Computer characters mugged in virtual crime spree
Why does this sound like it came from an Onion article?
"Several players had their characters beaten and robbed of valuable virtual objects, which could have included the Earring of Wisdom or the Shield of Nightmare."
But the article is actually interesting. First, it touches on how the growing interest in massively multiplayer online role playing games (or, MMORPG's, as we call them in "the industry"), and the addition of micro-payments for in-game add-ons (such as clothing, skills, and other virtual objects) has resulted in a whole new realm of economic systems. People are buying, selling, and trading virtual goods for real money to enhance their game experience.
The thing is, these economies are a little more wild than real ones - theoretically, the goods can be generated quickly and cheap - coding new items wastes no natural resources and costs nothing but the labor of the person writing the software and the machines required to run the software. But this can potentially lead to an over-saturated market if the creation of new goods is not regulated - driving prices way down.
Likewise, inserting virtual cash into these worlds is theoretically just as easy - which could trigger huge inflation in these virtual economies. The games genereally need to avoid their own monetary systems, or else equate them to real-world money in order to keep a check on how much cash is floating around in their system. Mistakes in how the payment scheme is set up could result in a huge loss of cash for the game company, because users love to find out how to milk the system and get cash for free. if there is a way, they will find it.
Also - how the goods are used is completely unlike any analogy to the real world. Yes, there are obvious similarities, such as buying a new shirt for yourself vs. your virtual avatar. But where can you buy an "Earring of Wisdom" in the real world? More intelligence? Trust me, if I knew, I wouldn't be blabbering on about all this right now in a blog.
Anyways, back to the article - I just find it fascinating how these new economies are starting more and more to mimic the real world. Once they started to be driven by real dollars, people started trying to swindle the system. Now crime is becoming apparent. At first, usage was small and innocent, but it's growing into a monster because these aren't just games anymore - they're developing economic systems.
Some gamers spend tens of thousands of dollars on virtual objects, buying them from the game or over ebay, for instance. So, in addition to crime, we're seeing other real-world-esque problems arise as well. A huge one being, how can users protect their virtual assets?
If I spent $10k on a car, for instance, I'll make damn well sure it has insurance. If I keep that money around as cash, it's going in a bank where I know it's protected from fire, flood, whatever freak accident could happen. No matter what the form of the money, I don't want my $10k worth of assets to disappear tragically. So how do users protect their virtual objects, cash, assets, if the goods were purchased with real-world cash? They're spending the money to invest in their virtual life, but are their investments safe? Is there anything the real world can do to ensure that they are protected, whether they're made out of paper or 1's and 0's?
Clearly it's an issue if these bots are running around beating avatars up and stealing from them - it's like a virtual mob has started, in the underground belly of the MMORPG world... What's the end result? Real-time cops with virtual precincts? Real-time insurance companies with virtual coverage? Or will virtual accidents forever be the fuel that funds real criminals?
"Several players had their characters beaten and robbed of valuable virtual objects, which could have included the Earring of Wisdom or the Shield of Nightmare."
But the article is actually interesting. First, it touches on how the growing interest in massively multiplayer online role playing games (or, MMORPG's, as we call them in "the industry"), and the addition of micro-payments for in-game add-ons (such as clothing, skills, and other virtual objects) has resulted in a whole new realm of economic systems. People are buying, selling, and trading virtual goods for real money to enhance their game experience.
The thing is, these economies are a little more wild than real ones - theoretically, the goods can be generated quickly and cheap - coding new items wastes no natural resources and costs nothing but the labor of the person writing the software and the machines required to run the software. But this can potentially lead to an over-saturated market if the creation of new goods is not regulated - driving prices way down.
Likewise, inserting virtual cash into these worlds is theoretically just as easy - which could trigger huge inflation in these virtual economies. The games genereally need to avoid their own monetary systems, or else equate them to real-world money in order to keep a check on how much cash is floating around in their system. Mistakes in how the payment scheme is set up could result in a huge loss of cash for the game company, because users love to find out how to milk the system and get cash for free. if there is a way, they will find it.
Also - how the goods are used is completely unlike any analogy to the real world. Yes, there are obvious similarities, such as buying a new shirt for yourself vs. your virtual avatar. But where can you buy an "Earring of Wisdom" in the real world? More intelligence? Trust me, if I knew, I wouldn't be blabbering on about all this right now in a blog.
Anyways, back to the article - I just find it fascinating how these new economies are starting more and more to mimic the real world. Once they started to be driven by real dollars, people started trying to swindle the system. Now crime is becoming apparent. At first, usage was small and innocent, but it's growing into a monster because these aren't just games anymore - they're developing economic systems.
Some gamers spend tens of thousands of dollars on virtual objects, buying them from the game or over ebay, for instance. So, in addition to crime, we're seeing other real-world-esque problems arise as well. A huge one being, how can users protect their virtual assets?
If I spent $10k on a car, for instance, I'll make damn well sure it has insurance. If I keep that money around as cash, it's going in a bank where I know it's protected from fire, flood, whatever freak accident could happen. No matter what the form of the money, I don't want my $10k worth of assets to disappear tragically. So how do users protect their virtual objects, cash, assets, if the goods were purchased with real-world cash? They're spending the money to invest in their virtual life, but are their investments safe? Is there anything the real world can do to ensure that they are protected, whether they're made out of paper or 1's and 0's?
Clearly it's an issue if these bots are running around beating avatars up and stealing from them - it's like a virtual mob has started, in the underground belly of the MMORPG world... What's the end result? Real-time cops with virtual precincts? Real-time insurance companies with virtual coverage? Or will virtual accidents forever be the fuel that funds real criminals?
posted by megan at
10:42:00 AM
2 Comments
