Fake Interview with WSM

~~ Dear Fellow Tankers ~~

On this month�s topic of whether or not a code of ethics would be desirable for Battlefield, I decided to interview a veteran and good friend of mine in this game to find out his opinion on the matter. He has played Battlefield on and off since it first started. His main tanks are WhoShotMe and �SeVeR- in apps land. (both top 25)

- Interview Beginning  �

Me: Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed; I know you are no longer interested in this game.

WhoShotMe: Nah, the pleasure is mine bro. I find the game boring now since ive accomplished everything but this topic is really valuable to the game and I am interested in whether or not they will finally put up a code of ethic.

Me: Alright, let�s dive in then. So how long have you played Battlefield?

WhoShotMe: Oh ive played pretty much since the game came out. I played some tanks back then and then played some other games and then came back and started WhoShotMe one day and I was addicted to playing hehe.

Me: That�s what has happened to most of us I believe. =) I heard you have won all possible awards, is that true?

WhoShotMe: Yep, pretty much. I won all the awards except DOT on my WhoShotMe tank and then I won DOT on �SeVeR- hehehe.

Me: That�s a huge accomplishment � has anyone else done it?

WhoShotMe: Not that I kno of. If anyone, TwIzTiD might have but im not sure of this. I don�t think anyone has all awards on 1 tank for some reason.

Me: Do you still play today?

WhoShotMe: Nah man, I quit awile ago because ive accomplished all that I can really and I am growing up n don�t have much time for this stuff.

Me: So you are one of the old-timers. Has there ever, in your opinion, been an unofficial code of ethics to Battlefield?

WhoShotMe: Yep. Back when the game was pretty new all the players pretty much decided we would have to use a honor system to make the game work, none of this cheating and stuff that�s going on today. =(

Me: So I�ve heard. Did the honor system (code of ethics) work? From what I see today, the game is rather chaotic.

WhoShotMe: Well of course everyone didn�t follow the honor system but most people did and it was really friendly on the bulletin board. Now I look at the bulletin board and its basically just people hatin and stuff. I played Battlefield a bit a few months ago and its just tons of quittin low and stuff, and then there are half the players that are using hacks and stuff so its not fun.

Me: Quitting Low seems to be a big problem. I see it discussed on the Bulletin Board almost every day. What is your stance on the issue of whether Quitting Low is how we should play or not? 

WhoShotMe: I believe that quittin low ruins the game. When I used to play nobody good would quit out at all never. Nowadays everyone quits out when they don�t wantto get a loss and so it kinda ruins the main idea of the game. Its really sad that the programmers cant fix or stop quittin low.

Me: What other types of things would you say used to be in the unofficial code of ethics for this game?

WhoShotMe: Well I would have to say things like don�t Q low, don�t cheat in tournies with things like free kills, free EQ, or ferry trading, don�t be jerks on the bulletin board, and stuff like this. Its really just common curtisy to us but nowadays people don�t seem to have any.

Me: I agree with that. I try to be fair and get deactivated if the enemies deserve it. When I think of the other colors I think we are really just all friends who are playing a game together and they are only �enemies� in the game. 

WhoShotMe: That�s kinda what it used to be like. I mean everyone was friends on the bulletin board. in the game we were more like rivals than enemies just trying to be number 1 and having fun at it. What I don understand is that people are afraid to be deactivated but it really helps u get better to lose and make mistakes.

Me: I have noticed that many (maybe even most) top 25 players don�t post on the Bulletin Board. Do you have any ideas as to why not?

WhoShotMe: Well honestly I used to post there but no anymore. A long time ago we were all friends on the bulletin board. But then people began to come that would just quit low and stuff and didn�t care. Eventually it became like there were tons of people doing this and most of us thought of it like cheating. Good players began to leave n the new players began to see all the other guys quitting low and stuff and they became like them. Now when I post on the board I get people posting rude comments that imma �cheater� and stuff just because I have lots of awards. Lots of the players of today don�t have any respect because they think the game is just something for themselves and they are very selfish if you ask me.

Me: It�s unfortunate that this happened. Even today I see many good players quitting playing due to the new hacks and the vast amounts of people that quit low, talk rude, cheat for tournaments, etc. How valuable do you think the Bulletin Board is to the game?

WhoShotMe: I think communication is one of the most fun parts of the game. If you cant talk to ur friends or rivals about good times, raids, tournaments, and etc then the game wont be fun. This is why lots of people stop playin when everyone on the bulletin board just makes fun of them when they post. Nowadays the bulletin board is more like a mob, and someone shouts �hacker!� and everyone insults the guy. =(

Me: Do you think it would be possible to �revive� the way that people used to play the game; it sounded like much more fun.

WhoShotMe: Well, I think the staff are beginning to see the problem now. It�s a good decision to talk about it before all the players who still play for honor get fed up! There are still tons of people who refuse to quit low or cheat. In my opinions the only way that the new players could actually be convinced that we need to keep following the code of honor/ethics that we used to have is for the staff to say they support it. The staff�s opinon of the game and how we play it is really important to most players, while they many dont care what their other players think.

Me: Did the staff ever honor the code of ethics in the �good ole days,� or what motivation kept the �legendary� players have to stick to it?

WhoShotMe: Well its hard to say. The time is changing and maybe its just the way newer generations are raised. It seems like back then the players actually cared about others while now people don�t. Some new players don�t get the idea that the game is played for �honor� which is something that the programmers and editors actually say on their site, I believe. I don�t know how it is honor to cheat or talk trash. The staff never did really talk about a code of ethics before but its important.

Me: As you probably know, there are still people making new hacks for Battlefield. What is your opinion on using programs such as DTT cheats?

WhoShotMe: I think cheating is unfair to all the players, and lame. While part of me wishes the programmers could stop the cheats, mainly I wish that people would stop using and making them. Cheatin doesn�t get u any honor or fun out of the game, just a number or rank and this stuff is meaningless if everyone knows u cheated for it.

Me: If I was to write a code of ethics, the things I would include were:

1) don�t quit low,                                                                                                   2) don�t cheat in a tournament (with friends helping you),                                         3) don�t use hacks,                                                                                                4) don�t talk trash on the Bulletin Board.

What do you think of this, and what types of things would you include if you were asked to write a code of ethics?

WhoShotMe: I do agree with your list. The only thing I would chance is to make it less pesimistic. For example, I would replace �don�t talk trash�� with �be courteous�� so that it doesn�t sound like a lecture.

Me: That�s a good point there. On to the next question - Do you think that people would follow a code of ethics, if implemented by the BF HQ staff?

WhoShotMe: Well like any other community, i know that there will always be people who don�t follow the honor code. However, i believe there would be many more players who decided to try it, and find that the game is way more fun and friendly when u play it with honor in mind. Players seem to value the staff opinions very much more than the other players so they are really the only way to get a code of ethics to work i think.

Me: How would we stop ignorant players from deciding not to follow the code and trying to ruin our fun?

WhoShotMe: meh, i would just ignore them. They will only have fun if you are angry at them. :-p

Me: Would you consider playing again if a code of ethics was supported by the BF HQ?

WhoShotMe: I might a little bit, but the game is not interesting to me right now. I am keeping my tanks from being deleted by playing them a little bit. I do plan on returning to play some more in the future. I do feel tho that a code of ethics would make Battlefield much a better, more fun game and lots more people would play it and it would be fun for older players to come back and find the game is revived and they would play again.

Me: Well thanks for your opinions. I think people will value your opinions more than mine, being a legendary player. =)

WhoShotMe: lol np man. Good luck with the WC award. Im eager myself to find out what happens with the whole code of ethics idea!

- Interview Conclusion �