Long gone are the days of video games being restricted to quarter-eating machines confined to convenience stores and pizzerias.  Nowadays there are games for personal computers, which go way beyond the likes of Pac Man and Asteroids.  Using online games, players can create entire alternate lives, which they act out along with other players, many of whom they have never even met face-to-face.  This style of game playing is dubbed “PvP,” or Player versus Player.  The games take place on a server that allows many people at once to play together in real time via an Internet connection.  Players can communicate with one another by typing text or in some instances the games have the capability to support players chatting through headphones with each other, similar to using a telephone.

Many online gamers get a kick out of knowing they’re playing against another human as opposed to a computer generated antagonist.  The enemies that the computer generates can often make veritable foes, capable of intrinsic defenses and cunning strategies.  This computer generated characters pale in comparison; however, to the thrill of knowing the defeated “toon” is representative of a living, breathing person.  A player can imagine the defeated player cringing in their computer chair, simmering in defeat.  There is simply no such satisfaction with a win over a computer-generated opponent.   

Serious gamers are often accused of living antisocial lives, but for many the great appeal of PvP servers is that it allows them to make friends and social contacts while enjoying an alternate world.  So although a person may be an awkward high school student or timid businessperson in the real world, these same people can enjoy the high status on a PvP server, which comes with achieving a powerful character.  In other words, a person can live a mediocre life devoid of excitement, but when this same person logs on to an online PvP game they may be regarded by the rest of the game community as a powerful warrior, magician, or perhaps even an orc.  After all, there’s nothing like going online after a long day at work and having characters of lower levels and status regard your character with respect.  For some people, this may be the only reverence they receive, so even if it’s the product of a fake world they will gladly accept it.

Player versus Player games aren’t solely about annihilating other characters either, as the social aspect of these games extends to forming buddy lists and guilds.  Players often team up and work together to solve various quests and adventures.  Immensely popular online PvP games such as World of Warcraft and Everquest involve complicated adventures that cannot be accomplished by one character alone; therefore the players must make online friends and allies in order to complete the quests.  These sorts of instances band the players together, forming a kinship likened to military comrades.  In fact, this sort of design is sheer marketing genius on the part of the game manufacturers.  Players who miss quests or who otherwise don’t log on during their usual gaming times will likely be answering to their online cohorts as to why they weren’t participating.  So this alternative online world not only allows players to wreak havoc, make friends, and to be venerated, but it also creates social groupings that give players a sense of belonging.  It’s no wonder video game addiction is a bona fide ailment, now being treated in detox centers spanning the globe.  For some PvP gamers, the game becomes their only real social outlet, a sort of replacement for their real lives.  There are documented cases of online game players having actual physical withdrawals from computer usage, characterized by agitation and trembling upon seeing a computer while in a detox program. 

Of course, the vast majority of online PvP players enjoy their gaming responsibly.  The fact that some people get hooked is a real testament to the brilliance behind this gaming format.  As technology advances, these sorts of games will become even more intricate in their design.  PvP servers allow for formats, which will likely be mainstay facets for video games, even as technological advances reveal new and interesting methods of online gaming.