Ventrilo Communication and Competitive Gaming

Since the early days of online gaming, in-game communication has been a feature that was sought after by players as a means to bring about teamwork and a more competitive feel to the games that they played. Those feelings have not changed today in online games and with them being more popular than ever, it seems to be more of a necessity than a feature, whether it is merely for casual gamers or for competitive league players. The need for cooperation and teamwork has become more prominent as gaming continues to develop, especially for those in league-play.

In order for a team to work together well and to succeed in any game, whether it is a 40-man raid in World of Warcraft or a 5v5 league match in Counter-Strike, constant communication is a must. The days of typing and radio commands are gone, games have become much too fast-paced for features such as those, making programs such as Ventrilo a necessity for teams. The ability to instantly update situations and issue commands is one that can make or break teams and guilds, regardless of any level of skills they may posess.

Using a game such as Counter-Strike for an example, the in-game voice chat allows for the voice to be heard only in live-chat, which is fine for calling crosses and the like, but does not help when roughly ninety percent of all calls are made while dead, rendering the in-game voice chat useless. This is when programs like Ventrilo are crucial. Rather than having the uncertainty of if there is just one enemy coming to a bombsite, or all five, a certain call can be made, which the entire round might be based off of. As said before, nearly ninety percent of all calls are made after death, and if one call can decide a round, then entire matches are essentially based off of calls made through third party voice chat.

Counter-Strike is also a rarity in many PC games now, in the way that it has its own voice chat. Many games, like World of Warcraft or other FPS or RTS games, do not even support voice chat, limiting team communication to in-game chat, or radio commands, sometimes not even that. Yet, these games still hold spots in competitive leagues, all being team-based. These games also usually require more strategy and planning than Counter-Strike, making Ventrilo a must-have for teams playing them, saving precious time that can be the difference between a win or a loss.

While skills are always appreciated and sought-after, it is clear that they are not the only deciding factors of what makes a great team in competitive play. Calling spots, giving quick commands, speaking quickly with teammates, these are also deciding factors in online gaming, and once skill can carry you no father, decide who wins, and who loses. It is because of third party voice communication programs that allow for this to happen in nearly any game that is played competitively online.