Jonathan Steinhauer's MMO Column

Steinhauer's Opinion: The PvP Debate

That leads us to the fourth and most recent innovation on the PvP question, championed by Shadowbane, but also seen in such games as Dark Age of Camelot and World of Warcraft. Their intent was to focus the chaos of PvP into campaigns and empire building through the use of Realms. The idea is a sort of half-PvP with players of the same realm not able to kill each other and instead campaigning against players of the other Realms. Innovative, to be sure, but it has the bi-product of focusing the game almost solely upon its PvP element rather than making it just one part of many in a thriving world. Much like the United States in World War II, all aspects of economy and existence are focused on the war effort. Crafting, trade, and exploration become important only insofar as they further "The Cause." On Shadowbane, for example, there are no quests. Thus the Realms concept successfully focused the PvP aspect of gaming, but still will only appeal to a narrower market. The gamer who has little or no interest in PvP will usually move on quickly, if they even try the game at all.

I should mention a few other PvP options that some games have introduced, though they all are variations on the above themes. Most PvE games have some allowance for what is often called PK-lite, Sparring, or Dueling. One form involves becoming fully PK for a period of time, and then reverting back to NPK when you are tired of it. The transition usually involves a small quest, and has a timer to going NPK if you were just involved in PvP combat. The other, more specific form allows two players to choose to duel each other for the duration of a single fight and without death penalties. While both of these can fulfill the desire for players to test their mettle against each other, their narrow focus means that they have no impact on the greater society of the gaming world.

Another variation, Monster Play, was recently introduced by Lord of the Rings Online. Given that Tolkien's world is neither oriented for full Realm combat or general PvP, the designers focused the Realms concept on a specific region of the game where people can opt to play monsters against other normal player characters. Creative, to be sure, but again the narrow geographic focus means that it has no bearing on any other aspect of the world.

So having covered this ground, I leave you with one question: Is it possible to make a game that appeals to PvPers and Non-PvPers alike, where both types of players can coexist and positively impact the gaming experience of each other?

I believe so and will share my theory next time.