[MUD-Dev] A Question on PvP and PK

[eric]

From: <szii at sziisoft.com>
> From: "Ron Gabbard" <rgabbard at swbell.net>

>> Why is it that 5% of the EQ players (slightly more for AC) want
>> to participate in PvP combat while 95% of the DAoC players want
>> to participate in PvP combat when the games are pretty similar
>> with similar customer bases?

> Most people I've talked to on the EQ message boards are the
> "holier than thou" type who blindly associate PvP with griefing.
> They hold their nose and point at the server imbalance and call
> the PvP servers "the penal colony of the EQ world" and don't take
> the time to look at the game.

I think this is a rather dim view and generalization of a <size
modifier> group. And only manages to reuse the holier than thou
attitude.

You skirted the issue as I see it, its not that the dumb AI is more
enjoyable or easier. Its just easier than fighting other humans,
many of which you gain very little if anything from. And thats
really the point, if you are a PK then naturally you enjoy it on
some level. Since most games do not give you any value for the kill
beyond the satisfaction *of* the kill, that literally *is* your
motivation. Now obviously killing other players for no personal gain
will carry with it a stigma from the real world, and last I checked
serial killers weren't on top in the popularity department.  But
back to the point, monster bashing is easier than killing players,
and pking offers none of the rewards associated with monster
bashing, so people that are interested in worldly things don't care
about PKing. Even if you do drop valuable objects, monsters are
still easier. And on that plane, pks and non-pks are exactly
alike. Pks will target weak players because they are easier, rarely
do I ever find a noble pk (robin hood is an idealist that doesn't
exist).

> satisfying?  Which is more efficient?  Which gives you more pride?
> Which simply gets you from point A to point B in the least amount
> of time?  Flint-steel = more time, more effort, more pride, more
> satisfaction.  Matches = faster, easier, no skill.

For technology and the world as we know it I believe that statement
to be false. If that were the case for any large group of humans,
then we would still be in the stone age, all feeling quite satisfied
with our selves for having just started a fire with a stone.  Its
like my pa used to say, those that never faced any hardship, create
it for themselves. This sounds like you. Me, I'll go for the easy
victory every time, read Sun Tzu, its the strategy I follow.

Also, I don't agree with your statement on a physical level, flint
and steel aren't really more difficult and they have the added
benefit of lasting longer and being more durable to nature, mainly
water. If I was going on a year expedition in some uncharted area, I
would take both, but would depend on the flint and steel more. Maybe
hunting with a bow instead of gun would better suit your logic.

I say, every player upon being killed drop loot and gave experience
as per a level equivalent critter, and you would see a better PK
community. That is opposed to what I usually see, psychopaths and
sociopaths. Case in point for a good community is DAoC where PvP has
been a factor in the design.  (Although the marathon of mind-numbing
monster bashing is a major deterent.)




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