So, I’d like to hear people’s opinions on the “Good Game” expression.
I imagine a lot of you reading this and thinking “What’s there to talk about? It’s an easy expression to express satisfaction with a game at its conclusion.” But there is something to talk about.
Because if you lost a game to random R&D accesses on the second turn, you just might feel a bit insulted by your opponent gleefully saying GG. Or if my opponent got randomly flatlined by an R&D Snare, and my opponent then says “GG”, my first instinct is to say back “no, it wasn’t. You lost because of an easy-to-miss play mistake, and neither of us could extract much enjoyment from matching our wits in this otherwise great game of ours. Want to play again and see if we can get a good game?”
In general, I never say “GG” to my opponent if I won, unless they said it first. If they are feeling salty about a loss (or indeed win) they feel they didn’t deserve, I don’t want to add to their salt by claiming that it was a “Good game”.
Why I’m bringing this up is because a lot of salt has been thrown around regarding the power of Industrial Genomics and how it wins games, by grinding the runner into salt (figuratively and literally). Many players I speak to about this topic hate playing against the deck because of the large amount of noninteractivity, and don’t believe their games, be they wins or losses, to be “good games”. And they get rather pissed off when their IG opponent after 45 minutes claims they had a Good Game, when the Runner side thought it was tedious and boring.
Pros of “GG”:
-It’s an easy expression of satisfaction and enjoyment
-It can be used to compliment an opponent on their skill
Cons:
-It can be taken as an insult if the player recieving the “GG” played poorly
-It increases the dissatisfaction a player may have with a game’s outcome
What are your takes on “GG”? When is it appropriate, when is it not? How can we make sure our community thrives and how do we avoid inadvertently insulting our fellow players?
Do I enjoy every game equally? No. Am I prone to become salty (esp. after a 45 minutes IG game ;))? Probably.
But that’s not what “gg” is about for me. Every opponent deserves a sign of respect.
GG is the online equivalent of an after match handshake. It’s there to be polite and a ‘thanks for playing.’
If people wanted to insult or demean others, then they would probably do:
“gg, lol”
“gg, scrub”
“gg, thanks for the easy win”
“gg, I enjoyed how masterfully you feel into every bait I tried and hit every trap like a schmuck. If all of my opponents played like you did I’d give up netrunner because it would be more boring than a game with cheats on. Your lack of skill is only second to your poor fashion sense”
I think you’re reading a bit too much into it. I’ve always just considered it a pleasantry, a sign of sportsmanship, and a 2 character way of saying thanks for the game, before leaving the room.
gg on its own is just polite, as others have said, the equivalent of a handshake in real life. I always start my games with glhf but that’s also as much as starting handshake as anything else. If you read any more into it, that’s likely on you
saying glhf and gg is not really polite . i see it more like a robotic behavior. people dont chat at all online.
i try to have fun and make jokes, have a nice game, if the game ends quick or it was a miserable experience for either player i dont really say gg, i just say better luck next time or lets go again or smth.
Also people need to learn to play or maybe the right word is care? versus kill decks, easy kills has turned me off online net and im not even good. (people that say i have no exp, any advice etc are excluded )
Its just an expression, like saying “Whats up” to someone. I don’t’ actually care whats up. If you’re insulted by it, you (not you specifically), should probably get over it.
I think you’re confusing being polite and being friendly.
Being friendly is of course laudable, so yeah, go for it, it’ll make the community a better place for sure. But being polite and having good etiquette/manners is something different - you can be friendly without being polite or well mannered (I often am like this). Politeness can easily seem a little impersonal - that’s because it’s not designed to be personal, it’s not about getting to know someone and forming relationships - you can have no interest in getting to know someone and still be very polite.
I think robotic is too pejorative here - a handshake at the end of a tennis match might be automatic, but it’s not robotic - they haven’t even shared a word between each other, but it’s just good manners, an informal formality if you see what I mean, it’s sets baseline of manners/respect.
As for when to ‘gg’ or not - there’s absolutely no reason to be offended by a straight-up gg at the end of the match. I don’t think you even need to wait for the loser to speak first, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some people expected the winner to offer up first as that’s the polite thing to do and you should be gracious in victory. If your opponent takes an honest ‘gg’ as a snub then there’s really nothing your can do for them.
I feel a bit insulted when gg or something like it is -not- said. Having done fencing and baseball it would be like someone not saluting before a match or not shaking hands afterwards.
I think @OctopusRex’s post mostly hits the nail on the head here. I personally enjoy being friendly while playing with someone by talking about whatever during the game - “Oh, good accesses” or what-have-you, but I don’t consider it necessary. I like thanking them for the game(s) after we finish, and saying my good-byes, but I don’t feel it’s necessary. “gg” is mostly what I consider the “baseline” politeness, and going beyond that is mostly people wanting to be warmer and more talkative than is “necessary”. Those are the people I enjoy playing and want to play more.
I’ve also never considered a simple “gg” anything more than a polite gesture. I’ve never thought “This guy is clearly trolling me for getting/giving up lucky access”, or anything along those lines. There would have to be other context to make me suspicious of ulterior motives besides basic politeness to read into a two-word comment that way.
I can also second this sentiment. I’ve done historical fencing in my time, and saluting before sparring or competing, as well as shaking hands/“bro hugging” after the match is the default for virtually everyone I’ve met in that hobby. I think someone would be acting rude to not say anything or offer a handshake after a match with someone they’re not already close to.