Gold Farming 900 Million a year Industry

[Xanthippe]

One thing that I've mused on - but I don't think I've seen much discussion on  - is this.  When a friend starts playing the game that their friend has been playing for a year, it's quite typical for the veteran to give the newbie startup cash.  I mean, who doesn't do that?  At least enough to attempt to mitigate the headaches of inventory juggling and scraping by for cash for the first levels, anyway.

But the newbie getting geared up by the vet is similar (not the same, granted - but similar) to someone paying a gold outfit cash for startup money, isn't it?  Some of the arguments against RMT apply to this as well - although one never sees them applied.

Discuss?

[Venkman]

That's exactly why some of us continually unravel RMT to it's more basic component. It's not about the transaction of real cash for ingame money or good. It's about games that measure Time and how people try to get around that. RMT = farming = powerleveling = the ugly side of things like trains and ninjalooting. It's all wrapped up neatly into "cheating".

Some are light forms of cheating, others are more overt. We all did this crap in solo RPGs, but nobody was the wiser. In MMORPGs though, everyone's a voyeur. Complicating this is how time itself is measured.

Scenario: WoW. Molten Core. Player A and Player B. Player A plays 2 hours a day. Player B plays 12. Player A sees Player B on day one. By day five, Player A has spent about 10 hours in game to Player Bs 60. Player A has cleared MC to Rags. Player B has cleared MC, ZG, AQ40 (raidID timers prevent multiple MC clears in one week). Player A sees Player B on day six. Player A has his one, maybe two, drops from MC. Player B is decked out with all sorts of crazy gear.

Now, both players think five days have passed. In reality though, that's an inappropriate measure of time. Everyone knows this, but few people actively accept it because its not intuitive. So Player A thinks they're "behind" Player B. They are, but not because of days.

It's because there's no governance on progress. Nobody's forced to play the same amount of time. The only people that do are going out of there way to try. That's a good thing for a group of friends. It's not for a bunch of random people.

[tazelbain]

Lady X's example, the reason why your example isn't an issue is because your veteran is probably doing raids and quests and other high-end stuff to get the money to twink their friend, you know "playing" the game.  Your pro-farmer isn't playing. He's monitoring his little army of bots for 80 hours a week.

One of the reasons I am pro-RMT is because I am anti-farmer.  Selling stuff through 3rd party sites just isn't profitable in Puzzle Pirate's RMT there is no way to make living at.  And if for a second farming is profitable the whole economy readjusts. When farmers have compete against the whole server, they don't stand a chance.  Efficient markets conquers all.  Paided labor can't compete with free labor.

[HaemishM]

Second Life is already making a decent bit of paper on microtransactions and RMT. The difference? They are making it by making virtual money and letting their customers buy things that other customers make. THAT'S the kind of RMT that works for Americans.

That I can see. :) Even then, don't they offer a tiered pricing plan? X per month gets you access plus + Y Second Life cash per month? I didn't think it was a swipe your card and convert real cash to fake cash when you're low thing.

There are tiered plans that give you Linden (SL cash) per month, but mostly the tiered accounts are about how much land you can own and how much stuff you can put on that land. Also, you can create anything you want from textures to scripts and such, but uploading them cost 10 Linden. So the more you tinker and create, the more you end up paying. You can buy Linden from Linden by a straight "swipe your card to convert real cash to fake" thing as well, and there are also brokers out there who sell cash for a lower exchange rate, as well as those who will rent or sell you land for cheaper than Linden Labs charges. You'd be amazed at the amount of mercantilism that goes on in that game.

Once you have cash in the game, you can spend it on tons of shit. Penises for your avatar, clothes, houses, eyes, gadgets that do shit, movies that are played in virtual theaters in the game (including first run movies and pr0n), etc. etc. etc. You can very quickly spend (or make) some serious money in the game, but it's also the kind of thing where you really don't have to spend a lot to enjoy much of what the game has to offer.

[HaemishM]

Some are light forms of cheating, others are more overt. We all did this crap in solo RPGs, but nobody was the wiser. In MMORPGs though, everyone's a voyeur. Complicating this is how time itself is measured.

It's not voyeurism so much as it is competition, whether unconscious or not. It's the ultimate primate game of comparing plumage as a sign of virility. In a solo RPG, you don't have to compete against Baron Poopypants, and the only one you are beholden to is you. In MMOG's, Baron Poopypants is not only showing you his magnificent, if overexaggerated plumage, he's showing you that he'll get better mates. Read mates as loots, experience, or overall game enjoyment. He's BEATING YOU. Something in our little monkey brains doesn't want that.

[WayAbvPar]

Some are light forms of cheating, others are more overt. We all did this crap in solo RPGs, but nobody was the wiser. In MMORPGs though, everyone's a voyeur. Complicating this is how time itself is measured.

It's not voyeurism so much as it is competition, whether unconscious or not. It's the ultimate primate game of comparing plumage as a sign of virility. In a solo RPG, you don't have to compete against Baron Poopypants, and the only one you are beholden to is you. In MMOG's, Baron Poopypants is not only showing you his magnificent, if overexaggerated plumage, he's showing you that he'll get better mates. Read mates as loots, experience, or overall game enjoyment. He's BEATING YOU. Something in our little monkey brains doesn't want that.

This is absolutely true in my experience.

[waylander]

Some are light forms of cheating, others are more overt. We all did this crap in solo RPGs, but nobody was the wiser. In MMORPGs though, everyone's a voyeur. Complicating this is how time itself is measured.

It's not voyeurism so much as it is competition, whether unconscious or not. It's the ultimate primate game of comparing plumage as a sign of virility. In a solo RPG, you don't have to compete against Baron Poopypants, and the only one you are beholden to is you. In MMOG's, Baron Poopypants is not only showing you his magnificent, if overexaggerated plumage, he's showing you that he'll get better mates. Read mates as loots, experience, or overall game enjoyment. He's BEATING YOU. Something in our little monkey brains doesn't want that.

Well at least HaemishM admitted he has monkey brains, but he's also right on the money with that statement.

[HaemishM]

Well at least HaemishM admitted he has monkey brains

I never realized this needed debating.

[WindupAtheist]

[Xilren's Twin]

It's not voyeurism so much as it is competition, whether unconscious or not. It's the ultimate primate game of comparing plumage as a sign of virility. In a solo RPG, you don't have to compete against Baron Poopypants, and the only one you are beholden to is you. In MMOG's, Baron Poopypants is not only showing you his magnificent, if overexaggerated plumage, he's showing you that he'll get better mates. Read mates as loots, experience, or overall game enjoyment. He's BEATING YOU. Something in our little monkey brains doesn't want that.

And the rub is, it's a competition you cannot ever win.  No matter who you are and how much you play, there will always be someone more advanced, better loot, more guildmates, whatever.  Some get their "as intended" by playing the game, others buy theres, but even if you were the first on your server to do SOMETHING, very shortly, you won't be number one anymore.  The center cannot hold and all that b/c even if you were lord high marshall of pvp'dom, sooner or later if the players don't unseat you an expansion will.

Did we learn nothing from War Games?

Actually, i think the process of recognizing this unwinnable game and thereby freeing yourself from it's mental shackles is the begining of online wisdom...

Or really making you a really jaded cynical bastard.  Or both.

Xilren

[Venkman]

It's not voyeurism so much as it is competition, whether unconscious or not. It's the ultimate primate game of comparing plumage as a sign of virility. ...Something in our little monkey brains doesn't want that.

For the 18-34 male part of things I totally agree (based on some studies). But voyeurism is a level above the competition. To your exact point: this doesn't happen in solo RPGs because there's nobody else to watch, therefore to care about, therefore to compete against.