Words Worth Knowing: MVP
Words Worth Knowing was a vertical I wrote weekly explaining key pieces of gaming jargon to parents, guardians and teachers, as part of the larger overall GameHub outreach effort. The column ran for nearly two years and resulted in around 60 WWK articles. GameHubHQ.com closed in late 2017. This piece originally appeared on Feb 08, 2015.
What It Is: Most Valued Player = MVP
What It Means: MVP is a term used in online collaborative multiplayer gaming, as well as in offline sports such as football or rugby. It can be bestowed based on any number of statisical measures, or simply as a compliment. It is a measure of which human player contributed the most to an overall team effort.
Why You Care: MVP is a coverted status, like any award of trophy, and occurs in recognition of an outstanding individual contribution to an overall team effort. It might be a simple count of Most Kills, Most Goals, Most Loot Collected or some other numerical measure, or it can be much more ephemerous - the player who spoke up to another about unreasonable behaviour, the player who solved a puzzle that was out-smarting the others, the player who gave a pep-talk to a dejected team, or volunteered to train and mentor a newbie. MVP is a status indicator, showing that the player works well with others as well as being skilful in their own right. MVP status usually lasts a single match, round or tournament, recognising good play "on the night."
