by Moorgard on 2001-08-15
We pay $9.89 per month to play EverQuest--some pay a lot more than that. Add to that the price of of the original game and two expansions, and that's a significant amount of cash we've forked over to Verant. So Verant owes us a lot, right?In his recent editorial, Keltoth took issue with Absor's assertion that "people are more inclined to tell us about the [bugs] that affect them negatively and not the ones that make things easier for them."
Keltoth's response was to ask the question "What's in it for the player to report such 'favorable' bugs?" He then relates a story about a bug he reported in hopes of gaining a title or some other reward for his efforts, and recounts his disappointment at only receiving a thank-you from the GM staff. He asserts that he "will not be reporting any further non-harmful bugs to Verant."
If you read through the responses to his editorial, Keltoth obviously has a lot of people agreeing with him.
But I'm not among them.
Sure, Verant owes us certain things. Among them:
Protection of our character data - If I ever log in and get a message like "Sorry, our server crashed and your character is gone--you'll have to start over," I can guarantee you that I'll take my business elsewhere.
Fresh content - If we were stuck in the "old world" of Antonica/Faydwer/Odus with ykeshas and rubicite, most all of us would have moved on long ago. Kunark, Velious, and various new zones--along with countless quests and items--have kept the game moving and have held our interest most of the time. Shadows of Luclin will be another shot in the arm.
Challenge - Cadosong, a bard on the Brell Serilis server, wrote to us saying that the challenge of EQ is the game's true reward. "It's Verant's ability to make us work for the things we so much want in EQ (be it experience, items, or fame) that makes the game so interesting. If something (or someone) makes it easier for us to get to our goal, then our goal is somewhat diminished. It will have less value to our own eyes." Bugs and exploits get in the way of this challenge, in Cadosong's eyes.
Customer service - This is going to be a sticky point. With 400,000 people playing this game, not everyone is going to get the solution they want, when they want it. Expecting the GM staff to simply take every player's word for every bad thing that they say has happened simply isn't realistic. And while all of us have our own sob stories or know someone else who does, the amount of legitimate gripes against Verant that have absolutely no extenuating circumstances (i.e. players doing something questionable that results in a problem) are pretty slim. Argue with me if you want, but I'd say that most of the GM staff does their best to help the players. It's kind of like the little kid who complains that god doesn't answer his prayers, and his mommy tells him, "He did answer you, son. He just said no."
Okay, I forgot how much I hated that sappy story. Anyway...
For all of this and other things that Verant owes us, what do we owe them? Just the monthy subscription fee? All that stuff we don't read when we click the "Accept" button so that we can play the game? Or something more?
Well, I'd argue that we owe them honesty, good faith, and the benefit of the doubt sometimes. There is a common perception (in America, at least) that it's okay to screw over big companies if you can get away with it. Well, despite the ownership of Sony, Verant is really just a collection of folks like you and me who love gaming and want to have fun in a fantasy environment. Can you get away with screwing them over? Maybe. But if you do, shame on you.
Why? Because, dear reader, when you screw over Verant by exploiting a bug--or by refusing to report one--you don't, in fact, screw over Verant. You screw over your fellow players. And guess what? Just like in the real world, you do owe your fellow players some things.
You owe them truthfulness. You owe them civility. You owe them courtesy. You owe them the same kind of treatment you'd like to receive yourself--in real life or in the game.
If you only look out for what the game--or Verant--owes you, you're missing 3/4 of the joy that EverQuest can bring. I don't know about you, but Verant doesn't control whether or not I have fun when I log on to EverQuest. Only I get to control that.
For $9.89 per month, Verant owes you a world. But by and large, the responsibility for making that world a worthwhile place to be falls squarely on the shoulders of you and me.