Update: I received an e-mail from Raquel Marcelo, a Sony representative, clarifying the issue. Read what was said below:
Hi Erwin,
Just read your article, and wanted to quickly clarify something.
There was some confusion about this, and it’s actually just a bug (see Matt Higby’s tweet https://twitter.com/mhigby/status/517723831348101121).
We’ve never had a teabagging mechanic / taunt in the game nor have we ever implemented an anti-teabagging feature. Basically, it’s just a bug that prevents players from standing up after they have crouched if they are over a body. It is on the list to be fixed.
Let me know if you have any questions.
It’s good that it’s just a bug. However, I’m confused as to why the community manager stated differently on Sony’s forums (quote is in the story below). Alas, such is life.
The original story is below:
PlanetSide 2, a popular free-to-play online first-person shooter for the PC, has seen some interesting developments in the past couple of days.
Sony Online Entertainment, developer of the aforementioned PlanetSide 2, has apparently coded out the ability to “tea-bag” dead enemies in the game, going so far to compare it to a sexual assault offense.
For those unfamiliar with the concept of “tea-bagging” (however few of you there are), here’s a fairly succinct description, courtesy of Giant Bomb:
“‘Tea-bagging’ is primarily used to make one’s death a more humiliating experience and provoking the other player, in which the player repeatedly crouches and stands over the dead player’s body. This action is most commonly performed in video games found within the first-person shooter genre; however, every game that has a crouch button and dead bodies is susceptible to this phenomenon.”
Read more details on Sony Online Entertainment’s decision to remove the ability to tea-bag other players in PlanetSide 2 after the break.
No More Tea-Bagging in PlanetSide 2
RadarX, community relations manager for Sony Online Entertainment, stated the following on the official Sony forums in regards to SOE’s decision to remove tea-bagging from PlanetSide 2:
“PlanetSide 2 is a massive multiplayer FPS in a science fiction based world that pits empires against each other in mortal combat. While immersion is certainly a subjective topic, if sexually assaulting a corpse is a key component of your gameplay experience this just may not be the game for you. Drop me a PM and I will happily make some recommendations on games where this is perfectly acceptable.”
Naturally, avid PlanetSide 2 players met Sony Online Entertainment’s move with mixed opinions. You can read a few of their responses below:
“I think that is blowing it a little out of proportion. it’s just a movement that says “I owned you””
“This mechanic can cause some problems though with crouch strafing and mass killing of enemies bunched together as you wont be able to get back up after you crouch.”
“I just wish I could still use boxes for cover. If an enemy dies behind my hidey-hole, the game thinks I’m trying to tea-bag, and won’t let me peek over the top. There are less intrusive ways to prevent tea-bagging, like not forcing you into third person when you die and instead making things fade to black as you hit the ground. This way you can’t see what’s going on and the enemy’s tea-bagging has no effect on you.”
It is unknown whether or not tea-bagging will be coded back into the game in the future.
What are your thoughts on SOE’s decision to code out tea-bagging in PlanetSide 2? Is their move unnecessary? Why or why not? Also, what are your thoughts on tea-bagging in general? Are you a tea-bagger yourself?
Let us know in the comments section below! As always, stay tuned to GamerHeadlines.com for the latest in video game and technology news.
Source: Sony’s official forums
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