Camping (computer gaming)
Camping is computer gaming jargon for the practice of staying in one area of the game world waiting for enemies to come to you rather than actively seeking combat. Players camp in order to gain an advantage over their opponents. Most players disparage the practice, claiming it goes against the way most games are meant to be played.
Camping is most common in first-person shooters when a player finds and hides in a location that gives them a clear advantage over other players. The position is normally hidden from casual view and is used to ambush or carry out sniper attacks on other players. In fast-paced games like Quake or Unreal Tournament, this is often regarded as an annoying and unsporting practice. In more tactical team-based games (for example, Counter-Strike) this might not apply, because ambushing is often a necessary part of the game.
One especially reprehensible form of camping in some first-person shooters is spawn camping, also known as respawn or refresh camping. A spawn camping player guards the positions where players are brought into the map when they are just entering the game or when they are revived after being killed ("respawn"). In fast-paced games, the camper has the advantage in that they are able to kill players before they have a chance to collect their starting weaponry or even before they get their bearings.
In massively multiplayer online role-playing games and MUDs, camping usually means something more like spawn camping except the camper stays in a location near where non-player character monsters enter the game world. In some games, these positions are easy to spot and once a player or group of players is capable of establishing their camp, they can gain more rewards with less risk to their player character. In these games, players rarely criticize one another for this form of camping and instead direct the blame at the game's design.
|
