I just had a horrible experience (serious discussion).

[aj_ (DayZ) 18]

New player here. After an exhausting but completely uneventful few hours just to get to the airfield for the first time, mosin rifle in hand, I circled very carefully around the place to find a route in where I would be least exposed. Came upon some tents and, confident that I was alone there, started collecting m4 parts without a care in the world.

 

Suddenly, I thought I spotted something moving behind one of the tents. As I had yet to encounter a single player in the few hours I had been playing the game, I was a bit skeptical so, in typical rookie fashion, I just stay put for the second or so I knew it would take someone to come into sight. Sure enough, it was a player (that was the first shock), so I immediately sprinted inside the nearest tent and, as I turned around to face the door, he suddenly ran in, m4 in hand. He apparently had not noticed me because he wasn't looking down his sights. As he crouched, I scoped in and shot him in the chest. He went down hard like a sack of potatoes. I wasn't sure if he was dead or just unconscious so, out of fear and ignorance of the game's mechanics, I shot him in the head as he lay on the floor.

 

It was at this point that I felt like throwing up. Now, I've been playing shooters for many, many years, and racked up countless ekills, so this really surprised me. I thought a while about it and concluded that my reaction was due to the following points:

 

1. the game has perma-death.

2. it was at very close range (~4 meters), in a game with realistic graphics and mechanics. The way he dropped to the floor, with a single shot, was horrifying.

3. the guy was well geared, and I looked like a hobo with a bolt action. I immediately started to wonder if his crouching (odd at such close range) was a sign that he didn't want to kill me. That also would explain why he hadn't entered the tent looking down his sights, as it would be unlikely for him to not have spotted me.

4. the lack of game chat keeps the mood heavy. Nothing like a chat filled with meme-spewing buffoons to remind you that you're playing a game.

 

Now, I've played another game with perma-death, Rust, where I have no trouble killing players in melee with a large rock, because the game looks and plays so silly. But DayZ is a whole 'nother ballgame, and several hours after the fact I'm still feeling horrible about it. It was a truly strange experience and it made me wonder what games will feel like when graphics are truly photorealistic and gameplay is more realistic than DayZ's.

 

I've since gone back to the game and had no qualms about starting some fights, but I do wonder if, should I find myself in a similar close-quarters situation again, I'll hesitate to shoot. Probably not, once I have felt the sting of starting over at the coast :P.

[Max Planck 7174]

That sounds like a great horrible experience.

 

It's nice when games can inspire emotions, even when they are fear and guilt.

[ZenekZombie 7]

You murderer...

 

Ban this madman, he's killing players!

[ImageCtrl 719]

 But DayZ is a whole 'nother ballgame, and several hours after the fact I'm still feeling horrible about it.

 

When did you lose your ideals?  :P 

[svenbreakfast 231]

I agree this sounds awesome. Usually up close I'll just tell the person to freeze and take it from there. I don't KOS not really because I feel for people, but because the game is much more interesting- especially at this stage of the game where there's not much to do outside of interacting with others.

 

The main reason I love DayZ is that it gets inside your head, and I think this is do to the simulator vibe it has. Especially when that bleak ambient music is playing. It's also a game where you have time to think.

[Gth 18]

This is why we can have nice things. 

[Pvt Dolin 137]

When did you lose your ideals?  :P

 

 

old but gold

[ImageCtrl 719]

yes :rolleyes:

[Ozelot (DayZ) 394]

It's a game. It doesn't matter.

[Frost20 20]

 If there were ever a game to be considered "Hardcore", this would be it. You spawn, and you begin the story of aj_ . From the time you spawn to the time you die is your story, it can be whatever you want it to be. No quest bobbles, no one telling you that you have to go here or there, its all about what YOU want to do. If you want to go around unarmed the whole time, just being a collector of the stuff you need to survive, you can do so. If you want to be a mule for a party you can do that. If you want to be a peace-keeper in a town, making sure people are well treated when they come and go, you can do that. If you want to be a bandit who kills others for gear you can do that.

 

 Its up to you...

 

 The only reason it seems like everyone is a bandit right now, is because there is virtually no content to suggest otherwise. Once surviving becomes harder, people will flock to one another to team up. 

[xenomta 128]

Something similar happened to me in the mod.. I felt awful and couldn't play for a while (mine was actually worse, we teamed up for a while but I ended up killing him for a bike), but I can't take risks, this game toys with your emotions so much and it's annoying but great at the same time.

 

You never know mate, if you hadn't shot him he could of turned around and put a bullet or two in you instead.

[Gth 18]

It's a game. It doesn't matter.

 

Its this kind of attitude that creates bandits and the sort that think this game is FFA Deathmatch. 

[inexorable 26]

I think we all felt like that when we first killed in Dayz, but in the end you get used to it (i'm friendly, i only kill when i have to)

 

btw, if you're a new player, i would advise you to play the mod, less bugs, vehicules, etc..

 

don't play the standalone in alpha if you didn't play the mod

[aj_ (DayZ) 18]

That sounds like a great horrible experience.

 

It's nice when games can inspire emotions, even when they are fear and guilt.

 

Yes. It was horrible to experience it, but great that it got me thinking.

[rezinsky 14]

 

"It was at this point that I felt like throwing up..."

Win for Zombie simulator!! imagine what you really would have felt like, especially when you find his family picture in his wallet.