February 2004

GParagonX - MMORPG Gamer
Conducted by CLIMaX

GParagonX hails from the land down under. But when she logs onto the internet she quickly assumes her role as a leading member of Bloodclaw Inc., a Planeshift economic guild. Together with members of the High Council of Bloodclaw, GPax, as she is called, have been busy building their guild while testing the game in its pre-alpha state, awaiting the day when it will be complete. In this interview GPax shares with us her insights on Planeshift and its future development, and how roleplaying gamers experience the act of becoming someone else in a fantastic world far, far away.
____________________________________________________________________BIO

_____________________________________________________________INTERVIEW

[CLIMaX] GPax, g'day! How did you get involved with Planeshift? Tell us about your experiences so far with Bloodclaw Inc., your Planeshift guild.

[GPax] Having used (correction - tried to use) pre-alpha products before, I was not going to be toodisappointed if it did not work. To my spriest, Planeshift worked first go! After spending some time to myself, learning the rope and reading how-to's and readme's, I started exploring and collecting crystals. I really enjoyed the complexity and structure of the game - it is a dauntingly large world to begin with - lots of areas to get lost in! The 3D engine was excellent and the people on-line quite nice.

After a week, I met a lovely dwarf by the name of Ciry. We spent a few days looking around, with Ciry showing me some likely spots for crystals andgenerally helping me out with the game. Ciry told me he was ina guild called Bloodclaw Inc, and introduced me to Natrina. I did not join straight away - I went to thewebsite, did some research and after a day, decided that Bloodclaw Inc was the guild for me! I love to be an individual, but the ideas and philosophy behind Bloodclaw, being mainly economic and neutral, were definately what I was interested in. After I caught up with Natrina again, she invited me to the guild. Since then, I have tried to help in any way I can to support the guild - and Bloodclaw has been a great support for me as well!

[GPax] To start with - I just think that men in general are happier to and find it easier to play computer games full stop. I have a few girlfriends who only play RPG's, however the majority play turn-based empire building games (like Civ, Sims, Age of Empires series). Most of them are happy to play FPS as well, but it would not be a preference. Most of these, by the way, have boyfriends or husbands who play FPS games all the time, so sometimes they only play these to be able to "spend time" with them.

I have never really been big on playing RPG's on the computer - my first and favourite experience will always be playing around a table with a group of friends. The closeness and instant communication (especially non-verbal) is what makes the RPG so exciting - you can actually BE the character you are playing. On a computer, some of that is taken away. I have play some of the Ultima series, but never in multi-player, and there is only so much fun you can have by yourself - even with NPC's. I like PlaneShift the same way I like Wolf3D - you can do a lot on your own, but to truely succeed, you need to play as a team. That brings back some of the old RPG experience and memories.

So from my experience, I would say that yes - most females would prefer RPG games to FPS, but it really depends on the gameplay. I have a lot of girlfriends playing Wolf3D now ;-}

[Climax] What is Planeshift all about? Describe for us what it's like to play the game in it's pre-alpha version. How will that change in the upcoming game release? And, what's happening with the other guilds of Planeshift? What sort of world is developing while the game devs toil away on new code? You're an IT person: can you give us any insights to what happening behind the scenes?

[GPax] Well.... Simply put, Planeshift is an interactive, multi-player world that people can join and be whatever they want to be!

The premise of Planeshift is a world where people can create a character and then develop that character in an interactive environment. The world develops and changes without interaction - i.e. day turns to night,
storms with thunder and lightning move in and out and creatures move about with a purpose.

The game in its pre-alpha stage is fairly limited, to be honest. There are some quests involving talking to NPC's (Non Player Characters) and the Crystal Hunt, which involves looking for a collecting crystals that spawn everywhere. Although this is fairly limited gameplay, the role-playing side of things has become Planeshift's strength - many people at this stage are content to act out their characters persona, which will become a big bonus in the next version...

Speaking of which - so many of us a really looking forward to the Crystal Blue version! Actual combat, being able to develop skill levels and use your professional skills will be a big plus! A lot of work has gone into the CB release of Planeshift, and whilst the fans will enjoy it, I can really see more people who are unaware of its potential coming into the fold. With more than a quest and crystal collection involved, this will be a excellent opportunity for Planeshift to shine.

The RPG side of the game will remain important, but I think that many FPS game players will be drawn to it as well. This is not to say that it will be to everyones liking, but to the majority of FPS players who enjoy team-based playing (CS, WolfET, etc.) this will be an extension of what they are already used to - just on a much grander scale. The ability to actually BE your character, be it a member of a guild, a freelance
adventurer or a sword-for-hire rounds out the average "I've got a big gun and can shoot everything that comes my way" kind of play. Many turn-based game players (Age of Empires, et al) will also enjoy the ability to grow your player from a basic "off the shelf" character to a well-defined, well armed machine!

The other main advantage of the Planeshift world is the formation of guilds. Like the word suggests, you can join a like-minded guild for adventure, profit, fun or simple slaughter. Belonging to guild provides some level of protection, as well as allowing you to converse and interact with many people from all over the world that have your mindset. The Bloodclaw Inc. guild is setup for profit - we look forward to being a major economic power in the CB release of Planeshift, but other guilds have another focus, from the the Explorers - who provide guidance and enjoy (as their name suggests) exploring and discovering new things, the Ordo Illuminatus - a shadowy but benign guild that seeks to learn everything to The Cabal - an evil, destructive and chaotic guild that seeks to bring the whole realm of Yliakum under its sway. No matter your temperment or alignment, there is a guild to suit your desire and help you achieve your goals!

[Climax] Planeshift will create a universe where a society of people evolves. It will include everything from politics to personal relationship, death and taxes. What has Bloodclaw Inc discussed regarding morality issues within the framework of Planeshift? Are there certain things, like theft and murder, that produced an extended discussion?

[GPax] Bloodclaw Inc, it's members as well as the High Council, has had many discussions regarding this issue. The guild at this stage is waiting to see what new forces and conditions are brought about by the next release of Planeshift, but I can see a few traits already showing, and based on human interaction (remember, we are role-playing here - there will always be a human element!) there are a number of things that can seen as certainties.

Mainly, the guild relationships will draw a parallel with personal (i.e. 1 on 1) relationships between characters. People, being who they are, will express themselves through their characters. Many people to being with will be wary of joining a guild - surrendering yourself for the good of the many is not something most people will do willingly. In fact, out of the 24 guilds already in place, only 2 are of the 'good' alignment, with another 2 of the 'chaotic good'. That leaves 20 guilds either neutral or evil in some way (Bloodclaw is lawful neutral) - just goes to show right off the number of people that are ready to fight for 'good'!

Attitude is important, as well as temperment. Whilst lost in the role-playing aspect of a game, it is good to be able to cast off the equirements of a regulated society like the one most of us live in and act in a manner that is either not like us or not becoming. Many people like to have characters that are nearly a diametric opposite of what they are like in real life! Not many people I know play role-playing games with a character that is like themselves in real-life - that would be too boring and ultimately uninteresting. So I see the fact that many people choose neutral of evil characters or dispositions in their characters as a good thing! Role-playing allows us to be something we are normally not - a pacifist, for example, can take pleasure in having a evil, bloodlusting character, knowing that the character is not real. It provides a kind of cartharsis, allowing behaviour that is not socially acceptable in real life to be played out in an arena that ultimately hurt no-one.

I am sure that there will be a number of social and psychological students and masters that will disagree with what I have just stated - many parallel's between violent video games and movies have been drawn over the last few years will real-life problems and incidents. The main factor that most of these people forget or refuse to acknowledge is that the majority of people can understand the difference between reality and
fantasy. I am good at driving a car in real-life, as well as racing around a track or city at high (i.e. deadly) speeds in a game. I know that when I am in my car, I cannot do the things the things that I can do in a game (most importantly, after a high-speed crash - in which I am uninjured - I cannot just press the 'Insert' key on my dashboard to repair my car and continue on). Some people (and I pity them) cannot see the difference, and these poor people do need help, but the absolute majority of those playing Planeshift (especially those I met so far) are rational, regular people, with a stable and secure view of the real world.

Bloodclaw Inc's discussions on death, morality, theft and murder are as far as I can see very tame and ordinary. Without going into too much detail, there are those in the guild who have what I call a 'rose-tinted' view. These believe in the undisputed 'goodness' of everyone, whether deserved, proven or not. A simplistic view at best, it assumes that everyone, regardless of who or what they are, would never deliberately hurt of damage another person for any reason and that everyone will be 'reasonable'. I would say that this is a minority - and am not personally displeased, as it is always good that have people of this viewpoint.However, I prefer to build on strength - even if this means sometimes having to resort to force or even violence. With as many guilds either neutral or evil in Planeshift, being nice would not get you far.

[Climax] Lately, we've seen increased activity by Australian politicians in the censorship arena. The game Grand Theft Auto 3 is now banned in Australia because of "violent content". What is the climate really like? Is Big Brother winning the hearts and minds of the public or do Australians view the government's activity as improper and undesirable?

[GPax] I will plead a little ignorance here, as I was unaware that this was happening - but this does answer your question, in a way.

I have found over the last few years in Australia, especially because (or even in spite) of our good relations with the great US of A, that many of our politicians are happy to meet the status quo. In reality, our politicians have a big say on censorship issues, but with the Internet, a lot of their well-meaning (if slightly stuffy) concern is not much of a problem. Any movie or game that is not available for sale here can be easily obtained over the 'net. I remember a little while ago visiting a friend and watching the movie 'Ken Park' - which is banned here in Australia - I was not particularly shocked or disturbed - I actually found it to be slightly stupid, truthfully. On the other hand, I can still remember an argument with a close friend over watching the Shawshank Redemption - they would not watch it because it was based on a book written by Stephen King! As anyone who has seen this movie (or read the novel) will attest, it is an uplifting story about the triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity - not a horror story by one of the best authors ever to grace the English language!

Censorship, like any other form of control, is taken too far in nearly every country in the world. Everyone has ideas about what is 'right' and what is 'wrong' - having someone tell me that I should not see something based on their opinion will always be wrong. But in the end it comes down to personal choice. Until the censors have a way of ensuring we cannot see what they do not want us us to see, I do not think it will be that much of an problem. When they do - well, Americans love their Freedom of Speech - complete and effective censorship will be like taking that freedom away.