Online gaming across PlayStation Network and other platforms brings with it the opportunity to make a world of friends. However, in the chaos and cliques of online forums, the rush of getting into quests in MMOs, and a desire to find the right people to connect with, the process can feel fraught.
The calmest method of building new friendships is to gather them from your existing social circle. But if not many of them are gamers, or they keep their gaming fraternity to themselves, you might not get much joy.
Finding Friends Beyond Your Circle
Stepping a little further out, many local forums, non-gaming related, have posts from people who like to play a particular game, especially niche RPGs or MMOs. Failing that, you will need to venture into the wilder gaming forums or social media to find like-minded souls.
In the majority of cases, most people are delighted to make new acquaintances, and any moronic trolls are easy to spot a mile away. All you need to do is have some level of engagement, from your own tips, questions, knowledge or interests to break the ice, and you’re away.
Friendship Achievement Unlocked
Some game types make it easier to find friends, notably squad- or party-based games like Helldivers 2 or Baldur’s Gate 3, with a huge modding community. Find people you enjoy being online with in the heat of a battle or taking a longer-term approach to building up the right party and can find yourself socialising with gamers from all walks of life through this common interest that can spread beyond gaming.
Starting with text chat, you can start using voice mode for people you feel confident talking to, and then widen your circle by participating in broader community events.
If you want to meet people in the flesh, then modern or retro gaming events, local gaming tournaments, Comic-Con-style events and gaming nights are great places to make new friends and get on with them in a social situation.
Most of these events are well aware that some of their audience may be socially nervous and have quieter booths for people who dislike crowds, calmer zones for people with light and noise sensitivity, and so on.
This can typically lead to playing tabletop RPGs as well as online versions. Learning about and developing a mutual interest in cosplay, collecting or exploring how to find a hobby that brings you closer to others, and for the artistic types, drawing or painting are great ways to become a valued member of a community.
Keeping Friends and Connections
Once you have built a reasonable team of friends, you will have to work hard to keep them glued together. That requires being a friend and a reliable member of any community or group. You should move at the pace of the group and not push for too much information or personal contact too early.
Also, try to meet up for news releases, new game unveilings, and other events as a group to maintain the cohesion. All while respecting any difference in time zones, cultures and social designations.
Finally, as you get to know people, you can agree to meet up and enjoy social time together. This might involve cars, trains, planes or whatever. But many people around the world have become best buddies from a relationship that started as a bunch of polygons chatting by a fireside or in the heat of battle.
No matter how socially nervous or worried about online threats you are, the huge majority of gamers are helping, interesting and interested folk, happy to meet and greet, and enjoy making new friends, whatever the game or hobby that forms the platform for a relationship.