1. Introduction

Within the game of Urban Dead, technically, all kills are PKs, or Player Kills. The strict definition is "when a player kills another player". However, the Urban Dead community uses the term Player Killer to refer specifically to when a Survivor Player another Survivor, as opposed to killing a zombie. There is no special term for when Survivors and Zombies kill each other, but when a Zombie kills another zombie, it is known as "ZKing", or "Zombie Killing".

There are a great many people who call PKers "Scum", "Vile", "Lunatics", "Pussies", and many other degragating terms. Fortunately, most of these are In-Character points of view, and are fine. Honestly, what do you think of a cold blooded killer in the real world?

However, there are a number of players who think the same thing about the Players themselves, even going as far as to call them the same names, as well as "cheaters". This article will address PKing from the standpoint of the Player of a PKer

Notice: Assumptions are a bad thing. That said, not everything in this article will apply to all Players of any group mentioned.

2. Welcome to PvP Gaming

First and foremost, Urban Dead is not only a game (meaning you shouldn't let it get to you), but it is also a Player Versus Player game. Within UD, Survivors battle Zombies, and both sides are controlled by, you guessed it, people. Urban Dead has no Non-Player Characters, so any time a survivor kills a zombie, or a zombie kills a survivor, the killer has just killed another player's character.

Now that I've made that clear, I will point out what some are probably thinking at this point. Yes, while it is a Player Vs. Player game, Survivors are meant to kill Zombies, and not other Survivors. While this is true, consider this: Whenever you kill a zombie not actively attacking something, how do you know you're not killing a survivor?

And that's one of the first things that gets the mind thinking. Many survivors that have died and search as revives as a zombie know the pain of getting headshot on said quest. People get angry about PKers, and most go right out and shoot at zombies indiscriminately. Of course, no one can really tell which zombies are hostile, and which aren't. But, we can't really tell the same about other survivors either.

3. The Vengeance Defense and Bounty Hunters

Some PKers kill merely as an act of Vengeance. Someone attacked you or a friend, and you want revenge. That's perfectly fine. That's personal. Go do it. Have fun. Oh wait, it's a game, remember? You are having fun, so unless you're roleplaying a character accordingly, you're merely getting back at someone for ruining your fun. If you're not, why would you seek vengeance? 

No matter. Like I said, it's okay to seek vengeance. We all want to do something to people who wronged us. That's why jails exist in the real world. Of course, Malton has no jails, and if it did, no way to lock characters in them, so PKing as an act of revenge is about the only way to extract justice.

There's just one minor problem: It's still PKing, but as long as you know that you were the one wronged, you know that you're in the right when you get them back. Which leads me to Bounty Hunters. Bounty Hunters are glorified PKers. Unfortunately, that's all they are. The whole concept of Bounty Hunting is flawed. Consider the consequences of a Bounty Hunter PKing someone that was falsely accused of PKing, or even framed? 

The Justice behind Bounty Hunters is based on the Integrity of the people reporting the PKers, the people maintaining the Bounty list (AKA PKer List) and the Bounty Hunters themselves. Additionally, it relies on the original report to be correct. Consider someone seeking revenge, only to be reported for "Cold Blooded Murder"? 

The flaws in the system have already been proven time and time again. People who were in the right with their PKs have been reported as PKers. People who didn't PK at all have been reported as PKers by those skilled in falsifying evidence. Bounty List managers have been known to place people on the list simply because they don't like them. And PKers have PKed under the false pretense of collecting a bounty.

So with that in consideration, allow me to reiterate: Bounty hunters are glorified Player Killers. And that's it.

4. It is Not Against the Rules

There are some that will claim that PKing is against the rules. Not true. If one was to read Urban Dead's FAQ, they would find that the phrase "Player Kill" is not even mentioned. However, there is a bit mentioned about Survivor's killing other Survivors under, oddly enough, the "What are Experience Points?" header. It reads as such:

"You earn Experience Points from successful combat (getting more XP for fighting the "other side" -survivors attacking survivors only get half the XP they would fighting a zombie, and vice versa), healing other players, and various other types of game behavior."

Some have determined that this is word from the game's designer, Kevan, that PKing is against the rules, while in actuality, it is merely discouraged as a method of leveling up, presumably so that the game's main purpose of the living versus the dead can be fulfilled. Though, while Survivors may have never been intended to kill other survivors, Syringes were never intended to be used as weapons, either.

5. Preventing the End-Game scenario

There are a large number of players that believe Urban Dead has a goal, and that goal is for survivors to rid Malton of zombies. It is rather unclear how they wish to achieve this, but the general idea is to either revive or headshot all zombies. If this highly unlikely state were to ever be achieved, it would be far from permanent, as many zombies would simply jump out windows, or - shock, surprise! - stand back up. Even if they didn't, people can choose to join as zombies.

Alternatively, there are many zombie players that believe the game can be won only by zombies. Essentially, if they kill every survivor in Malton, there would be no one to revive anyone. This also highly unlikely state could never be maintained as several survivors would simply make survivor accounts.

Since neither scenario could never be maintained, still others believe that if one group held enough of the population of the game, that could be considered a win state. However, consider what would happen if such an event came to pass? Think of how boring the Survivor life style becomes when there are no zombies hordes around, and visa versa. Do we really want such a situation to occur? some do.

Enter the PKers. PKers are Survivors that create Zombies, and yet try to remain in a Survivor state. PKers, to some degree, help maintain the balance of population. (It should be noted that ZKers do not have this same effect, as a ZKer's kill doesn't alter neither the Survivor nor Zombie population. In fact, ZKers make it harder for zombies to become survivors.) Since PKers are inevitably hunted by other Survivors, and they, along with their victims, will wish to be revived, they further the need for Survivors with Necrotech skills, thus also ensuring that they don't go overboard on the Survivor population.

6. Entertainment is the Name of the Game

Like all games, Urban Dead is about entertainment. If it wasn't entertaining to some degree, no one would play it. Part of what makes Urban Dead entertaining is the excitement one gets from raiding a safehouse as a zombie, or defending said safehouse. Another part of the entertainment is the challenge. A massive zombie horde is comming. Will we survive the onslaught? They said this safe house couldn't be cracked. Let's prove them wrong. Such are examples of the challenge.

Player Killers add to that excitement and challenge. For the victims, there's no longer a guarantee that they'll survive the night if they find a zombie-less suburb and an extremely barricaded building. The question of "Will I survive the night?" never goes away. 

For the PKers, there's the excitement and challenge of avoiding those out to get them. A PKer needs to keep on their feet, dodging Bounty Hunters, other Player Killers, and Zombies. For them, Urban Dead becomes a true game of survival. Then, for the bounty hunters, there is the challenge of tracking down the Player Killers time and time again to eliminate them, while avoiding Zombies and PKers themselves. In many ways, the Bounty Hunter gets the same challenges and excitement as the PKer.

7. MMORPG is More than a Fancy Acronym

Urban Dead is more than just a go-get-'em Zombie Apocalypse game. It's also a Roleplaying Game. It has ways to define your character, to make them more than just another game piece. Some people play cops. Some play doctors. Some play civilians that are just trying to make their way. Some are even as specific as construction workers and the like, doing little but maintaining the buildings around them. Sounds a bit like the real world, doesn't it? In a sense, that's part of roleplaying.

But what else do we have in the real world? Criminals. Thieves, vandals, and murderers. This is reflected in game by those that spray over the helpful public notice messages with their own witticisms, and by the people that tear down barricades, break generators, and destroy radios. And the people that play the murderers. What did you expect? Everyone to play the heros?

8. Not All of us are Scumbags

Up until now, this article has defended the practice of Player Killing, but it's likely not everyone reading it will be convinced. Even worse, many will continue their bad mouthing of the players behind the PKers. For those individuals, allow me to point out something.

The writer of this article is widely accepted to be a helpful person in the real world, having made several contributions to the Urban Dead Wiki, as well as various other things. In addition, this writer plays, not only a PKer, but a dedicated Healer/Reviver as well, and has also played a Brain Rotted zombie. So watch who you're slinging those names at. You just might have insulted the last person that healed/revived your butt.

8. Closing

And there we are. Those are just a few reasons why PKing isn't as "dirty-rotten" as some make it out to be. It's a game people, and you will die in it. The only people with '0' as the number of times killed are the newbies, and it won't last long. So accept it, don't get so worked up over it, and join in on the fun. If someone PKs you, turn around and get them back. Or maybe, just maybe, try to play as the other side for a bit. Who knows? You just might enjoy yourself.