There’s an interesting post over on Tobold’s Blog, regarding how he personally had a successful game in World of Tanks, yet because his team mates didn’t perform as well, they failed to meet the overall group reward criteria. This all too familiar anecdote got me thinking about teams and group play mechanics that are still prevalent in many game genres. Over the years I have tempered my attitude towards teaming up with other gamers and being dependent on them to achieve a collective goal. I have moved from a social gaming mindset born out of my initial altruistic experiences playing MMOs, to a far more transactional outlook. I suspect that I’m not the only player who currently thinks this way.