Gaming
Games
Discover top online gaming communities for your ultimate gaming experience
Online gaming communities are a great way for those people to interact with the games that they love.
When pro gamer and streamer Timmy "iiTzTimmy" An teaches himself to play a new game, he focuses on learning mechanics first.
“I sit alone, shooting at like the walls in the games, or like shooting at the bots and kind of just learning actually how to play the game correctly. Not a lot of people just do that… I’m like mentally training myself how to move my mouse in certain ways,” he said.
iiTzTimmy
© Leslie Colon / Red Bull Content Pool
While iiTzTimmy builds skills by playing on his own, finding the right group of gamers to practice and/or compete against will allow you to reach new heights in your gaming ability. There are even events like the Red Bull Campus Clutch World Final where teams from around the world can compete head to head.
In this article, you will read about the top online gaming communities and how to choose the right ones for you. We are firm believers in the adage: it takes a village to raise your gaming skills!
Top Online Gaming Communities
A gaming community is a gathering of fans of a specific video game. These communities also exist in-person, but nowadays, the majority of gaming communities exist online.
The best online gaming communities:
- Are respectful of people from all walks of life
- Feature people of different skill levels and gaming types
- Focus on helping you improve and grow as a gamer
- Have clear and easily-defined leadership structure to keep things in line
- Offer several ways to interact or participate in the community
Finding a game that is right for you is the most important step. There are several popular game genres to choose from. Within each genre you will find different communities.
Below we break down gaming communities by the types of games they are playing, and what each community offers.
01
First-person shooter (FPS) games
The most popular genre of game right now is multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) or games where the player plays through the eyes of their soldier, agent, etc. Two of the most well known are Call of Duty and Valorant.
While these types of games may not be the most respectful to participate in (anyone with an open mic can tell you that), there is no lack of information on how to get better. There are hundreds of videos you can find on YouTube that explain the best loadouts to use on a Call of Duty map or the best way to use your character’s kit in Valorant.
Tiffae at Rise Till Dawn in Chicago, Illinois on June 11, 2022.
© Kena Krutsinger / Red Bull Content Pool
What’s unique about this genre is in games like Valorant, there are even people who are highly-ranked and/or very knowledgeable about the game who offer to coach other players and help them improve. Red Bull gamer Tiffanie “Tiffae” Hsu does this with her viewers, and there are several more who do.
02
Role-playing games (RPGs)
There are also simulation role-playing games (RPGs), which are games where the player plays as a character who interacts with a narrative and story-based world. Two of the most well known are the Fallout series or Stardew Valley.
What’s unique about this genre is that while these games may not be necessarily focused on being the best or improving a set of skills, the number of ways that you can immerse yourself in this community is immense.
RPG features:
- Selectively open, meaning that you can either play by yourself or with a group of people that you know
- Give people tips and tricks on how to play the game better
- Designing really cool cosmetics and mods that can improve the gaming experience
- Create secondary content from the game that people can enjoy (art, stories, etc.)
- Cosplay as characters from these games
03
Sandbox games
There are also sandbox games, which are the “world is your oyster” games. You play in a huge open-world environment and get to decide how you interact with said environment. Two of the most popular sandbox games are Minecraft and Terraria.
What makes these games unique is how fluid the gaming experience for these games can be:
- You can build the grandest structures (or not)
- You can fight the baddest bosses (or not)
- You can run around and explore every nook and cranny of the world (or not)
The main point of sandbox games is that you control your story. There is no plot for the gamer to follow. As long as you abide by the rules and laws of the game, you can do whatever you want whenever you want however you want. Your experience will not be the same as someone else’s, and that adds to the fun of it all.
04
How to Choose the Right Online Gaming Community for You
We recommend three things when you consider whether an online gaming community is right for you.
The Community’s Unique Features
Every online gaming community has its own unique features. These aspects of the community are what set it apart from other communities.
For example, story-mode adventure games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild have a subsection of the community that is committed to completing the main storyline as fast as possible. However, games without a main storyline like Sims 4 will not have a subsection like this within its online community, but it may have a subsection of the community that is committed to creating character ideas that people can import into their Sims world.
Finding which unique features appeal to you the most will make it easier for you to integrate yourself into the online community.
Social Features
Collaboration and socializing with others play a huge role in online gaming communities. These interactions often bring out the best of the members.
The method of communication in these communities is important because you want to feel comfortable enough in the space to interact with others.
Gaming communities often classify as:
- A collective, where everyone achieves their own thing by themselves or with a small group
- A family, where everyone works together cohesively towards one common goal
- A community, where the point of focus is on nurturing the skills of its less experienced members
Membership Benefits
Your desired membership benefits should be centered around what you want to get out of the game:
- Fame? You could create content that others in that gaming community can enjoy
- Competition? You can enter into competitions or tournaments
- Fun? You can explore unconventional ways to enjoy the game with others
- Social interaction? Find others in the community with similar interests and connect with them
Joining and participating in online gaming communities
Okay, so you’ve found a game that you enjoy and a gaming community that you want to immerse yourself in. What now?
Now, you have to actually join and participate in the community!
Here’s a quick three-step guide on how to join an online gaming community:
- Figure out the role you want: Do you want to make content? Do you want to make friends? Do you want to play competitively? Identifying your interests and goals will make the final two steps of this process much easier
- Find an entry point: There are several ways to enter an online gaming community. If you want to create content, platforms like YouTube and Twitch are a good way to publish your own content while also meeting similar-minded content creators. If you want to participate in tournaments, forum platforms like Reddit can help you find some events near you or online to compete in. Using the entry point best suited for your intended role will allow you to integrate more smoothly.
- Curate your own space: Online gaming communities are huge, and it can become easy to lose yourself if you don’t have your own pocket within the community to spend time with some of your favorite people. Platforms like Discord are perfect for this, as servers are constructed specifically to create a space for a group of people to spend time together.
Conclusion
If you take one thing away from this guide it should be this: treat everyone in a gaming comunity with kindness and respect. That may seem minor, but it’s a lot easier to find your space within a gaming community on those six words alone.
Gaming is a part of everyday life for a lot of people, and online gaming communities are a great way for those people to interact with the games that they love. Contrary to popular belief, playing video games can positively influence your life!
