So, I’ve been mulling over this whole “overwatch vote” idea lately, not like the official game stuff, but more on a smaller, personal scale. I actually tried to get something like this going a while back, and man, what a ride that was.
My Grand Voting Experiment
It started pretty simple. Our little group, just a bunch of us who play Overwatch together, we could never decide on anything. What custom game mode to play, who’s practicing what hero, sometimes even what day to squad up. I figured, hey, let’s make it democratic! A vote! Easy, right? That’s what I thought.
So, I got to work. I wasn’t using any fancy tools, just a basic online poll thingy. I carefully typed out the options for, say, our next “focus map” for practice. Made sure the wording was clear. Sent out the link to everyone. I genuinely believed this would solve all our bickering. I even put in a “none of the above, suggest something else” option, trying to be all inclusive, you know?
Then the “voting” began. Or, well, what was supposed to be voting. Here’s a rundown of what actually happened:
- Half the group didn’t vote at all. Just completely ignored it. “Oh, I forgot,” or “Didn’t see the message.” Right.
- A couple of folks voted for the most ridiculous, troll option every single time. If there was a write-in, you bet it was something like “uninstall the game.” Real helpful.
- Then you had the people who voted, but immediately started complaining in chat if their preferred option wasn’t winning. Some even tried to “persuade” others to change their vote. So much for secret ballot.
- And the “suggest something else” option? Chaos. Pure, unadulterated chaos. Everyone threw in something different, and then we were back to square one, arguing about the new suggestions.
I remember spending a good hour just trying to tally the “serious” votes for one simple decision. It was like herding cats. Cats that could type and had very strong opinions about Hanamura Point B defense strategies. It was exhausting. We were trying to pick a map, not elect a president, but you wouldn’t know it from the drama.
End of the day, the “winning” option often felt hollow. Either turnout was too low, or it was clear people just picked randomly to get it over with, or the “troll vote” actually skewed things. We tried it for a few weeks, for different little decisions. Each time, it was more hassle than it was worth. I spent more time managing the darn vote than actually playing the game.
Eventually, we just kinda… stopped. Went back to the old ways. Someone would just shout out a suggestion, and if enough people grunted in agreement, that’s what we did. Less democratic, maybe, but way less painful. I pretty much gave up on my little “overwatch vote” system. It just didn’t pan out the way I’d hoped.
It really made me think, though. If a tiny, insignificant vote among a handful of friends turns into such a mess, how does anything on a larger scale ever get decided? Like, when big companies say they’re “listening to player feedback” – which is a kind of vote, isn’t it? – I just picture a room full of people sifting through an avalanche of troll suggestions and contradictory demands. Makes you wonder what actually makes it through. Probably not much, or not what you’d expect. It’s all a bit of a circus, I reckon, just with more spreadsheets.
