Tilt as a term has been around for literally centuries, originally used during jousting competitions in the 15th century as well as being used as a name for boat or wagon coverings.* That particular iteration of tilt is no longer the one most commonly used though. In recent years gamers across the world have adopted the term for use in a much different way, and this is what we’re going to be looking at today.
The first iteration of tilt that is closest to the one known by gamers is used in the world of poker which well, is also a game. This is used to describe someone that is in a state of mental or emotional confusion/frustration. This mental or emotional state tends to lead the player to adopt a less than optimal playstyle or game strategy. This translates fairly well to the more modern games that have adopted the terminology of late with the likes of League of Legends, Counter Strike, Overwatch etc.
In this ancient and mysterious tale recently unearthed by @RiotSupport , we learn the origins of four mythical figures representing the many aspects of a universal gaming experience: tilt. https://t.co/VbsgfkXaMy
— Riot Games (@riotgames) September 9, 2019
Let’s look more specifically at these modern use cases and situations in which you may end up having to use the term or see the term being used frequently. Personally I see the team incredibly frequently in League of Legends. When a teammate is dying fairly consistently or is not playing to the level they believe they should be playing at they commonly refer to themselves as tilted. On the flip side of this, there are players who specifically go out of their way to try and tilt an opponent by focusing them during fights, taunting them using the all-chat function and generally making sure their time in a particular match is not fun at all.
This form of ‘tilting’ someone is not really against the rules of the game, though it is widely frowned upon by the majority of the games huge population. The same as above can be applied to almost any competitive game that has been released in this new era of competitive esports gaming. There are countless opportunities to tilt and be tilted by opponents and there will always be that chance that it happens to you. Regardless, I hope that you now have at least some understanding of the term and you can use the knowledge in a positive way in the future!
Thanks for reading and may you be blessed with no tilt or tilted teammates for eternity!
* https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tilt
