Eating Crow

[Spentmind 23]

I honestly don't believe people enter any game with a moral standing, at least I definitely don't. I think we'd all be considered psychopaths for just playing FPS if that was the case.

[unkillable94 149]

I'm sorry, but you lost a lot of credibility in my eyes when getting screwed over by some kid caused you to leave the game and only came back because people were begging you not to go. That's happened to me plenty of times, get used to it and move on. Especially playing the hero, be prepared to get shit on repeatedly and stand back up.

[Dr. Goner 661]

I play on multiple servers and sometimes I play as a hero, sometimes I play as a bandit. I have honor in real life and that doesn't magically go away when I play a video game. People who claim that how they play doesn't reflect on who they really are just don't want others to think that they actually are callous pieces of shit in real life. Someone who isn't a racist isn't going to throw racist terms around side chat when they get mad. Someone who doesn't gain satisfaction from the pain of others sees no reason to snipe a guy who just spawned. When a person first launches Dayz, they have no idea what's going and most likely have no idea what they are supposed to do. Once you find a decent weapon, what you do with weapon and how you act within the confines of what the game allows you to do is a direct reflection of who you really are as a person. Claiming otherwise just makes you look bad. I don't think anyone in this game who has shot a bunch of pixels with their gun-shaped blob of pixels is a murderer. I do think someone who does things, that they know causes unnecessary emotional harm to another player, does so because doing so is its own reward to them.

The problem with talking shit to a guy like Gonzo, is that without people like him, those little bambies bandits enjoy killing wouldn't be playing for long. That's why I choose to fight nihilism in any form. It serves no purpose except to hurt a server's population and without people to help or to kill, there isn't much reason to play Dayz.

Well said sir.

[Dr. Goner 661]

I'm sorry, but you lost a lot of credibility in my eyes when getting screwed over by some kid caused you to leave the game and only came back because people were begging you not to go. That's happened to me plenty of times, get used to it and move on. Especially playing the hero, be prepared to get shit on repeatedly and stand back up.

I wouldn't say people were begging me not to go. There were just a lot of people who encouraged me to stay because there are so few dedicated "hero" players in dayz. The game is very very fun and a great escape. That's why I came back. I've lightened up. I'm eating crow in order to try and keep my credibility. I'm just trying to admit that I over reacted. I was wrong. Anyway, thanks for the reply.

[Dr. Goner 661]

I honestly don't believe people enter any game with a moral standing, at least I definitely don't. I think we'd all be considered psychopaths for just playing FPS if that was the case.

It's been so great hearing all the responses to the questions I've raised. I honestly see every side of this discussion. The most exciting thing about all of this to me is the fact that there is actually research being done at accredited Universities on this subject. I should start another thread about the Harvard study that linked improvements in hand eye coordination and increased problem solving skill to limited game play. I love that study because it basically found that video games are a great tool for learning. On the other hand, there have been cases of near starvation and malnutrition reported in Japan due to excessive game play.

Anyway, I don't think you're a psychopath at all. I think you are just enjoying an escape like all of us, but Hogs makes a great point. Killing a fresh spawn is a jerk move no matter how you slice it because you control your actions within the context of the game. In the post I made about quitting I mentioned that I play the hero because I am NOT a hero in real life. I want to escape and revel in the satisfaction that dayz give me by allowing me to be a savior or a teacher/guide to another player. My reasons for playing are no different than the player who sits on a hill shooting people with no weapons. It gives me joy.

Edited February 13, 2013 by DrGonzo

[unkillable94 149]

I wouldn't say people were begging me not to go. There were just a lot of people who encouraged me to stay because there are so few dedicated "hero" players in dayz. The game is very very fun and a great escape. That's why I came back. I've lightened up. I'm eating crow in order to try and keep my credibility. I'm just trying to admit that I over reacted. I was wrong. Anyway, thanks for the reply.

Fair enough, most people wouldn't be mature enough to respond like that and admit their own shortcomings.

[Spentmind 23]

It's been so great hearing all the responses to the questions I've raised. I honestly see every side of this discussion. The most exciting thing about all of this to me is the fact that there is actually research being done at accredited Universities on this subject. I should start another thread about the Harvard study that linked improvements in hand eye coordination and increased problem solving skill to limited game play. I love that study because it basically found that video games are a great tool for learning. On the other hand, there have been cases of near starvation and malnutrition reported in Japan due to excessive game play.

Anyway, I don't think you're a psychopath at all. I think you are just enjoying an escape like all of us, but Hogs makes a great point. Killing a fresh spawn is a jerk move no matter how you slice it because you control your actions within the context of the game. In the post I made about quitting I mentioned that I play the hero because I am NOT a hero in real life. I want to escape and revel in the satisfaction that dayz give me by allowing me to be a savior or a teacher/guide to another player. My reasons for playing are no different than the player who sits on a hill shooting people with no weapons. It gives me joy.

When I first started playing DayZ (Which was pretty much when it first came out) I sat on teamspeak talking to my friends about it while I waited for it all to download wondering whether I should be a bad guy or a good guy and by the time it was done I decided I didn't want to go into the game being either, I decided I would be Nuetral and see how it played out from there, I've been through each stage many times, Bandit, Hero (Before the Hero skin came in) Bandit, Hero. And honestly both are satisfying in their own ways. I love the feeling you get when you've helped someone despite the odds of them shooting you in the face being high. And I also love starting firefights, or just being in them and winning. When I kill someone and they don't even know I was there, I don't feel happy, or sad, I go up, see what they've got and I take what I need, or want and leave the body there incase they want to come back for it.

[PitViperJoe 4]

This thread has been a great read. I really have never given much thought to what kind of psychological process takes places in people as their making moral choices within a video game. Very interesting stuff. Really can't wait to start playing this game.

[jBrick 116]

There are some individuals, such as myself, that were never given a chance in DayZ. I started playing well before humanity saved between lives and people spawned in with Makarov's. If you think that made for some interesting times, you're right. Most people never even got a Lee Enfield in those days, we all ran around shooting each other stealing beans. Then the day came that your humanity became permanent and I was gloriously endowed with -150,000 off the hop. I have been getting shot on sight ever since... so I did what people in my situation should do, I started shooting back and executing every single person I came across. I also got extremely good at it. Now, granted when I KO a regular on the server I play on (US 3480 FTW) there are some things I do not do. I do not loot the body, nor do I hide it... I look at it as a person I was competing against and I have a lot of respect for legitimate players on this game. I also generally do not camp players I've iced unless I'm sitting on a tall building in cherno wacking new people with a sniper rifle. I am a man of my word in-game as well... if I say I am going to help someone I truly mean it.

I've racked up my fair share of bad juju, but I must say I play this game as a competitor trying to win and have fun along the way. I don't want to ruin other peoples experience by being a jack-off but I do want to compete against them.

[beatSTV 631]

So, let the onslaught of "who gives a $%&!" replies begin...

I have returned to DayZ. Even with the prevalence of low brow moronic phrases like U Mad Bro and Derp, DayZ has a great group of players.

The "U MAD BRO" crowd may be a sign of the apocalypse and the first step backward in human evolution, but they make up a small portion of the dayz commmunity.

I made a post a week ago that I was leaving dayz because I had been screwed over by some fifteen year old kid. Well, in private messages, forum members reached out to me encouraging me to fight on. So, I'm back on my home server. I had made friends there, I missed those guys. They're good hard working adults just like me and we're only looking for a little escape. It's great to be back.

I am limiting my play time extensively and honestly it has been really nice to get away from the computer and do some real world stuff.

I still play the hero because it's the toughest way to play the game and the most challenging gaming experience I've had. All you bandits go back to kiddie camp. You know nothing of elite gaming. The first day I logged back on and retrieved a chopper. I got shot at while performing an evacuation with medical support. I had to laugh. After all, now I know it's not my chopper, it's dayz's chopper. The guy I saved was extremely thankful and apologized because I'd been shot at while picking him up. No problem, I said, another friend gained.

The kid who screwed me over is now hated by the entire server as he has screwed every "regular" over in one way or another at this point. He can't help himself. In fact, it was a day or two after I came back that his entire crew fell apart and most of his group left the server. I wonder if undercover saboteurs had anything to do with it... :P

Anyway, I did do a lot of research on morality in gaming. If you're interested there is a ton of information out there. It seems that most researches find, in controlled lab experiments, that a players controlled actions of an avatar DO in fact point to real aspects of that players personality. It's kinda scary, if its true, how most of us are keeping our demons in check.

Thanks to everyone who helped me get back in the saddle and extra special thanks to those who dropped by the server to help decimate a clan of fifteen year old bandits.

I remember you, good to see your still playing the game.

[Rodom87 5]

Ha! No, that was just a little dig I added in to upset the bandits. I just personally feel like being a bandit is the easy way to play DayZ. Hide in the bushes and kill everyone, or take a chance to save someone asking for help? Seems obvious to me.

Not trying to be rude, but that is not what bandits are, those are KOS'ers. The people who kill you only because they wish to avoid confrontation in which they could be killed. Those are raiders if you can even call them that. Old fashioned DayZ banditry is actually extremely difficult as well. That requires highway robbery and trying to actually blindsight people. Thats what I do. And I usually don't have to kill people. Plus I believe it not only makes the game more enjoyable for me and the victim, as frankly it gets the adrenaline rushing. But I also believe that bandits are a needed entity in DayZ. Plus, being a bandit is just plain fun.