PVP vs PVE, an analogy to understanding both

I've been a terrible blogger, hell I *AM* a terrible blogger. Too much hassle in getting stuff in order for GDC so here's a quick tidbit of something that more and more online games need to understand as they try to retrofit/bootstrap the latest "craze" feature, PVP into their games. People have written far more in trying to explain the same thing.

PVE is analagous to pursuing wealth trappings and needing something to quantify your wealth. A private island, Ferrari collection you name it. The process of obtaining all that money / grind is the hard part and the journey and when you're done, you want some way of showing everyone you did it. The quantification is in how much that island cost and how big your house is.How many storyline missions you beat etc.

PVP is like going up to the mountains and seeking enlightenment and perfection of self. The journey starts when you achieve basic mastery, or when you know enough to question. Similar to martial artists, PVPers don't need any external quantification of their worth, they're on a constant journey seeking and perfecting it, but just like a martial artist, the quantification is in their getting better. You dont need a title or a net worth to tell how good a martial artist is, the proof is in the way he moves.

That's really why the two will never understand each other.