Griefer
Encyclopedia
A griefer is a player
in a multiplayer video game that deliberately irritates and harasses other players.
group.
communities, since griefers often cannot be deterred by penalties related to in-game goals.
Exact griefing methods differ from game to game. Common methods include:
The term is sometimes applied more generally to mean a person who uses the internet to cause distress to others as a prank, or to intentionally inflict harm, as when it was used to describe an incident in March 2008, when malicious users posted seizure
-inducing animations on epilepsy
forums.
approach, where players can report griefing. Malicious players are then red-flagged, and are then dealt with at a gamemaster's discretion. As many as 25% of customer support calls to companies operating online games deal specifically with griefing.
Blizzard Entertainment
has enacted software components and rules for its forums to combat griefing. To prevent non-consensual attacks between players, some games such as Ultima Online
have created separate servers for those who wish to be able to attack anyone at anytime, and for those who do not.
When Everquest
was released, Sony included a PvP-switch where people could fight each other only if they had enabled that option. This was done in order to prevent the player-killing that was driving people away from Ultima Online, which at that time had no protection on any of its servers.
Second Life
bans harassment (defined as being rude or threatening, making unwelcome sexual advances, or performing activities likely to annoy or alarm somebody) and assault (shooting, pushing, or shoving in a safe area, or creating scripts/scripted objects that target another user and hinder their enjoyment of Second Life) in its community standards. Sanctions include warnings, suspension from Second Life, or being banned altogether.
Player (game)
A player of a game is a participant therein. The term 'player' is used with this same meaning both in game theory and in ordinary recreational games....
in a multiplayer video game that deliberately irritates and harasses other players.
History
The term was applied to online, multiplayer computer games by the year 2000 or earlier, as illustrated by postings to the rec.games.computer.ultima.online USENETUsenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
group.
Overview
A griefer is a player who does things in a game to deliberately cause annoyance ("grief" in the sense of "giving someone grief") for the griefer's own enjoyment. Such a player is a particular nuisance in online gamingOnline game
An online game is a game played over some form of computer network. This almost always means the Internet or equivalent technology, but games have always used whatever technology was current: modems before the Internet, and hard wired terminals before modems...
communities, since griefers often cannot be deterred by penalties related to in-game goals.
Exact griefing methods differ from game to game. Common methods include:
- Player killing in games that do not have separate areas, or an option, to keep those who want this type of gameplay from attacking those who do not. This does not include games that are designed with constant player combat in mind.
- Intentional friendly fireFriendly fireFriendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
or deliberately performing actions detrimental to team members' game performance, including wasting key game elements and colluding with the opposition (referred to as "ghosting") - Any methods of reversing another player's progress (such as randomly destroying other player's creations in MinecraftMinecraftMinecraft is a sandbox-building independent video game written in Java originally by Swedish creator Markus "Notch" Persson and now by his company, Mojang, formed from the proceeds of the game. It was released as an alpha on May 17, 2009, with a beta version on December 20, 2010...
or TerrariaTerrariaTerraria is an action-adventure/RPG indie game released by independent game studio Re-Logic. The game features exploration, crafting, building structures and combat with a variety of creatures...
) - Written and/or verbal insults, false accusations of cheating/griefing
- Stealing other players' items and/or experienceKill stealingIn online games and especially first-person shooter games, MMORPGs and MUDs, kill stealing is the practice of arranging to get credit for killing an enemy, when it should have clearly been another player's kill. An example is when a player in a first-person shooter whittles an enemy's health down...
(when done for the purpose of harassment, not self-gain) - Spamming
- Camping at a corpse or area to kill someone as soon as they resurrect
- Acting out-of-character in a role-play setting
- Luring many monsters or one big one to chase the griefer and then rushing to where others are, for the purpose of getting other people killed by this surprise mass of monsters. The line of monsters in pursuit looks like a train, and hence this is sometimes called "training".
- Blocking another player's way so they cannot move or get out of a particular area, or access an in-game resource (such as a non-player characterNon-player characterA non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
) - Creating multiple subscription accounts
- Deliberately blocking shots from your own team, so they can not damage the enemy.
- Destroying creations by other players
The term is sometimes applied more generally to mean a person who uses the internet to cause distress to others as a prank, or to intentionally inflict harm, as when it was used to describe an incident in March 2008, when malicious users posted seizure
Seizure
An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
-inducing animations on epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
forums.
Combating griefers
Many subscription-based games actively oppose griefers, since they drive away business. It is common for developers to release server-side upgrades and patches to annul griefing methods. Many online games employ gamemasters that reprimand offenders. Others have opted for a crowdsourcingCrowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing is the act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to a group of people or community through an open call....
approach, where players can report griefing. Malicious players are then red-flagged, and are then dealt with at a gamemaster's discretion. As many as 25% of customer support calls to companies operating online games deal specifically with griefing.
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded on February 8, 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce and currently owned by French company Activision Blizzard...
has enacted software components and rules for its forums to combat griefing. To prevent non-consensual attacks between players, some games such as Ultima Online
Ultima Online
Ultima Online is a graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing game , released on September 24, 1997, by Origin Systems. It was instrumental to the development of the genre, and is still running today...
have created separate servers for those who wish to be able to attack anyone at anytime, and for those who do not.
When Everquest
EverQuest
EverQuest, often shortened to EQ, is a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game that was released on the 16th of March, 1999. The original design is credited to Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover, and Bill Trost...
was released, Sony included a PvP-switch where people could fight each other only if they had enabled that option. This was done in order to prevent the player-killing that was driving people away from Ultima Online, which at that time had no protection on any of its servers.
Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
bans harassment (defined as being rude or threatening, making unwelcome sexual advances, or performing activities likely to annoy or alarm somebody) and assault (shooting, pushing, or shoving in a safe area, or creating scripts/scripted objects that target another user and hinder their enjoyment of Second Life) in its community standards. Sanctions include warnings, suspension from Second Life, or being banned altogether.
External links
- Globe and Mail: Frontier justice: Can virtual worlds be civilized?
- "Ready, set, game: Learn how to keep video gaming safe and fun."
- Documented incident of griefing during a virtual interview, see also Anshe ChungAnshe ChungAnshe Chung is the main avatar of Ailin Graef in the online world Second Life. Referred to as the "Rockefeller of Second Life" by a CNN journalist, she has built an online business that engages in development, brokerage, and arbitrage of virtual land, items, and currencies, and has been featured...
- Research Paper on griefing. To view this PDF paper, the host website requires a subscription to the digital library.
- "Feature: The Griefer Within", GameProGameProGamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
. - Mutilated Furries, Flying Phalluses: Put the Blame on Griefers,, WIRED MAGAZINE: ISSUE 16.02
- Griefer Madness: Terrorizing Virtual Worlds
- Can you grief it? - feature article at VideoGamer.com.