Philippe Langlois weblog

A game is just a game, right. Recently, on a virtual massively-multiplayer on-line game called "EVE Online", gaming and real life just got suddenly mixed.

To sum up the situation, a gamer used spying techniques in the game in order to gain intelligence and advantages: something that is rather encouraged by the game developer. In the game, you're a living form in space and pilot spaceships, trade, assault, defend, ... Space Far West.

This user (Kugutsumen) did so well at manipulating and spying that he discovered a tough truth about the game developer: one of them was at the same time playing and using his developer status in order to win the game and give an unfair advantage to the alliance he was part of.

When disclosed, this information was a real bomb: it mixed virtual life and real life, showed that dirty techniques existed in both world, and.... gave a strange outcome.

CCP, the software company that runs the game decided to ban Kugutsumen instead of first investigating the issue. Then, faced with so much outrage and shouts, made an investigation and recognized that one of its developer had indeed played bad.

If you advocate bad behaviors, you'll probably end up with more, in this game it was obvious. And that even for funny (games) thing, you can end up with dirty tricks and "security through obscurity".