by Arjun Wadhwa

Created on: March 09, 2009

In my opinion online gaming communities have benefited by the creation of voice chat and popularity of programs like Teamspeak, Yahoo, MSN voice chat, etc. They have been affected positively by the voice chat.

There are some games, which become a lot more fun when you are able to talk with the person you are playing with. Especially, the games which require team work such as Medal of Honor, Civilization, Call of Duty, etc.

In these types of games, it is necessary to talk to the person and create strategy to beat the other team. Before voice chat systems were created, people tried to type quickly. But it doesn't provide the same effectiveness as voice chat. During voice chat you can talk a lot faster and also make the person listen. Since people cannot type and play at the same time, game play has also benefited.

Online communities have become closer than before. Not a lot of people can hide their identity and can be themselves. Although there is voice-changing programs, the effort which goes into making it work will stop most people from using it. I myself have used voice chat in shooting games to create strategy and talk with team mates and prepare for battle.

It would not be the same without the voice chat. When someone had a broken microphone, game play seemed really dull and voice chat became a need. Our clan became like a little family. There were young kids, women, and elderly men all playing the same game and the objective was to beat other teams.

Voice chat has enabled gamers to feel and experience how it is like to be in war or a battle. During battle times you have to talk loud and clear, and the same applies to gaming.

There are also some negative effects of voice chat, but they are nothing major. Some people try to stalk someone online if they like their voice. Online stalkers are common among gaming communities. Voice chat makes it easier to get more information about the person because you cannot hide your gender and age.

On top of that swearing becomes a lot more disturbing when someone actually swears verbally. On the screen one can ignore what someone has typed, but it is a different thing when said loud on your microphone. It is more realistic which makes bullying a lot easier for a bulley. There are young children who play games and might experience verbal abuse online through voice chat.

But these issues are very rare, and for the most part voice chat has brought the gaming communities closer and it has benefited most gamers!

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