24

I'm looking for a word which describes an annoying behavior that decreases the overall quality of a game or match, specifically in online gaming (Halo, Call of Duty, etc.) The behavior, while not expressly prohibited by the rules and thus not technically cheating, is generally agreed to be undesirable or even unfair by the other players and puts the offending player at a distinct advantage.

The following words come to mind, but do not precisely fit: annoying (too broad), trolling (mismatched intent; the player is still trying to win the game, not merely annoy others), ungentlemanly (I'd prefer an genderless term.)

I believe unsportsmanlike could be a good fit; I'm looking for either a better fitting word, or a sound justification that one of these words is correct.

edit: To be clear, I am looking for an adjective to levy at someone as an insult for behaving in this way. Also, the interest of the offending player is to win the game at the expense of others. The example camping in the comments is precisely the kind behavior I'm talking about.

I'd like to complete this sentence:

Don't camp; that's ______.

Evan Davis
  • 341
  • 2
  • 10
  • How about "intimidating." – user 85795 Jul 02 '14 at 13:10
  • Rules-lawyering or rules-gaming? – StoneyB on hiatus Jul 02 '14 at 13:21
  • I think you have to pick if you want the word to mean someone who is still trying to be competitive, or just messing around within a rule-set. – Andrey Jul 02 '14 at 14:37
  • 2
    I know some game specific terms for specific in-game actions like "camping" (hiding out in a spot where you know you'll be able to ambush and kill your enemy) and "spawn killing" (often coupled with camping near a know spawn point, killing an enemy as soon as they appear in the game) There were settings in some Q2 mods that counteracted some of these behaviours. – TecBrat Jul 02 '14 at 14:52
  • 1
    There are already too many answers posted, so I'll just put this out there in a comment: would unchivalrous work? – Marthaª Jul 02 '14 at 16:21
  • 1
    After reading through a bunch of those "too many" answers, I think its fairly clear you probably would have been better off asking this question in one of the more specialized gaming stacks. Unless you were looking for a word that could explain it to non-gamers that is, in which case this is the right place. – T.E.D. Jul 02 '14 at 18:03
  • @T.E.D. I agree, having a general audience judging the correct language for a smaller and more isolated audience will result in answers that are generally applicable to many things, instead of gaming-specific terms. As a Halo and COD player, I have posted the most tame terms that me and my fellow gamers might use, whilst other more common terms (in online gaming) are a bit too naughty/rude for the general public. – Dom Jul 02 '14 at 18:12
  • @T.E.D. that's a valid point; I'm interested in both sides, as I'm trying to replace the currently accepted word in a particular circle. (The word in question is a homophobic slur; I'm not in the circle, but am academically interested in a settle-a-bet sort of way with a coworker.) – Evan Davis Jul 02 '14 at 18:42
  • 2
    @Mathletics - Yes, a very distasteful feature of gaming lingo (for about the last 10 years or so) is the use of the word "gay" for a description of pretty much anything the speaker does not like and does not think should be going on. It so prevalent that I don't think its really assailable by an individual, but that doesn't mean you have to use it yourself. (I've found one good way to avoid a lot of it is to only clan yourself with clans that advertise as "LGBT friendly") – T.E.D. Jul 02 '14 at 19:49
  • 1
    @user yes, that's my intention. However, I don't believe mentioning the word I'm trying to replace adds any value to the discourse in this thread. A conversation with a coworker about that example sparked an academic interest in the generally correct descriptor, which he intends to take back to his circle. As a 1-1 replacement, munchkin has been our favorite so far, though I believe poor sport answers the general question best. – Evan Davis Jul 02 '14 at 19:57
  • 1
    @T.E.D. I'd prefer to keep that issue out of this thread. – Evan Davis Jul 02 '14 at 19:58
  • Fair enough, I've deleted my comment. That's a really big issue that can give this post a far greater purpose though. – Dom Jul 02 '14 at 20:13
  • 11
    I'd simply say "that's lame". People get it. ;-) – Pierre Arlaud Jul 03 '14 at 08:01
  • I'd call it "exploiting" - finding a niche or loophole in the rules or mechanics, and abusing it (until the game developer fixes or removes the incentive to use this flaw in their game). It's a great trait in a businessman or military general, where winning is all that matters; and it's a poor trait in a sportsman, where comparing the actual talents and skills of players is what matters. I ban exploiters. – Sean Jul 03 '14 at 13:04
  • In 'cod 4 promod' there are skill levels 'low', 'med', 'high'. If you call someone low, it means they have the lowest skill level, it doesn't necessarily mean insult, but it may as well be used for insult for playing in an amateur way. Also if they are way out of bounds you can call them 'noob' which means they have just started the game and barely know how to play. – eguneys Jul 03 '14 at 16:53
  • Example you picked is not exactly best: "Don't camp; that's too smart! It gives you advantage over players too bad/stupid to consider running on open area unhealthy for their character." (Experiences may vary depending on game and player base) – PTwr Jul 04 '14 at 07:02
  • In my opinion, title change was not appropriate after all that time and answers. The question had a more general sense than just being explicitly for online gaming at first, though it is nice to learn new words. For example, I did not know "griefing" also, even I play multiplayer PC games. – ermanen Jul 05 '14 at 04:43
  • @ermanen agreed; for my purposes, the online component is not necessary. – Evan Davis Jul 05 '14 at 18:03
  • While this might be bad in real-life or tabletop games, it's a completely different matter for videogames: in videogames the game itself could enforce most rules, so you should never be in a situation were you had to ask people to respect some rule that is not actually enforced. – o0'. Jul 05 '14 at 21:37
  • @ArlaudPierre lame is the word we came up with while drafting the question; it's an excellent general case term. – Evan Davis Jul 07 '14 at 14:29
  • @Mathletics glad to hear that after all ;) – Pierre Arlaud Jul 07 '14 at 20:57
  • @PierreArlaud - Is 'lame' the same level of offensiveness as 'gay' (ie using differently-abledness as a term for something perjorative). – dwjohnston Aug 27 '14 at 04:10
  • @dwjohnston I can't say definitely but I would tend to say no, because I think "lame" is already a pejorative way to describe a person (with difficulty walking), while gay is primarily not an insult to homosexual people per se. – Pierre Arlaud Aug 27 '14 at 07:29
  • @PierreArlaud I'm not sure that lame is a pejorative to describe an injured foot (dictionary doesn't say so). It's a literal description, just as gay is. – dwjohnston Aug 27 '14 at 08:05
  • @dwjohnston except it may often be a temporary condition, while gay isn't. Now this aspect is of course opinion-based, but I still feel that lame is much less offensive to injured people than saying something bad is gay. – Pierre Arlaud Aug 27 '14 at 09:37
  • @dwjohnston I'd be happy to continue this in a chat. Also, since it seems people are still visiting this topic, I added my comment as an answer as I believe it's still a simple and good solution here. – Pierre Arlaud Aug 27 '14 at 10:06
  • I usually use word that can't reproduce here... – tfrascaroli Jul 10 '17 at 06:52

17 Answers17

70

In several online games and metaverses such as Second Life and Minecraft this is known as griefing.

Simply, behaving in a way that causes others grief or upset.

This may not be in the OED yet but it is here.

Chenmunka
  • 13,046
  • Does this carry a connotation of trying to win the game at the expense of others? – Evan Davis Jul 02 '14 at 14:14
  • 17
    This is the correct answer. Checkmark it. Technically, griefing is when this behavior is done with that outcome as the goal. Sort of like a gaming version of trolling. Gamers who inadvertently cause this as a side-effect of their own general incompetence have other names (eg: Smacktards, Leeroy Jenkins, etc.) – T.E.D. Jul 02 '14 at 14:16
  • 4
    The definition of griefing is something like "to cause harm to other players without benefit to yourself within game rules. Usually done to punish a player for acting against the player, or to entertain a player that knows he can no longer win." – Andrey Jul 02 '14 at 14:35
  • Given @Andrey's description, I'd say its very close but doesn't satisfy the 'puts the offending player at a distinct advantage'. – Dom Jul 02 '14 at 15:15
  • 4
    @Mathletics No, it does not necessarily carry "a connotation of trying to win the game at the expense of others". Sometimes it's just for fun. Cruel, sadistic fun. But for some griefers successful griefing may be a kind of "win" on its own. – Sebastian Negraszus Jul 02 '14 at 15:28
  • 2
    This seems like a synonym for trolling which is not what I'm looking for. – Evan Davis Jul 02 '14 at 15:30
  • @user - perhaps, but Andrey's definition is a) unsourced, and b) not quite right (like many dictionary definitions). For instance, one very common kind of greifing in FPS games is called "spawn camping" (essentially sitting at a player resurrection/entrance point and picking off players before they have a chance to fully load in and gather their wits). This most definitely does benefit the griefer (and his team), but is still considered a very cheesy move. – T.E.D. Jul 02 '14 at 16:24
  • @T.E.D. countering an unsourced definition with another unsourced definition is, at best, poor form. – Evan Davis Jul 02 '14 at 16:29
  • 4
    @Mathletics - My statements aren't "sourced", they are from personal experience. I'm not saying I'm a better authority on every word in whatever anonymous dictionary that was taken from. But as an electronic gamer since 1977, I certainly trust my own knowledge of the lingo more than an unsourced (or in fact any) dictionary entry. That doesn't mean you have to, but it is certainly a data point that one probably ought to take under consideration. – T.E.D. Jul 02 '14 at 17:42
  • 2
    ...and frankly without that personal perspective, there's no real point to asking any question tagged under "single-word-requests". We all have access to dictionaries. Its the personal knowledge of nuances of meaning derived from years of use "in the trenches" that makes ELU valuable. – T.E.D. Jul 02 '14 at 17:47
  • In all honesty, I've never heard of this term in online gaming. Is it used more in PC gaming? Is there a particular region that it's prevalent in? As an Xbox 360/One online gamer, who obviously plays with gamers all over the world, I've never heard this term in my ~8 years of online gaming. Is it really applicable to and recognised in first person shooters such as COD and Halo? Second Life and Minecraft are a very different type of game from shoot-em-ups, with very different objectives. – Dom Jul 02 '14 at 18:26
  • 2
    "Griefing" and "griefers" was also used in the context of Ultima Online, as I recall. – David Conrad Jul 02 '14 at 19:46
  • @Chenmunka Griefing isn't targeted at a specific user. That's harassment, even if they use griefing as tool to perform the harassment. Let's say there's a quest mob that yields a lot of experience (regardless of if you're doing the quest or not). I tag the mob so I get the XP, and you don't get credit for the quest. If I'm doing it for the XP, I'm just griefing. If I'm doing to stop you from doing the quest because I think you're a poo-head, that's harassment. – corsiKa Jul 02 '14 at 19:52
  • @user - Quite possibly that is the case. I'd find that quite surprising in the case of FPS shooters as one would think there'd be a lot of overlap among users of the same game genre on different platforms. But still you are correct that "greifer" is more applicable to MMORPGs than MMFPS's. In the latter genre, spawn campers are looked down upon, as are "hackers" (those who modify their client to give them an edge), but otherwise most everything is generally considered fair game. – T.E.D. Jul 02 '14 at 21:01
  • 1
    Wikipedia claims the term "griefer" dates back to the 1990's: "it was used to describe the willfully antisocial behaviors seen in early massively multiplayer online games like Ultima Online and first-person shooters such as Counter-Strike" (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griefer) – cimmanon Jul 02 '14 at 21:55
  • @cimmanon it looks to me like griefing is an old word that's been relit by Minecraft, Second Life and most recently GTA. I think it will also fade with those games, as well as because it has particular stigma attached to it, and game developers are actively working against 'griefing'. I've never heard it uttered in any modern, non-PC, shooting game like Halo or COD. It may have originally been for FPS games, but looking at the games it's used on now, it doesn't seem to mean the same anymore. – Dom Jul 02 '14 at 22:13
  • 3
    "Griefing" is often used for people who purposely cause grief. It's similar to trolling, but doesn't seem to apply to people who are spawn camping for extra points or get some other advantage. – Muz Jul 03 '14 at 00:27
  • +1 for this, as it will be the most appropriate for an online game -- but still not really idiomatic. Gamers know what camping is, and if you put "don't camp" in your server's MOTD, players will understand that you mean to say it's in bad taste to do so on your server. "Griefing" is typically reserved for greater offenses that involve intentionally harming others' play. – Patrick Collins Jul 03 '14 at 07:20
  • @T.E.D.: I believe [tag:single-word-request] is about reverse dictionary, which is not always straightforward to find. – justhalf Jul 04 '14 at 06:16
  • 2
    How does this answer has 54 upvotes? It's not what the OP is asking at all. – dwjohnston Jul 04 '14 at 12:32
22

In a tabletop setting, we would call that kind of player "powergamer" (when it's more skillfully using the rules to maximise some effect) or "munchkin" (when it's hurting fun for everyone else).

So I suppose those terms might work; say "don't camp, it's powergaming".

A less games-focused term might simply be "cheap".

Cornelius
  • 383
  • 1
  • 5
  • 4
    +1 for munchkin, the official word for manipulating the mechanics over the spirit of a game. – Magus Jul 02 '14 at 16:57
  • Or an individual instance can be called a cheap shot. –  Jul 02 '14 at 18:17
  • My colleague and I have selected this answer because we love the term munchkin and wish to co-opt it; the word cheap is also a good general term. – Evan Davis Jul 05 '14 at 18:04
  • 1
    +1 for cheap. In the online games that OP mentioned I've heard it used a lot, but never munchkin. – SpellingD Jul 05 '14 at 18:45
  • 1
    +1 for cheap from me too. That's dismissive of the behavior and communicates that the action, while effective, is seen as less honorable. It also shows that a victory using this tactic is less impressive. It also recognizes that this tactic isn't cheating even though it isn't respected. Finally it demonstrates this tactic is overpowered, so it is inherently unfair. I don't really agree with the other terms though because I've never heard them in this context. – Erik Nov 06 '15 at 20:20
16

I'd probably call them a saddo, and then maybe a spoilsport.

Spoilsport is quite a loose term, and I would use it simply because they are spoiling the sport.

It should be immediately understood if you said:

"Don't be a spoilsport, dude."

Both killjoy and party pooper could also be substituted for spoilsport.

In response to all of the activity and clarifications, I think the right term for what you're describing is beautifully simple:

"Don't camp, that's sad."

It may be simple, but calling the way somebody is gaming sad, should sting just enough to make them consider a strategy that's less sad.

Dom
  • 1,581
  • 1
    I think this is the closest; I especially like the pejorative saddo which I had not heard before. – Evan Davis Jul 02 '14 at 15:40
  • @Mathletics I'm not sure if there's any official definition for saddo but it's all over Google as well as quite self descriptive. – Dom Jul 02 '14 at 15:42
  • Yes, I looked it up on Urban Dictionary which, for my purposes, is good enough. – Evan Davis Jul 02 '14 at 15:53
  • 4
    As I look at those other words, it suggests that a killjoy or spoilsport is someone who ruins the game through inaction (not participating; sitting on a ball, for example, to prevent others from playing,) rather than someone who uses unsportsmanlike conduct to succeed. – Evan Davis Jul 02 '14 at 16:07
  • @Mathletics You should back away from the explicit definitions a bit and look at the logical meanings of these words. Killer of joy is self-explanatory, as is spoiler of sport. The definitions vary a lot but the original and basic meanings are immediately obvious. – Dom Jul 02 '14 at 16:17
  • @Mathletics To improve on my point that they are quite loose terms; the Halo franchise has a medal called 'Killjoy' for ending someones killing spree, as you may know. That certainly doesn't fit in to the definition you've looked up, does it? – Dom Jul 02 '14 at 16:37
  • @Mathletics My final point: none of these terms are explicitly inclusive of inaction, that is just the most obvious way to spoil any sport or kill any joy. I wholeheartedly believe they do not require inaction or a lack of participation in the situation, to be used appropriately. – Dom Jul 02 '14 at 18:18
  • I would find killjoy, spoilsport, and party pooper all odd in this context unless either: The unfair behavior represents a change in tactics brought about by losing while playing fair, or The guilty party has previously been asked to play nice but continues anyway. Sad is good though. – Mr.Mindor Jul 02 '14 at 21:23
  • @Mr.Mindor Consider in online gaming, that in an hour one could face over 100 different opponents. If after facing 75 opponents, you encounter a camper or someone who is just ruining the fun, it would be perfectly fine to call them a spoilsport, killjoy or party pooper, because you are comparing them generally to the last 75 anonymous opponents you have faced. It would be even more appropriate when you have had fun beating or simply playing against the previous 75 opponents, because you are already excited, and their new tactics are going to ruin that excitement. – Dom Jul 02 '14 at 21:31
  • 2
    @user I'll grant you that, from the perspective of the one who has played in many rounds, a camper first showing up in round 10 could easily be indistinguishable from a previous opponent changing to camping tactics. I was thinking more along the lines of 1st round encounter a camper, it would seem weird to use these words. – Mr.Mindor Jul 02 '14 at 22:18
  • @Mr.Mindor Yes I agree with you, in fact that's a good point. If the OP is hoping to use this term right from the start of a session, then none of these except sad would make sense. – Dom Jul 03 '14 at 16:12
16

poor sport fits well. It is also the opposite of good sport.

someone who exhibits improper behaviour during a game, whether winning or losing

Spawn camping (urbandictionary):

in gaming, when one camps (or remains in one position with the intent to obtain multiple kills) the spawn point (or location where players re-enter the game)

often considered poor sportsmanship because players are often unable to respond in time to fight back, or are caught off guard

If we apply to your example:

Don't camp, that's poor sportsmanship.

Community
  • 1
ermanen
  • 62,797
  • 2
    "Bad sportsmanship" is, for me, more idiomatic than "poor sportsmanship". – slim Jul 02 '14 at 16:24
  • 2
    @slim interesting; I've only ever heard the latter. – Evan Davis Jul 02 '14 at 16:30
  • 3
    @user: Spoilsport is a more general term actually. They spoil the fun in general, also it is used for someone who spoils the fun by not joining an activity. But poor sportsmanship conveys the improper behavior in a game or sport. – ermanen Jul 02 '14 at 17:28
  • 1
    I'd like to hear the responses from the other gamers when our OP says "come on guys, don't camp, that's poor sportsmanship". I know that if somebody chose those words when gaming with me, I'd be thinking "What a ________!" – Dom Jul 02 '14 at 18:04
  • 1
    This word can be applied to both games and sports. He asked for a word that can be applied to both game or match and gave an example in gaming. I also gave an example for what he exactly asks for. For example, another answer, griefing is specific to gaming. – ermanen Jul 02 '14 at 18:19
16

If you are happy with the connotations of ungentlemanly or unsportsmanlike, while preferring to keep it gender-neutral and less clumsy, consider unsporting.

This is not online-gaming specific; some of the existing answers (especially griefing) cover that better.

Oddthinking
  • 3,253
8

Those players are engaging in gamesmanship, which Merriam Webster defines as "the practice of winning a game or contest by doing things that seem unfair but that are not actually against the rules".

pacoverflow
  • 3,642
  • I think this is an excellent descriptor, but in usage it's engaging in gamesmanship; not a single word. – Evan Davis Jul 02 '14 at 14:14
  • 1
    @Mathletics what exactly are you looking for? The word for the behavior is one word: "gamesmanship". There's no single-word adjective or verb form, but it's not clear that you were looking for that. – WinnieNicklaus Jul 02 '14 at 14:33
  • @WinnieNicklaus I'm looking for an adjective, sorry. Something I could use in the context "Don't do x, that's ______." I thought it was clear from my examples. – Evan Davis Jul 02 '14 at 15:33
  • 2
    Gamesmanship would need to be looked up and wouldn't fit well in an online conversation. I've never heard of it, and if anything, it sounds quite positive to me. – Dom Jul 02 '14 at 15:36
  • 1
    Gamesmanship generally does not have a positive connotation. It can almost be considered the opposite of sportsmanship. – pacoverflow Jul 02 '14 at 15:41
  • I'm not saying it is positive, I'm saying for anyone who doesn't know its definition it may sound positive. – Dom Jul 02 '14 at 15:47
  • 1
    This answer is a great illustration of what I was talking about in the comments on Chemunika's answer. This is a wonderful word, and describes the activity very well. Sadly, it does not happen to be the word electronic gamers use for that activity. (@user is right too. While the connotation isn't positive, its not nearly negative enough for gamers either). – T.E.D. Jul 02 '14 at 17:58
  • I think based on comments and edits, the question changed from how it was originally worded. The OP had originally said he might be willing to accept words such as "unsportsmanlike" and "ungentlemanly", which you certainly wouldn't hurl around as insults when chatting with online gamers. – pacoverflow Jul 02 '14 at 18:50
6

Gaming the system (also referred to as gaming the rules, bending the rules, abusing the system, milking the system, playing the system, or working the system) can be defined as using the rules and procedures meant to protect a system in order, instead, to manipulate the system for a desired outcome.

Scott - Слава Україні
  • 7,276
  • 1
    @user (if that is your real name): From the question: “The behavior, while not expressly prohibited by the rules and thus not technically cheating, is generally agreed to be undesirable or even unfair by the other players ….” Sounds like behavior that is counter to the spirit and intent of the rules; i.e., using the rules in a way they were never intended to be used. Aside from the fact that the OP is looking for an adjective (a fact which, I admit, I had overlooked until now), why do you believe that my answer doesn’t satisfy the question? – Scott - Слава Україні Jul 02 '14 at 19:02
  • The issue here is that, while it captures the essence of the offense, it neglects the specific harm caused to other players. Gaming the system can be victimless (relative to other players.) – Evan Davis Jul 02 '14 at 20:05
  • On second thoughts, camping to spawn kill in some games is a good example of gaming the system. I will +1 for a decent alternative. – Dom Jul 02 '14 at 20:19
5

I use the word exploiting or exploitative for cases like that. As in the player uses an exploit: a valid move which makes the game not enjoyable for most people.

Powergaming or min-maxing is a common term for people who twist rules to get ahead, but it's not applicable to something like spawn killing. It's more for RPGs with character builds that don't make sense from a story perspective.

Muz
  • 394
2

An answer to the more general question:

What is the name of the behavior, while not expressly prohibited by the rules and thus not technically cheating, is generally agreed to be undesirable or even unfair.

One possible answer is "Dirty Pool".

The literal example of this is when you are playing American 8-Ball and you have no good shot, so you take a shot that leaves the cue ball sitting "behind the 8-Ball" (another idiom, for language learners to look up.)

TecBrat
  • 3,709
  • 4
  • 24
  • 35
2

I suggest the word turpid, an adjective which refers to things foul, base, wicked, morally depraved. For example:

Don't camp; that's turpid.

Turpid derives from the same Latin root turpis ( ugly, unsightly; foul, filthy; or cacophonous, disagreeable; or (figuratively) base, infamous, scandalous, dishonorable, shameful, disgraceful) as does the well-known word turpitude. Etymonline says the following of turpitude:

"depravity, infamy," late 15c., from Middle French turpitude (early 15c.), from Latin turpitudinem (nominative turpitudo) "baseness," from turpis "vile, physically ugly, base, unsightly," figuratively "morally ugly, scandalous, shameful," of unknown origin. Klein suggests perhaps originally "what one turns away from" (compare Latin trepit "he turns").

Note that many of the terms mentioned in the definitions and etymology may also serve.

James Waldby - jwpat7
  • 66,660
  • This is an excellent late addition! – Evan Davis Jul 07 '14 at 14:31
  • @Mathletics: You asked about “annoying behavior …, not expressly prohibited by the rules and thus not technically cheating….” I would have guessed that you were looking for a word comparable to “shameful”. “foul, base, wicked, and morally depraved” seem too harsh for what you want. More to the point, (1) nobody will know what “turpid” means (note that many dictionaries don’t even list it), and so (2) people might assume (until educated otherwise, and maybe even then) that it’s just another euphemism/synonym for the word you’re trying to avoid (and might start using it that way). – Scott - Слава Україні Sep 30 '14 at 19:01
  • @Scott, foul and base seem appropriate to me as descriptions of intentional bad behavior. Morally depraved exaggerates some cases, but in many is most accurate. – James Waldby - jwpat7 Oct 01 '14 at 12:58
1

A term I've heard recently to mean gaming the game, so to speak, is metagaming. WP says:

Metagaming is any strategy, action or method used in a game which transcends a prescribed ruleset, uses external factors to affect the game, or goes beyond the supposed limits or environment set by the game. Another definition refers to the game universe outside of the game itself. In simple terms, it is the use of out-of-game information or resources to affect one's in-game decisions.

While I don't think this is a pejorative term, I think it can be used as a slight. The Dota 2 Stanley Parable Announcer Pack, notorious for its antagonistic and contentious announcements, uses this quote to burst the bubble of the Radiant team when they win:

Praise the Radiant and their knowledge of meta-systems to manipulate the flow of battle!

The narrator is implying that the game was not won because of the expected reasons of individual skill or teamwork but through another (possibly questionable) understanding of how the game works.

Metagaming does seem to be a hypernym to the given example of camping, where one player "obtains a static strategic position of advantage... [which] is often seen as a method for circumventing much of the effort usually required to acquire a desired reward..." The camping player is not winning because he's a better or faster at aiming or evading; he's winning because he can "easily pick off any opponent that comes into sight without giving them any indicator of his/her presence in the area."

1

As it's been the actual accepted answer (see comments), I'll document it in an answer.

People would usually very simply say:

That's lame

Which would mean in this case, according to Wiktionary:

(slang) Failing to be cool, funny, interesting or relevant.

It may be a bit offensive but I do believe it's the right choice in this context (you're not trying to make compliments either after all).

Pierre Arlaud
  • 186
0

I like griefing; and a similar term used in a slightly more narrow sense is Spamming

This is repeated use of the same action or tactic and although able to be countered on a well-balanced game, it is typically annoying and diminishing enjoyment to the other player until they learn to counter it.

For example, when learning to play fighting games as a particular character, to master my use of the character, I would try the same special move over and over. When I learned it, my friends would accuse me of spamming until they learned how to defend against or counter the move.

Spamming is a common form of griefing.

Aaron Hall
  • 408
0

I think the piece of information that the OP originally left out, namely that the intent is to replace the use of the word gay that's being used in a homophobic manner with the intent of challenging the target's "manliness", is extremely relevant to providing a good answer. A number of the answers given so far are failures in my mind because they attract the same kind of attacks the OP wants to disarm: the opponent is going to say the word "sounds gay".

As I see it, the goal is to find a wording to make the person who's exhibiting the annoying gaming behavior look bad, but to do so without relying on a perceived association of badness with being gay, "feminine" (this has both homophobic and sexist aspects to it), etc.

The first word that comes to my mind is pathetic.

R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
  • 1,531
  • 2
    The OP asked to keep this out of the post altogether. Why would you then answer directly with what the OP doesn't want? Yes the answer is more relevant to the OP, but he specifically asked that we don't mention it. – Dom Jul 03 '14 at 12:44
-1

How about tryharding? A tryhard is someone who is more concerned about winning the game than about having fun.

Golden Dragon
  • 520
  • In my experience, a tryhard is someone who gets too angry and loses sight of what they're doing. It is best applied to those you've just trolled, though I have seen it applied to people who are simply successful. Either way, it's unrelated to taking advantage of obscure mechanics. – Magus Jul 02 '14 at 19:19
  • In the specific context of online gaming, I would expect tryhard to be the retort from someone just called out for being a poor sport. The tryhard is the person enforcing the rules, even the unwritten ones. – Evan Davis Jul 02 '14 at 20:07
-1

I guess it depends in what context you are wishing to use the word in. If it is in Minecraft, a word like "griefer" might work, whereas if it were in a MOBA, then it could be called "feeding". You could, however use much more overarching terms that can be found in other answers on this page.

Fieryaleeco
  • 41
  • 3
-2

In sport games like FIFA when he is losing starts to retain the ball, pass it to the goalkeeper, make unnecessary dribbling and of course disconnect from the match even before halftime so i always refer to these people as BAD LOSERS

Ed_
  • 548