“The thing that I have found in my years of playing is that people are people, childish 40 yr olds are still childish 40 yr olds whether they are role-playing an elf running a bar or tea-bagging an enemy in PvP. You do not lose these people by choosing either of these extremes. Learn to respect each other’s choice and play the game already.”

MMORPGs – The ultimate game for roleplay gamers with a desire to fellowship. As in anything there are pros and cons to this type of gaming but many of the players will tell you that it goes beyond being a mere game. MMORPGs are a lifestyle, a fact that a non MMO person may have issue understanding but it is. Since the release and eventual decline of Ultima Online, the MMO world has been split into two extreme halves that alienates casual players who are forced to choose a side. Having experienced both sides in the depth of my gameplay I hope to use this article as a means to help bridge the gap between the rival factions and also warn a potentially new player…

The two sides of which I write are the PvP (Player versus Player) and the RP (Role-player). I am not going to categorize everyone who has interest and participates in these categories but my article is based on the extreme. Oft times the more vocal role-players are seen as being the louder of the complainers because of the tendecy to post page long threads about their hate of PvP. When new gamers surf the MMO boards this can often lead to an unnecessary bias for PvP players based on the upset RPers stance on the forums. On the other end of the spectrum, vocal PvPers tend to egg on the threads with witty one liners to fan the flames. This type of thing works its way into the games and into open chats. The beef has now escalated to the point where PvPers are just as vocal as the Role-players on the forums and anyone choosing a normal realm (PvE, Player versus Environment) or a RP server is chagrined for being a coward.

Please Grow UP
Regardless of which side of the argument you stand, you have to agree that it is worthless and childish. When I think about the 30-50 year old people behind the keyboard spurring this stuff on it saddens me. I don’t mean the guys who are having intelligent trade-offs or the trolls looking to get a rise out of everyone (a troll can be spotted a mile away so no-one cares what he/she has to say). If your aim aside from trying to force the entire player-base into your way is to bash another person’s style of gaming then you really need to stop and think about it. The beauty of an MMORPG is the flexibility that comes with playing the game however you wish… Why would you play in order to change that.

“Having never played an MMO before this one, I have no idea what other similar games might be like. As addicted to and frustrated with this game as I am, it will definately be my last of this genre. But I think too many people just don’t play this game for what it is. They play it for what they want it to be. I’m as guilty of this as anyone.” – Quoted from Lilflier of Everquest 2.

If you really stop and observe the people who post this nonsense, you will find that the thread starts with a kind of “me, me, me!” sentiment. Words to look for are I, me, our, mine, basically there is a selfish undertone or a condescending attitude. Examples (which I will cut and paste from the Everquest2 and Age of Conan Boards for accuracy):

Typical RP Attitude: “I also think that a FFA PvP ruleset is too extreme for a large percentage of casual gamers who just dont want their gaming experience ruined by some unemployed teen who has 80 hours a week to turn his toon into Mr_Uber with a view to ganking everyone & everything.”
The PvP Response: “they are trying, but to do PvP and make the carebear majority not cry is a tough one.”

Name Calling and Playstyle Realms
When you call a roleplayer a Care Bear or a PvPer a LEET DOOD, no matter how great you think you are, chances are even your peers don’t respect you. The most memorable players of any MMORPG are the ones who got along with both sides. I know this is difficult and for that those individuals get the most respect but if your aim is only be champion of the forum PvPers or champion of the forum RP trolls then keep it up. I have yet to play a game where the developers allow bitch threads to influence their changes to the game. It is always the same, people play the game for about 2 years, enjoying what it has to offer… then they start to claim ownership and demand changes based on what they feel would make the game better. It’s a vicious cycle.

The RP/PvP gap has widened enough to the point that games have split the realms in order to keep the hardcore members of each faction comfortable in assuming that only like-minded players are on their server. In reality you still get an influx of RPers on PvP servers and PvPers on RP servers. This illusion that the Developers put in place by naming a server RP only or the extremely confusing RP/PvP is taken at face value until months into it when the players realize that they have been tricked into joining that realm. PvP can be enforced by game mechanics while RP cannot.

My Experience
In SWG I ran into many players who like myself, enjoyed both worlds. I have an Advanced Dungeons and Dragons background so role-playing comes naturally to me. Similarly I have a sports/martial arts background so competition is in my blood… I love PvP. I would stay in character during social events and PvP my ass off on many raids and skirmishes. I barely heard role-player complain about PvP though we had a few select a-holes who did, and PvPers loved RPers because they would fight for their side like no other. I will get in trouble for this but Everquest was the game that made me see firsthand why some PvPers developed names like “Care Bear” to describe RPers. Like SWG there were many who loved both worlds but there were many who not only hated PvP but were overly vocal and condescending about it. They would be on non-PvP servers bashing the PvP players and in return PvPers would use the old cliché “Go roll on a blue server” (Blue servers are non PvP) whenever someone would question a griefing attempt by a player. The thing that I have found in my years of playing is that people are people, childish 40 yr olds are still childish 40 yr olds whether they are role-playing an elf running a bar or tea-bagging an enemy in PvP. You do not lose these people by choosing either of these extremes. Learn to respect each other’s choice and play the game already.

PvPers Ultimate Game: A realm where combat is frequent, no-one can escape his zerg and the rewards for being strong are worthy.
RPers Ultimate Game: A realm where everyone stays in character, knows their role, and sticks to his storyline.

Pretty different wants right? So what about the regular gamer who doesn’t role-play and doesn’t want to get killed by other players? Or the casual player who wants to PvP once in awhile and maybe still attend a RP event when he is bored? Does your hardcore realm befit these guys? Probably not since you don’t think beyond your wants and desires, this is the dilemma most MMORPG developers run into at the very end. You make a great game, market it well and before launch you are faced with representatives of these 2 parties… they want their own servers so the Carebears and Leet Doods can be placed in far corners of the room and not have to look at each other. This suddenly complicates things because if they don’t get what they want they start threatening blindly.

“Fix this or else!”, “I am god of team (insert gamer group) and we will leave (insert victimized game) if you do not give us a server with (insert ridiculous demands here)”

If you have been around children you will see why this is sad. I don’t claim to be a saint, I have gotten frustrated when we are PvPing and someone in group starts bitching about dying or us killing someone. I have been annoyed when I am at a RP party and some jackass waltzes in wielding his weapon trying to hit people to start a fight. There are dumbasses on both sides but the argument gets old. Honestly I had moved more towards the PvPer’s side because of the politics within the role-play community.

Politics within the Role-Play Community
Crap usually begins when you have a Nazi type lording over role-play events. They want it their way or they change rules to place the community against you. This was very evident in Star Wars Galaxies when to the outside world, the RP Community seemed tight and friendly. Those of us on the inside knew it was a fractured and painful place at times. You couldn’t be seen with one person because another person would start judging you for it, vent channels would go silent when certain players would pop in. The entire passive-aggressive melodramatic gameplay that made the game more hassle than it should have been made me wonder about the hundreds of people who continued to deal with it even after I moved on. With this experience I stayed away from RP in Everquest2 and the World of Warcraft.

Politics within the PvP Community
In PvP I ran into my share of special kids. The guys who would grief you for hours on end if you let them, and the ones who would go out of their way to make your game experience bad. The thing that puzzled me was that on Star Wars people were passionate about their side (Rebel or Imperial) and would do things for that. In World of Warcraft people would trail my lowbee just to pop him whenever he was poppable… for no reward. But this was 3-4 guys on every game that had a strong reputation for being griefing a-holes. The PvP community knew who they were and they either A. change their ways or B. moved to another server. The community policed them and it became “grief on sight” whenever they would be seen. The damage they do as a whole though is so much that ALL PvPers get labeled based on their crimes.

PvP in my opinion has a strong community based on friendship. The strongest survive but the strongest are usually bound by honor and are great to know. I see less selfishness in PvP than I do in RP and it is because of the casual atmosphere within a PvP realm. Guys get frustrated when they lose but another day they are the king of the hill and on cloud 9. Politics end at the tip of your blade or staff and the only people that are blacklisted from the community are a-holes like the aforementioned. Open chat is always a nightmare to read but the choice of either turning it off or switching it makes this a non issue.

Summation
So to quote Rodney King “can’t we all just get along?” I see PvP and RP as a strong male and a strong female in a relationship struggling to get along. PvP wants to love RP but she bitches a lot and wants it her way or the highway… at least that’s how he sees her. RP is frustrated with PvP because she finds him childish and constantly horny when all she wants is a few minutes of chat time in between. They cannot get along because the two of them just won’t listen over their constant screams for the other one to conform. PvP would have RP stay quiet and in her place so that when he gets the urge he can relieve himself and return to his football game. RP would have PvP be supportive and have her only when she allows him to. Not even therapy (Developer Influence) can help the couple work their problems out. So they want to divorce and even more than divorce they want strict restraining orders. To PvP his darling RP is a whiney carebear who is soft and squishy and easy to pounce when she isn’t running away. To RP, the brute-like PvP is an animalistic heathen who only wants to go around poking things randomly without focus in life. So they end up hating each other.

There are other RP/PvP couples who make it work. Their secret is they actually listen and are willing to compromise. PvP agrees that sex comes with consent or if RP is in the bedroom wanting it, when she wants to talk he sits and acts at least a little interested. RP agrees that PvP needs her sexually at times and will even go to the bedroom on days when she isn’t 100% about it. They get along and have wonderful RP/PvP and Casual Gaming kids who look at other warring couples and wish they were more like mom and dad.

The majority of us are too old for this, and you know it but will defensively flame me, and anyone else who calls you on it. Both playstyles are wonderful and rewarding but as observed by a person who has experienced them both in concert, they can actually work together. If you are a captain of either of these factions, please do some self analysis and refrain from the name-calling. It makes you look immature and it doesn’t bring anyone over to your side. The general gaming community hates extremists and you drag the MMORPG market down with your attitude