The online game “Among Us” has abruptly spiked in popularity in the past few months. The app was created June 15, 2018 but has only recently blown up the Internet. The game can be played with friends or individually and includes a chat feature, so players can converse while playing.
“My favorite part [of the game] is just seeing everybody’s crazy names and seeing how they play,” said freshman Eden Williamson. “Everybody’s chatting, and it’s really funny.”
“Among Us” is a Mafia-style game where players are in a spaceship. One to three unknown imposters traverse the ship, looking for crewmates to kill. Once an imposter kills a player, that player becomes a ghost. The crewmates must complete tasks on the ship, and, if all tasks are completed, the crewmates win. The crewmates can also win by voting out and ejecting imposters by way of emergency meetings, which can also be triggered when a player reports a dead body. The imposters win by killing crewmates and sabotaging the ship. They can also go through vents to move around quickly. If someone is acting suspiciously, or ‘sus,’ other players can vote them out even if they are not the imposter.
“My least favorite part about playing ‘Among Us’ is that, almost every time you play, you are a crewmate,” said sophomore Marla Green. “I wish they could make it to where you could be an imposter more.”
People can play the game with friends by using a game code, or they can play by themselves in a random game. Playing with friends is entertaining, and it can also be done over FaceTime on Apple devices. Since people playing alone conceals identities, players cannot predict opponents’ personalities and could be exposed to unpleasant, rude or offensive behavior through the chat feature. The chat is meant to be a tool to use to discuss who the imposter could be, and it is mainly used as such. However, since it is easy to become angry or irritated at strangers, the chat feature often hosts arguments between individuals or groups. The arguments may be short-lived, since players are able to exit the game, but they may leave people cross and irritable.
Freshman Savannah Lemons usually considers the chat feature fun and enjoyable to use but is occasionally upset by controversial or sexist comments.
“Everything else [on the chat] is great, and you can filter the comments,” said Lemons.
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