[MUD-Dev] BIZ: Who owns my sword?

[Michael Chui]

--- Matt Mihaly <the_logos at ironrealms.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 18 Sep 2003, Marian Griffith wrote:

>> Or, consider games like quake or counterstrike.  If you would not
>> accept that the laws of the game apply to the avatars only, you
>> would, in effect, proclaim the players murderers, since they have
>> killed hundreds if not thousands of other 'players'.  Within the
>> laws of those games murder is not a crime. It is even encouraged.

> Murder involves killing someone. We call it "killing" when certain
> changes to a database are made in a game but nothing is being
> killed and no murder is taking place.

While talking, one of my friends asked me if I was going to have a
"genocide-based economy", or something to that effect. After all,
isn't that what a lot of hack-n-slash MUDs are about? Pick up sword,
wipe out forest of mobs, wipe out city of mobs, wipe out continent
full of mobs. Be rewarded with lots of random goodies and
experience.  Rinse and repeat.

In a way, murder IS taking place. The common command for initiating
combat is "kill", the target is typically a sentient being,
comparable to other humans. And the risk is minimal against an AI,
because it's too likely to drive our bloodthirsty players away with
a realistic, but inhuman opponent. Kind of like.. looking in the
mirror. And beating up a computer isn't quite as much fun as beating
up an actual person ("I'm so bad, I beat down a.. program."), even
if they're both represented as text on the screen.

Marian is right; the law IS different. But not so different that
they can be told apart easily. Some MUDs implement justice systems,
so that there are PVP mostly-safe-but-still-realistic zones. State
changes are superseded by immersion. If the player is immersed
enough, and identifies with his avatar enough, the player is
wielding the death-dealing blade. I'm not saying it's bad; I'm
saying it happens.

-Michael Chui
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