On Tue, 16 Nov 1999, Brangwen wrote:
> > From: <kim@...>
> > equipment you can obtain. We've got a bunch of people who
> > like to play the work-for-everything-you-get game, and a
> > bunch of people who like to play the monty-haul-start-off-
> > with-the-best-of-everything game.
>
> Okay, let me ask you this then: Suppose someone I know (a college student)
> has a fancy car that was given to him by his well to do parents. Now I don't
> own a car like this but would like to, and could certainly do so, if I so
> choose, because I've already gone to college and have a career making a very
> nice salary (i.e. "paid my dues"). SO...If we take this line of thinking
> then it would be fair or kind for me to say he doesn't deserve the car
> because he didn't earn it, and so SHOULDN'T have it??? I don't think so.
> (just a little playing the D Advocate here)
I'm speaking in universal generalities. One student having a
car given to him by his parents is pretty irrelevant. OTOH,
if 80% of the students at a college have expensive cars given
to them by their parents, then that may be a factor in your
decision to (not) attend that college. It alters the living
(playing) environment, to the dislike of some and to the like
of others.
Given the half-hearted attempts Verant has made to thwart
twinking, they've legitimized the viewpoint that you SHOULDN'T
have expensive cars given to you by well-to-do parents in this
game. I don't have a problem with people who want to twink.
I do have a problem with them wanting to do it in a game where
the designers don't want them to twink. IMHO the ideal
solution given infinite resources would be to have some
servers a twink-fest, and others twink-free, to support both
ends of the spectrum.
> That aside, please remember that we each have our own opinion and are
> entitled to those opinions. Its OKAY if people disagree with your opinion
> regardless of the issue at hand (sometimes I have to remind myself of that).
> What people seem to be objecting to, IMO, is how mean-sounding it was for
> that person to say "... you don't deserve...." etc (and I know that person
> probably didn't mean it to come across as harsh as it sounded???). BUT,
Um, if there is nothing in the game that you don't deserve,
then there is no advancement, and you have the ultimate
monty-haul game. It may sound harsh to say you don't deserve
something at a certain level, but that's the fundamental basis
of advancement in a level-based roleplaying game. If you
don't like it, then you probably shouldn't be playing an
advancement-based RPG.
--
John H. Kim
kim@...