I know one of the main reasons I grew up playing competitive games was because they gave me the opportunity to assert myself as superior, and I also know I haven't entirely let go of that impulse. It's the chasing that concerns me, rather than the poor person on the other end. The system pushes you to chase the high that comes with getting under someone's skin. It becomes very tempting to keep targeting the same victim, even when they're not the strategic choice. This reminds me of TF2's domination system, where killing someone repeatedly results in the whole server being told that you're bullying someone. I'm not opposed to the odd spot of schadenfreude, but I do think it's worth being weary of in a competitive context. It's dopamine through domination, and an explicit green light to schadenfreude. I know the rush I'd get, reaching through my screen and delighting in causing someone else a bad time. It's very easy to imagine being that man's murderer. I just can't deny that it's also very funny. There are so many fresh deaders who unwittingly broadcast their howls of rage, and it feels wrong to take pleasure in another person's venom. I've been watching other people's videos of the phenomenon, though, and they make me feel strange.
