The Daily Grind: Do you want a 'fair' fight?
Fair is a four-letter word. I mean, literally it is; you can count them if you like. It's a figurative four-letter word too, especially when it comes to MMO design and PvP. What's unfair to some is smart tactics to others, and the subjectivity here is responsible for a large part of the rancor that underlies PvP discourse.
Funcom'sCraig Morrison recently expounded on the subject via his personal blog, and among the interesting nuggets up for discussion was the notion of a fair fight (and more specifically, whether MMO players actually want one). Some do and some don't, of course, but the more important question seems to be what is a "fair" fight? Can it even be defined, let alone coded?
Morrison writes that "most people simply don't like being fodder for a dominating force. They don't like to be bullied or out-muscled by a force that the game mechanics have allowed to have a clear position of dominance." He's right, but what's left unsaid is that everyone has the same opportunity to take advantage of those game mechanics.
What say you, Massively readers? Do you want a "fair" fight? If so, how do you define the word in this particular context?
Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
