Scott Jennings (aka Lum The Mad), one of the developers behind Dark Age of Camelot, has an interesting post up at his blog detailing the ways player-vs-player combat should be done in MMO games.
Jennings' most important insights are on the ways players interact with PvP systems. He emphasizes the idea that gamers both need and abhor class systems, and in doing so reveals his most important point: that no matter what developers do, they will never please certain swaths of their playerbase.
To emphasize that point and conclude the entry he adds, "PvP players are angry and bitter, and will hate you. This has nothing to do with design. I just thought I should warn you.
There’s been enough bad games out there that you have no honeymoon period at all. Sorry."
This shouldn't surprise anyone who has spent any time on any gaming forum, but it's definitely a good lesson for all those developers who spend hours crying in the bathroom because some virtual orc doesn't like their class balance.
[How To Make A Game With ‘PvP Done Right’](http://brokentoys.org/2007/12/10/how-to-make-a-game-with-pvp-done-right/ "Permanent Link to "How To Make A Game With ‘PvP Done Right’"") [Broken Toys, via Ten Ton Hammer]
