[MUD-Dev] Game Economies

[Matthew Mihaly]

On Mon, 7 Jun 1999, Caliban Tiresias Darklock wrote:

> On 12:26 AM 6/8/99 +0200, I personally witnessed Ola Fosheim Gr=F8stad
> jumping up to say:
> >Marian Griffith wrote:
> >> Unless I am very mistaken Dr.Cat said "Attention is the currency of th=
e
> >> future".
>=20
> We're not individuals anymore.=20
>=20
> We're all faceless, nameless, and identical. We're identified by numbers =
on
> checks, credit cards, insurance policies, social security cards, drivers
> licenses. Fingerprints. Blood samples. Dental records. We long ago shifte=
d
> from being individuals to being communities, then to being demographics,
> and then to being markets. The entire point of human existence in modern
> life is to become one of the good consumers, one of the productive people
> who fits into this big machine we've built across the world and gets a
> paycheck every two weeks that he goes out and spends on things he doesn't
> need so big faceless companies can make more things he doesn't need and
> then convince him through blatant and time-honored manipulation tactics
> that he does *too* need it and should buy one right NOW.=20

I hate to be the anti-cynic, but I disagree strongly with this. Human
beings are much more capable of being individuals now than at any time in
history. In nearly every part of the world, people are looked at, and,
much more importantly, perceive themselves, as individuals to a much
greater degree than at any previous time. Even eastern culture (I speak of
the major old eastern cultures, Indian and Chinese) is increasingly doing
away with the notion of humans as merely part of a community, who should
act for the good of the community, regardless of personal desires or
needs. In western culture, individualism has also taken hold to a far
greater degree than ever before. Diversity in viewpoints and actions is
the norm, whereas many of the things that are tolerated now would have
meant exile from a community in the past. Media and culture urge us to be
individuals, and make choices as individuals.

Fingerprints, credit card numbers, SS numbers, etc etc do not reduce our
individuality, unless you let them (and I do not believe most people do).
They only remove your individuality if you fixate on how large
organizations view you. I, personally, don't give a damn if the government
wants to assign me this number or that.=20

 >=20
> The whole problem with modern life is that we're all fundamentally just
> 0.000000000001% of a statistic.

You could say that about any and every point in history. Historians,
archaelogists, and sociologists spend enormous amounts of time turning
dead people into statistics. Does this, in any way, reduce their
individuality or lack thereof? No.

I'm not sure I agree with Mr. Cat's assertion that attention is the
currency of the future, but I would argue that attention from a God (for
instance) in a game is important because there is an underlying perception
that the God (or powerful player) should be respected. I don't see this as
being any different from any other time in history really. If you were a
plebian in Rome and Caesar came to your house to have a meal with you, you
would have felt as honoured as you might feel if someone you respected
today paid attention to you.=20

--matt=20




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