So, I decided to go back and collect a bunch of my DayZ posts because some folks suggested I do so, because they are genuinely funny.
I realized, in looking a lot of them over, that DayZ has a really... really weird and unique social dynamic that I'm not sure exists in a lot of other (if any) video games. Which is DayZ's unique approach to banditry and robbery and how it's this like weird, almost but not quite consensual negotiation between the person or persons being robbed and the people who are robbing them.
I'll probably write a much longer think-piece on it at some point, but essentially because DayZ has item-damage and degradation, and you can damage the items that people are wearing and have in their backpacks by way of shooting or hitting them in those locations, there's a huge disincentive to just wantonly murdering people on sight as a form of acquiring more and better quality gear. An extended firefight is not only wasteful of your own ammo and likely to result in your own gear getting damaged if you get hit at all, but is going to undoubtedly shred the loot of whoever you killed.
So as a result, DayZ not only incentivizes ambush tactics to minimize damage to yourself, your equipment, and the equipment of your target, but it also incentivizes robbery over murder. The threat of violence is a lot more lucrative over actually inflicting violence as an optimal play strategy in the game.
But then, it sort of calls into question why anyone would consent to being robbed. In real life, people don't consent to being robbed, they do it because they genuinely fear for their life, health, and safety. But when you're playing a video game, and dying in DayZ just means you lose your gear and respawn, where is the incentive for someone being robbed to "play along", if it means they're going to lose everything anyway and just respawn?
And that's where it becomes a weird, unique social dynamic I haven't really seen in any other game. Robbery in DayZ is a dance. It's a negotiation. If you just try to take everything from a player, strip them down their skivvies and essentially leave them in more or less the same or even worse a situation than a newly spawned player, they have no incentive to do anything other than make a run for it (forcing you to kill or chase them), try to fight you and force the issue that way, or log off (which currently still just causes their character to sit idle for a bit, and essentially allows you to loot them anyway and is basically them saying fuck it to the whole thing).
But if you don't force them into that position, now you're giving them a choice. If you want specific pieces of gear (like say, their gun, or their tactical vest), or are demanding a certain service from them (demanding they give a blood transfusion because one of your mates is injured and needs blood), or insisting you only want a specific resource (food, ammo, etc.) then that puts the person being robbed in a position where their compliance with the robbery puts them in a better position than the risk of non-compliance and respawning with nothing. The easier and more reasonable your request, generally the more accommodating they'll be.
It's a weird game.
For all the hate (and I don't know where it comes from, honestly) lumped on Rocket, he managed to take DayZ places that its imitators never reached. I still don't much care for the game, but yeah, it does its formula very well with mechanics that very subtly pressure players into doing things other than just shooting their not-clan-mates on sight. This, in turn, has created an environment where people will actually have the experience of meeting other players randomly and forming impromptu groups / friendships... a state of play that other survival games have not achieved at all (and its kind of a stunning achievement - and I remember people saying that he would never be able to accomplish it, so he should stop experimenting & trying to achieve the design goal).
The Ender on
With Love and Courage
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thatassemblyguyJanitor of Technical Debt.Registered Userregular
pet peeve: when a couple at the airport, with no kids, takes up 4 or more seats with all of their shit.
So I'm watching a Forgotten Weapons thing on the Enfield L85A1 and he mentions the mag release being an issue with catching on things. Then he starts fiddling with bits. The bolt release and fire selector need gorilla thumbs and then the mag release just the lightest caress. Amazing. Thank god there was nothing electric in it.
I'm just now getting home at 4:30am and first--genuinely, happy new years everyone. I recognize a lot of you from other threads and forums, but even the new to me: I hope you had a great day and I earnestly hope it continues into the year that is 2017.
Ye gods, I've found the one moment in time when the [chat] thread isn't a mile a minute. I'm going to slowly back away and we'll all resume... whenever we resume.
Ye gods, I've found the one moment in time when the [chat] thread isn't a mile a minute. I'm going to slowly back away and we'll all resume... whenever we resume.
It turns out that everyone's New Years Resolution is to post less in [chat]
Can't be as bad as driving around the hell that is Newry. Roundabouts leading into roundabouts in school traffic. On the up side I don't live there!
One time I was driving to Dublin, and the M1 was closed off approximately halfway around Newry. The redirected traffic took me off the M1, onto the old bypass heading north instead of south and eventually to the junction you would take to exit the M1 if you were planning to enter Newry coming from Belfast, and then through Newry proper before rejoining the motorway shortly before the border. I was basically doubling back on myself.
Spent my evening playing Alchemists (a super-cool board game that blends a logical deduction puzzle with worker placement). For midnight we went outside and watched various fireworks displays across the valley, which made me feel a bit like a general surveying a particularly festive bombardment.
Spent my evening playing Alchemists (a super-cool board game that blends a logical deduction puzzle with worker placement). For midnight we went outside and watched various fireworks displays across the valley, which made me feel a bit like a general surveying a particularly festive bombardment.
Did you play with the app or with a non competing player? The need for either always seemed like clumsy design to me but I do like the idea of worker placement potion cluedo
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
Spent my evening playing Alchemists (a super-cool board game that blends a logical deduction puzzle with worker placement). For midnight we went outside and watched various fireworks displays across the valley, which made me feel a bit like a general surveying a particularly festive bombardment.
Did you play with the app or with a non competing player? The need for either always seemed like clumsy design to me but I do like the idea of worker placement potion cluedo
We used the app. It didn't feel that clunky, and allowed for a greater range of ways to try and work out what each ingredient did than I can imagine working if it was just a case of peeking at envelopes like in Cluedo.
[Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
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JacobkoshGamble a stamp.I can show you how to be a real man!Moderatormod
Fallen London update: I've finally embarked on the quest to enter the Cave of the Nadir. My money troubles are about to be over forever! Eventually. Probably.
Also, I am only five Antique Mysteries away from a coveted Room at the Royal Bethlehem. Gonna spend today heisting those from a mummy man. Depending on how long Penstock's stays open after the Twelve Days of Christmas, I might even be able to rack up the 3 Notability I need to upgrade the Room into a Suite (which can only be done during the holidays).
Can't be as bad as driving around the hell that is Newry. Roundabouts leading into roundabouts in school traffic. On the up side I don't live there!
One time I was driving to Dublin, and the M1 was closed off approximately halfway around Newry. The redirected traffic took me off the M1, onto the old bypass heading north instead of south and eventually to the junction you would take to exit the M1 if you were planning to enter Newry coming from Belfast, and then through Newry proper before rejoining the motorway shortly before the border. I was basically doubling back on myself.
Sounds like Newry all right. Also reminds me of the times when getting to Dublin involved driving through every town on the way. Here's to EU funded motorways making life much easier!
there was like a blissful 2 minutes of being awake before i remembered that I stepped into a bear trap last night and now have no idea what i'm supposed to do with this machete and my broken limb.
DasUberEdward on
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Blameless Cleric An angel made of sapphires each more flawlessly cut than the last Registered Userregular
edited January 2017
I'm just like
Okay hello new year same boy THIS BOY IS GREAT?
We are just in the car talking about our mutual love of Weird Al and I am like omg who is this incredible human
Also now he's dancing to Billy Jean it's adorable
Last night I had a super gross moment where we were on our way to the grocery store and listening to Sufjan Stevens and I was just like
Oh my God Pinecone is incredible and I never wanna do anything except be in the car on the way to the grocery store listening to Sufjan Stevens with him aaaaaaaaa
Posts
I read this differently than you pappa spool.
Yes and I'm very thankful for that. If not for her I'd be blackout drunk and crying in some corner somewhere.
For all the hate (and I don't know where it comes from, honestly) lumped on Rocket, he managed to take DayZ places that its imitators never reached. I still don't much care for the game, but yeah, it does its formula very well with mechanics that very subtly pressure players into doing things other than just shooting their not-clan-mates on sight. This, in turn, has created an environment where people will actually have the experience of meeting other players randomly and forming impromptu groups / friendships... a state of play that other survival games have not achieved at all (and its kind of a stunning achievement - and I remember people saying that he would never be able to accomplish it, so he should stop experimenting & trying to achieve the design goal).
So I'm watching a Forgotten Weapons thing on the Enfield L85A1 and he mentions the mag release being an issue with catching on things. Then he starts fiddling with bits. The bolt release and fire selector need gorilla thumbs and then the mag release just the lightest caress. Amazing. Thank god there was nothing electric in it.
What?
I believe that's what she drunkenly says into the mic at the end of that clip.
Ooooh. It's hard to hear.
Happy new year!
It turns out that everyone's New Years Resolution is to post less in [chat]
So give it 2 days.
It’s not a very important country most of the time
http://steamcommunity.com/id/mortious
But I know.
One time I was driving to Dublin, and the M1 was closed off approximately halfway around Newry. The redirected traffic took me off the M1, onto the old bypass heading north instead of south and eventually to the junction you would take to exit the M1 if you were planning to enter Newry coming from Belfast, and then through Newry proper before rejoining the motorway shortly before the border. I was basically doubling back on myself.
over
Choose Your Own Chat 1 Choose Your Own Chat 2 Choose Your Own Chat 3
Operating within standard tolerances
Did you play with the app or with a non competing player? The need for either always seemed like clumsy design to me but I do like the idea of worker placement potion cluedo
Benighted and Trumpish?
It's quite a lot rainier
time for breakfast.
some nice fatty bacon, sausages, eggs, fry up a tomato, fry some bread up, drink some tea.
lets go bogart capitalism waits for no man
Well that's just common sense.
We used the app. It didn't feel that clunky, and allowed for a greater range of ways to try and work out what each ingredient did than I can imagine working if it was just a case of peeking at envelopes like in Cluedo.
Also, I am only five Antique Mysteries away from a coveted Room at the Royal Bethlehem. Gonna spend today heisting those from a mummy man. Depending on how long Penstock's stays open after the Twelve Days of Christmas, I might even be able to rack up the 3 Notability I need to upgrade the Room into a Suite (which can only be done during the holidays).
Sounds like Newry all right. Also reminds me of the times when getting to Dublin involved driving through every town on the way. Here's to EU funded motorways making life much easier!
oh geeze oh damn
there was like a blissful 2 minutes of being awake before i remembered that I stepped into a bear trap last night and now have no idea what i'm supposed to do with this machete and my broken limb.
Okay hello new year same boy THIS BOY IS GREAT?
We are just in the car talking about our mutual love of Weird Al and I am like omg who is this incredible human
Also now he's dancing to Billy Jean it's adorable
Last night I had a super gross moment where we were on our way to the grocery store and listening to Sufjan Stevens and I was just like
Oh my God Pinecone is incredible and I never wanna do anything except be in the car on the way to the grocery store listening to Sufjan Stevens with him aaaaaaaaa
I'd love it if you took a look at my art and my PATREON!