Designers responded to the problem of player predation by establishing a model that stressed consensual player versus player encounters; many games now feature dedicated zones in which combat between individual players (or teams of players) takes place and/or a “challenge” mechanism by which players can duel with each other [1]. These kinds of mechanics have allowed players to decide for themselves the extent to which they want to engage in combat with other players, or to participate in the larger narrative of a factional war that constitutes the overriding activity framework in the vast majority of online multiplayer games. Players who don’t participate in combat with other players usually do not forego combat altogether, but will instead restrict their encounters to the PvE (Player versus Entity) realm. PvP enthusiasts will often argue that there is nothing quite as challenging and thrilling as engaging in combat with another player. Game designers, however, understand that “challenge” is not an absolute, and that for some players the challenge of defeating an AI character is quite sufficient; other players simply do not want to participate in the “culture” of PvP which can, on occasion, be problematic in its testosterone-driven obsessions with martial prowess. Nor is it the case that not participating in PvP means that a player is not getting the full experience of the game. Having a large number of people who try to go on with their lives as if the world around them is not wracked by conflict is in fact quite realistic and makes for a more fully developed game environment for all players.
As designers struggled to figure out how to manage player aggression in online environments while still maintaining the integrity of story and gameplay frameworks, it became clear that these questions were merging with another significant design challenge: how do you get players into the game, both in the sense of helping them figure out how to play the game, and making them want to continue playing? The two sets of problems were related, in the sense that a new player whose first experience in the game was that of being jumped by a higher level character who promptly kills them and steals their stuff probably would not be inclined to play for very long. Given that online games make their money via a monthly subscription model this is a big problem.
Hence the development of safe zones in which new players could learn the basic mechanics of the game without fear of being unfairly victimized. This was a particularly important concern for those games that eschewed a consensual PvP model; for some games large-scale conflict doesn’t simply provide an overarching narrative framework or set dressing for the world but is central to the gameplay. Such games are often built not just around PvP but around realm versus realm (RvR) conflict. The massively multiplayer WWII flight simulator Aces High offers ceaseless three-way combat between teams (designated Knights, Bishops, and Rooks) in its general arena and historically specific arenas; however it also offers a tutorial and dueling practice arena [2]. EVE Online offers a universe wracked by war in which the conflict shapes every player action; players are in fact never fully immune from attack by other players [3]. The designers of EVE introduced an innovative scheme of “graded” zones. Every sector in EVE’s universe (unparalleled by any other game in terms of its size) has a security rating. In “high” security space players may be attacked by other players, but these spaces are effectively patrolled by AI security forces: attacks on players in high security space result in the instant destruction of the attacker. In medieval or fantasy games the new player towns are often patrolled by an all-powerful equivalent of the city watch [4].
Once established, however, the safe zone offered itself as a useful mechanism not just for preventing the "griefing" (behavior whose sole purpose is to antagonize and frustrate others) of new players, but also as a more general space that could ease new players into the game and help them learn its core gameplay principles. MMORPGs pose considerable challenges even for players familiar with the specific game or genre, and they can be downright intimidating to players making the transition from single-player gaming or from another genre. Quite apart from their combat aspects these games require extensive inventory management, information processing, communication and data analysis skills. The concept of the “safe zone” quickly developed into the larger concept of the starter city, or starter zone. It is important to note, however, that the idea of the starter city is not synonymous with a tutorial. Many single-player games come with a tutorial that teaches players the basic concepts necessary to get them started in the game world. For some games thematically appropriate tutorials are relatively easy to develop (“boot camp” for a military shooter, for example) but the very best tutorials are seamlessly integrated into the story, gameplay and environment of the game [5]. Many MMORPGs do, of course, offer tutorials, and the starter cities often feature tutorial-like missions or instructive interactions with non-player characters (NPCs). But in more recent MMORPGs the tutorial is often a separate introductory element to the game, a necessary precondition to entering the actual game world, after which the player is deposited in the starter city. The function of the starter city, therefore, is not simply to allow players to learn how to play the game, but rather to help them live in the world.
1. Star Wars Galaxies (2003-2008), developed by Lucasarts, offered both these modes but also added another gameplay mechanic according by which players could either be covertly allied with the Imperial or Rebel forces, or they could be “overt,” which meant they could be recognized by players from the other faction and attacked on sight.
2. Aces High II. (2007). HiTech Creations..
3. EVE Online. (1997-2008). CCP.
4. Battleground Europe ((2001-2008). (Formerly World War II Online). Cornered Rat Software. Playnet, Inc.) has, in its peculiarly uncompromising vision, eschewed most of the solutions adopted by other designers. As players recreate the German Blitzkrieg into France in 1940 with historically accurate equipment and maps, they do so with absolutely no mechanisms for inducting new players into the world. The sheer overwhelming terror of combat is immediately present for every new player, and for those who persist the game has been praised as offering a visceral thrill offered by no other game; in this game, unlike many others, one shot really will kill you, and you almost never see where it came from. For other players, however, the experience is akin to being the baby seal during the annual hunt. . .over, and over, and over. . .
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