An online gamer has tragically turned his fantasy “Guild Wars” game into a real-life “killed wars” game after losing a fantasy battle and allegedly killing his cyber rival. Police believe the attack was most likely motivated by the game the pair were playing prior to the incident. A dispute is said to have arisen from the game after which the enraged attacker drove a short distance to the victim’s house in Half Moon Bay, Auckland, and then repeatedly stabbed him with an Orichalcum Dagger Blade. Medical experts say the deceased is “unlikey” to respawn.
The NZ Herald has revealed the victim to be Henry Pan, a 24-year-old employee of the computer industry, but cannot reveal the name of the accused, 23. The Sunday Star-Times reported that the victim was a keen role-playing gamer and enjoyed games such as Guild Wars and Oblivion, in which missions and quests are completed in fantasy worlds with swords and sorcery.
The death evokes an apparent link between the violence of video games and homicide. However, according to Christchurch-based clinical psychologist Craig Prince, it is difficult to attribute such links because “people are so complicated,” and while video games could be a factor, “it’s only one out of potentially many.”
In the name of investigative journalism, or perhaps to unleash a virgin gamer’s role-playing prowess, Critic attempted to unveil the mystery and joined “Game Planet” so as to trawl the forums for clues. Unfortunately, few specifics were found about the murder except a couple of condolences from those who’d never met the victim but had clashed swords with him. There was also open debate about the tragedy in general.
One forum directly relating to the incident, “GW2 [Guild Wars II] implements IRL [In Real Life] permadeath,” shredded the idea that there was a link between the violent killing and video games. Lamalord93 commented that “anyone that thinks games turn people into a murderer is a self centered and ignorant moron.” Eldon Monarch suggested the two may have “account shared” and that the victim sabotaged the attacker’s online stuff, because “something like that could trigger a violent reaction. I’ve seen death threats leveled in other MMORPG [Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games] before.”
The man has appeared in court charged with murder, and given the gaming link New Zealand is likely to be in the international spotlight.
Psycho Nerd Goes on One-Man Killstreak
