Gamer's alter egos and hidden identities

Super heroes have alter egos and hidden identities. So why can't gamers? Superman hides behind glasses and the name of Clark Kent. Spiderman is know by Peter Parker. Even Dr. Jekyll had a Mr. Hyde. Okay, not quite the same but you get the idea. If you spend any time playing online games with an open microphone you know that sometimes gamers have alter egos and hidden identities too. And we're not just talking about descriptive gamertags.

There are mild mannered, polite husbands and fathers who turn into raving mad men when something sets them off. It could be snipers and knifers and glitchers oh, my! It could be friends jumping out of a game just before the last kill because they don't want to take a particularly bad loss. At those times that sweet, polite, considerate, jolly good, well mannered individual becomes a raving, slobbering, ranting, poo-flinging lunatic. And that might be a mild case.

And what do I do when grown men de-evolve to poo-flinging monkeys?

I laugh.

I'm sorry, I can't help it. Every time I experience the transformation to Mr. Hyde from someone's previous Dr. Jekyll I'm reminded of the song "One Week" by Bare Naked Ladies. The line in particular is "I can't help it if I think you're funny when you're mad". That just sums it up right there. They rant and snarl and nash teeth. I laugh like a hyena. Hopefully with my mic muted.

I'm not an angry person. And I'm about as patient a person as you can find (sometimes I think that's a fault and not a virtue). But yes, sometimes I get pissed off while playing video games. I express my displeasure with a carefully chosen word or two and then the moment has passed and I've put it all behind me. Listening to my friends erupt in a fiery bit of verbal diarrhea strikes me as totally hilarious when it comes from those mild mannered friends. And from those that constantly spew their eternal dislike and hatred towards a game or player don't stay on my friends list for long.

I've had players direct some of their venom towards me. Friends and strangers alike. Strangers do it because they're ignorant assholes. My friends have done it out of frustration. Do I hate them for it. No. It just makes me uncomfortable and self-conscious, but I know it's based on something I should have done, or something I shouldn't have done. I usually deserve it. But all eruptions directed towards me are mild little bubbles compared to other Mr. Hyde appearances.

Do I wish we could all just along? Sure. But then where would I get my nightly entertainment when Mount Saint MadMax erupts? I know my friends are not Mr. Hydes in real life. And as long as they continue to be Dr. Jekyll they'll stay on my friends list. Remember, "I can't help it if I think you're funny when you're mad". Just don't be offended (and start yelling at me) if I start laughing when you start slinging poo around. And maybe one day you'll see what form my alter ego/hidden identity takes on. I just might surprise you.