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Jazuela · 09-02-2007, 09:16 AM

I don't believe there is any way to be totally and completely "fair" - if you are talking about equitable investment in your game-playing. People who don't have time to play, will never get the real-world experience of playing, that people who -do- have time to play. People who can't afford to pay for perks, will never get the perks that people who can afford to pay for them. In free games, *someone* always has more time than others to flesh out their character, train more with their skills, learn the terrain - etc. Someone will always have that OOC advantage. In pay-to-play games where there are no "extra" costs, it'll be exactly the same. Someone will always have paid for more time than someone else, simply because they have more time to spend for the money they paid.

Even limiting the time you're allowed to play doesn't work; here's why.

GameX gives each player 6 hours per day, and can carry hours over for up to 60 hours maximum. Joe is unemployed and lives in his mom's house. He has a light load at high school and he's a straight A student with little-to-no need for homework. He has 6 hours to blow every day on GameX, which he does. He gets involved in the RP plotlines, people know his character well, and he's always included in the game-world's big parties. Sue is a new mom and a graduate student of medicine, with an enormous workload. She can play on weekends, and once in awhile, she can add an hour mid-week while her newborn daughter is sleeping. Not many people know her character. But the ones who do, take ALL her time in the game for RP, because they know that her time is scarce. So Sue rarely if ever gets to go out and explore the game world, because she's always stuck in the game's tavern being caught up on what everyone else has been doing all week.

This is a pretty typical situation in games; someone will -always- feel left out, and someone will -always- get to do all the neat stuff. It's a matter of timing, and no game admin can do anything about it, no matter how they charge, or if they charge.

09-02-2007, 09:16 AM	#3
Jazuela Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: New England Posts: 849	Re: What Does "Fair" Mean? I don't believe there is any way to be totally and completely "fair" - if you are talking about equitable investment in your game-playing. People who don't have time to play, will never get the real-world experience of playing, that people who -do- have time to play. People who can't afford to pay for perks, will never get the perks that people who can afford to pay for them. In free games, someone always has more time than others to flesh out their character, train more with their skills, learn the terrain - etc. Someone will always have that OOC advantage. In pay-to-play games where there are no "extra" costs, it'll be exactly the same. Someone will always have paid for more time than someone else, simply because they have more time to spend for the money they paid. Even limiting the time you're allowed to play doesn't work; here's why. GameX gives each player 6 hours per day, and can carry hours over for up to 60 hours maximum. Joe is unemployed and lives in his mom's house. He has a light load at high school and he's a straight A student with little-to-no need for homework. He has 6 hours to blow every day on GameX, which he does. He gets involved in the RP plotlines, people know his character well, and he's always included in the game-world's big parties. Sue is a new mom and a graduate student of medicine, with an enormous workload. She can play on weekends, and once in awhile, she can add an hour mid-week while her newborn daughter is sleeping. Not many people know her character. But the ones who do, take ALL her time in the game for RP, because they know that her time is scarce. So Sue rarely if ever gets to go out and explore the game world, because she's always stuck in the game's tavern being caught up on what everyone else has been doing all week. This is a pretty typical situation in games; someone will -always- feel left out, and someone will -always- get to do all the neat stuff. It's a matter of timing, and no game admin can do anything about it, no matter how they charge, or if they charge.