Player Identity

While working on some new ideas for characters in Horizon Station I started kicking around the concept of player identity in online roleplaying games. At the moment, the majority of games do nothing to tie a player's identity to that of his character, at least within the confines of the game.

I'm not advocating that players have their names tied to that of their characters, but I do believe that the ability to start new characters at any time causes more harm than it does good. True anonymity seems to bring out the worst in otherwise reasonable people, leading to the rise of the grief player and all the difficulties that entails.

What I'm suggesting is that characters be tied to their players through the use of some in-game mechanism, such as a family or clan name. In Horizon Station for instance, I'm kicking around the idea of giving each player their own 'genetic code' from which all their characters will be derived. This gives players the ability to determine which characters share a common player, bringing accountability back to the gaming table.

There are those, naturally, who are opposed to the idea with vehemence last seen during the height of the Spanish Inquisition. It is, however, an idea that's time has come. As much as I'd like to believe that such a reputation-tracking device is unnecessary, reality has smacked me about the head and neck one too many times for me to swallow that line.

To soothe the ruffled feathers of those that are opposed to the idea for roleplaying reasons, I'd like to offer a few counter arguments. I'm sure these won't put all doubts to rest, but that's what that forum link down there is all about, right?

First, I have to say that the ability to keep tabs on the player behind characters is going to make life a lot simpler for non-griefers. Just for reporting reasons, it'll be a lot easier to say "The characters of player 15632 have been causing problems" than "Character A, Character C, Character Q, Character Y, and Character P have all been harassing me."

Second, it provides protection to the community. Reputation is an important thing in any community, and even moreso online where identity can be so transient. Draconian as it sounds, the ability to determine which characters are likely to cause problems is good for the community at large.

Third, if implemented properly, the player-tag of a given character would be somewhat difficult to retrieve. This removes the urge to check the player identity for EVERY character you encounter, which will work to preserve an less-dilute roleplaying atmosphere. Yes, it would be possible to find out the player affiliation of every character in the game, but it would be an onerous task that just wouldn't be worth the effort in the long run.

Lastly, I think that this would add to the roleplaying atmosphere in general. In the real world, you don't escape the consequences of particularly malevolent choices by changing your clothes. Actions have reactions, and those reactions can follow you through hours, days, months, or the rest of your life. Why should things be so different in gaming? Why shouldn't miscreants and rabble-rousers be held accountable for their actions, not by impersonal game administrators, but by the very communities they have injured through their activities?

Perhaps most interestingly, the greatest stories I have ever read or written are tales of redemption: the rebirth of Scrooge on Christmas morning, Paul on the road to Damascus, the adventures of Thomas Covenant. With identity-switching so easy, players are deprived of the ability to be a part of these powerful stories. Perhaps when the players own up to what they do as characters, a few more scales will be lifted from a few more eyes.

As always, let me hear your howls.