#i lied i do like the combat to some extent i like the strategizing

[oars]

i do love that you can kinda cheat fights in bg3 by convincing enemies to kill themselves or by pushing them off into a chasm hell yeah

[metasnkpotato]

Do you mind ranking/explaining the combat experience of all the girls in SNK that can fight (from weakest to strongest) also who do you think would win in the end?

Hello ! No I don’t mind but but it’ll certainly be a bit randomly / personal fav because depending on situation and context balance of power can be easily reversed. And strength aren’t all the same, there is brute force, strategy, agility and so on, so is there any ranking that can reflect what would happen in real situation ?

ANYWAY :

7. Yelena

Yelena is certainly intelligent and gives off some authoritarian and powerful aura, but until then her only strength has been in pulling the trigger. To say that she’s dangerous is one thing, because her strength lies in strategists and wiles and actually it’s one of the greatest weapon in the current arc, but in brute force it’s difficult to say where she stands. Even when she’s shooting at people, she’s certainly hardcore, but you cannot say that she has skills like Sasha since her talent lies rather in aquiring trust and manipulating it than just being strong. But she must be strong enough I suppose, since as a Marley army soldier she had to get a rough training.

6. Historia

Even if she isn’t currently able to fight, Historia belongs to the category of the most powerful female soldiers to the extent that she defeated the greatest titan ever. Although she’s not technically strong (apparently, her size is a disadvantage in the 1V1 fights) she’s nevertheless characterized by a certain force in the blows of bursts and the accesses of adrenaline that allow her to take the momentum. That’s how she managed to reverse the balance of power in some situations, when she killed titans alongside Ymir, when she projected her father into Crystal Cave and when she took him down, he as a fucking 120 meters titan.

5. Hanji 

(I decided to put they in the female category to make it simpler plz don’t kill me)

I went on the (quite well-made) fandom site to check Hanji’s stats, and wow, she has actually very good ones.

Her propensity to excel in different areas, as well as strategy, initiative, situational awareness, manual combat as well as 3DG’s mastery makes her one of SNK’s best fighters in general. She’s obviously badass, but her strength is perhaps not noticeable as much as other characters because so far we have often seen her next to Erwin, the best in terms of wit, and Levi, the best in terms of combat. But Hanji, if she returns to the battlefield will probably be on the most strategist side since she’s commander of the SC, more than just a fighter.

4. Pieck

Pieck may not initially be as strong as Hanji for example, but having a titan gives her more potential. In addition, her strength lies more in cunning / fooling and strategy than in pure power, and it’s the most sought-after form of force in the current arc. The only way to outperform the opponent now is to be able to see beyond the appearance that it offers and what its real goals are, and the intelligence for which the Marleyan soldiers always praise her (especially Zeke, which is one of the character most praised for intelligence himself) is a valuable asset in this context.

This is what allowed her in Shiganshina to change the game several times by taking over Zeke and Reiner who are among the most powerful antagonists at this stage of story. She also saved thanks to that Gabi during the Marley attack. And it’s what allowed her to reverse the balance of power with Zeke and Eren in previous chapters.

3(?) Annie

Do I really need to explain the reason for the question mark

Annie combines a substantial brute force, extraordinary speed and unique self-defense techniques that make her an outstanding fighter. She performs as well in her human form as in her titanic and this is probably what makes her one of the most difficult opponent on a battlefield. Moreover, unlike characters such as Mikasa and Levi, she has no genetic ground that promotes the strength she has shown, so her power is all the more admirable as it comes from her training and her own personal development. However, unlike characters such as Pieck and Hanji, she has no initiative or strategy particular. So if I place her so high in fact, it’s especially for the effect of terror she caused in the story. Her arrival sound almost apocalyptic : she was a monster who seemed invincible, whose motives were unknown and who assaulted and killed many characters while they were in an environment without a way out. The tension she made scenaristically was very great and still now, in the re-reading, I find that the fights best written were those that involved her.

2. Gabi

Gabi is certainly still a child, and her potential as a fighter cannot yet be maximum, but it’s precisely because of her youth and what she accomplished in comparison that I place her here. Though we’re talking of a child, she succeeded by combining strategy, cunning and brute force, to win a war in one of the first scene we were introduced of her. And even if she’s based on Eren in terms of characterization, unlike him, her anger and murderous rage doesn’t really play against her but allows her to carry out murders without too much difficulty. Gabi’s real concern with this is more on an ethical and individual development plan, but in combat, she excels. It must be said, to her credit, that she managed to win a war, to infiltrate an enemy ship by killing one of their best sniper, remained alive while being lost in an hostile ground, and recently to behead the man considered the most dangerous in the world. If it’s not badassery IDK what badassery is lol.

1. Mikasa

Mikasa, in addition of being favored by a genetic ground that allows her to manifest titanic powers while remaining in human form, also garners the experience of the fight of many of her famous predecessors and I wouldn’t claim anything as certain because the truths and lies about Ackermans remains to be verified, but it’s even possible that she access to the combat experiences of Levi (who’s still the undisputed strongest character, having managed to slash Annie, to slash the bestial titan, to kill more than thirty titans alone lately ETC …). And the fact that Levi has been greatly weakened lately makes her currently de facto the strongest one.

Not to mention her over-training and her years of basic soldier experience, she’s also the character with the most varied combat experience against basic titans as titans shifters. In fact, the only one against whom she didn’t fight yet is the Beast Titan. 

If she doesn’t have as much strategic intelligence as characters like Pieck and Hanji either, she still has a good margin of initiative that makes her one of the first to react in a crisis knowing exactly what to do. Therewith her development over the manga has made her  more and more responsible for the strength she has, and that makes her more reliable in situations on a larger scale, not running towards those she loves to fight for a greater good. In short, if I had to bet on someone to win a fight, it would definitely be her. But well, with context, situation etc. nothing is certain, and it’s just a personal random ranking.

Thanks for the ask, it was fun to do !

[davids-cartoon-corkboard]

I'm starting to think that Venomous and Shadowy Figure aren't twin brothers but one of them is the turbonic form of Laserblast. It's hard to say for sure which one is the turbo form because while Venomous is similar in personality to Laserblast ( Calm and collected, likes cute animals, romantically attracted to those who show strength. ) it feels like Shadowy Figure is more actively fit, carefree, goofy, and seems to genuinely care for K.O which gives him heroic traits.

I think Venomous and Shadowy Figure are brothers (maybe nottwins), and Shadowy Figure is Laserblast. However, Shadowy isn’tturbo!Laserblast. Which sounds confusing, but I’ll try to explain.

(longish post under the cut)

Coincidences happen all the time in real life. But OK KO isa story, and coincidences don’t happen nearly as often in stories. This storyhas only two purple snake people. Not two prominentpurple snake people, two purple snake people period. And they’re both voiced by Steven Ogg! They’re connected somehow.To fit with the show’s themes of family and identity, they’re either related orthe same person. (If someone can think of a third option that would fit, I’dlove to hear it.)

Ven and Shadowy aren’t the same person. Shadowy is veryfixated on KO and his power. Wouldn’t figuring out how to obtain it be aninteresting and complex project for Ven? But Ven had been dealing withlong-term boredom as of “Boxman Crashes”. Wouldn’t he have at least mentionedbeing frustrated at “not making progress” or being “stuck on a problem”? Thosetwo puzzle pieces don’t fit together.

Also, Shadowy Figure made a huge tactical blunder that wouldn’t have happened if he wasVenomous. When Fink was upset she couldn’t go to the party in “Villain’s Night In”, Ven apologized for disappointing her (via text, but still an apology). Every good parent knows the powerof an apology. And from a strategic standpoint, Shadowy should have apologizedfor hurting KO. I doubt he feels guilty about it, but when has the idea oflying ever stopped people like him? The second time he interacted with KO wasin “Let’s Have a Stakeout”. He acted manipulative, insulted KO, and physicallyattacked him. What if he hadn’t done that? What if he had met KO in the sewersand said, “I’m sorry”?

“KO, I’m sorry for what happened to the Plaza. If I hadknown the true extent of your power I would never have pushed you so hard inthe first place. I wanted to help you, but I wasn’t careful enough and wound uphurting you and many others instead. This is all my fault, and I am so, sosorry.”

Suddenly KO doesn’t feel quite so guilty for wrecking thePlaza, because Shadowy has taken the blame instead. Suddenly this guy isn’t anenemy, but a potential ally who just made a mistake. People forgive KO when hemakes mistakes, shouldn’t he do the same? And so what if Shadowy’s POW cardsays he’s level negative eight? KO’s card obviously isn’t accurate, so maybeShadowy’s isn’t either!

Maybe KO starts to trust Shadowy again, putting him in theideal situation to be manipulated. Carol and Gar and everyone else would thinkhis new friend was evil, so KO can’t tell them he’s visiting Shadowy. Shadowywants to fix this, so maybe it’s okay for him to take a few hair and salivasamples. Both want KO to use this power responsibly, so maybe he’d considerpracticing with it… just a little…

But Shadowy isn’t Venomous, so he messed up and none of thathappened. It would have been so cool,though.

Since Ven and Shadowy are not the same person, they must berelated. I only call them brothers for convenience, they could be cousins orsomething.

Where does Laser fit into this? Well, he’s not dead. Acharacter isn’t confirmed dead if nobody finds the body. And it doesn’t makesense for him to have said “screw this” and gone off to chill on a tropicalisland for the past six to eleven years without letting anyone know he wasokay. He must still be relevant. “Where did Laser go?” and “Where did Shadowycome from?” are questions that easily answer one another.

Both the blue and green orbs activated in the “Let’s Take aMoment” flashback. It’s possible the red orb also activated, removing Laser’spowers. Laser is clearly KO’s father. Children tend to inherit their powersfrom their parents. Shadowy wants KO’s power, but we don’t know the reason. Laserhas a reason, though. Them being the same person would fill in that blank verynicely.

While Shadowy is morecarefree and goofy than Laser, Shadowy isn’t under the pressure of Being a GoodExample, Not Disappointing Foxtail, and Not Blowing His Cover. I’m much morepolite and formal at my job than I am at home. This difference in personalitycan likely be chalked up to a difference in environment. Goofy isn’t inherentlya heroic trait either, Boxman is very goofy but he is absolutely a villain.

I don’t see any evidence for the Laser=Ven idea. While theirpersonalities are similar, it’s possible that’s just due to being raised in thesame environment. Sure, Ven has something to do with turbo power, but hisinterest in KO specifically is minimal, even though KO is apparently a sourceof it. He doesn’t seem to prioritize antagonizing KO over Rad or Enid. He hasno reason to attack the Plaza or its members other than to have fun withBoxman. We haven’t seen him interact with or comment on Carol. His opinion onP.O.I.N.T. seems to be wholly negative instead of wistful or bittersweet. Therearen’t enough strings linking the two for me to think they’re the same person.

Laserblast is Shadowy Figure, and that person is Venomous’brother. “Shadowblast” wants KO’s power so he can restore his own. But thepower he wants isn’t just turbo power. In “Boxman Crashes”, Venbecame more snakelike when he lost his temper. Ven has shapeshifting abilities,but he doesn’t use them a lot because he fights with science instead of hisbody. His brother Shadowy may have also had shapeshifting abilities. But sinceShadowy is a physical fighter, hewould have had more incentive to train and improve his powers.

Perhaps he got so good at shapeshifting he could change intoa human form?

And that is where“Laserblast” comes from. No turbo power, no two identities housed in one body,just regular-ass shapeshifting and a whole lot of lies.

KO’s eyes are typically brown (like Carol’s?), but have beenred, purple, both, or a mix when influenced by turbo power.

Maybe Shadowy hadpurple eyes and tried to change them to red to match Laser’s visor beam, butcouldn’t do it fully? Laser always hid his eyes because one was stuck atpurple. We could see this heterochromia in modern day Shadowy and that will beThe Big Reveal.

But why wouldShadowy undergo such a dramatic change for such a long period of time?

My theory is that Ven and Shadowy are from a formerlypowerful villain family. Shadowy had a mission to infiltrate P.O.I.N.T., butcouldn’t complete it because he lost his powers and permanently reverted to hisoriginal form (except possibly for his red eye). His failure disgraced thefamily. Ven often wears a hat and glasses in public and Shadowy Figure wears ahood because they don’t want to be recognized as members of the disgracedfamily.

Shadowy wants his powers back so he doesn’t have to sneakaround everywhere. Perhaps he even wants to become Laser again, to make up astory about why he was gone so long and return to his former friends. Cob knowshis family won’t take him back.

Shadowy had major shapeshifting abilities, while Carol hasnone. This gives KO minor shapeshifting abilities. Because the abilities are sominor (and possibly because he doesn’t know he has them), they only manifestwhen boosted by turbo power. We can see this in “You’re Level 100”, when KO wasusing turbo power before TKO had fully formed. His eyes, teeth, and claws areclearly different.

KO’s minor shifting powers with enough turbonic energyshould get Shadowy back to his original ability level.

“But David!” you ask. “If Shadowy’s power is onlyshapeshifting, then where does KO’s turbo power come from?”

It comes from Carol. And I know that sounds like a reach,but hear me out. Carol can mimic any combat move she sees. We see this mostoften when she copies Gar’s signature move. But it’s not your standard elbowattack- it also emits a pink energy. This suggests Carol could mimic otherenergy emitting moves.

Remember that turbo collar Ven made for Fink? It worked very well! The only reason it stopped was because it ran out of power. There weren’t any glitches or malfunctions. That means it probably isn’t the first iteration of this project. Perhaps he’s had prototypes for years and years, but hardly made useof them because he a) didn’t have a stable glorb supply, b) doesn’t dohand-to-hand combat himself, and/or c) didn’t trust anyone he might have beenworking with to use it. But he let Fink have it because she’s loyal and theynow have access to Boxman’s glorbs.

The tree under the Plaza is a source of glorbs. Presumablythere’s another one somewhere else underground, as suggested by the glorbcluster Gar sealed up in “GarQuest”. There are likely more of them scatteredacross the world. If we’ve noticedthe similarity between glorbs and the colored orbs, P.O.I.N.T. may have too.Carol’s new outfit in the “GarQuest” flashback suggests she still did somenon-secret hero work after Laser’s death, presumably until she realized she waspregnant. I think she was sent on a mission to make sure a glorb tree didn’tfall under villain control, and got in a fight when she arrived; perhapsagainst Venomous himself, perhaps against someone he used to test the collar on.If Carol fought a collar-powered villain while in a glorb-rich environment, shecould have used her ability to temporarily go turbo herself.

Which could do odd things to a fetus.

While KO has a weaker version of his father’s power, he alsohas a weaker version of his mother’s. “Copycat” becomes “Imprint”. He can copyan energy-emitting ability… but only once, and then he’s stuck with it.Normally he wouldn’t have been able to do this until after he was born, butsince he was essentially soaked inturbo power, he imprinted early.

This would explain why his standard power fist is blue- it’sthe color of a normal glorb. Only under special circumstances can he use theturbo version. It might also be why PKO’s headband and wristbands are blue.

That’s why Carol has no fucking clue what’s going on withher kid. It wasn’t a particularly memorable mission, and she was focused on hergrief. She has no reason to connect it to KO’s situation six to eleven yearslater. Maybe now that Foxtail’s done a heel face turn we can get access to someold mission files.

I’d say, “this is a bit complex for a children’s cartoon”,but Gravity Falls and Steven Universe pulled off some wild shit. It couldhappen!

This was probably way more of a reply than either of us were expecting, haha. But that’s my take on things! Y’all are welcome to bring up new evidence, alternate theories, corrections, etc.

[deactivated4179291]

The Cure - Part 6 (H.S AU) - “Facing the Wall”

Maverie’s POV

I put as much distance between Harry’s sleeping space, and myself as humanly possible in the allotted amount of square inches. As if being on the other side of the room wasn’t enough, with my knuckles against the cold stone floor and my cheek in my palm, I laid my head to rest facing the wall. I always separated myself from others when I wanted to keep to myself, and I was hoping they would take the hint. As my eyelids fluttered closed, I pulled the blanket closer as my skin was prickled by the cold of the ground beneath me.

And just as my tired body was about to fall to it’s unconscious state – just as I was about to begin dreaming – the muffled scuff of boots tapping against the polished surface stopping just beside my figure. I didn’t bother to look and see who it was – I thought I had made it clear by my position that I wished to be alone right now. But the strangest of this occurrence actions was when one large, cold hand wedged itself between my neck, and the empty space where it hovered from the floor before lifting my head gently. I heard the friction of an object being slid underneath, and my head was left resting on a pillow, just as I fell asleep against the soft cotton.

Light shining through the open door brought my eyes open in the morning. I groggily pushed away the thick blanket, running my fingers through my bed-head. I was pleased to discover that Harry was not in sight, and quickly spotted Mason, who was cleaning a pair of handguns surely to be used for our little training session today, while he knelt on the ground in his tattered old jeans. Mason and I came to an agreement – I help him improve his shooting skills, and he trains me in both hand-to-hand combat and how to use a knife. ‘How to use a knife’ meaning not only how to fight with a blade as your weapon, but how to throw a blade, which to me was quite exciting.

Knowing all that he had been through at such a vulnerable age made me feel as though I should mourn his very existence. I often found myself dreaming of a different world for him, and his pure heart. Most likely, it was a world much like the one that existed up until the day on which I was born.

Mitch and Addilyn seemed to be strategizing our next moves as they were sat side-by-side with our maps and notes as provided by the Embassy. Mitch must have sensed my movement, as our eyes met briefly. His expression read indifferent, though it wasn’t the usual icy glare I would receive from him. Hope surged through me at the thought that maybe he was starting to find me, dare I say, likeable. My feet dragged past them as I held Mitch’s eyes from my head that rotated above my shoulder whilst I viewed him sideways. I stopped in front of Mason, and dropped down to my knees slowly, sliding to ret my weight on my calves with my bare toes levering me in place. Even before he sent me his gleaming heartfelt smile I had a feeling that he was the one who placed the pillow beneath my head last night.

“Morning sleepyhead,” he said with a light chuckle. I rolled my eyes, knowing that I somehow managed to sleep in late today.

“Morning,” I said sleepily, with a tired smile. Leaning forward, with my palm holding me up I grab one set of the sorted pieces of a gun, and begin to reassemble it. I clear my throat to rid myself of that scratch that comes over my vocal chords in the morning, before speaking.

“Thank you…for last night. You didn’t have to do that, really.” His smile fades and is replaced with a puzzled expression, complete with furrowed eyebrows that lead to dazed eyes and slightly parted lips.

“Oh!” his face lights up with comprehension, and he smiles, “you mean the rock – yeah, no problem,” no…not what I meant, Mason, “Man the look on Harry’s face…” he chuckles shaking his head, making me smile at the memory of Harry in his stupor at my display. The very though alone sent a jolt of pride through me, yet I blushed as I realized Mason was trying to say he was proud of me. Maybe he was just too shy to admit that it was he who came to my aid just ten hours ago, and I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable so I dropped the thought all together.

“So, where exactly are we going to train today, because if we just shoot our guns outside this place all willy-nilly…well, you know – they’ll hear it.” I say, as I hand him back the gun, struggling to do so in the confinement of the metal braces I was wearing. Wearing these damn things was getting really old, really fast.

“Well, my mom said there should be a sheriff station about a mile from here. She’s willing to take us, if you’re willing to make the trip.”

“Are you kidding?” I scrunch my brows at him but do so with a smile, “that sounds perfect,” I say.

The mile long trek with Mason and Addilyn was filled with the shuffle of our feet against the road, and the light conversation Addilyn held with me. It almost felt like an interrogation – one final check to make sure she wanted to allow her son and I to be friends. I don’t blame her – you can never be too safe nowadays, but I also felt as though I had demonstrated at least some form of kindness towards him amidst the many moments we had shared. Either way, I answered each query that she hit me with.

“So how did the Embassy find you?”

“Where’d you learn to shoot so well?”

and of course, “why did they send you out to journey to D.C alone?” – and there it was. The million dollar question that I was certain had run through all of their thoughts at one point or another. The answer was fairly simple – many of the soldiers that guarded and went on raids for the Embassy had long lost hope of a cure, and the men and women in uniform who believed it could be done were sent on another mission before I could even express my gratitude for their not shooting me in the abandoned mall.

As we approached the small brick building surrounded by the chain-link fence, I took note of both the truck, and the old squad car parked in the lot – which looked to be possible to fix up and have running again, and wondered if somehow Harry could be persuaded into letting me try. Doubt sunk in, so I dismissed the idea, as we swung open the door to the station and begin sweeping the place for roamers. Mason entered first, and before I could follow his mother stopped me with a gentle, yet strong hand on my shoulder. I turn to her, expecting her to speak, and when she finally does, she suddenly looks glum.

“I just want to say I’m sorry…on Harry’s behalf – he has too much damn pride to admit it but I know deep down inside he still has feelings. No matter how hard he tries to burry them, and covers his guilt for what he did to you last night with pride, he’s really screaming about how ashamed he is on the inside.”

I take in her solemn slanted frown, and nod in response, wiping my now sweat-dampened palms on the rough denim of my jeans. “Thank you…but, with all do respect ma’am, if Harry really felt that way, he would have at least done something to prove he felt such a thing.”

“Maybe he already did,” she sighed, and slipped inside the building before I could ask her what she meant. What she was referring to. As far as I was concerned, Harry hadn’t done jack shit to redeem himself in terms of where he stood with me.

Working with Mason to improve his aim wasn’t as grueling of a task as one might think. He listened very well to instruction and took direction as he went, and I was quite proud with the extent to which he had improved. Night was now falling upon us as we made it back to the warehouse. My body didn’t even react to the sight of chestnut curls dancing over broad shoulders, as Harry scowled at us as if we were children he had caught us breaking some sort of rule. The veins in his arms bulged as they crossed in front of his sturdy chest.

“Relax, Harry,” Addilyn slipped in front of me, blocking Harry from both Mason and I, “We were just working on Mason’s shooting skills, okay?” His lips press to a thin line, but he forced a nod. As he sauntered away, Mason followed and Mitch approached me as he loaded what used to be my shotgun.

“Can I tell you a story?” he asks as his eyes stay trained to the rounds in his hand, while he places them inside the firearm. “Sure,” I say quietly, with a cross-armed shrug. “Let’s just say, a while ago, there was someone that I cared about. And in this world, all caring about people does is get you killed.” My eyes widen slightly at his bold confession, while he quietly strolls away, keeping his head down. Harry’s suspicious green eyes were what pulled me back to reality, as my face hardened, and I returned to where I slept last night, and just lied down, facing the wall just as I’d done before. I turn my head over my shoulder just to see if he’s still looking, and when I find that he is, his expression has changed. 

His face has grown soft , and though I think for a fleeting moment that maybe Addilyn’s right – maybe he feels bad for his behavior last night, I remind myself that this was Harry. The one who didn’t give a damn about feelings. The one who didn’t give a damn about me. I scowled at him, before staring at the wall again, and in a moment frustration and shove the pillow away forcefully sliding it away from me, and with a huff rest my head against my hand, and my hand against the floor. The last thing I remember from the night was the feeling deep inside my chest that caused me to let out a small bundle of tears – I thought about how much I missed my family. I thought about how badly I couldn’t wait to be reunited with them once this was all over.

[blogaaron2629]

Critical Analysis

Massively Multiplayer Dark Play: Treacherous Play in EVE Online

Marcus Carter

The author, Marcus Carter, is a Lecturer in Digital Cultures at the University of Sydney. He’s received a PhD in Game Design/Human Computer Interaction on the article, “Massively Multiplayer Dark Play: Treacherous Play in EVE Online”, which is the article I’ve chosen for my critical analysis. The author has also studied other strategic wargames as well as publish other articles that are related to the field. As well as addressing his issues, methods and arguments in the article clearly, his credibility can be justified by his qualifications and publications.

I am examining the two pages in the article where the author interviews twenty-two participants to receive a better understanding of why players participate and commit to the dark gameplay of deception, betrayal and theft in EVE Online (CCP Games 2003). The participants were interviewed based on questions that highlights the degree of dark play that is achieved by them. They were first individually asked personal questions such as age, professions and player history as an opportunity to stimulate spontaneous thoughts and information. The interview goes on to where he asked a couple of participants the elaborate difficulty required to scam in their opinion. Participant 21 replied that talking is the key to scamming as it gives a sense of trust while leading victims to their downfall. This participant’s response identifies the management of interpersonal relationships which is a crucial skill in scamming. Participant 8 mentioned that not everyone could scam and continues saying that lying well is important but also keeping track of everything you and the victim say would be a better attempt in maintaining the lies. This underlines that players feel that there is effort and work required to pull off scams. Participants later discussed their satisfaction and appeal indulging in dark play. Participant 12 acknowledges that it’s all about politics and interactions. The participant goes on to say that the scams he does requires social engineering and that he feels rewarded with a sense of pride and superiority when results are achieved.

The author then brings out his argument stating that dark play of deception, betrayal and theft are all a form of player-vs-player combat where social skills are the weapons and that it’s a rather fruitful concept and may contribute to a positive and unique experience of gameplay. Participant 1 talked about his first few experiences in scamming and mentioned that he learned much about conversational dynamics which he later realised that it plays a major role as his scams became more intricate. The author continues with saying most of the participants are fully aware of their social skills playing a crucial role in the outcome of their scams. Through the participants, the author identifies the fun of dark play and relates it to most games as players strive to level up and be better in which case EVE Online players mercilessly use their experience and deception to improve their scams.

This segment of the article finishes the interview and concludes that most of the participants enjoy the freedom and features of the game as well as further understanding social skills and the application for it online and offline.

 From the interviews, the author’s arguments are notably supported by the participants response of their understanding of the game revolving around social skills being part of the dark gameplay experience. My opinion looks at most current multiplayer games which usually has a report feature where a server or game manager can review a player whose been reported for bad conduct and have them banned or their account suspended for a period if they chose to. This feature exists to give players equal rights and fair gameplay. I do however agree to an extent that understanding, improving and applying social skills is important and fruitful, but dark gameplay does add a sense of frustration for the unfortunate victims that most likely quit the game after being mercilessly scammed. Based of what the participants have said, it may be fun being the scammer but on the opposite side, having to lose all your in-game currency and items at a single moment doesn’t sound too fun.

I mentioned above that I do agree with the author about the understanding and application of social skills and how in some ways can be a good thing. Participant 1 also mentioned how the application of social skills he learned through the game later helped him out in his everyday life. He mentioned how he started playing the game when he was in high school and how he wasn’t very popular. He continues with saying that his time spent in the game being scammed and later becoming a scammer himself has had an impact on his personal life. He said that he wasn’t malicious in real life and that the game helped him to be more sociable as well as lose his social anxiety. In my opinion, there can be both positive and negative effects that can influence a player. Dark play may also influence players to develop a negative social growth. Take violent video games for example where aggressive behaviour has been imbedded into players due to the violent content of the game.

In conclusion, this segment of the article captures and highlights some interesting points of a different play style that affects players. The author’s argument was very much supported by the response of the participants who enjoy the game. I do however can’t fully agree to the playstyle but respect it enough to consider it a fun game where players can enjoy themselves. The game itself delivers diverse playstyle and creative gameplay which stimulates players and makes them hunger for more. As a games artist, it’s quite intriguing to hear the experience of player’s enjoyment of the game along with what engages them to commit to it.

Reference:

Carter, M. (2015). Massively Multiplayer Dark Play: Treacherous Play in EVE Online. In: Mortensen, T. E., Linderoth, J., Brown, A., eds. The Dark Side of Game Play, 1st ed. New York: Routledge, pp. 197-198.

CCP Games 2003, EVE Online, digital download, Microsoft Windows