PvP: Player versus Player, this term is akin to brother against brother, and sister against sister, in the old, purely physical world. Players going out of their way to adversely affect the experience other players receive. Sometimes this is a good thing, adding depth to gameworlds. Too often, it is a bad thing, causing real pain and suffering, dragging legislature into the virtual, and in some cases, losing lives.
Sections
Strongly related to the belief that the world is just a game, is the belief by some players that the other characters in the world can be treated just like NPCs in computer games. This can lead to players using their characters to do their best to degrade the other players' characters, to belittle them. The mental effect this can have on a player is profound. These resourrces are meant to educate and inform as to the vile nature of these acts, and the people who perpetrate them.
A Rape in Cyberspace
This lengthy, but engrossing article looks at the actual effects of virtual 'rape' within a virtual world, and the aftershocks it produced. So much for it being 'harmless'. A must-read.
Rape by any other name
This excellent article is concerned with concentual, interactive PvP, and how PvP has to be agreeable to both parties. If it's not, then there is a RL word for what is taking place...
Reprinted with permission, from the Biting the Hand column, previously hosted at happypuppy.com.
PvP: Pkilling: Taking it to GBH and Murder (2)
Pkilling is player-killing. A term used in gameworlds to describe one player’s in-world representation killing off another’s. However, Pkilling is often abused, being anything but fair; downright psychological bullying. And of course, sometimes Pkilling is not limited to the representation.
Japanese Woman Jailed for Virtual Murder
Near the end of 2008, a Japanese woman was arrested after she killed her husband?s Maplestory avatar, out of spite. She faced a prison term up to 5 years or a fine up to $5,000 for "illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data.?
Virtual Property Theft ? Physical Murder
Industry news, from 01-04-2005. Hands up who saw this one coming? That?s right, you can all put your hands down now. Virtual property, existing only in a database server, has long been a hot topic in virtual reality, as to who actually owns it. Now, this case has reached a new level, with the murder of a man accused of stealing a virtual sword.
Back To Top
As virtual and physical worlds collide more and more, there is a growing trade in serious virtual item theft. Items stolen are not used by the thief in-world, but sold via Ebay or similar sites for hard cash.
Playing Dirty: Farming in Virtual Gameworlds
The tale of Richard Thurman, retired outlaw in VR gameworlds. Outlaw, because he farmed them, Gold farming it is known as, playing purely to make as much in-world cash as possible, by any means necessary, to then sell for physical cash, by the boatload.
Mugging ? on a Massive Virtual Scale
News from the 18th of August 2005, the first recorded case of a man arrested for mugging a great many people in a virtual world - and then taking their virtual goods, and selling them wholesale on an auction website. Industrial grade mugging - in a virtual world.
Back To Top
Even social worlds are not free from PvP. Intimidation, threats of physical harm, and behaviour of all sorts emerging from a feeling of total anonymity emerge.
Player Killers Exposed
Player killers: everyone hates them, so why do they do it? Maybe being hated is why they do it? But who wants to be hated?
Back To Top
PvP activity is not a bad thing, if used in moderation. Plot lines and community bonds both benefit from some player against player action. It just has to be carefully limited, or it will be abused more than it helps.
Explorers have more fun
A short, half-ranty article that is true to the point. Looking at what brings griefers to any virtual environment, from the griefer?s point of view, and suggesting ways to minimize their impact through the intelligent design of a world.
If you have ever played the original Zelda games, then you will be familiar with what Graal is. This top-down 2D world system uses an almost infinite combination of square areas one and two screens wide, which slot together to form a world.
Imaginary Realities: Beyond Player Killing
This old article, from the long-defunct e-zine Imaginary Realities, looks at various automated 'solutions' for player versus player conflict in gameworlds and virtual life worlds.
Seek and Discover
An interesting and likely familiar rant on the difficulty of being a true explorer in a manufactured virtual environment.
The Seven States of Gamer Development
?There lacks in the gaming community any sort of lens through which to help better view or understand the development of a game player. There do exist methods to determine how gamers rank in types of personality in comparison with one another, but that is a far cry from actually trying to determine the relationship to the development of the gamer personality.?
|
