I pWned you NoObs.

by c.J
published by Rinie 12 August 2009




Is the line above catch cry of a gamer whose skill is beyond recognition? Or the stupidest screen name or statement that any gamer has ever made? I get that a lot of the times. No hard feelings people.

If you don't have the slightest clue what a no0b is, then it's probably safe to say that you are one yourself. But it isn't bad well maybe it’s bad. The word no0b, derived from the word newbie: a person new to something has morphed to mean: someone who doesn't know what they're doing and hence inferior or rather unfamiliar. Such things can change dramatically quickly in the world of the Internet, but this one is sure to stay around for a good while longer.


So you say you haven't heard this before in the realm of multiplayer gaming? or even said it yourself a couple of times, cleanse your mouth please because you are lying. The attitude that "noobs" are bad and their morale should be mercilessly destroyed at every opportunity is so widespread within every multiplayer community that it's hard to conduct one conversation without it coming up. That's not to say that everyone does it, but somehow a large percentage of experienced gamers forget that they didn't install the game and have the godly powers they surely posses on the first try. Out of all the reasons to be bad at a game, being unfamiliar with it is probably the most valid one that I have ever heard. Everything in life has a learning curve, games included.

Maybe it's just for lack of something interesting to say, or maybe they genuinely believe that a noob is the lowest form of life.

As with everything, there are two sides to this coin and to see it from the "L33T" gamer's perspective, if they are delving deeply into the intricacies of a game that require a knowledge and skill born of many hours of playtime, someone constantly asking them questions about things they could learn on their own is extremely aggravating. Not that that gives them the right to treat people like something they scraped off of their shoe.

It seems it's a two way street. No0bs can be extremely aggravating, so when you start a game for the first time, try to learn for yourself, and only after you can't ask someone who knows. And to the people that know everything about the game? Try to be a bit more sympathetic to Joe Everyman, who doesn't spend every second of his time researching damage algorithms and tinkering with his ranger build.

The other thing about this whole issue is that it's hilarious! Every time someone boasts that they pwn noobs, or are a noob's worst nightm4re (countless people have something to that effect as their screen name) And I did break down into hysterical laughter. Well done No0b Pwnerer. You can defeat people who, by their very definition, are rubbish at the game. By proving your mastery over the no0b race, you have demonstrated your skill and I would like to be your friend.

Do they even think about what they say before they say it? The obvious answer is a resounding no, obviously no, not in a thousand years no. The anonymity provided by online gaming is used by some as a testing ground for behaviours they would never even dream of in real life, as detailed in a previous entry of Screen Play. Maybe it's symptom of the get everything now, everything is about me society we live in, but I just hope in a thousand years people won't be floating in their space houses, using their super advanced, mind controlled, virtual reality gaming rig to call each other no0bs.