No more preteen PKs.

Yet again we start with a link: Korea Bans PKing (http://www.gamepro.com/index.html?/gamepro/international/games/news/26774.shtml)

And how! So now you have to be 18 to play a game that has PKing (Player Killing) in it. Well, in Korea anyhow. Kim Taek-jin, president of NCsoft doesn't seem too happy about it either, seeing as it shuts out about 50% of their market. A few million pale, Korean teenagers step, blinking into the sunlight, and we're left with large mobs of people who either support, or condemn the Korean government. Don't you love this stuff?

And why do I care? Because it's a precedent. If the bill sticks around in Korea, then the precedent will be set and, like any good mortar, once it sets, it hurts when thrown. And it will be thrown. First around Korea, mashing established MMOGs and stifling startups. Then, at some point, it'll leapfrog over the Pacific and land in the US. It'll spread like wildfire, and pretty soon games like Ultima Online will consist of a few thousand people who decorate their houses and talk at the Britain bank for $9.95 a month. MMOGs will become like Unreal with all the cheats turned on. Pretty, but not challenging, and boring as fuck.

In case you haven't collected the clues like a good gumshoe, I'm against this idea. It's bad, naughty, not good. Of course some people don't think so. Some people love the idea of a massively multiplayer carebear, cabbage-patch, sunshine and lollipops world where the "evil" people are the ones who don't say "thank you" after you open doors for them. Yes, I know how ridiculous the notion is. The thought that some people actually want pansy games, where people like me are considered "bad ass" is hard to fathom, but bear with me.

My problem with this, is that it makes people too comfortable. I understand that MMOGs are escapes from everyday life, which is rarely comfortable, but what's the point in playing a game with a few thousand other people, where the only form of competition is seeing who can make the most flamboyantly homosexual costume in the least amount of time. Not that I have anything against homosexuals, but would you really want to play a game where the only objective is to dress like one? Why the hell would I play a game, where I can buy a full suit of armor, and a 6 foot sword, and not be able to use it on someone?

"But Landslide, oh misguided one, you can still slay ye olde dragons and goblins and such."
I don't care if you have the brain capacity of subway urinal, after a month or two of killing the same crap over and over, it becomes very difficult to die. No matter how "complex" these "AI" systems get, it's only a matter of time until they become completely predictable. For those of you who understand what I mean by this; I can kill an Ancient Wyrm in UO, at 75 magery, simply because I know how to work the system. Other players are the only real unpredictable element. Even then, after awhile of PvPing, the reactions of other players to your actions becomes known, but at least there's always the possibility of surprise. Monsters are confined by their code, other players are not.

Now, I know PvP isn't necessarily PKing, and PKs are always PvPers, but I prefer to look at them as bedfellows. And I'm pretty sure that the Korean government made no such distinction, and I doubt most of us conservative westerners would either. PvP is generally the tossing down of the gauntlet, and the consensual "have at thee!"'s that follow, whereas PKing consists of some bloodthirsty 13 year old leaping out from a bush and planting an axe in your face. One seems nobler than the other. Many MMOG roleplayers would agree that PvP is a healthy indulgence for mature adults. A method of pitting "skills" against one another. The second, more abrupt form of battle, is usually considered a pain in the virtual ass. For me, and others I'm sure, it adds excitement to the online experience. Where's the spontaneity of a completely safe land, where you can identify any threat as soon as it appears on your screen.

Of course, games with PvP and PK elements won't disappear. You'll just have to be 18 to play them. But in the great machine that it capitalism, companies aren't going to settles for less. They'll cut out PvP and make other revisions to get more market share. Companies like NCsoft (http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200210/200210280021.html). Talk about quick turnarounds. Pretty soon dying in MMOGs will be a benefit instead of a hindrance. You'll get cookies, and a free ride back to the city. Bah, anyhow, I'm tired. I'm going to bed.

Oh, one more thing. If you have to be 18 to kill a virtual person, how old do you have to be to smoke virtual cigarettes, and drink virtual alcohol? And, if you have to be 18 to drink REAL alcohol and smoke REAL cigarettes, how old do you have to be to kill REAL people?

Things I think about at 3:30am.

-Landslide