The Entertianment Industry, Now ONLINE!

I have a lot of free time because i'm more or less retired now, and I keep myself occupied with online multi-player games. Most of these MMOG's are leveling games, but i'm not much for the grind, I just like to chat. Now I believe that the topic of Games is very interesting, the games we play say something about us as human-beings. And our games have become so much more complex and deeper ever since the advent of this age of Information Technology. The gaming industry is a service, and these companys own the servers on which they operate. From the server side these games are just very elaborate databases, personally i always found the idea of databases to be dull and boring but it is pretty amazing how they can be used. And these games that I play are virtual worlds full of virtual people, and they have real economies because in most cases some kind of currency is in use. Jagex operates a game called Runescape, its mostly young kids playing but I happen to know a few adults who have tried the game and like it. Runescape is unique among all MMOG's because even though they have multiple server worlds, your character profile will be transfered to every other server in the network within 30 seconds after you exit the game. And this means that you can hop servers, which means that you have the ability to buy, sell and trade with over 250,000 other players most hours of the day. Its a very powerful system that other MMOG operaters should learn from.

These games are more than just mere Entertainment too, its possible that we can learn from the experience, and something of great value too. In fact real life very much resembles a great role-playing game, where everyone who plays has the oportunity to be a winner. Opinions vary a great deal about what conditions constitute a win in life, we all have some ideas about what it takes to be successful. Some will think that money is important, the guy who dies with the most toys wins. But still there are some who think that other things are more important, like family and friends. But I think that the experience of life itself constitutes a winning condition, although the experience may often be uncomfortable for many of us. I wish that everyone could be gaurenteed to enjoy a comfortable life but it certainly has not been gaurenteed by God, and if human-beings have been equally endowed with certain rights that would not be one.

Now I have been playing online games for at least the past 20 years, and I've played some of the more popular titles and at least tried many others. And the operations are often plagued with a problem, asian gold farmers. Of course as I have already said, these companies do own the servers and should have a right to say how they may or may not be used. To that end they often enforce a contract upon the players, its called the End User's Liscense Agreement, and if you don't agree to the contract then you can't play the game. But all these asian companies employ people to play the game and obtain the in game currencies, which they then turn around and sell for a price. The same companies often offer a powerleveling service too, for the player who needs to get ahead in the game but doesn't have the time to actually play it.
Some MMOG companies have done battle with these third parties, with varying degrees of success, and a few companies have caved in to the pressure, and a few have embraced this trend as an opportunity. In many cases I believe these third party operations must be viewed as legitimate business's, if only for the reason that everyone needs to earn a living somehow, we all need to eat.

And to be honest, I have purchased gold from the farmers on a few occassions. And in a few cases I have purchased game currencies legitimately without violating an EULA. I was caught once, which resulted in a 7-day ban on the account and a warning not to do it again. Many of the new Asian game titles that have been introduced to the market are now free-to-play, with a cash shop. The cash shop operates on real money which is usually converted into another form of virtual currency that can be used to purchase in game perks. And many of the gamers in our growing community are very competitive, especially in cases where player versus player combat is involved. And in most cases these players are willing to pay for every possible advantage, if you don't pay you can't compete! But I need to avoid f2p games with a cash shop because I would easily spend too much. And thats still true even though i don't play competitively, i mostly just want to enjoy my time.

And I have been successful. These games provide an easy measuring stick so that you know when you are making progress, our toons grow. 'Toon' is just a common name for a virtual character, which in some ways resemble cartoon characters. And to be sure I don't really need to spend my real money on in game currencies, because in most cases I can master the game well enough to get ahead financially. And I have been far more successful and productive in these games than I have been in real life. But the experience of success, is still a genuine experience; no less valid because its all make-believe.

Its truely remarkable to me, that so many of our children in the USA complain about nothing more often than boredom. And Entertainment has become abundantly available in our world, easily accessable and in many cases affordable. In my humble opinion, entertainment should even be considered a neccessity for the healthy developement of a mature and well rounded personality. It really is something that we all need, and clearly most people are willing to pay for it. We have become too sophisticated for simpler pleasures, but I for one do appreciate my easy access to a hot-shower whenever I feel the need.

What do we all really need in order to enjoy a comfortable life? How much do we need to be rewarded in the world before we will consider ourselves to have been successful? I hope that I have not come accross as being too cynical about human-nature; because I have enjoyed the opportunity to meet a few exceptional people over the course of my life. And I've finally become wise enough to understand that absolutely everyone is worthwhile, even the angry people.