[Mud-Dev] Article on Griefers

[Rayzam]

From:

  http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-grief2sep02005045.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dtechnology

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GRIEFERS RELISH THE DARK SIDE OF CAMELOT

Griefers -- online game players who focus on the indiscriminate
slaughter and ridicule of other gamers -- have caught the attention
of game makers such as Sony, Microsoft and Electronic Arts, who
worry that these bad sports will jeopardize the rise of online games
by scaring away customers willing to spend $10 to $14 a month to
subscribe to the online gaming experience offered by titles such as
"EverQuest" and "Dark Ages of Camelot." These games offer players
rich, immersive, fantasy worlds where they can acquire virtual jobs,
adopt pets, marry and own property. Rather than a shining city on a
hill, however, the online Camelot has quickly descended into
anarchy, where stealing, killing, taunting and other forms of
bullying are used to torment novice players. For a griefer, this is
what it's all about -- not the killing, but the misery they inflict
afterward.  "Griefers feed on the negative reactions of the people
they kill," says one self-proclaimed bully. "There's nothing sweeter
than when you kill someone and they spout insults at you for
hours. That's when you know you got him.  It sounds really cruel,
but it's fun." And while game makers have tried to isolate
anti-social behavior by setting up safe zones where players can't be
harmed and filters that reject obscene and graphic names, the
griefers continually find ingenious ways to get around them. The
result is a cat-and-mouse game that has become tremendously costly
for game developers at the same time they are planning to
significantly expand their online offerings. "We're trying to take a
whole new generation of players online who have never been there
before," says the director of content services for Microsoft's
Xbox. "We want to make sure everyone has a good experience." The
griefer's response?  "Everybody needs a bad guy." 

(Los Angeles Times 2 Sep 2002)
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rayzam
www.travellingbard.com

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