Everquest 2 developers have been caught bending the rules to provide unfair assistance to some of their in-game friends.
Along with recent, unproven claims that they had exploited the game world, EQ2 guild Unhallowed Triad was moved from the Test Server to Unrest (a live server) via inside connections with a developer at SOE. It is presumed a member of the development team is also a member of the guild.
While server-to-server movement is within the Everquest 2 Terms of Service, the ToS prohibits movement from the Test Server to live servers specifically because characters created on the Test Server have access to gear and rules that may give them an unfair advantage over players originally created on a live server.
SOE's Alan Crosby (Director of Global Community Relations) and Bruce Ferguson (EQ2 Senior Producer) both confirmed the move, despite it being a violation of their own Terms of Service. They claimed the act was sanctioned by SOE "to reward certain players for their hard work on the Test server." Ferguson also noted that the characters would be removed from the live server.
It's no secret that developers play the games they're working on, but when one uses his or her influence to boost the status of his virtual friends, it not only makes the game unfair for those not violating the game's terms of service, it also creates a rift between those playing the game and the development team.
Having Sony Online Entertainment higher-ups acknowledge the issue, then functionally state they made a huge mistake (by removing the involved characters) only further serves to foster ill-will between gamers and the people who control the world they (virtually) live in.
Sadly, now that the cat has been released from its electronic bag, there's no good way to resolve this issue. MMO players tend toward paranoia about undue developer involvement whenever something doesn't go their way, but now, with the above proof, they're almost guaranteed to blame Sony every time they die, a raid falls apart or a piece of gear doesn't drop for them.
SOE caught red-handed [Massively, via Ten Ton Hammer]
