Gamer stabs man to avenge character

An online game addict took his agressions out on a fellow gamer yesterday morning, stabbing him in an Internet cafe in Seongnam city, just south of Seoul.
The 34-year-old gamer, identified by his family name, Hwang, was in the midst of playing the game Lineage yesterday morning around 7 a.m. when his character in the game was killed, police said.
Mr. Hwang went to another Internet cafe, where he found a 25-year-old man playing Lineage with the character that had “killed” his, and stabbed him with a sharp object. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in serious condition.
“The character was like my child,” Mr. Hwang, a professional motorcycle messenger, told the police. “When he was killed, it felt as if my life was taken away. I was shocked and furious.”
“Game addicts tend to consider cyberspace reality,” said Shin Yeong-cheol, a psychiatrist at Kangbuk Samsung Medical Center. “When their characters die, their devastation and humiliation feel real. They generally suffer from personal and emotional issues.”

by Han Ae-ran