There are some lines that you can’t cross and some that you can. In Washington D.C., for example, you don’t threaten social security and expect to get re-elected to any position short of dog catcher. There are other lines you can cross, but like a dog who gets beat, you can only beat him so long before he will bite you back – and that is what Bobby Kotick, et al, have been finding out lately.
You can only beat a dog so long…
I wouldn’t exactly call it an “exodus”, as does Arstechnica.com, however as we reported on Tuesday more important than how many people have left Infinity Ward is who has departed for sunnier climes. If nothing else, the message is clear – even in a down turned economy, even if you are the 800 pound gorilla on the block, you can only throw your weight around so much.
It appears that some of the more naïve (and blasphemous) elements of the blogosphere feel that only a fool follows the splinter group…you know, splinter groups like, oh say, the United States of America. If no one followed that splinter group we would still be sending our 1040 forms to London. Fortunately tort law, and not history, will determine the success or failure of messers West and Zampella versus Activision. No matter how you look at the situation with Infinity Ward and Activision, it only matters what messers West, Zampella and Kotick (and those working for or with them) think – the rest of us are merely spectators. There is one sage observation to be found over at Indie Game Producer in the article West and Zampella vs. Activision part 2:
“What’s conspicuously missing is the explanation that Jason and Vince were warned that their behavior was unacceptable and that their jobs were in peril as a result. The reason that doesn’t look good for Activision is that Activision is asking for reimbursement of everything Jason and Vince have been compensated since they first demonstrated the alleged disloyalty and insubordination.” - Indiegameproducer
Indie Game Producer goes on to point out, “If the insubordination was so dire and obvious, then they could have fired Jason and Vince long ago, or at least warned them. Instead, they kept them on, and Jason and Vince delivered the best-selling console game of all time.” In short, everyone is entitled to due process .
Another line you don’t cross, or at least create, is one that leaves a “paper trail” back to you, even if that “paper” is electronic.
The Hartford Courant, via Gamepolitics.com, reports that “23-year old Anthony Hayward was arrested in New Haven last year for allegedly having drugs and a stolen gun in his car…” After he posted $75,000 bond Hayward is reported to have logged in to his Xbox live account and threatened a witness saying “rats die slow” and referring to the witness as a “dead man walking”.
Not so much a line as line of red tape…
Reports from Gamepolitics.comhave it that “The USA Today piece reported that Erskine Bowles, who’s heading up President Obama’s ‘war on the federal deficit’ talked to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer about making a video game that would let anyone ‘take a stab at balancing the budget.’” While it is all we can do to hold our collective tongues at No Prisoners, No Mercy might we humbling suggest that Mr. Bowles seek the services of Sid Meir whose “Civilization” series has enthralled us for more hours than we care to admit publicly.
The Line between “spirited” and “mean spirited”
“They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue.” Sean Connery as “Malone” in The Untouchables
It was not that long ago that we read how the organizer of certain in game Eve Online player event admitted he did so because he was “evil and mean spirited” – and then marveled at why so many players reacted the way they did.
Having recently returned to Eve Online, our own Julie read a similar letter marveling at the reaction of someone they had “podded” which consisted mostly of the pirate being told to “know thyself” but in the biblical sense. The difference in this case is that the letter was addressed to a member of a corporation (the equivalent of a guild for all you World of Warcraft players out there) who’s CEO (read guild master) is an acquaintance of our own Julie.
Craig Zinkievich, Executive Producer for Star Trek Online was quoted as saying, “we don’t want you to spend 80 hours getting that Sovereign class vessel, get owned, and then lose that ship.” That is, of course, one of the dividing lines between Star Trek Online and Eve Online. In fact on Show 57 their marketing specialist, Joe Blancato, spoke about this indicating the two markets are not the same. As regular readers and listeners know, both Fran and Julie enjoy spirited PvP – but it is always consensual. But where is the line between consensual and non-consensual pvp? Certainly one can say the Eve Online event vaguely hinted at above (ok perhaps not that vaguely) is non-consensual. There will be some players that say anyone who takes their ship out of the hanger is “consenting”. Others will argue that anyone who ventures into unprotected low security space (below .5) is consenting.
Where is the dividing line?
The ships that get blown up in Eve Online may be pixels but the players behind them are real, as are the hours spent training to fly the ship and earning the money to build or buy it. Is it all in good fun? Perhaps. We all have images of pirates created by actors like Johnny Depp and further back Errol Flynn. But if it is all in good fun then why don’t the victims dismiss it off hand? More often than not, the attitude involved in organized corporate warfare (which is planned for in Eve) is similar to the one espoused by “Malone” as played by Sean Connery. Piracy in Eve Online, on the other hand, is about little more than who can bring a gun to a knife fight – the battles are decided before they start. Pirates, of course, come in many varieties; the more cowardly are those who roam the asteroid belts stealing from miners as they fill local chat with taunts such as “come teach me a lesson mofo.” What if you or I join a pirate corp and only prey on those who venture into low security space? Are they fair game? Do they have it coming? Again is it all in good fun?
Where ever the dividing line may be in this case, there IS one line we are absolutely sure should never have been crossed – and whoever designed Sean Connery’s costume for the movie Zardoz crossed it.
The No Prisoners, No Mercy Team