[MUD-Dev] PvP Systems

[gmiller at classic-games.com]

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Original message: http://www.kanga.nu/archives/MUD-Dev-L/2001Q1/msg00368.php

On Thu,  1 Feb 2001 13:20:56 -0800 (PST)
"John Buehler" <johnbue at msn.com> wrote:

> Federico Di Gregorio writes:

[snip discussion of player vs. admin rules enforcement]

> I was hoping to avoid getting into this particular discussion, but I
> guess it's a necessary postscript to the original topic.

Yep, the libertarian vs. authoritarian argument is pretty fundamental
to the design of any system which attempts to regulate player
vs. player hostility.

> The reason that people play these games is for entertainment.  A
> single player game provides a certain form of entertainment for each
> player, and that entertainment is completely controlled by the game
> publisher and the player.  Nobody else has a say in what happens in
> the game.  In contrast, a multiplayer game has the characteristic
> that the entertainment of any one player is derived not only from
> the game and the one player's actions, but also from the actions of
> other players.  This is all obvious, but it's important to keep it
> in mind when considering PvP.

Indeed, but not all of us find being powerless to protect ourselves
more entertaining than being required to do so. Much of the problem
with UO in the early days was that it lacked sufficient tools to deal
with excessive PK. That doesn't imply that the problem is inherent to
all conceivable player-run systems.

With any luck, we've summarized this well enough to avert any further
hashing out of the same tired arguments :)

On a related note, I think we need a FAQ entry with pointers to
previous threads on the subject, since this comes up every few months.
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