaderboards and spend the rest of their night going over and over that level, stage, or whatever trying their best to top it?  From personal experience, i can tell you quite alot – the arcade I go to (James Games in Upland, CA) has a few Wangan Midnight 3 racing cabinets that are frequently the site of time attack challenges (or simply a good race) and we keep track of the fastest times and races on the wall as you come in. 

   Competition is a core nature of the gaming element – indeed, it wouldn’t be much of a medium if some challenge wasn’t involved, even if its just with yourself i.e. a puzzle-solving game - but it seems to me that alot of people overlook this simplistic yet (I would say) widespread facet of the gaming community:  Competition by proxy, namely the scoreboards.  Next time you log onto xbox live or turn on your PC to play your favorite video game, take a minute to check out not just the high scores but who has them;  chances are you’ll find yourself looking at an unitentionally tight-knit community of gamers whose sole connection is the desire for and challenge of one-upping each other.  Does it look anything like this:

JON 1,210,348

JON 1,209,300

ABE 1,180,998

RIC 1,179,760

ABE 1,175, 360

If it does (and i bet you it will), you’ve just found youself another segment of the community: the high-score fanatics. 

-Zhuge

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