DayZ - Just a Game? Or also a pretty cool Social Experiment?

[xalienax 621]

I guess you never heard of Eve-Online before.

One of the best games of all times imho. its sheer complexity and snails pace progression can put of alot of would be newcomers but if you can slog though your first year it's an incredibly deep and rewarding experience if you put some effort into it. there is no other game that has kept me loggin' on for over 10 years. sure ive played other things on and off but EvE you can play for 10 Years and still have new things to get into and room to grow!

[smoq2 221]

If we considered DayZ a social experiment, it would only produce mixed results. The very reason for that, is that the game minimizes social interactions, despite the fact that it's the key aspect of the game. Let me clarify:

 

Social interactions are not only verbal exchange of information, and this is the only exchange we have full control of in DayZ. In the case of body language we have only a couple of predefined gestures, poses and movement. We cannot control facial expressions, which are key for social interaction, sub-conscious arm gestures, or pheromone discharges (yes, this has a part to play in interaction).

 

Then there is lack of complete emotional attachment. We do not share the value of our own life with the life of our avatar and our interlocutor is aware of that, even if just on a sub-conscious level.

 

This is why I believe many players (or "participants" if you prefer) would act in a completely opposite way than they do in the game, if they found themselves in a similar situation in reality.

 

To visualize what I mean - Many players, who are merciless killers or torturers in the game would do something totally different, if their victim was crawling in mud, crying and begging for his/her life. It's not easy for a healthy brain to compute and validate killing a human seeing his/her facial expression, provided that the human acts appropriately for a human being.

 

I've read somewhere that this was the case with the Nazis, where killing for them came easily, as they were trained (or rather brainwashed) to not perceive victims as human.

Edited April 29, 2014 by retro19

[TheDoctorInDayz 26]

Not even close to resembling how people who act or treat others in real life. If someone makes a character ClownFaceKiller2 He has no emotional ties to the game, he is faceless. You can change your name at any moment. You have no identity. You are anonymous. Morals dont really matter, because its just a game.

 

I understand your point you are trying to make, but it has not swayed my stance.

 

Imagine this.....Your running along in the game, having fun killing zombies, and finding cool stuff, suddenly someone appears from behind a building and tells you to put your hands up. You comply..your scared, you do not know what is going to happen.  The person handcuffs you, and begins to go through your things...scary situation, but so far normal experience in DayZ.  Then the person begins to tell you to get on your knees....he removes your clothes, and begins to talk about how he is going to rape you(even though you cant). He continues on for a few minutes talking about all the sexual exploitation he will be doing to you, and then begins to force feed you rotten foods. The whole time, laughing, and stating how awesome this experience is for him, while continuing to yell at you, and tell you not to move. After a few more minutes, his buddy arrives, and they go through the whole process over again with what they are going to do to you, and discuss how cool this would be if it were real(joking or not, the statement was made). 

 

I am sorry, but I do not think that when this person logs off, he goes on about his normal day. I think he continues on about his abnormal in the head day. 

 

FYI, the thread is getting away from my first statements conclusion, "if there were no consequences". 

Edited April 29, 2014 by TheDoctorInDayz

[DayZ_Friendly 145]

I think it's interesting that we can play as different races and genders.  I mean why are people calling the black character a n*gger?  The black lady "baby girl."  Oh and the constant making fun of the other non-white characters.  The racism/sexist aspect of DayZ has been the most interesting.

Edited April 29, 2014 by DayZ_Friendly

[DelayedReaction 18]

I do not think its intention is to be a social experiment however I think the game does act like one.  I personally always act how I would if it were real.  Example of that being just today.  Ran across a guy with a backback a helmet and some pants and nothing else (Earlier I had run across a few people who were "friendly" and then attempted to shoot me and my companion, good thing they failed to load their guns "click click click")  We had an extra rifel and pistol with us which we gave to him without ammo.  We left the ammo in a building and made him wait until we were a good distance from him before he could go and get the ammo.

 

I didnt know the guy, he seemed like a decent person but you never no.  Which is why we decided to leave the ammo a safe distance just in case.

 

now i'm wondering if that was me? was it on the road between berezina and elektro? just before kamyshovo?

[blacklabel79 949]

I dunno..i Keep reading those "hold up" Storys but this never happend to me...i refuse to get hold up..simple...ONE Person attempted this but with his squeeky voice i couldent take him serious.

[Lady Kyrah 1110]

thats the beauty of entertainment mediums. Thier entirely subjective.

 

Person A gets thier enjoyment from winnning fair fights in 1v1 or squad v squad PvP

Person B Gets enjoyment from having all the best stuff

Person C Enjoys the social aspect and unpredictable, unscripted player encounters.

 

None of them are wrong for enjoying one specific element. imho the only time its wrong is when you stop wanting to play BECAUSE of your playstyle. Some people geninuely enjoy the push for the best. thats all there is for them. I feel tho that for many they get tunnel vision for it and forget that when it becomes boring that there is other stuff to explore...

Yes but when it come to DayZ it's sort of a self defeating behavior. Where as individuals we take decisions that ensure our own survival, but at the same time, on a grander scale, considerably lessen the game experience as a whole. "It's nowhere as fun as it should be, but at least I do not lose."

 

There might be more meaningful interactions but they simply cannot be allowed to happen.

 

This reminds me a bit of the prisoner dilemma.

Edited April 29, 2014 by Lady Kyrah

[napalmdog 71]

In this game I get adrenaline shakes when I have my sights on a man. 

 

IRL.. I do not. 

 

I think thats weird.. don't you?  :huh:

Kind of, yeah. Any ideas why? I think it would go a long way to explaining why the game does this to a lot of us as I've always found it odd myself...

[Phoenix777 43]

I think it's interesting that we can play as different races and genders. I mean why are people calling the black character a n*gger? The black lady "baby girl." Oh and the constant making fun of the other non-white characters. The racism/sexist aspect of DayZ has been the most interesting.

Awwww no ones ever called my black lady character "baby girl" all I get called is b****, and n*****. Which brings an interesting point; no one except for the trolls has ever assumed that I am black or a woman which means they're either psychopaths who are trying to distance themselves from the fact that they're being an ass to real people, or they're really immersed in the game and are treating it as reality.... Or you know just trolls being trolls. Most likely it's the last one, but you know it's all about perspective.

As for the rape thing... Unfortunately you see these kind of jokes all the time. Rape is a serious issue, but people often often joke about serious issues to cope or to seem edgy. Additionally rape in some form or another is a somewhat common fantasy, and there's nothing wrong with that as long as it remains a fantasy between consenting adults. So yeah, people are going to do weird shit no matter what... DayZ just provides a lot of masochistic and sadistic gameplay tools so you see it a lot more then you would in say a random shooter. Just wait until they allow you to handcuff yourself; you'll see a lot of handcuffed people begging to be punished. And just imagine the mods.....

Edited April 29, 2014 by Phoenix777

[bfisher 561]

So if society ended IRL, do any of you think you would grab a rifle and just shoot every person you see for no reason?  I mean really?  We get to do a lot of things in videogames we couldn't or wouldn't do IRL.

 

DayZ isn't an effective human experiment (or even game at this point) for a couple of reasons.  You don't need to sleep and you can turn it off when you're done or bored.  IRL I would imagine it's pretty fucking lonely and scary wandering through the countryside as one of the few survivors of whatever the hell just happened.  Forget even if there were zombies on top of that.  IRL you would probably be more inclined to group together with people for company or to watch each other's back.

 

The problem isn't that all people are assholes.  The problem is that without law, the 10% who are assholes can create a lot of trouble.

Edited April 29, 2014 by bfisher

[Lady Kyrah 1110]

So if society ended IRL, do any of you think you would grab a rifle and just shoot every person you see for no reason?  I mean really?  We get to do a lot of things in videogames we couldn't or wouldn't do IRL.

 

DayZ isn't an effective human experiment (or even game at this point) for a couple of reasons.  You don't need to sleep and you can turn it off when you're done or bored.  IRL I would imagine it's pretty fucking lonely and scary wandering through the countryside as one of the few survivors of whatever the hell just happened.  Forget even if there were zombies on top of that.  IRL you would probably be more inclined to group together with people for company or to watch each other's back.

 

The problem isn't that all people are assholes.  The problem is that without law, the 10% who are assholes can create a lot of trouble.

I think you are missing the point. A social experiment doesn't need to simulate all the aspects of life to produce meaningful results. You might not shoot everyone for no reason, in a real liefe situation, but would you trust a random stranger? Would you take a defensive stance? Part of sticking together as a group is that even without violence you can usually bend to your will a smaller group with a different agenda, through social compliance and peer pressure.

[TheDoctorInDayz 26]

So if society ended IRL, do any of you think you would grab a rifle and just shoot every person you see for no reason?  I mean really?  We get to do a lot of things in videogames we couldn't or wouldn't do IRL.

 

 

They will for food and water. If society ended, no supermarkets, no gas, no food to come into supermarkets once they are picked clean. People in the cities will head to the country to try and grow food, but the country people who already live there, are going to protect their land, and when the majority of the population is starving to death, because we have been unnaturally multiplying like rabbits on less than what we can get from our own farms, people will die because of food. So not at first, but eventually, it will be a massive shootout. People will go mad for their families, and I would not blame them for it, they just want to survive, but everyone will not be able to.

 

Grant it, in the scheme of things, most people who play this game, will not live more than a few months(if that) anyway in a real world collapse, because they are gamers, not real survivors...and I said most people...do not come at me Farmers, Survivalists, Marines, Army, and other branches or trades who play this game...I was military as well, and I live on a family farm...but most will die because they do not know anything about survival, nor the TRUE human condition. So I guess, regarding my OP, that in the end, it was futile to start this thread, because if the end were to come, they would not live to see my doorstep anyway.

 

The End. :)

[JudeSaint 0]

now i'm wondering if that was me? was it on the road between berezina and elektro? just before kamyshovo?

Uhhhhhhhh Maybe? We left the ammo in one of the buildings in Karny and ran down the road toward Elek

[DelayedReaction 18]

Uhhhhhhhh Maybe? We left the ammo in one of the buildings in Karny and ran down the road toward Elek

 

hmm, if it was me then it seems I left some ammo behind :(

[execpro22 128]

Think about it...games have always been just that, games. However, when you have a game such as this, with the personal interaction that it has, are we not discovering exactly what people would be like in real life if there were no consequences for their actions? 

 

I believe so.  In my personal experience in the game, I have ran into people who are absolutely cruel to new players, and I can not help but empathize for the player being abused and realize that, these people who are doing this, would probably do this in their real life, if not for consequences.

 

What do you think?

 

 

 

Please tell me your joking with this thread...

 

Thats like me saying that because I like to play the terrorist side on Counterstrike, that means in real life I want to join the taliban and fly a plane into a building....

 

 

See how ignorant that sounds....

 

 

Humans are WAY too complex with many variables for you to make such a broad statement like that.

 

 

And not to burst your bubble, but I  choose a stone cold KOS playstyle in game, but am the complete opposite outside of the game.

 

Really hope you realize how ignorant your "idea" is.

[bfisher 561]

They will for food and water. If society ended, no supermarkets, no gas, no food to come into supermarkets once they are picked clean. People in the cities will head to the country to try and grow food, but the country people who already live there, are going to protect their land, and when the majority of the population is starving to death, because we have been unnaturally multiplying like rabbits on less than what we can get from our own farms, people will die because of food. So not at first, but eventually, it will be a massive shootout. People will go mad for their families, and I would not blame them for it, they just want to survive, but everyone will not be able to.

 

Grant it, in the scheme of things, most people who play this game, will not live more than a few months(if that) anyway in a real world collapse, because they are gamers, not real survivors...and I said most people...do not come at me Farmers, Survivalists, Marines, Army, and other branches or trades who play this game...I was military as well, and I live on a family farm...but most will die because they do not know anything about survival, nor the TRUE human condition. So I guess, regarding my OP, that in the end, it was futile to start this thread, because if the end were to come, they would not live to see my doorstep anyway.

 

The End. :)

 

Guess we'll just have to wait until you go to sleep. :D

[IamDinner 28]

Please tell me your joking with this thread...

 

Thats like me saying that because I like to play the terrorist side on Counterstrike, that means in real life I want to join the taliban and fly a plane into a building....

 

 

See how ignorant that sounds....

 

 

Humans are WAY too complex with many variables for you to make such a broad statement like that.

 

 

And not to burst your bubble, but I  choose a stone cold KOS playstyle in game, but am the complete opposite outside of the game.

 

Really hope you realize how ignorant your "idea" is.

 

Really classy to call someone's idea "ignorant".

 

You could have said that you just don't think it is realistic and stopped with your bit about human complexity.

 

Obviously you are the complete opposite out of game...or you would be sitting on death row someplace waiting for a botched execution.

 

Look I think you underestimate something about human nature.

 

I have starved before. Plain and simple gone hungry and had to beg for food/money or anything to feed me. Even stole for it. if the world had no law left limited resources and I was desperate I can tell you I would probably kill someone for water. In the end I want to live more than I want to die. I do not fear death but I have a very strong sense of survival.

 

Many people would kill themselves in days. Just seeing your mother turn might be enough for most.

 

You call us complex so I would suggest you rule nothing out.

[nanookrubbedit 1]

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What do you think?

 

 

I think you're a philosophy major reading too much into things. Every single online game is like that. It's the essence of the internet, not the essence of DayZ specifically. Go to reddit and you'll see what people talking from the safety of anonymity is like. This is almost the exact same thing.

Edited April 30, 2014 by nanookrubbedit

[NagsterTheGangster 388]

Let me tell you something about "people".

 

They're real tough shit behind a computer screen but when there is actual danger involved, all the sudden they aren't so powerful.

 

Thats real life experience talking there.

[TheDoctorInDayz 26]

Please tell me your joking with this thread...

 

Thats like me saying that because I like to play the terrorist side on Counterstrike, that means in real life I want to join the taliban and fly a plane into a building....

 

 

See how ignorant that sounds....

 

 

Humans are WAY too complex with many variables for you to make such a broad statement like that.

 

 

And not to burst your bubble, but I  choose a stone cold KOS playstyle in game, but am the complete opposite outside of the game.

 

Really hope you realize how ignorant your "idea" is.

 

Thank you for your opinion, however, I did not say anything about the FPS aspect of the game...I was referring to the cruelty and verbal harassment that ensues when people have someone restrained. Perhaps I should have clarified in the OP, but if you would have read through the thread in its entirety, you would have seen that I was referring to that scenario.

Edited April 30, 2014 by TheDoctorInDayz