[Online Gaming] - polygon sword of doom!

MMOG:s offers something quite unique to it’s players in comparison to other genres. It offers immersion, the chance to escape into another reality which in many cases can seem more compelling than the real thing. Some people can handle this attraction with care but others drown and spend more time of their life in the virtual universe than in the physical one. This is something people must learn to understand when cases like the following just keeps on appearing.

Legend of Mir 2 is a MMOG set in an oriental fantasy setting. The game is mostly popular in China and South Korea but has in some cases even found it’s way into American/European hearts. In some cases the playing has sadly taken tragic turns though. In 2005 the chinese LoM2-player Qui Chengwei was sentenced to life in prison for stabbing his friend Zhu Caoyuan to death. As it plays out Qui had found a really valuable and powerful sword named “the Sable of the Dragon” in the game. For some reason he loaned the sword to his fellow player Zhu. When Zhu realised how valuable the sword was he sold it for £480 online and ran. Qui was furious. He contacted the police (the real one) and reported the theft of his virtual sword but they wouldn’t understand. Qui then decided to take matters in his own hands and went to Zhu’s home and took his life.

Is £480 worth it to kill another man? Ofcourse that money translates to a lot more in China but as scrupleless some people are, I think there is something more behind. As I said before, MMOG worlds can for some people be more preferable than the real world, in some cases it becomes the true world. The world where your friends are, your family hangs out and your life revolves around. Who are others to say it’s wrong? People devote their whole lives to sports. Equally “wrong” in my opinion. Still, as any activity are a springboard to violence and intense feelings when the interest is taken far enough. A lot of discussions around videogames are about violence and how games affect peoples likelyhood of going on a killing spree after playing them. I don’t believe violence in videogames is a major trigger for this. What I do believe is that games, and certainly MMOG:s, while so immersive that you choose to spend a large portion of your life playing them, also offers a place where people can ruin other peoples life and get away with it. Strong statement but the fact that most MMOG:s somewhat lack regulations, laws or restrictions of what you can and can’t do leaves some people defenceless. I am not saying games should be changed to conform to any law. Neither am I saying people should be restricted to play only a set mount of time. All I’m saying is that games sometimes are more than games and should be taken seriously. If people don’t stop ignoring some games for what they are, cases like Chui’s are going to be a lot more frequent.