On game design, "progression through equipment", and a system of micro-skills

[GodOfGrain 191]

* November 2013: Updated and shortened, as still relevant *

 

Summary

 

"Progression through equipment" is a core part of DayZ.
But in itself it is not sufficient to ensure a player's identification with his character.

The low value of life & death is a structural flaw of DayZ and is certainly one reason for the abundance ov PvP.

 

This post will discuss this issue and the introduction of mikro-skills as a part of the solution.
This thread is meant as a summary of a long discussion we had in the forum: "Skill System in DayZ?"
Special thanks to joe_mcentire, Hoik, m00tley and wep0n for the discussion and critical remarks.

 

"DayZ is your own story".

We all agree that every player should be able to decide by himself how to play. Whether you want to make a gun-party in Cherno or cautiously make your way through small towns in the North. Noone can be forced to value their character's life.

But on a large scale player behavior is always influenced by the game design. The game design represents a structure which shapes how we experience the game. We don't want arbitrary rules to punish or reward certain playstiles, but besides that a game does obviously set a structure of positive and negative incentives.

 

The blood bag system is a suitable example from DayZ mod: It gives an incentive for social interaction, at least for group play. The blood bag element is not a rule, but a piece of the game structure which guides player behavior.

 

To operate without strict rules is a great opportunity for an open-world / sandbox game like DayZ,
but also a challenge. But if DayZ does not go down the route of giving a malus for e.g. player killing, you need to create a game structure where "Kill-on-sight" isn't the best available option.

 

To achieve the desired effects (value of player life, game immersion, reduced PvP) there has to be a multitude of game elements which influence the average player base in the desired way.

 

Progression through equipment

 

Rocket: "We feel pretty strongly (definitely I do) that the levelling you do in DayZ is your gear, perhaps the different thing about DayZ is that.. I think Zero Punctuation put it very well when he said the great equalizer in DayZ is you can suddenly turn around and kill someone and take all their gear if you are lucky or skilled and it's not that you have won because you are a higher level. So I don't think we are ever going to have any type of levelling, we are always going to have this focus on the gear being your levelling and I think that's a really cool direction to go."
[DayZGame] ShannonZKiller - Jan 2013 - Interview/Livestream with Rocket

[Other statement from Rocket, more "pro-skill-system"]

 

Besides his conclusion I agree with this statement from our spiritual guru. (How couldn't I?)
Gear progression as the "great equializer" and as the vocal point of player progression. "Progression through equipment" is an interesting concept and core-part of the DayZ world. But the possibility to recover equipment makes death to a mere sidenote of DayZ. Especially in group play, death does not really matter. You are half an hour away from picking up where you left.

 

Desease mechanics won't help to adress the issue: The player who died knows best whether he had an infection or not, so in 95% he or his buddies can save his loot. Base building will further increase the problem,

as it allows easier hoarding of equipment. Item degredation will help; definitley. But only to a certain degree.

Player customization will help, but also to a limited extent, especially as you will be able to pick up your clothing items. Even arbitrary mechanics like "preventing to loot own body" won't help, as group members can save the items.

 

How can game design assign higher value to a players life?
 

I think it is relatively simple: If "progression through equipment" is not enough, than there is just one alternative:

A progression connected to the character which is lost after death.

 

There are some subtle ways to do this:

 

 

Such a visual progression would perfectly fit in the DayZ world and provide an incentive not to die.

Another addition could be connected to the desease mechanic: Players could get immunities after surviving a certain illness. Subtle, realistic, but - I am afraid - still not enough.


Microskills

Don't imagine a skill-tree aka Diablo. There are no "level-ups", spendable exp points, no unlocking of skills etc.
There wouldn't be any visible information for the player except from what he observes within the game.

We have refined this idea quite a bit throughout our discussion. Besides a suggestion for a specific skill system, I think we may found several "structural requirements" for any skill system to work in the DayZ world.

In the beginning we thought about a concept of "getting better at what you do". E.g. you gain in medical skills by applying a bandage, get better at gutting animals by doing just that.

Wep0n has pointed out why this wouldn't work: Link
Basically it would be a problem of "training skills". Such a system would effect a player's perception
of the game world, possibly detaching him from his or her experience:

 

"The motive of something has to be the effect your action causes, and not a skill you gain"

 

Training or grinding of skills should be impossible. Although I am not the type of player who would grind skills, I'd probably hunt down every animal I come accross; not because I need food, but to gain exp in this. That's what Wepon means with his sentence above.

 

 

Trainable skills require a drawback

 

But there is a valid principle to avoid this: If gaining exp in this area has a very big disadvantage / drawback.
Think of the desease + immunity system. To gain an immunity you suffered a potentially lethal illness; so there is no incentive to intentionally getting a desease just to be immune in the future. Significant drawbacks prevent any false incentives!

 

It is not possible to find realistic disadvantages for many potential "skill areas", which limits the extent of this model. But one area where it would work well is medical skills:

 

If every injury you endure in the game has a certain chance to cause an infection / desease, potentially resulting in your death, you will not injure yourself on purpose. So here we can add a progression by training without any grinding effects. Applying bandages could be trained regarding speed and success probability. A blood bag applied by an inexperienced player could result into an infection with 10% probability, while an experienced medic would have a 1% chance.
 

Mechanical skills could be another area, e.g. regarding the speed and success probabilty of repairs.
It is more difficult to implement a drawback here, but it seems possible:
- Time effort: To finish a repair action takes between 3 minutes (tire) to 6 minutes (engine).
Exp only granted if action is completly finished
- Risk: During this action a soundfile is played (*repair sounds*) which can be heared by other players over some distance.
- Risk #2: (Very small) chance of hurting yourself during a repair.
- Weight / size of repair parts prevents people of carrying repair parts with them just for the sake of using them should they find a vehicle.

 

In summary, progression by training can be introduced where a significant drawback is implemented. This makes training a skill on purpose not a suitable option. The areas of medical and mechanical skills are suited in this regard and would also be a nice addition to the gameplay; we could have an experienced medic or mechanic in our team.

 

 

A potential addition: Progression over time

 

A system where the character progresses by actually "doing things" is limited to areas where a significant drawback can be implemented. As we do not want any arbitrary / artifical drawbacks, "progression by doing things" is limited to certain areas. Which would be fine, having a system of progression in medic or mechanical tasks is already an improvement. But we could make a further step by introducing "progression over time-played".

 

This is a very simple system: Your character progresses  over time-played. The major advantage is that the incentive is very clear: Staying alive. There is nothing to think about, no unintended incentives which would cause e.g. grinding. It would not affect player behavior and perception of the game world in any way because it is so simple.

 

The differences between a freshspawn and an experienced player are substantial, but not huge and do never effect combat. The only information a player gains about his character is by observing him in the game world.

 

"Fitness" and "Abilities"

 

So besides medical and mechanical skills, there could be two further categories:

"Fitness", which represent the character's general condition, and "abilities", which includes specific things such a lighting a fire.

 

Fitness

 

"Stamina" in the context of an enhanced stamina concept
"Strength" in the context of an item system which includes the weight of objects
"Dexterity" as a general skill which influences the success in other abilities like "gutting animals"

 

"Abilities"

 

Lighting a fire, gutting animals, chopping wood, ... fishing ...

 

Example: "Lighting a fire"

This would now take 30 seconds with a certain success probability. You'd possibly need several attempts (matches - scarce) to light a fire.  If you character has gained experience over time, success probability will increase, duration will decrease.

 

These "abilities" will simply improve over time. For instance, after your character survived for lets say 100 hours, your success probability for making a fire increased from 70% to 90%; so it is a significant, but subtle difference. All abilities are influenced by the genereal conditon of the character, e.g. dexterity.

"Fitness" is a bit different. These values also raise over time, but they can also be temporarily reduced or influenced by e.g. hunger, thirst, illness etcetera or permanently reduced by e.g. a gunshot wound.

 

 

An example how it could work:

 

There could be a range for skills from 0 - 100 points, fresh spawn starts with 50.

[Again, points are displayed nowhere, and improvements are only incremental, so nearly unnoticable]

 

Now imagine a fresh spawn running around for 20 hours. All skills (fitness and abilities) have raised to 60.

The player goes to Cherno for some n1 PvP, gets a round to the chest and retreats.

 

All "abilities" are still at 60. But the characters fitness level has dropped permenantly. Depending on where the character was hit, stamina might have dropped to 40, dexterity to 55, strength to 50. He will have less endurance, can carry less or for less time, and his lower dexterity reduces his efficiency in all "other abilities" like lighting a fire.

 

[You could also choose to implement an effect on weapon handling if dexterity drops below 50. That means: Wounded characters have worse weapon handling, while all characters at 50 or above (starting value) would have the same weapon handling skills, ergo level playing field.]

 

Now his points will raise again over time. For gameplay reasons, points below the starting value of 50

could increase at a faster rate, perhaps twice as fast. The system is so flexible... Imagine, you could also have a very strong effect of a gunshot wound, e.g. reducing fitness values to e.g. 30 in this example; but part of it will recover after medical treatment and only the rest will be a permenant reduction.

 

 

Incentive to "hide your character"?

 

There is a significant drawback in hiding your character to gain exp.
Beside the fact that survival should be difficult, ergo the game should not allow players to sit around endlessly...
It is fucking boring. Who should feel compromised to adopt to a very defensive style just for this slow gain of exp. Remember, we are talking mikro skills here, which have a distinct effect, but are in no way game deciding. And they take a loooong time to build up.

 

The positive thing is: Even if there is this school kid with way too much time at hands, who has his other school friends bring him food and water to his little hut in the woods...

it would not affect you! Hell, he will be able to light a fire during rain in no-time and everyone around him cheers for him, yes man, you got it! But you still can pop his head with a 9mm round. :D

 

 

 

Summary: What do we gain?

 

I'd always prefer to have "real skill" at work; not the character is learning ingame but the person behind the monitor. But we have to be realistic, DayZ will never be the mother of all simulations. Perhaps things from TOH will be introduced, regarding heli mechanics. But you cannot simmulate everything, from gutting animals over fishings to medical stuff. Minigames are not a solution.

 

The introduction of item degredation and player customization (clothes) in the SA are certainly going in the right direction. But will it be enough to create a strong identification to your character and give enough incentive not to risk your life in PvP? DayZ developers should probably not wait too long to see what will happen in the SA. Once we are back at a PvP fiest, it manifests itself. In my opinion, the introduction of a system of micro skills should be contemplated early in SA alpha development and - if seen as a suitable addition - added rather sooner than later.

 

A system of micro skills will be a real incentive to stay alive. This will have a distinct impact regarding the abundance of PvP. The system I described above has no problem regarding wrong incentives, as "progression by doing things" has a significant drawback or it is simple progression over time-played.

 

Further, mikro skills can add additional depth to the gameplay. They are a great tool to combine with other mechanics, e.g. to simulate effects of deseases, wounds, thirst etc.

This system is not gamey. There are numbers working in the background, but that's it.
You won't see anything from this system besides what you can observe from your character ingame. Imagine your character was alive for 200 hours, perhaps being the dedicated medic of your group. Now you die. You may start a fresh life on the coast, you may be more angry than in DayZ mod (that's what we want). You may also think: "Damn, these nice abilities my previous character had". But what can you do now? There is nothing you can do to get your skills back faster. No false incentives. So you keep on going and will forget that the skill system even exists.

Everything what makes DayZ great today will remain in the game. No + in "gutting animals" will make tactical awareness anything less important, nor communication, navigation, decision making etc.

Edited November 17, 2013 by GodOfGrain

[jaytmuk (DayZ) 621]

o.o levelling up :o

This game comes to mind <_<

Edited January 26, 2013 by jaytmuk

[GodOfGrain 191]

at least you are original with your picture :D

[jaytmuk (DayZ) 621]

at least you are original with your picture :D

Love some your ideas, not too crazy about having a levelling sytem tho, I kinda like rockets thinking of no hud or ingame levelling

And yes i hate the hero/bandit thingy too, Your idea for facial beard changes as a player gets older is cool

Maybe the player could change when he/she logs in everytime depending on how long they have been alive (to prevent lag of loads of players characters changing on the fly)

example - when a player logs in the server checks how long they have been alive and makes the visual changes, The older the player the more haggard they look, as in your picture

Edited January 26, 2013 by jaytmuk

[Testwd3r235 2810]

I liked the idea of your character growing a beard and getting ripped clothes as an age kinda thing. :beans:

Edit: But I hate leveling and love the hero's and bandits.

Edited January 26, 2013 by MacabreLlama99

[Very Ape 748]

I can appreciate the idea, and I agree with the sentiment, but I'm somewhat of a purist.

Any form of leveling shouldn't exist. Proper equipment and actual knowledge of what you're doing (achievable by making "skills" such as medicine, driving, piloting, shooting difficult to learn.) However, I do agree with the organic growth portion of your suggestion. Over time, your character should gain some visual perks, but very subtle ones (pertaining to wear and tear in clothing, mostly.) The rest should be up to the player; the clothing he wears, the tattoos he risks hepatitis getting and the gun he totes. These subtle, authentic visual "perks" will make players more attached to their characters.

And remember; items can be damaged in standalone. Not all gear can be saved, realistically, in the aftermath of a firefight (for example, a head-shot will damage night-vision goggles.) This will surely also apply to clothing and weapons, which are almost plugged with bullet-holes in a firefight (to no ill effect in the mod, but we'll see what happens in SA!)

Edited January 26, 2013 by Very Ape

[Jars (DayZ) 63]

In a nutshell , ideally the desire to survive should be paramount , even at the expense of your gear , and incentivized somehow .

[Fraggle (DayZ) 15720]

I think beard growth is coming to the SA. Yay! (just my opinion BTW)

Edited January 26, 2013 by Fraggle

[CreepySalad 108]

I dislike leveling and heroes and bandits.

I created a post where things like fixing cars and doing other medical stuff would be based on player skill and knowledge instead of character skill and knowledge.

Apparently, it's been suggested many times, (which I wasn't aware of) but I still think that would be better than leveling.

It gives you a "oh dude, I did it!" feeling instead of a "oh dude, my character did it." feeling.

If you're catching my drift.

The whole "dead character reanimates as a zombie" thing, plus rarer stuff would make death a lot more terrible as well.

It's a good idea, but exp, invisible or not, shouldn't be in a game like this.

Edited January 27, 2013 by CreepySalad

[joe_mcentire 2073]

i like the idea and it is funny as i think if it would be introduced silently overnight ppl would love the new feel of the game. But as i can see by the very first repost, ppl tend to have this stereotypical idea of "skills" in their heads. And yes this is also affecting Rocket, when he says a higher level means superiority to lower level gamer.

I simply do not like the idea of ppl solely progressing through equipment, as there is absolutely no point in this system and mostly contra-authentic.

I am also not convinced in "progression" over graphical changes in form of tattoos, beards, as it feels to me more as a blunt solution for ppl that crave for progression and more value of a dayz-life.

The mini-games idea as CreepySalad suggests, has exactly this very flaw as you cannot create the mother of simulations by any chance especially as i see ppl not wanting to fail it in depth and variety.

[OrLoK 16182]

Hello there

Interesting and well thought out post. I don't agree with many of the ideas but it has sparked some of my own!

for eg the look of the noob vs the vet. The vet is damn dirty, has Rocket forgotten his military hygiene instruction? There's a sea and resevoirs. Have a bath! Cut those nails! trim that beard! Gotta avoid disease, no? :)

Rgds

L

[slivniku@gmail.com 93]

I' ve read and re-read your post, and while you oviously gave it great thought, i still don't see a solution for "hiding your character" an grinding; both can be done, but separately... And plp would do it...

[GodOfGrain 191]

I' ve read and re-read your post, and while you oviously gave it great thought, i still don't see a solution for "hiding your character" an grinding; both can be done, but separately... And plp would do it...

You are right, in principle it is an incentive to hide your character, strictly speaking.

But within the context of:

- Very slow gain of exp & everything lost on death

- Hiding is boring

- Progress in skills not game deciding, more effecting survival elements

only few people would feel incentivized to hide their characters.

Furthermore, as the micro skills do not affect combat in any way,

I'd have no problem encountering someone who has hidden his character for 20 hours...

he has no advantage over me.

[OrLoK 16182]

Hello there

The problem is with systems like the one proposed above is that lazy folks will always find the simplest/shortest way to "powerlevel"

When WoW first came out I had a lot of fun just exploring places I wasn't supposed to reach and going through the missions enjoying the little stories involved in playing them.

Once I joined a clan it was all about leveling up as fast as possible and we raced through the environs not paying attention to anything other than XP gain. I felt I missed 90 percent of the actual content and gameplay/interaction.

Folk will just do the same if any xp system is involved.

I still gave OP beans as I like the forethought he put into his post.

L

[Talibambi 119]

I honestly would rather have stuff in game in the form of "mini games" where you as a player must get better at them in order to.. well... get better at them. Im not overly fond of a leveling system.

[joe_mcentire 2073]

I honestly would rather have stuff in game in the form of "mini games" where you as a player must get better at them in order to.. well... get better at them. Im not overly fond of a leveling system.

How would you deal with this problem:

The mini-games idea as CreepySalad suggests, has exactly this very flaw as you cannot create the mother of simulations by any chance especially as i see ppl not wanting to fail it in depth and variety.

?

[dallas 5195]

We've been here before and I really can't be bothered to fine comb OP, because most of that's up there is copy/pasted from the old thread that died out.

I don't really want to get longwinded, because we've already danced this dance once before.

There's a lot more to progression than gear. If you don't understand that, you're totally underestimating your fellow players or have a very limited capacity for ArmA's very complex learning curve. A learning curve that completely substitutes less complex games' needs for artificial leveling and sense of achievement.

In DayZ you run faster over long distances, because if you're smart, you know what the difference between running and sprinting does to your stamina and accuracy. If you need to cross a short distance fast, sprint. If you need to run to NWA, you jog. I everytime I help out a new guy, they are constantly falling behind, because they refuse to stop sprinting.

You progress in map reading and communication, ever tried to pick up a new player in a helicopter?

-Where are you?

-On a field!

-Give me a landmark.

-There's grass!

-You flew over me, here! here!

An experienced player, will select a remote and easily identifiable LZ, use descriptions and locations, so the pilot instantly know where and how to approach the LZ. He will also keep himself concealed, keep the pilot constantly updated and make sure the pick up is quick and perfectly safe.

There's so many things in DayZ you have to learn, all of which will be expanded immensely in the future, there's simply no need for 5% bonuses.

Land navigation.

Geography.

Loot distribution/placement

Vehicle location

Server demography

Travel routes

Camp/vehicle camouflage

Threat assessment

safe social interactions

Tactical movement

Zombie avoidance

Player avoidance

Escape/evasion

Animal hunting

Player hunting

Long distance engagement

Close Quarters Combat

Medical treatment

Medical accessory locations

Vehicle repair

Spare parts logistics

Ect. ect.

All of which you can become better at, so your game experience, landspeed or recovery becomes much easier.

Edited January 27, 2013 by Dallas

[GodOfGrain 191]

We've been here before and I really can't be bothered to fine comb OP, because most of that's up there is copy/pasted from the old thread that died out.

I don't really want to get longwinded, because we've already danced this dance once before.

There's a lot more to progression than gear. If you don't understand that, you're totally underestimating your fellow players or have a very limited capacity for ArmA's very complex learning curve. A learning curve that completely substitutes less complex games' needs for artificial leveling and sense of achievement.

*** Achievement unlocked *** Bashed the OP!

[jaytmuk (DayZ) 621]

I think beard growth is coming to the SA. Yay! (just my opinion BTW)

Awesome :D

Im gonna grow a beard irl with my character and keep it until i die :P

So my Dayz playing friends will prob be able to guess how long my toon been alive lol

Knowing my skills at Dayz ill barely be able to grow a goatee lol

[GodOfGrain 191]

There's so many things in DayZ you have to learn, all of which will be expanded immensely in the future, there's simply no need for 5% bonuses.

Land navigation.

Geography.

Loot distribution/placement

[...]

All of which you can become better at, so your game experience, landspeed or recovery becomes much easier.

It is not that DayZ lacks complexity. It is not about longterm motivation either.

The key argument is that the game design does not value a character's life.

As I understand it from a logical perspective:

If "progression through equipment" doesn't work, progression has to be bound to the character.

Visual progression / immunity system does help, but is not enough in my point of view.

That you character gets a bit better in certain things after 30, 40, 60 hours surviving is a substantial incentive.

Perhaps some of you should be a bit more open towards the idea.

I don't know what you are afraid of; the system is designed in a way which isn't gamey at all.

It is also save towards abuse and doesn't set any false incentives; it doesn't even remind the player that it exits.

And after all, getting better at things over time is realistic...

I think it fits.

Be aware, in my point of view there is the danger that after a couple of months with the SA

we are back where we are right now in DayZ-mod: Abundance of PvP...

I see "low value of player's life" as an important variable in this. And as I have argued,

progress bound to character seems to be the only way to adress this issue.

[jaytmuk (DayZ) 621]

*** Achievement unlocked *** Bashed the OP!

Hes kinda right tho, Arma and Dayz have many different skills in them, Some of which alot of players either dont know or are too lazy to bother learning.

For example there is learning to fly a heli (which is quite an ordeal at the start lolz)

Learning to navigate by the stars (most players wont play night servers and probably dont even know this can be done)

Using cans and bottles to distract zombies (can get you out of many sticky situations and is a viable alternative to having to shoot your gun in a town where other players and zombies may be drawn to you)

Navigating using the sun/clouds

Learning how to dodge into, loot, then out of towns without too much disturbance

And im sure theres probably many more skills to level too :P

And more to come in the standalone im sure :)

EEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK I JUST WROTE ALL THAT, PRESSED POST BUTTON THEN NOTICED DALLAS HAS WROTE VIRTUALLY THE SAME THING, BUT WITH MORE PANACHE :P

Edited January 27, 2013 by jaytmuk

[jaytmuk (DayZ) 621]

It is not that DayZ lacks complexity. It is not about longterm motivation either.

The key argument is that the game design does not value a character's life.

As I understand it from a logical perspective:

If "progression through equipment" doesn't work, progression has to be bound to the character.

Visual progression / immunity system does help, but is not enough in my point of view.

That you character gets a bit better in certain things after 30, 40, 60 hours surviving is a substantial incentive.

Perhaps some of you should be a bit more open towards the idea.

I don't know what you are afraid of; the system is designed in a way which isn't gamey at all.

It is also save towards abuse and doesn't set any false incentives; it doesn't even remind the player that it exits.

And after all, getting better at things over time is realistic...

I think it fits.

Be aware, in my point of view there is the danger that after a couple of months with the SA

we are back where we are right now in DayZ-mod: Abundance of PvP...

I see "low value of player's life" as an important variable in this. And as I have argued,

progress bound to character seems to be the only way to adress this issue.

I do like the idea that when a player dies hes/her clothing and anything he or she is carrying is soulbound, apart from whats inside backpack i guess.

....But wait... didnt rocket say clothing from dead players will have a high risk of carrying disease/viruses on it?

That would probably be a bit better than soulbound items i guess.

Maybe all clothing from a dead player should be stained red with blood for ever, then someone wearing blood stained clothing you would know they killed someone to get that

[GodOfGrain 191]

I do like the idea that when a player dies hes/her clothing and anything he or she is carrying is soulbound, apart from whats inside backpack i guess.

[...]

....But wait... didnt rocket say clothing from dead players will have a high risk of carrying disease/viruses on it?

Both things would be very unrealistic.

[dallas 5195]

It is not that DayZ lacks complexity. It is not about longterm motivation either.

The key argument is that the game design does not value a character's life.

As I understand it from a logical perspective:

If "progression through equipment" doesn't work, progression has to be bound to the character.

Visual progression / immunity system does help, but is not enough in my point of view.

That you character gets a bit better in certain things after 30, 40, 60 hours surviving is a substantial incentive.

Perhaps some of you should be a bit more open towards the idea.

I don't know what you are afraid of; the system is designed in a way which isn't gamey at all.

It is also save towards abuse and doesn't set any false incentives; it doesn't even remind the player that it exits.

And after all, getting better at things over time is realistic...

I think it fits.

Be aware, in my point of view there is the danger that after a couple of months with the SA

we are back where we are right now in DayZ-mod: Abundance of PvP...

I see "low value of player's life" as an important variable in this. And as I have argued,

progress bound to character seems to be the only way to adress this issue.

Seems like you're afriad of other players and it's been my main argument through both threads, that this is just a trick to get fewer people to shoot at you and take the gear you've grown too attached to.

But I value my life more than my gear, I even value your life more than new gear. If we meet in a supermarket, I will be less prone to take all the loot for myself and make sure you get what you need. If you get what you need, there's a smaller chance you'll get annoyed with me and less risk overall. I'll still try to keep shelves between us, just so no one gets tempted, but unless you try to hurt or steal from by pack, my mainpriority is for both of us to shop safely and depart on friendly conditions.

However I like the people, who value differently than me.

Because they make the game unpredictable and make every player encounter filled with human emotion. Paranoia, suspicion, greed and jealousy. Or the opposite kindness and generosity. Because some players are willing to risk their own safety trying to kill me and loot my corpse, whenever I meet someone, I'm constantly on my toes. It also means that the friendly encounters leave lasting impressions. We need these players to take these risks, because no matter which game mechanic Rocket throws at us, we will instantly break the mechanic down into something predictable. Without premeditated or random killings, DayZ is going to run out of purpose fast, when all of us are overburdened with NVGs and silenced weapons, because no one has a courtesy to kill us from time to time.

No matter how much artificial character progression you throw at people, we're simply so experienced that we can recover from a death, because of the survival skills we've acquired through our playtime. This means that while a death in a great setback, it's not a crushing defeat, it means we'll keep playing and not just quit the server after being killed.

Whatever of literature you find on this post-civilization subject, the essence is always the same. The struggle between then ones that wants to carry on preacefully, rebuild and survive and the ones that embrace chaos and want to subject all others to their will.

Artificial bonuses can't compete with ArmA's very rewarding learning curve.

And human conflict is the foundation of DayZ, leveling and bonuses will never change that.

[CreepySalad 108]

It's the fact that this is supposed to be the player's story.

Not the character's story.

Adding exp completely gets rid of that.