Then, it was time for the duel. Kamber arranged it by first /pointing to his own shadowy Warlock's minion, then /pointing to DethKnight's minion, then repeating the sequence two or three times. Finally, Deth got the point and the two spectral bodyguards went at it, Kamber's winning easily, of course, but that wasn't the point. The point was, we were looking for ways to interact, and that was an obvious one, something that happens all the time within factions, but not so often between the two rival bands. When it was all over, we did a little /dance and sent Kamber on his way with a /bye, a /thank and another /bow.
On my solo run back to Tarren Mill, I pondered what had just happened. Here was a guy who, according to the game, should have been mercilessly roasting us to a crisp. And yet, he had stopped to offer his assistance and managed to provide us with an escort through dangerous territory. World of Warcraft does everything it can to keep players from one faction from helping those of the other. You're rewarded with Honor points for killing your enemies, and despite a long-promised Dishonor system to help prevent rampant slaughter, Blizzard has yet to deliver anything in that department. The artificial language barrier makes it difficult to even plead for mercy, except, perhaps, through emotes. In the end, it's easier to just kill.
And yet, that night in the Arathi Highlands we managed to overcome all those obstacles and form a little band of adventurers that knew no factional prejudices, able to overcome a language barrier and set aside what we'd been taught about each other, and find a way of overcoming a game mechanic that was meant to keep us apart. In order to find a way to work together, we had to make the game more than just the sum of its parts.
Player vs. player? For us, that night, the phrase had no meaning. Better yet, it had its meaning turned upside down. I know we're not the first or only players to have engaged in this kind of emergent gameplay, but it's rare enough to be of note. Help can come from the most unexpected place. Kamber, I /salute you once again.
Mark Wallace can be found on the web at Walkering.com. His book with Peter Ludlow, Only A Game: Online Worlds and the Virtual Journalist Who Knew Too Much, will be published by O'Reilly in 2006.
