Morality of game playing

Today, I was thinking about the "fighting game scene" and the discussions you tend to hear between tourney winners and more casual players. The casual player would say something like "character X is overpowered" or "using <insert tactic here> is cheap", to which the tourney winner would reply "You're just a scrub because" either "there's a way out of that" or "you can use that tactic, too."

I then thought about sportsmanship, in general, and how there are certain thing you just don't do dispite the fact that you might be not be punished for it. For instance, even in "no-holds-barred" fighting, shoes and striking the groin are not allowed. Even in a street fight (actual, not the capcom game), it's considered poor form or cowardly to go for the groin. Also, showing no mercy to a child in a conventional athletic competition would be looked down upon, however, I've heard stories of Street Fighter 2 champions showing no mercy to hapless pre-teens unfortunate enough to cross their path.

Why hasn't such a sense of "propriety" permeated gaming? In life, we have the choice to be cheats or to "play fair", but in gaming the line seems blurrier or non-existent. Where is that line for you? Is there anything that is morally wrong to do in the context of a video game? Is there anything that you just wouldn't feel right doing in a game, despite the fact that it is possible?

Dog eat dog world, man.

The only thing I consider wrong is using a cheat in a multiplayer game without the other people's permission.

Like those PK'ing fuckers that ruined Phantasy Star Online.

It's only cheating if you get caught.

Do onto others before they do unto you.

Words to live by.

I think the main cause of the difference in psychology comes from the fact that games pertain to the fantasy realm in which showing no mercy is not such an extreme act of cruelty as doing something that has a physical connection. BTW- I have seen groin punching in no holds barred fight tourneys (UFC).

As for me, I think a lot of people would share the same ideology that I do when fighting someone of lesser skill. You can tell if they know how to play or not. If they do not know how to play, then humour them a bit and barely beat them, so that they may not be discouraged and join you another day with a good attitude. If they know how to play... if they are past the line of beginner, then I figure that they would appreciate a fight where you gave it all you've got to know how good they really are.

In non-tourney situations, I usually feel a new opponent out and find out that I lose the first round because of that. I then compliment the stranger and tell him/her, "you're better than I thought, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take this to the next level."

These are all good points. I like this thread alot. Of course, you can go back to, "Its just a game." Also, if you are playing arcade.. you are also playing for money, maybe just a quarter or fifty cents, but still, money. Im not gonna allow a weaker player to cause me to get only a few rounds of play out of my quaters, just because he is a weaker player. On the same token, I dont fight as fiercly against weaker players as I do players that are stonger than me. I will use the opportunity to try out more advanced moves that Im still trying to get the hang of, that I know if I tried them on more advanced players, I would get a beatdown because of my lack of knowlege. This all really depends on the game too. So much more to say.. so little time...


Z-roe

Well if its a tournament, well than the kid just lost and thats all there is to it. The person has to understand that people who are going to be entering a tournament are going for the gold, and not to stop and let the slow guy catch up so it looks more fair. But if its casual play, thats different. But if the person complains after losing chances are they are just going to gloat when they win, and vice versa.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Dolemite
It's only cheating if you get caught.

Do onto others before they do unto you.

Words to live by.

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This exact phrase came to mind when I was thinking about this issue. Like I said, you've got that choice everyday, in life. I've passed by plenty of things that I could have stolen with no one ever knowing, but I didn't steal them. This also reminds me of something I omitted from the first post: could an "anything goes" approach to video games make one more likely to take that attitude to other aspects of one's life?

Bystander: In real battles, in some cultures, it was conisdered dishonorable to hit a man from behind, while that's the best way to rack up points in Unreal. Even when life is on the line, some people chose to live by a code which wasn't always the most efficacious...and when I used to watch UFC, I never saw any low blows...maybe they changed the rules.

Oh and the story I saw was talking about an expert SF2 who would never switch out of "tourney mode". In a normal arcade setting, he'd show mercy to no one...not even kids.

Funny thing is, in games even a 'kid' can beat you down. So I would always approach the competition as someone who wants the same thing I want; to win, gain the most out of a match in terms of tactics, and to have fun. Whether the other guy feels the same way or not, or is better or worse than me is besides the point. I'll only play people the way I would want to be played against, and that's with everything at the disposal, no cheats or hacks, and no hard feelings if I lose ^_^

I'm not sure if this is to the point, but I really detest these mostly non-gamers who will come to an arcade, find a fighting game, and pound the hell out of the buttons and yank the joystick to and fro. Ever tried playing Street Fighter, but roundhouse kick won't work? Or MvsC2, only to find you can't move backwards? I'm sure it has alot to due with these guys who think the more violence they show to a machine, the better they are at the game. I've actually seen a guy so caught up in flailing at a Soul Calibur machine that the cabinet was rocking and shaking. To these people, I show no mercy. I know button mashing won't go away, and that as a kid I was one too, but I think its wrong for these older people to damage machines thinking they how to play a game.