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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: NGTM-1R on May 03, 2005, 08:20:06 pm

Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: NGTM-1R on May 03, 2005, 08:20:06 pm
Doubtless you've seen somebody threaten to kill another player in an MMO game for scamming.

Well, somebody did.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4397159.stm
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: WeatherOp on May 03, 2005, 08:34:22 pm
I also expected something like that, They sell Diablo 2 items for over $20 in stores on websites, you can find them on the internet,even pay with Paypal, it's funny seeing people buy stuff that ain't and never will be real.:lol:Pack o' idiots. But, most people just hack the items.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Taristin on May 03, 2005, 08:36:32 pm
:wtf:


So... wait. One online character lent another online character an online weapon? And the second party sold it? And so the first party murderred the second party in RL? o.O
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Nuclear1 on May 03, 2005, 08:38:39 pm
:wtf:

Some people take games a wee bit too seriously.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Charismatic on May 03, 2005, 08:48:20 pm
*raises hand* for Freespace anyways. I cant count how many times people have said "Its just a game" or "calm down its.." ect..

I have, in the past for sure, not sure about today, takein Freespace2 (eh, Fs. series) seriously'er then anyone else. Heh.
Just a game my ass..
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Grey Wolf on May 03, 2005, 09:26:33 pm
So is this the one that made the rounds a month or two ago? Involving the men from China and some sword in an MMO?
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: NGTM-1R on May 03, 2005, 09:44:55 pm
Perhaps...but the topic didn't appear here to my knowledge.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: MatthewPapa on May 03, 2005, 10:18:17 pm
Well, I have to admit that I felt like utter **** when my BOTD sword got stolen in diablo 2....
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Ford Prefect on May 03, 2005, 10:22:08 pm
Quote
This is in contrast to places like South Korea which has a section of its police force that investigates in-game crime.

:wtf:
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Taristin on May 03, 2005, 10:23:31 pm
:lol:

The future! Online police to stop cheaters! :lol:
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: WMCoolmon on May 03, 2005, 11:07:36 pm
"You have the right to log out. If you give up that right, anything you sell can and will be used against you in a forum of game devs. You have the right to a flame warrior, and to have a flame warrior with you during your 0wn1ng. If you cannot stand a flame warrior, an annoying n00b will be provided to you with no postcount deduction."

"The defendant is found...not guilty, on the charge of rushing in an 'nr 15' game."

"Your honor, the jury finds the defendant guilty on four counts of using an aimbot in a tourney, and engaging in lame camping activities during the final round."

"Objection, your honor! The prosecution is clearly using their mod powers to edit the witness's testimony!"
"Sustained."

"...you are hereby sentenced to a 30-day period of playing in newbie starter maps, and a six-month probation of all AIM messages and forum PMs."

"Mr.m0rg4n fr33z0r, is it true that you once sold an 'Elf Bow (+6)' that you looted from the corpse of another member of your party, after teamkilling them?"
"stfu n00b, 1 |)0|\|'7 |-|4\/3 70 4|\|5\/\/3|>\ 7|-|47!!!!!!!1111"
"Your honor, permission to treat the witness as a dumbass?"
"Granted."
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Taristin on May 03, 2005, 11:39:58 pm
What's truly ironic is that it wasn't even an FPS, like all of the game-nazis in the US are claiming cause violent behaviour.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Turnsky on May 03, 2005, 11:58:16 pm
prepare for more of it, EQ2 auctions went live not too long ago.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Flaser on May 04, 2005, 02:14:49 am
It's not the game itself that led to the murder (there is no such thing as true "game" influenced murder), but the social interaction within a vitual environment.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: kode on May 04, 2005, 03:07:54 am
there's been a few murders over that kind of stuff in south korea, too. it's so 2 years ago. ;)
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: IPAndrews on May 04, 2005, 03:26:20 am
I wonder how many experience points he got?
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Nuke on May 04, 2005, 03:41:32 am
theese people are sad. i think the whole mmo genra of games it full of freaks. i dont give a rats ass about experience points i just want to see things blow up really fast like. aside from being a total time whore theese games really encourage people to dodge reality. im glad they didnt have theese when i was a teen or i had never lost my virginity.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Setekh on May 04, 2005, 04:17:02 am
It's horrific, but with this world heading off the rails, I think I expected it. :sigh:
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: n00by on May 04, 2005, 05:35:17 am
Quote
Originally posted by IPAndrews
I wonder how many experience points he got?


Think he's gonna get kicked soon. PKers are hated on those "Real Life" servers.

But, seriously...that's kinda sad. What people do because of some virtual sword....heck, even buying it alone is stupid...but killing for it? Come on...I'm really scared of MMORPGs now:shaking:
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Ford Prefect on May 04, 2005, 08:35:29 am
Wasn't there a guy a few years back who killed himself after his character died in one of those games?
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Clave on May 04, 2005, 09:06:11 am
It's the beginning of the end...
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: ZylonBane on May 04, 2005, 10:12:07 am
Quote
Originally posted by WeatherOp
it's funny seeing people buy stuff that ain't and never will be real.:lol:

You mean, people paying money for intangible goods!? Gasp! THAT's never happened before! Certainly not for thousands of years of human history!

:rolleyes:
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: vyper on May 04, 2005, 10:17:17 am
*puts on medieval monk's hat*

Prayers for sale... go to heaven for three castles...
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Swamp_Thing on May 04, 2005, 10:35:43 am
Was it a good sword at least? I´d hate to see him do it over some rusty dagger...
:rolleyes:

[/extreme sarcasm]
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Unknown Target on May 04, 2005, 10:57:40 am
Quote
Originally posted by WeatherOp
it's funny seeing people buy stuff that ain't and never will be real.:lol:


Like video games, movies, and technical dossiers about imaginary board game items? :D
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Flipside on May 04, 2005, 12:29:58 pm
LOL I might get narked at Ore Thieves in Eve, but that's taking things just an eeeensy bit too far ;)
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: BlackDove on May 04, 2005, 12:40:02 pm
For £500?

I'd probably waste someone too if they stole that amount from me.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Flipside on May 04, 2005, 12:55:38 pm
Well, the 500 was for a virtual online sword, that's really more of a case of someone being stupid enough to pay money for a pretend weapon, it's not even as if the Sword 'as is' is the IP of anyone but the game designers anyway, so it wasn't strictly his possesion to get murderous about in the first place.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: BlackDove on May 04, 2005, 01:13:03 pm
Just saying.

I mean in context:

a) I wouldn't be stupid enough to give or "borrow" someone £500 in any kind of a "game", be it online or offline. Hell I wouldn't bring £500 to any kind of a game/venue. If I had it as a sword, and I knew it was worth that much, I'd keep it glued to my character, and well.....if the game ****s up, devs' fault, not mine, I had it coming, and I didn't invest £500 into it.

b) If I was stupid enough, I'd have it coming, so it was essentially my fault

Personally I don't agree that "Game developers own items so they're theirs and not the players possession" and any of the pre-MMO similar phrases, because we all know eBay exists, and we all know what people do over such websites/forums. The only time those phrases are true, is when the devs somehow screw up, then you can say "They have the right to screw up, because it's their game, and you're there to play by their rules, because you signed the EULA". But a Player to Game Developer relationship is completely different from a Player to Player relationship. I know they try to make it the same with rules etc. but it's just not happening.


But the fact remains, if someone stole £500 from me, chances are they would be broken for the rest of their natural life, if not dead. £500 is a lot of money for me.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: karajorma on May 04, 2005, 02:07:23 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Flipside
Well, the 500 was for a virtual online sword, that's really more of a case of someone being stupid enough to pay money for a pretend weapon, it's not even as if the Sword 'as is' is the IP of anyone but the game designers anyway, so it wasn't strictly his possesion to get murderous about in the first place.


*Goes round to Flip's house to steal all his CDs* :D


To be honest I'm seeing this a different way from everyone else. While nothing justifies killing someone for this sort of thing I see absolutely nothing new about this in the slightest. Strip away the fact that it was a virtual possession and you've got an age old story.

A is friends with B. A lends B a prized possession. B sells prized possession for his own gain. A gets pissed off and kills B.

I'm sure quite a large reason why B got stabbed is cause A felt betrayed by a friend. I'm sure we all have real possessions of little to no intrisic value which we would get hugely pissed off about if someone broke or sold off.

I find it ironic to compare the comments on this thread (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,21721.0.html) with the ones here.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Unknown Target on May 04, 2005, 02:11:59 pm
*laughs at stupid asian nerds*
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Flipside on May 04, 2005, 02:14:59 pm
LOL But CD's are a physical item, the content of the may be someones IP, and I don't blame the bloke for getting annoyed about it, but it's like people selling Eve characters and stuff on Ebay, stuff which you can pick up for Eve's imaginary money in-game if you are willing to play for long enough, same as in this game. It takes a real moron to dish out real money for it when a few months of playing the game, which they are obviously involved in, would yield it for the price of the monthly fee, which they are paying anyway.

It's not like stealing a digital manuscript or the like unless I'm playing Real Life (c) and am skilling up in Writing Level 5 ;)

Yes, it was illegal what was done, and bloody annoying when it happens, I've encountered ore thieves etc in Eve, who exploit the in-game security rules to steal stuff whilst all you can do is stand by and watch, but all I did was mine directly to my cargo bay from then on, theres no point chewing it over.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: karajorma on May 04, 2005, 02:32:12 pm
Thing is that this is slightly different unless you actually know the ore thieves who are stealing from you.

As I said I'm sure he was pissed off at losing his stuff but no doubt what really got him was that a friend did it to him. After all it appears that he knew this guy well enough to be in a position to kill him. How many people on Eve can you say that about?

As for the CD's being physical what's that got to do with anything? Notice the link to the I-pod story? mp3s aren't physical either but everyone understood what she'd done and most people agreed that though killing the guy was a step too far the guy did deserve to pay for what he did. Would you just say "Oh well my i-Tunes are virtual" if I came round to your place and formated your i-pod?
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Sandwich on May 04, 2005, 04:37:57 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Unknown Target


Like video games, movies, and technical dossiers about imaginary board game items? :D


Or brand new Windows XP folders.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Flipside on May 04, 2005, 04:51:34 pm
Quote
Originally posted by karajorma
Thing is that this is slightly different unless you actually know the ore thieves who are stealing from you.

As I said I'm sure he was pissed off at losing his stuff but no doubt what really got him was that a friend did it to him. After all it appears that he knew this guy well enough to be in a position to kill him. How many people on Eve can you say that about?

As for the CD's being physical what's that got to do with anything? Notice the link to the I-pod story? mp3s aren't physical either but everyone understood what she'd done and most people agreed that though killing the guy was a step too far the guy did deserve to pay for what he did. Would you just say "Oh well my i-Tunes are virtual" if I came round to your place and formated your i-pod?


Oh, I'm not saying that what he did was right or ok, the general point I'm making is that anyone stupid enough to take an online game seriously is a moron. It was morons paying real money for imaginary stuff that created this situation. And as far as the I-pod thing is concerned, you have to ask where the tunes came from orginally, were they illegally downloaded, or copied from purchased CDs? If they were from purchased CDs then no biggy, you still have the originals, it's a bit of work, but no permanent damage done, so I can only assume that this represented the loss of a great many hours of downloading. If the original CD's are in the womans possesion and undamaged then this is simply an act of petty vandalism.

Take, for example, an estranged wife who cuts up her husbands clothes, or sells them at a jumble sale etc, in that case something tangible has been destroyed or sold for profit. In that case, under law, the Husband should be entitled to refund.

Now take, for example, an author who creates a story only to have it stolen, once again, entitled to compensation.

Now, this current situation is something new. It is an object created by a third party, effectively being used under lease from the game developers that the victim had borrowed and then sold. If anyone had an issue with the Victim, it should have been the Game designers for someone making profit from what is essentially their creation, sort of like IP theft. What stings is the many hours spent by the player acquiring it, but the item was never ever 'truly' his property to be stolen from him.

What should be stamped on is the ability to sell this stuff for cash in the first place.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Grug on May 04, 2005, 04:57:24 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Setekh
It's horrific, but with this world heading off the rails, I think I expected it. :sigh:


I hardly think the world is that bad Setekh. Its one incident. Out of potentially billions.
The majority of people are sensible. I hope... :nervous:

Rofl @ Flipside. :p
Yeah that punk still had the nerve to take the stuff with two heavily armed ships orbiting him.

Funny how the Bounty and Merc systems work out for the good side though. ;)
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Flipside on May 04, 2005, 05:01:54 pm
I was originally thinking about following from system to system being a little personal 'Ore thief' fanfare, but I decided that would be petty, and after reading this thread, I certainly don't think I'll bother ;)
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: WMCoolmon on May 04, 2005, 05:34:19 pm
You know, I see this whole situation as about as valid as the RIAA lawsuits of late. The only difference is that one is legislated, and the other isn't (minus killing the guy - although I wonder how many people's lives have been destroyed by RIAA lawsuits).

I don't see any sort of rationalization that makes the sword any different from a music CD. The guy probably went to a lot of hard work to get the sword (provided a service) , thereby obtaining the liberty to have the sword, then lent it to his friend. His friend took advantage of the hard work and - without paying the first guy for his time - sold the CD, I mean, the sword.

In fact, I would say a greater injustice was done to the guy who bought the sword than the damage done to record companies by Kazaa or Bittorrrent or whatever; he actually lost the use of the sword, not just profits.

The sad thing is that everyone has gotten so uppity about "intellectual property" that such a comparison is even possible. Ideas used solely for entertainment and profit are, in some cases, considered by the law to be more important than the life of a person - possibly even the person who created the ideas in the first place.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Flipside on May 04, 2005, 05:44:23 pm
But he can only use the sword in a game which has been created by the game designers. He was not providing a service, he was hiring one, of which the sword was part. It's not a question of IP, what took place WAS theft, I don't deny that, since the profit was made from the other persons hard work, taking something that isn't yours is theft, no matter what it is. But what, exactly did he buy the sword with? Was this currency capable, for example, of buying real life food or shelter? When you steal a CD, for example, the cash value of the CD is interchangeable, you can buy stuff in real life with the money, the currency used by the 'murderer' was earned from paying a monthly fee to a game studio. The whole thing is a distraction, a game, take it too seriously and you start to blur your concept of reality. So yes, the selling for 500 quid in 'real life' was a crime, but if people become so dependant on an 'alternate reality' that they hire that they are willing to kill over it, then that sends warning bells ringing.

The murder is something completely different, you can get murdered for looking at someone 'funny'.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: WMCoolmon on May 04, 2005, 05:55:35 pm
Apparently, the sword was worth something, and it sounds like it was far more valuable than a CD. Say I go into an arcade, play some of the games, and get 500 tickets, which I then use to buy a CD. Then I go home, copy the CD, make a bunch of copies and give them to my friends. It's considered the same as if I'd bought it at a local CD place with federal currency and I would almost certainly receive the same sentence for copying the CDs as if I'd purchased it with federal currency.

However, if I tried to buy food or clothing or shelter with those same tickets, I'd be rejected - the only place they'd be good would be in the arcade.

The CD doesn't have any intrinsic worth, though. Some people simply wouldn't like the music on it; others might find it immoral; others might not have the equipment, ie a CD player, to use it and would be more interested in its aesthetic value. Still others might not have access to that CD, and be willing to pay double or even triple the price that you could buy it for.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Flipside on May 04, 2005, 06:10:13 pm
It's value though was only to someone stupid enough to pay for an item that they theselves could have got with time, at no cost at all, considering they too must be playing the same game.

To continue your CD analogy, if you win 500 tickets at an arcade, you spent real money, and some luck, to get them. And this item was not given away, it was sold, so, just as someone without a CD player would not buy a CD, so would someone who was not playing this game not buy the sword. In fact, you can buy a CD and hold onto it until you get a CD player, whereas you must already have an account with the game in order to get the sword.

If someone is that passionate about what is supposed to be a diversion, then I think I would consider it extremely likely that they are suffering from addiction at an extremely unhealthy level.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Unknown Target on May 04, 2005, 07:31:14 pm
Simple thing is: the guy killed someone over a videogame.
Why are we arguing whether he was right or not to? He still killed someone anyway.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: karajorma on May 04, 2005, 07:53:57 pm
The argument isn't over whether he was right to or not. The argument is over whether he somehow has a less valid reason to have gotten angry because the possesion he lost was virtual rather than physical.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Flipside on May 04, 2005, 08:12:46 pm
And I was actually thoroughly enjoying the debate ;) I don't think it really got to argument stage but either way :D
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Nuclear1 on May 04, 2005, 08:16:04 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Ford Prefect

:wtf:


It's Korea. What did you expect? ;)
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Swamp_Thing on May 04, 2005, 09:26:24 pm
If people are so willing to pay big bucks for game items, maybe i should get myself in the business. I have a few bills that need paying.
Ok, who wants to buy a cracked bow from Diablo2? Mint condition. Or a pair of old boots? 10 bucks! Going once... going twice... SOLD, to the desperate sorry lookin´n00b in the back row!
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: YodaSean on May 04, 2005, 10:02:45 pm
I don't think it's all that strange.  People often spend a good deal of money on things like advertisements and naming rights.  Although these are still slightly different since usually you're respecting a good return on your purchase.  But I'd imagine people do sometimes purchase things in games with the expecations of profiting later(although this wasn't the case here)

On the other hand, modern currency isn't exactly very tangible either, represented by paper or sometimes completely electronically.  And then you have collectible items, which are valuable for non-tangible reasons.  I suppose the main difference, and what concerns people the most over these sorts of virtual transactions, is that while even currency is backed up by a government, virtual items are not backed up by some sort of game developer/publisher that reserves the right to destroy one's virtual possessions whenever they want, which makes seriously investing anything(money or interests) into virtual items a pretty bad idea.
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Stealth on May 05, 2005, 07:25:45 am
Quote
Originally posted by YodaSean
I don't think it's all that strange.  People often spend a good deal of money on things like advertisements and naming rights.  


yeah but it's only been since, like, diablo 2, where there's a big market for selling ITEMS (or money or something).  world of warcraft really helped that a lot
Title: It Finally Happened: Gaming-related Murder
Post by: Stealth on May 05, 2005, 07:28:28 am
Quote
The row is thought to have blown up partly because China has no laws that cover the theft of virtual in-game items

does any country have laws that cover theft of "virtual in-game items"? i didn't think they did

Quote
Although Mr Caoyuan said he would hand over the money from the sale of the sword, Mr Chengwei lost patience and attacked him in real life.

The China Daily said Mr Caoyuan was stabbed with "great force" in the left chest and killed.

i swear i can see that happening...