Video Game Cheating Leads to Lawsuit

A watershed legal case is getting underway after an online video game player found himself banned from the system after being accused of cheating. He's suing the game creator for $8,000.

The part of this story I find most amusing is that he was allegedly cheating at Second Life, a "game" which really has no levels or points system and would seem impossible to "cheat" at. Turns out he was cheating in the process whereby land is auctioned to SL residents. Also funny: The guy who's suing is a lawyer.

While on the surface this suit might seem completely frivolous (and I'm sure Second Life creator Linden Lab has terms of service that outlaw cheating of this sort) it will nonetheless be interesting to see how it plays out. Is the lawyer due compensation for money and time invested in playing the game before his account was suspended? What if he can show evidence that he had not cheated to amass at least some of his online fortune? Could he have a legitimate claim that he is owed restitution?

As much as I loathe cheating in online games (you know who you are!), I also fear the knee-jerk reactions of gaming companies that are all too quick to terminate accounts and confiscate all virtual belongings on suspicion alone. For those who might defend Linden Lab, imagine the real world analogue: You get busted cheating in a poker game one time, and the cops take away your house and all your possessions, with no trial or due process involved. You can see how the guy filing this lawsuit might be a bit peeved...

Rest assured, I'm not defending cheating. Because cheaters never win, and winners never cheat. That's a fact. But it might be time to think about a resolution system for online gaming systems that doles out punishments that better fit the crime, especially in "economic" universes like Second Life. If nothing else, a more public punishment system (something like an electronic pillory of shame) might better dissuade others from following the scum in their cheating ways.

LINK: Can video game cheating be prevented?