Game setting novels with open world PK.

[melchi]

I know that suspension of disbelief is a requirement in reading fantasy but I see open world PK so often in game world settings it grates. A game has to be commercially viable. So they actually need to maintain a player base.

Still with me? Well, 20 years ago MMOs tended to all have open world PK. Game devs learned the lesson that having a combat system that works for both PVE and PVP is very hard to do. Also, making it fun for the majority of the players is even more difficult to do. Some people want only PVE, others want only PVP. Some people are just griefers and get off by making people want to quit. The point being, a common theme I've come across in game setting novels is open world PVP. And I never see any player backlash.

Where is the novel where the game is set to fail do to the problems and the devs have to patch out the bad game design? And why are mistakes made in diablo 1 still being repeated in full dive games?

Anyway, just a little soapbox vent.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Majority don't think, they just copy.

 

[Nahrenne]

I know that suspension of disbelief is a requirement in reading fantasy but I see open world PK so often in game world settings it grates. A game has to be commercially viable. So they actually need to maintain a player base.

Still with me? Well, 20 years ago MMOs tended to all have open world PK. Game devs learned the lesson that having a combat system that works for both PVE and PVP is very hard to do. Also, making it fun for the majority of the players is even more difficult to do. Some people want only PVE, others want only PVP. Some people are just griefers and get off by making people want to quit. The point being, a common theme I've come across in game setting novels is open world PVP. And I never see any player backlash.

Where is the novel where the game is set to fail do to the problems and the devs have to patch out the bad game design? And why are mistakes made in diablo 1 still being repeated in full dive games?

Anyway, just a little soapbox vent.

Could it potentially be because it adds a degree of risk to the characters in the story?
Like, "Oh, I have to make sure I reach such a level and find such and such secret quest by this time limit before anyone else! Oh no! If I get killed, I'll have my level reduced and a cooldown time before I can play again! Curse those annoying PK'ers who enjoy killing other players for the fun of it! I'll have my revenge against them!"
Or simply because the authors didn't think about the balancing and reactions you'd get irl, and just thought it would make the story exciting?

I don't know.
'-'

X

 

[Rhaps]

Try Shangri-La Frontier, it has a detail that punishes PKing but also promotes it.
After killing a player, the PKer will get a bounty on their head as well as all the items of the victim. While killing monsters doesn't make you drop your items.

If you kill the PKer, you won't get a bounty, instead you get all the loot of the PKer as well as the bounty money.

It make the hardcore and sadistic players want to PK, as some would see it as a badge of honor. While disuade the majority from doing it.

Its a great balance imo. But its not perfect, as I can see an infinite money glitch with this System.

 

[melchi]

Try Shangri-La Frontier, it has a detail that punishes PKing but also promotes it.
After killing a player, the PKer will get a bounty on their head as well as all the items of the victim. While killing monsters doesn't make you drop your items.

If you kill the PKer, you won't get a bounty, instead you get all the loot of the PKer as well as the bounty money.

It make the hardcore and sadistic players want to PK, as some would see it as a badge of honor. While disuade the majority from doing it.

Its a great balance imo. But its not perfect, as I can see an infinite money glitch with this System.

While it is something it still requires that their competitors won't cater to the casuals better. What game doesn't assume that they can't lose market share?

World tree online also has nopk areas. I think that is the best one I have read that has realistic world building but after a few books it goes way out into the esoteric.

 

[NonReal]

You're right, but to be honest the vrmmo aspect of it is just a gimmick added to a regular fantasy-ish setting. Authors of those rarely put real thought into it and just going with an existing trend.

 

[TsumiHokiro]

I know that suspension of disbelief is a requirement in reading fantasy but I see open world PK so often in game world settings it grates. A game has to be commercially viable. So they actually need to maintain a player base.

Still with me? Well, 20 years ago MMOs tended to all have open world PK. Game devs learned the lesson that having a combat system that works for both PVE and PVP is very hard to do. Also, making it fun for the majority of the players is even more difficult to do. Some people want only PVE, others want only PVP. Some people are just griefers and get off by making people want to quit. The point being, a common theme I've come across in game setting novels is open world PVP. And I never see any player backlash.

Where is the novel where the game is set to fail do to the problems and the devs have to patch out the bad game design? And why are mistakes made in diablo 1 still being repeated in full dive games?

Anyway, just a little soapbox vent.

As @NonReal and @SailusGebel said, authors aren't developers of games. Most authors only copy things, they don't actually create worlds. I have said not so long ago in another thread, but most novels are actually Inspired Creations, and not Original Creations. They are Spin-Offs of something that has already been created. You are asking too much from people with limited creativity.

Now, for people who actually do some real world creation, here lies the problem: how many authors do you know who are actually game developers? Or who have proximity with the game developing community?

There used to be a time when writers would actually do their research before they wrote about a topic, and not just "spin" a tale of wild imagination. Even those who do their research, how many of them do you think can account for every possible scenario as well? Authors have limited imagination. In fact, every author has to limit their own imagination or else they would never be able to write anything. It would be such a world of possibilities that it would be easier to just shut our eyes and dream a happy dream of fiction than write to our readers.

Anyway, back to reality. Imagine that a story is actually a Documentary, one which the author has decided to cut a certain point of view of a world they had in their minds and portray to the reader. It is, therefore, impossible for there to be worlds of every possibility portrayed in every story written. And most authors, once again, only copy those stories already written before them. Usually the most popular ones. And the popular ones are... the ones you are complaining about...

 

[Deleted member 84247]

A story doesn't have to be bound by real life rules, but it is more that it has to be believable enough. Most people that make sci-fi don't have any scientific background. It is probably the same for VRMMO. These people aren't game devs, but they still want to write about a fun game. How much one can suspend disbelief depends on their expertise.

I don't care about everything being researched as long as it's somewhat believable.

 

[Lloyd]

PvE is boring as fuck

 

[Redadam04]

I don't know but I love PVP. Because I want intense fights. ?

 

[RepresentingDesire]

I think a story that can be enjoyed and maybe inspire is already good and you should always think of in-universe realism.

 

[Tempokai]

I remember reading a JP webnovel about the old man being sniper and PKing everyone in VRMMO. I forgot the name, but it was mildly interesting

 

[wimbledon]

I remember reading a JP webnovel about the old man being sniper and PKing everyone in VRMMO. I forgot the name, but it was mildly interesting

There was a manga about an old man "hunter" (there was a specific term they used, which I don't remember) who became a sniper in a battle royale game; I don't believe it was VR, so it might be a completely different story.

 

[melchi]

I remember reading a JP webnovel about the old man being sniper and PKing everyone in VRMMO. I forgot the name, but it was mildly interesting

That is actually realistic. For real PVP the biggest thing that would lead to victory is getting the drop on people. If two characters do the same DPS, have the same HP then having first blood would always lead to victory.