The Soapbox: Sandboxes and the cop-out of FFA Player vs Player

Filed under: Game mechanics, Player vs Player, belief, Star Wars Galaxies, Ultima Online, Roleplaying, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous

Disallegeer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column.

Last week, our own Jef Reahard mounted the Soapbox with an article titled Sandboxes and the fear of FFA Player vs Player. In it, he argued that open Player vs Player was a natural and necessary part of any solid sandbox MMORPG. He also made waves by suggesting that FFA Player vs Player is crucial to the roleplaying experience and that rolegamers should actually face their "fears" and give it a try.

I'm a sandbox gamer and a Player vs Playerer at heart. I played the early years of Ultima Online and lived the adrenaline rush of full and brutal Player vs Player and thievery. Dark Age of Camelot's RvR sucked up another year of my life. Star Wars Galaxies remains my sandbox of choice, and I've braved a World of Warcraft Player vs Player worldsince commence. swg credits I know this territory very well. I'll knock it, because I have more than tried it -- in several tasty flavors.

And even though I'm an unabashed Jef-fangirl, I think there are a few debatable issues with his article. Hit the jump for some good old-fashioned counterpoints!
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