Exploitation: The Art of Saying, “Hah! In your face!”

What is exploitation?

Many of you might know of exploitations as heroic deeds, which they truly are. However, today, I’ll be talking about the quoted denotation.

Take it from me. You may think that exploiters (such as entrepreneurs and business tycoons) hold a place in society as the epitome of all that’s wrong with a person (because they are seemingly selfish and greedy). Though, we hate it when people exploit our idiocy or lack of integrity, our lives revolve around it. Don’t get me wrong, there are more pleasant “features” you can exploit, but that’s not really important. Oh, and we all exploit people (it’s human nature) in various ways, even if we’re not aware of it.

In Maple Story, and most games that are multiplayer (with internet computability, of course), people will exploit and discriminate. Sometimes they will use words and sometimes not. In Maple Story, we all know this as kill stealing. On Maple Story specifically, people will exploit your obliviousness, lack of funds, and damage mediocrity.

What am I trying to get to?
Okay, so throughout my time playing Maple (and other games as well), I’ve noticed many, many people complaining about getting “owned”. That, my friends, is exploitation. With complaints such as those, other more experienced players begin to be pestered. So, maybe I can clear things up.

Note: I’d post this on Basil and other forums, but they’re too hostile and naive to understand. MMOT seems to be the perfect place to do this.

Why do people exploit? And why on Maple Story?
People take advantage of each other. They want to be in control, no matter what the circumstance is. It’s all part of who we are.

We all know Maple Story revolves around two basic things: Level and money (NX Cash included). Is life not the same? The CEO’s are always on top and Donald Trump is GOING to stay in the limelight. This is something that will never change. In Maple Story, your level is your biggest regard. It is visible to everybody around you and it’s opened to be exploited in good or bad ways. Next, is your money. I don’t really need to explain why because I’m assuming you all should know. After opening these two ports up, other ports will open. These ports include, but are not limited to: damage, sprite design, and popularity.

Damage is the biggest concern. If you deal weaker damage than somebody else, they will be tempted to exploit that. Sprite design? People on Maple Story are very concern with their looks. Most people try to make their characters look extraordinary and others try to make their characters look humorous and unique. Racism is apparent in Maple Story. Your skin color (probably if it’s dark), will be prone to exploitation, which leads to discrimination. Maplers are not the most intelligent people. They will make assumptions right away, based on the way they perceive something. Popularity mainly revolves around both your money and level (equally). In my honest opinion, popularity is not important to the game at all unless it’s the only way you can have fun.

My personal favorite way of exploiting is “talking”. Whether it’s a test of common knowledge or a test of wit, my main hope is that I’m cunning enough to “attack” someone’s weak point. It’s that simple.

There are still vast number of ways to exploit others. People will never stop to find ways in exploiting you for their own amusement and advantage. Sometimes, it can get really bad. Just make sure you stay strong so these exploitations won’t be a huge emotional impact, especially on Maple Story (Hell, it’s just a game).

Oh, and Leah Dizon’s pretty hot.