"it's just a game"

silverkitty
silverkitty Posts: 28 Arc User
edited January 2009 in General Discussion
I often hear the phrase "it's just a game" used as an attempt to end discussions of gameplay ethics.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but do not people invest real time and real money into this game? It's an investment people make for the purposes of entertainment, but it's still an investment.

Say you buy a dvd and I come along and scratch it up, can I hide behind "it's just movie"? The dvd and the game are both investments for entertainment rather than for fulfilling survival needs.

Say you're playing golf and I start screaming into a bullhorn during your putts, can I just say "it's just a game!" to mollify you?

What do people mean by "it's just a game" when they use it to justify stealing other people's time and money (in small amounts here and there, but adding up to nearly felonious amounts over time)?
Post edited by silverkitty on

Comments

  • XxTORMENTAxx - Heavens Tear
    XxTORMENTAxx - Heavens Tear Posts: 88 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    Can you give an example where someone has used the term "It's just a game" and you feel that it is more and that situation should be treated more delicately?

    I have found most times on the forums when I see the phrase I tend to agree that people are totally over doing the situation completely and need to step back a bit and analyze that they might be to deep into something that may not be so called important.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Sanshiru - Lost City
    Sanshiru - Lost City Posts: 98 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    agreed to tormenta. most of the times i use that phrase when people act about ingame issues like it would be real life.
    they forget that as soon as you turn off the pc or just close the game it's out of mind. at least that's the healthy way it should be.
    mostly i have to use the phrase on people who aren't able anymore to draw the line between game and reality.
    i've seen cases where people threatened eachother to kill eachother irl over some ingame pking or guild wars.. i just hope they never realized what they were threatening with..
    .: Being able to read and think at the same time is an advantage :.
  • Jrudora - Lost City
    Jrudora - Lost City Posts: 445 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    Here's a situation I highly feel should fit into the category "Its just a game"..
    When someone gets randomly pked on Lost City and they throw a fit saying "omg that **** just ****ing pked me, wt***** why **!@$@1"... that's an appropriate time to say "relax.. its just a game, people pk each other on a pvp server, it happens".

    It also works when people feel justified to say "Because you killed someone in game you should subjected to the same things as if you killed someone in real life"... then.. "dude, its really just a game" really fits here.

    Depends on the situation you know?
  • Zoe - Heavens Tear
    Zoe - Heavens Tear Posts: 3,814 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    Its not just a game to some people though. One guild on HT is crazy. You can't speak in faction chat. If you miss 1 TW they kick you out they don't care what the reason is. Real life does not matter, only the game does.
    Main characters
    Celestial Sage Venomancer Zoe - 100
    Sage Barbarian Malego - 91
  • XxTORMENTAxx - Heavens Tear
    XxTORMENTAxx - Heavens Tear Posts: 88 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    I often hear the phrase "it's just a game" used as an attempt to end discussions of gameplay ethics.

    Perhaps I'm wrong, but do not people invest real time and real money into this game? It's an investment people make for the purposes of entertainment, but it's still an investment.

    Say you buy a dvd and I come along and scratch it up, can I hide behind "it's just movie"? The dvd and the game are both investments for entertainment rather than for fulfilling survival needs.

    Say you're playing golf and I start screaming into a bullhorn during your putts, can I just say "it's just a game!" to mollify you?

    What do people mean by "it's just a game" when they use it to justify stealing other people's time and money (in small amounts here and there, but adding up to nearly felonious amounts over time)?

    I should point out that your real life examples have consequences but have to be taken in the same frame of text as the virtual gaming as well. For example, if I am golfing and you want to follow me around screaming on a mega phone, I may be upset because it is not curtious but I do not have the right to over do it by lets say threatening your life. Why?, because it is just a game. The right thing to do is have your troublesome person removed from the golf course since that kind of actions are not tolerated, not wrap my driver around your neck and leave you tied up to the nearest tree b:chuckle. Also, if the golf course chooses to agree with what you are doing then you leave and take your services elsewhere.

    Your DVD example is the same, in the long run in life which most people tend to not focus on since most live in the "Its about me and the what is now!!" so most people would be upset if you destroyed their property but still do not have the right to go crazy and kill you or try to atleast.

    Everything has consequences for their actions but many people tend to fall into the over-doing it part of things because they are human. It is the other people who need to remind them that "It is just a game". Hopefully that makes them think a bit more about what they are doing.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Jrudora - Lost City
    Jrudora - Lost City Posts: 445 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    Its not just a game to some people though. One guild on HT is crazy. You can't speak in faction chat. If you miss 1 TW they kick you out they don't care what the reason is. Real life does not matter, only the game does.

    That's a little different..
    You join a faction, you agree to its rules.
    Simply put, the person who got kicked out should rethink whether or not they'd like to stay in such a guild.
    After all.. "its just a game", and what are games there for? To have fun.
    If you're not having fun in that faction due to its strict rules, leave the faction.

    At least its HT where they won't put you on KOS for life.
  • XxTORMENTAxx - Heavens Tear
    XxTORMENTAxx - Heavens Tear Posts: 88 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    Its not just a game to some people though. One guild on HT is crazy. You can't speak in faction chat. If you miss 1 TW they kick you out they don't care what the reason is. Real life does not matter, only the game does.

    It is just a game and you have not described something that is out of the ordinary.

    What you have said above is how this "faction" chooses to have their Guild ran. I am sure everyone who joins the guild knows this so no matter how out there a rule they state they keep in their guild.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • FoxRunning - Heavens Tear
    FoxRunning - Heavens Tear Posts: 2,048 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    ...i agree totally! i was forced off LC by the PlayerKillers of factions like RageQuit and such gangs, who are permitted to run the server like it is their neighbourhood, lurking around quest areas of lower level players, in order to repeately kill them. it is not possible, once one has attained level 30, to enjoy playing this game if one is constanly having to be on the watch for fellow players out to bully, harass and kill anyone of lower level than them. if anyone does not believe this, i direct your attention to a *very long* set of directions on how best to seek out and kill low level players, the said post located in the PVP section of this forum, and written by a RageQuit bully.

    i am sure i am not the only player who has been forced to leave LC because of the gangs that run it, and i am very angry at both them, the GMs and the company for this continuing. because in leaving, i lost not only characters i had worked for months on, but the items i had bought for them with "real money". now that i have moved to another server, it is doubtful that i will be able to replace the pets and mall items i had had- i had bought them with money that was a Christmas gift, and was able to enjoy them for less than a week, before i hit lv 30 and became yet another target for the Lost City bulliy gangs.

    I have written more than once regarding these problem, sending in tickets, but not once were they ever replied to. why is this? is the offical position of Perfect World Int that a world run by gangs and bullies is their idea of one in which everyone wishes to live and play?

    I often hear the phrase "it's just a game" used as an attempt to end discussions of gameplay ethics.

    Perhaps I'm wrong, but do not people invest real time and real money into this game? It's an investment people make for the purposes of entertainment, but it's still an investment.

    Say you buy a dvd and I come along and scratch it up, can I hide behind "it's just movie"? The dvd and the game are both investments for entertainment rather than for fulfilling survival needs.

    Say you're playing golf and I start screaming into a bullhorn during your putts, can I just say "it's just a game!" to mollify you?

    What do people mean by "it's just a game" when they use it to justify stealing other people's time and money (in small amounts here and there, but adding up to nearly felonious amounts over time)?
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    (and hugs to Flauschkatze for the sig!)
    "Thanks for writing me-- it's always great to hear from a vet.

    -FrankieRaye"
    Playing here since '08b:heart
  • papewaio
    papewaio Posts: 5
    edited January 2009
    Are we even playing on the same server? I've *never* been pk'ed by RQ, they've happily helped with my fb19, 29, and 39, and I have actively hunted other clan PK'ers with their members. I've been killed maybe once every 3 levels (I'm level 48 now) and it's a TON of fun.

    Unless you make yourself the most obvious target (and whine all the time) I can't imagine having those kind of problems. I'm so confident I'm sitting in secret passage right now, typing this out, next to RQ players. Level 30 made the game a LOT more fun on LC.

    You sound like someone who needs to consider it just a game, frankly.
  • Ormenelle - Heavens Tear
    Ormenelle - Heavens Tear Posts: 47 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    I know that being blonde put me at a disadvantage but, I thought PvP servers were to kill each other ?
  • Zoe - Heavens Tear
    Zoe - Heavens Tear Posts: 3,814 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    I know that being blonde put me at a disadvantage but, I thought PvP servers were to kill each other ?

    Yes in a pvp server everyone should kill every white name they see...ever. No matter who it is they should try to kill them the moment they see them, and go crazy when they see lots because they know there is no way that they can kill all of them. Killing, killing and more killing 24/7/365 non stop killing.b:laugh
    No time to level because the moment you hit 30 you kill everyone with a white name on the spot.
    Main characters
    Celestial Sage Venomancer Zoe - 100
    Sage Barbarian Malego - 91
  • fuzzles
    fuzzles Posts: 628 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    Ugh.. the phrase "it's just a game" always seems to be used as an excuse to justify incompetence.

    Here's a lovely example.. a cleric screws up. Royally and repeatedly. Really.. he totally screwed the pooch on this one. He screwed multiple pooches (poochi?) in a variety of ways, each kinkier than the last. When we politely ask whether or not he's completely out of his god damned monkey tree, he explains his incompetence away with "it's just a game". That's all the phrase is used for.

    Every time you justifiably get irritated at someone for being a twit... "it's just a game". Apparently you aren't allowed to get irritated at someone while playing a game. I didn't get the memo. I wish people would tell me these things.
    Everyone here is ridiculously oversensitive.
  • Aryetta - Lost City
    Aryetta - Lost City Posts: 138 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    I agree with if someone won't stop messing up ur party by being dumb... "its just a game" wouldnt work. But if someone is complaing about being pked over and over...its jsut a game...

    depends on the situation.
  • thom
    thom Posts: 387 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    Yes in a pvp server everyone should kill every white name they see...ever. No matter who it is they should try to kill them the moment they see them, and go crazy when they see lots because they know there is no way that they can kill all of them. Killing, killing and more killing 24/7/365 non stop killing.b:laugh
    No time to level because the moment you hit 30 you kill everyone with a white name on the spot.

    ROFL your posts never cease to amaze me... Maybe you should play on Lost City before trying to tell anyone how its like.

    Because your description is completely false.

    Oh and on topic, Yeah the phrase "its just a game" has its uses and some people use it for trying to cover up their own mistakes.

    sometimes its good to use when things go overboard.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

    ThommiX - Harvest Leader

    8x Barbarian

    -Lost city-
  • Lessie - Lost City
    Lessie - Lost City Posts: 917 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    Why join a pvp server if b:cryyoub:cry cant tolerate pks ?
    lol...
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    ^^ Made by Saitada ^^

    Dieho: I win 15 on 1, I roll all of your guild to sz all by myself !
    Lessie: Proof?
    Dieho: I dont have any, but my word is more than enough.
    Lessie: Well I won 33 on 1 the other day :D
    b:cute
  • Darksylph - Heavens Tear
    Darksylph - Heavens Tear Posts: 1,816 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    I agree with if someone won't stop messing up ur party by being dumb... "its just a game" wouldnt work. But if someone is complaing about being pked over and over...its jsut a game...

    depends on the situation.

    So when someone wastes your time by being incompitent, costing you game resources and time, "it's just a game" doesnt cut it.

    But when someone wastes your times by being an @$$hole, costing you game resources and time, "it's just a game" is ok?

    In reality you're describing the same thing, just a different cause. Killing someone over and over and being a general bully does the same to a person as being incompitent in a group setting does. In reality, in both cases you have to consider that your actions are having an effect on other people, and general apathy of what your actions may cost other people is considered anti-social behavior whether in real life or in an online setting.
  • Defected - Heavens Tear
    Defected - Heavens Tear Posts: 637 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    I'd have to agree with some of these points, and disagree with some other ones.

    "It's just a game" is a phrase that really annoys the heck out of me. I hate it when I'm flying around low level areas, looking for white named player to shoot in the back, and some jerk steals the herb I was about to harvest. I politely say "hey jerk! that was my crane herb!" and they reply "It's just a game." Really irritating. I hate people like that.

    Even worse, is when I kill some lowly level 30 outside of fb29, and he whispers me, "Did I do something wrong where you would pk me while I'm questing?" And I reply "Aahahahahahaha QQ cry more plz lollerskates!" And they in turn respond "It's just a game." ARGH. I hate that. I invested a lot of time and money in my character and I want people to fear me. All these people playing and having fun in their own way that differs from mine REALLY bugs me.

    Think of it like this...

    You steal my herb, thinking "oh, its just a game!" But if you do it in game, you obviously do it in real life. What if you tried to rob a bank with dynamite strapped to your chest? Think about THAT and then tell me it's just a game.



    I totally won this argument.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Changed my mind. Permanently Retired - Only here to troll.
  • Zenpachi - Heavens Tear
    Zenpachi - Heavens Tear Posts: 164 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    I just have one thing to say:

    It really is just a game. Seriously.
  • Deumos - Lost City
    Deumos - Lost City Posts: 161 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    QQQQQQQQQQQQQ
    That's all i could read.
  • fuzzles
    fuzzles Posts: 628 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    "It's just a game" has become an excuse for absolutely anything. Apparently you can do whatever you damn well please because "it's just a game".

    And God forbid anyone should try to tell you off for anything.. because anyone who tries to educate your ignorant punk **** obviously 'takes the game too seriously'.
    Everyone here is ridiculously oversensitive.
  • Gonzu - Heavens Tear
    Gonzu - Heavens Tear Posts: 109 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    ...i agree totally! i was forced off LC by the PlayerKillers of factions like RageQuit and such gangs, who are permitted to run the server like it is their neighbourhood, lurking around quest areas of lower level players, in order to repeately kill them. it is not possible, once one has attained level 30, to enjoy playing this game if one is constanly having to be on the watch for fellow players out to bully, harass and kill anyone of lower level than them. if anyone does not believe this, i direct your attention to a *very long* set of directions on how best to seek out and kill low level players, the said post located in the PVP section of this forum, and written by a RageQuit bully.

    i am sure i am not the only player who has been forced to leave LC because of the gangs that run it, and i am very angry at both them, the GMs and the company for this continuing. because in leaving, i lost not only characters i had worked for months on, but the items i had bought for them with "real money". now that i have moved to another server, it is doubtful that i will be able to replace the pets and mall items i had had- i had bought them with money that was a Christmas gift, and was able to enjoy them for less than a week, before i hit lv 30 and became yet another target for the Lost City bulliy gangs.

    I have written more than once regarding these problem, sending in tickets, but not once were they ever replied to. why is this? is the offical position of Perfect World Int that a world run by gangs and bullies is their idea of one in which everyone wishes to live and play?

    You are very welcome here on the Heavens Tear server, we have our share of jackasses too but they can't kill you unless you go PvP mode.

    Let this RageQuit gang roam around alone in one big empty PvP server. b:chuckle

    And one free transfer from a PvP to a PvE server would be in order.
  • Fleuri - Sanctuary
    Fleuri - Sanctuary Posts: 1,763 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    Why join a pvp server if b:cryyoub:cry cant tolerate pks ?
    lol...

    Some people might start characters on Lost City because the other two servers are rather busy and Lost City is normal. (When you pick your server.)

    Some people -- especially new people -- might not understand terms like "PvE" an "PvP".
  • Jrudora - Lost City
    Jrudora - Lost City Posts: 445 Arc User
    edited January 2009
    Some people might start characters on Lost City because the other two servers are rather busy and Lost City is normal. (When you pick your server.)

    Some people -- especially new people -- might not understand terms like "PvE" an "PvP".

    Not knowing because sufficient information is not available is okay...
    Not knowing because you don't research / your ignorance is simply unacceptable.

    If he starts a character on Lost City because he didn't understand "PvE" versus "Pvp" and didn't bother to look into what they meant, his fault.

    He should just re-roll to HT or Sanc if he can't handle a little pking here and there.