The myth ''It's only a video game''

[stord 74]

EDIT #1: Everything that will be stated in this topic also refers to every hackers out there that use bugs, glitches, hacks and any sort of abuses to ruin other players' experience, and then explain themselves with this myth. I suppose this will make more sense for some of you guys.

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Hi everyone,

some of you guys are trying to explain their murder and egoic acts by claiming that this is only a video game (which is true) and because of that our actions in the game don't have any true consequences in the real world.

In addition, I suppose most of you do not believe in Karma, and even more in a video game. I believe the complete opposite.

But that is not the point.

What I want to know here is why do you guys seem to think that the actions and decisions you make in a video game don't matter at all.

Also, a lot of people believe the way they behave in a game doesn't reflect at all their inner self. They say to themselves '' Oh it's only a game, so who give a damn shit if I'm a being a complete douche and dick to everyone. It is not real, isn't it? ''

I tend to believe the way people play a game reflects the side of their personality they do not want to fully express in the true reality (when they do negative things). This is what I think because when I play a game like Dayz, I play it like who I truly am.

In real life, I am a respecful and honest person, so why would it be so different in a game?

I do not KOS, I do not betray and I help others. This is even more important in a game like this one where death is permanent and so shocking (sometimes).

I know how people will feel on the other side of their computer and I understand my choices will have true consequences in their life.

That's why I've come with these 2 really simple situations and I'd like you guys to tell me what is the difference you see from them;

Situation #1

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You are taking a walk in the streets. You see a kid with a set of cards you have long desired, or with a cap you have long wanted, or with money, or anything that comes to mind. You decide to steal it from him for your own ego and then succeed.

Afterwards, you feel a bit sad because you clearly remember the look on his face, but still, you move on.

Consequences: You have made someone sad and probably have destroyed his day.

Negative Karma (if you believe in it, of course)

Remorse (possiblity)

Situation #2

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You are in Dayz. You see a survivor with the gear you have long desired, or with anything that comes to mind. You decide to kill him for your own ego, and steal everything from him.

Afterwards, 2 possibilites: * You do not give a shit because you say to yourself everyone would have done the same

(which is false, btw). Also, it is only a video game, isn't it?

* You feel very bad for the guy, but still, you move on.

Consequences: You have most likely made someone really frustrated and probably have destroyed a lot of hours of work.

Negative Karma (if you believe in it, of course)

Remorse (possiblity)

So now, tell me what lead you guys to think that these 2 situations are so different? Why being a dick in a video game seems to have no effect or influence on you whatsoever?

In both scenarios, you have clearly made someone sad and frustrated. On some occasions, you might even have disturbed a whole day or night because, you know, some people take this really seriously. This is even more true in a game like Dayz, where death and loss is permanent.

The way I see it, the only thing that changes when you play a video game is the fact that you do not see the victim's face. Therefore, you do not give a damn shit.

But the thing is, the consequences are clearly the same.

You have created a negative situation for another human being and are the only guilty no matter what you make yourself believe.

P.S: I know this do not apply to everyone. It is only a generalization of this community.

Edited August 5, 2012 by StOrD

[anton364@hotmail.nl 8]

yeah and a waste of time. lol.

[Sakeoe (DayZ) 115]

I allways lol when people are like "It's just a game, not reall life it doesn't matter"

it might be just a game but it uses my reall time.

Edited August 5, 2012 by Sakeoe

[Priceless 154]

The point of this post is?

[Oerlinator 1]

Situation 2 is simple banditry in my opinion, nothing wrong with that. Also it's a lonely 12 years old kid tat I killed in DayZ, so I dont care.

[SirSlayer 14]

It's called roleplaying and I can fill whatever role I wish.

Also your role is "over-analysing-university-junior".

Edited August 5, 2012 by SirSlayer

[usszim 35]

The point of this post is?

To pose a question. An interesting one at that.

[Ozelot (DayZ) 394]

Are you saying I should let them shoot me and let them waste my time?

Why? What do I get out of that?

[blueface 13]

Read the first line.

Lol ITS A FUCKING GAME GG awp u got killed. Stop whyining about it!

The problem is - kids thinking this is a game/mod and they think they should not be hacked/lose stuff just cuz they buy arma 2 to play this

They are wrong. This is an alpha and what everyone should be doing is not whine about things that are not bug related right now. We need to whine/complain/report bugs that are in the game. Like tents duplicating stuff. Cars not saving properly. Ghillies eating/duplicating backpacks

[Pupple 9]

I tend to believe the way people play a game reflects the side of their personality they do not want to fully express in the true reality (when they do negative things). This is what I think because when I play a game like Dayz, I play it like who I truly am.

By this logic, every single person who plays Halo, Counterstrike, Battlefield, Team Fortress 2 and any other TDM based FPS is hiding a murderous, psychopathic streak. If you played these games, would you play it like a "respectful, honest person" and try to talk it out with the enemy?

[Zexis 127]

Let's take a game like Skyrim.

I can be whoever I want to be. Ruthless melee master? Sure thing. Meek and humble mage? No problem. Apathetic wanderer of the countryside? Yup.

Point being that DayZ, albeit to a lesser extent, allows for similar role-playing. And whichever role I choose to fulfill yields little to no insight regarding my inner personality, beliefs, etc. I can change who I am on a whim in a videogame, because that's the bloody point.

Adding the notion of karma into your post doesn't do much for its credibilty, either.

[JPalmer 3]

This is still fought about here?

It is simple. People kill others because currently there is nothing else to do.

Even then not many do it as the percent of bandits has been lower than what it was a month or so ago.

The average life is rising.

In real life I can get a job or watch a movie when I am bored and have nothing to do.

In DayZ when you get the best gear and a vehicle and some tents with your buddies. Well...there ain't jack shit to do and groups go around killing people because it is a videogame and videogames have limits.

[AzinGaming 60]

Dude, seriously, get a grip.

1) You are claiming that you act as you would in real life. I call BS. If 'real life' were like Day Z, you would loot until you found a hunting knife, some matches and an axe and then go and live in the woods, forever.

YOU ARE WRONG:

Making comparisons about real life and a computer game is STUPID. Why? BECAUSE IT ISN'T ANYTHING LIKE REAL LIFE.

2) You are making an assumption that killing other players is not an intentional part of the game, almost as though it's some kind of 'griefing side effect.'

YOU ARE WRONG:

You are intended to kill other players. it's programmed in, intentionally, so that you can do it. Someone who is killing other players is not doing it to annoy people or be an ass, they're doing it because they are playing the game. Killing players is the whole point of Day Z. There's even a constant reminder of how many murders and bandit kills you've scored, right there on the screen, all the time. There is no other content, since the zeds present about as much challenge as doing a poo.

3) If I saw you in the street, I would not rob you. If I was in a post apocalypse and saw a stranger with a gun, then I would kill him and steal his gun. You would try to help me, I would shoot you.

4) Talking about 'karma' makes you look silly, because there is no such thing. You may as well talk about magical flying washerwomen who give you candy and crap applesauce. Karma is just an idea someone once had with absolutely nothing to recommend it beyond that people like to imagine that it's real.

5) Anyone who gets genuinely upset when their character is killed in a computer game, or who is stupid enough to play a game with perma-death and then feel that their time was 'wasted' when they gets killed needs an urgent reassessment of their life priorities. It's all just a meaningless computer game.

My best advice:

Stop playing computer games or at the very least try to understand that they are not real, that they do not matter, that there is no such thing as achievement in them, and that nobody in the entire world other than you gives a crap about whether your had to start over because I shot you when you were looting an imaginary can of beans.

[Sticky (DayZ) 38]

The difference between the two is that the kid with the baseball cap you ganked could call the police and file assault charges and larceny, leading you to a criminal record, resulting in you not being able to get a job due to your criminal background. Situation 2 has no consequence, just reward. I kill you, you get pissed off, and I take your stuff.

[stord 74]

Adding the notion of karma into your post doesn't do much for its credibilty, either.

That is your opinion, my friend. As far as I can tell, I have already seen the influence of Karma in this game. A matter of beliefs, I guess.

By this logic, every single person who plays Halo, Counterstrike, Battlefield, Team Fortress 2 and any other TDM based FPS is hiding a murderous, psychopathic streak. If you played these games, would you play it like a "respectful, honest person" and try to talk it out with the enemy?

That isn't what I said. You cannot compare games where the only goal is to kill the opponent team and win by defeating them. It seemed obvious to me....

It's called roleplaying and I can fill whatever role I wish.

Also your role is "over-analysing-university-junior".

I completely agree with the fact Dayz can be seen as a roleplaying game. I am only talking about the way people seem to excuse themselves. Thinking that because this is a video game their actions have no consequences, therefore they can do whatever they want with no remorses. I'm only questioning this strange behavior. You can play the game like you want buddy, I have no problem with that.

[Swineflew 480]

In real life I wear a badge.

In this game I steal shit.

See the difference?

[xRoosterx 2]

Let me ask you this OP. If I go to sleep tonight, and dream of doing these things, does that make me a dick, psychopathic, murderer in real life? The human race has the ability to do great acts of kindness and love, and great acts of evil. Its the choices we make that defines us. So even though you play the way you do, it is still in you to do horrible things to others. Don't forget that.

[Shaimou 49]

Oh wow. How stupid people can be? So few understand the OP's point.

[Sticky (DayZ) 38]

Oh wow. How stupid people can be? So few understand the OP's point.

Please explain his point then? He's asking why shooting people in game has no effect on a players emotions like it does in real life, and the bottom line is its a VIDEO GAME. Its not going to be the same as shooting a person in real life, why are we even discussing the difference between two?

[ZekkCC (DayZ) 51]

The point of this game is pvp. We all know that the zombies aren't a threat so really...this game wouldn't even exist if it weren't for the player interaction and suspense.

[Zexis 127]

Oh wow. How stupid people can be? So few understand the OP's point.

Then why don't you elaborate? I'm all for an insightful discussion, but from what I can tell, OP's subject is tried and trite in the gaming world. It follows a similar vein of games making people violent, resulting in shootings like Columbine.

Which, given the sheer number of people who play violent games, is just stupid.

[Hawk24 94]

the only thing that changes when you play a video game is the fact that you do not see the victim's face.

And the fact that...you know....stealing in the real world is a crime....n stuff...

[stord 74]

Making comparisons about real life and a computer game is STUPID. Why? BECAUSE IT ISN'T ANYTHING LIKE REAL LIFE.

How can this be stupid? The way people react in a video game is clearly something to be looked at, and knowing how popular Dayz got you can be damn sure there are already people looking at this game for further studies of human behavior.

You are making an assumption that killing other players is not an intentional part of the game, almost as though it's some kind of 'griefing side effect.'

YOU ARE WRONG:

You are intended to kill other players. it's programmed in, intentionally, so that you can do it. Someone who is killing other players is not doing it to annoy people or be an ass, they're doing it because they are playing the game. Killing players is the whole point of Day Z. There's even a constant reminder of how many murders and bandit kills you've scored, right there on the screen, all the time. There is no other content, since the zeds present about as much challenge as doing a poo.

You didn't quite understand what I was trying to bring here. Just trying to see why people seem to think the choices they make in a video game have no real impacts in the real life.

3) If I saw you in the street, I would not rob you. If I was in a post apocalypse and saw a stranger with a gun, then I would kill him and steal his gun. You would try to help me, I would shoot you.

I suppose you are kidding right here, bro. Otherwise, you clearly do not understand what killing another human being means.

4) Talking about 'karma' makes you look silly, because there is no such thing. You may as well talk about magical flying washerwomen who give you candy and crap applesauce. Karma is just an idea someone once had with absolutely nothing to recommend it beyond that people like to imagine that it's real.

Saying this makes YOU look silly. This is YOUR belief and maybe you should start showing some respect to others'. If you think Karma is complete non-sense, right that's your choice, but don't make me look like a fool for believing in something that is demonstrable with simple logic. Maybe you should do a little research on this concept and realize there is meat around the bone.

5) Anyone who gets genuinely upset when their character is killed in a computer game, or who is stupid enough to play a game with perma-death and then feel that their time was 'wasted' when they gets killed needs an urgent reassessment of their life priorities. It's all just a meaningless computer game.

Got 2 chars of 11+ day of survival, lonewolf, 0 murder, a lot of passes around and in big cities.

Just saying.

Edited August 5, 2012 by StOrD

[neo2157 21]

It's called roleplaying and I can fill whatever role I wish.

Also your role is "over-analysing-university-junior".

In that case killing everyone on site is playing a pretty poorly thought out role that breaks any immersion, I believe people should play there chosen role within reason, like when I decide to play bandit on one of my lives I don't play it like a psychopath because that would make a pretty shitty and poorly written book, no i usually sneak up and hold people up at gun point making them drop there weapons and then searching them for food and survival supplies Taking only what I need and then leaving them with enough to defend themselves. Its a much more authentic experiance OMW then just killing everyone 1km away like some psychopathic hermit. Usually though I play Experienced surviver who helps other survivors who can't defend themselves because it offers a much more dynamic experiance then watching people through a DMR scope all day.

[Michaelvoodoo25 3120]

I believe you can tell what side of the divide your on when you kill someone for the first time in this Mod. However I do think maturity (Not Age) plays a higher part

That feeling, though it does not compare with real life it certainly has correlations. Gaming styles are an extension of your lives. Go watch a video on any game with commentary, you can figure out the player pretty well.

I for one believe Karma Is a fact, or let me put it bluntly "what you give, you get back"

But remember belief is personal to each, and I don't want to ram it down anyone's throat.

Anyone who KOS's does so because they believe it is a normal part of the game (Which it is, or the bandits / Zombies would be moot) This I think comes from other games where they are expected to play this way "It's just a game" is where this comes from.

This game is fiction, It creates player styles, and there are rewards in all types of game play based on the player who is experiencing it.