[MUD-Dev] Guilds & Politics [was Affecting the World]

[Matt Chatterley]

On Tue, 9 Dec 1997, Derrick Jones wrote:

> On Mon, 8 Dec 1997, Vadim Tkachenko wrote:
> > First of all, I want to state clearly that I'm not a fan of pkilling,
> > and I know what is a MU* harrasment (a close friend of mine, a girl, was
> > a victim - and that wasn't even the MUD, that was just a talker).
> 
> I'd like to add the disclaimer that I have left pk in my design.  Seems
> that no one to be on the recieving end of a pk, but so many want to have
> the option of being on the dealing end of it...

This is an interesting point that I will only touch on (since I think it
has been discussed to death for now, of late). Many people dislike
strongly to be killed by another player. The interesting issue is *why*
and I believe it comes down to game context. Usually things that can kill
you are things you expect to hit you, and to hurt you, and which you
voluntarily enter dangerous situations with. The fact that there is a
network connection attached to one, which decided *concious* (rather than
based on automated criteria) to attack and harm you is taken in an
exagerated context (is it anymore personal an attack than one from an NPC?
I say *no* since it is NOT personal against you, or at least, ideally is
not).

[Snip rest]

Regards,
	-Matt Chatterley
	ICQ: 5580107
"I shall never believe that God plays dice with the world." -Einstein