A lot of people play League of Legends, but why? Is it because they are bored and they find league a fun and entertaining game, they wish to strive to be the best league player in the world, or are friends forcing them to play with them? Considering this, how do these different people react to league and its community?
I personally am one of the many players who want to be a great player. Even if I don't live to see that dream come true is a small part of it. The mentality in which I play league is to try and be the best I can, I will pour over my old games for flaws or things I did right (which are few and far between). I will watch hours of YouTube videos on the pros, and how they play. I feel actual stress when I do bad and bring my team down.
To me, league is a very serious thing. Of course its a game, you should have fun, or if you are one of the people who believe that video games are a waste of time then you might argue that. Either way you do have to accept that people who make a living playing this game, not making it, advertising it, etc. take their job VERY seriously and spend more time working, yes working than many average Americans. Of course they are good at league because they enjoy it, so it isn't exactly working for them but for anyone who does do something they love understand. Anyway, so when I take my games seriously and try to improve and then people turn around and tell me that I am doing something "Worthless" "Useless" "Wasteful" "Not Real" and other negative insults. This is my dream though, so when I see people talking about how videos games are destroying our youth, destroying imaginations, and a waste of our children's time it really, really bothers me. I must also believe that anyone else who strives to the same goal I do gets this same negativity and must feel the same way. Of course there are many people family and friends who support my goal and I love that it makes me feel as if I can walk on water and breath fire. Now, remember please don't **** on people's dreams just because you don't agree with them. I don't like the concept of maids and servants but if that is your dream (which I don't think people have this as a dream) then I wont put you down, I will say good luck and be on my way.
Now, lets take the play for fun player. There are multiple kinds of these players. Some have fun but still try to climb the Elo ladder, others don't exactly care how well they do and just like messing around with the game and making it comedic, and there are the ones that have fun by bringing other players down with them. The ones that have fun and still try to improve themselves are very common. They will crack jokes, break mechanics, try to bring up morale, etc. I love these players. They want to succeed and they want you to stay positive so you play better. Then the players who play the game just kinda goof off in the game. One great example is a YouTuber called Keyori. I am not saying is his a bad player, or he is bad at the game, etc. I just think that he loves playing league because he finds it funny. I think that is great. I have to say though when I get in a game with these players I have a love hate relationship with them. When they make a bad play they will follow it up with something like; "Riot Plz" "#gg" "WURTH" and others. It makes me laugh for a bit, but overall they (the majority of the time) drag down the team. Now, there are the people who I loathe in this game, the "trolls". They go out of their way to annoy you, bring the team down, not communicate, etc. This is the worst thing to do to a guy like myself. I want to win more than I want to have fun, and being a jerk and a negative asset to the team is something that I hope none of you guys do. Overall I feel as if the league community does its best, but of course you run into its bumps. I go into a game feeling as if I have the best team on league. I expect them to perform perfectly, now of course I don't actually hold them to these standards when they make a mistake, but I found that I play much more solid, I hit more skill shots, position well, and when a teammate actually does something note worthy I praise them to every corner of the world.
I love league, I love its community, and I love Riot. Even though all of these things have flaws and scars, I still at the end of the day walk away from the keyboard happy. Happy that I found this game, that I found the pro circuit, and that I found my dream.