The Will to Power

[dageir]

So we basically agree. The rules of power apply even if you are not aware of them. Thus the noob that ruins the other noobs house was better off not messing up the other
noobs house if the defending noob cry about it on the forums and some random griefer takes it upon himself to exact revenge. From a resource manangement view the attacker might have been better off
just trading with and helping the other noob with the eternal threat of violence in the back of both players minds.

[Patchouli_Knowledge]

I am not sure if I have anything to add to that, dageir, aside from the aggressor's actual purpose of instigating the conflict. Bullying others for the sake of doing so isn't going to help him much; extorting resource or forcing them off (or killing them) is actually something that does further their cause for their own good.

Something we haven't discussed is the forum itself as well as the direction of the metagame. The first thing that brought me into this thought it what happened to Emerald City. One post in particular is an example.

Playing haven and hearth just for farming crops, building autistic houses and posting screens of it it's seriously a waste of time

Note: This is my interpretation of his sentence and may or may not accurately reflect on his actual thoughts.

While ravenguard is just one individual, I an referencing him as the type of players that are highly combatant and PvP oriented and any farming, building, and crafting is only a mean to accomplishing a strong fighting force and playing the game in an immersive style is a waste of time. By doing so, he attempts to imprint his values onto the forum and gameflow. Also, if he was a more pragmatic individual rather than a whimsical one, then his word would actually have more meaning that his style is geared towards strength rather than subversion that he believes.

[Hasta]

So we basically agree. The rules of power apply even if you are not aware of them. Thus the noob that ruins the other noobs house was better off not messing up the other
noobs house if the defending noob cry about it on the forums and some random griefer takes it upon himself to exact revenge. From a resource manangement view the attacker might have been better off
just trading with and helping the other noob with the eternal threat of violence in the back of both players minds.

To rephrase for a more developed players past mid-game, as I've said somewhere in a thread about helping noobs - it is very much preferrable to be friendly to someone when you ensured your ability to bash their heads in, if necessary. I think this notion is a decent representation of pure Will to Power: having it but neither showing (directly) nor using it. Still, a pretty rare one, on a whole Haven world scale.

[dageir]

My musings are based on the assumption that every player is a rational being.
This is plainly a wrong assumption both in this game and in life. It would be an advantage if everyone were rational though.

[Hasta]

My musings are based on the assumption that every player is a rational being.
This is plainly a wrong assumption both in this game and in life. It would be an advantage if everyone were rational though.

I assume this refers to my latest comment. What is more rational than ensuring your own safety? Every single interaction between players in this game has potential dangers. If you're developed enough (i.e. have a considerable potential power), you may interact with other players more or less safely, having your potential power counteract potential dangers. Again, it applies as a rational basis for friendly interactions being safe. The more power you have, the more interactions are safe for you, and vise versa.

[dageir]

It was more a general statement.

[borka]

"I feel the joy of my brothers and sisters. Yet, there is something, deep inside of me, that yearns... for more."

"This earth, this tree, this piece of ground... it's mine."

"Owen has something in his chest, which he hides from me. It struck me, the other night, that he isn't always at home."

The Will to Greed