Of Terrorists & Forest Trolls
Warcraft3 vs. Counterstrike
by : yuga
Date: Nov 2, 2002

You might be saying that I've gone bonkers by comparing two games of entirely different genres. It's like comparing apples to oranges, one might add. Hold on a bit and read a little more so you'll understand why I pegged them that way.

WarCraft3 is a strategy game while CounterStrike is RPG. That's a clear distinction. However, if you've played both games adequately you will notice that they have more similarities than differences - one reason why I'm comparing them here.

Both games require good to excellent hand-and-eye coordination (CS requires a little bit more though I think). They need the players to be alert and mindful of their enemies, may it be against the game AI's or other players over the network or internet. They also have one major objective - killing the enemies and garnering high score stats.

So why am I comparing them, you ask? Well, I have a theory in mind. WarCraft and CounterStrike has an inherit ability to influence psychological and emotional empathy. This emphatic trait is attributed to psychological response of the players towards the game and the character units itself.

Sounds weird? Here's more. In comparison, males are more responsive to CounterStrike while females are to WarCraft.

Males tend to be more emotionally violent and are more connected to their character or role they are playing. This is exhibited by extreme tactical behaviors in males during encounters. The more hostile or aggressive males tend to relate more with the Terrorist group while the docile players engage in passive and less aggressive tactics under the Counter-Terrorist group. Additionally, males become more vocal where verbal attacks or cursing supplements their tactical scheme. Consequently, players become more coordinated and shows above average support system which brings loyalty and bonding.

On the contrary, females show various unique perceptual affiliation with characters in WarCraft 3. They become more defensive and less confrontational, something the females rarely exhibit in the real social world. Emphatic behavior towards the character units is also strong. This is commonly observed when the units are Human race. Intense passion associated with main characters such as Heroes are also prevalent during battles and confrontation. This results to loss of focus on the entire army which is shifted to a single unit. Escapism (teleporting units back to base) is also predominant on surprise attacks.

These are mere observations only and are not entirely supported by psychological studies or research. To cite some instances, a number of my male friends who tried playing CS found themselves cursing all throughout the game when in fact they rarely curse in their entire life. Likewise, the men tend to throw cuss words to their opponents indiscriminately.

On the contrary, the ladies experience occasional delusions with WarCraft characters. This is coupled with in-fight dreams. One lady player remembers battling Forest Trolls in her dream, glimpsed an Archmage crossing the street while driving and seeing the Brilliance Aura right where I stand. They also have lapses and tend to talk in WarCraft terms. For instance, the girl was asked to accompany a friend to the mall and she mentioned "i-right-click mo" instead of "samahan mo".

These might be isolated cases but the trend is pretty much comparable. I will not delve into the human psyche any deeper but if you too have any experience of some sort with these games, send me a note.