[MUD-Dev] [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy!

[John Buehler]

Brian Hook writes:
> On Fri, 9 Apr 2004 13:51:24 -0400, John Buehler wrote:

>> For many players, money is far more valuable than time.

> And for many players, it's not.  So we can cancel out those terms.

Except that the two effects don't cancel out. The people who don't
have money have the perception that the people with money are
cheaters. This is about player perceptions, not economics.

>> Further, there is the ethic of a level playing field.

> In search of a level playing field, maybe we should force all
> players to only play X hours/week.  That's the same argument, but
> reversed.

> I (and it seems others) don't quite understand the double standard
> here.

Suppose I could buy a checkmate in chess.  Or extra queens.  It
would alter the game of chess forever.  And to the minds of many
people, very much for the worse.  Chess is obviously not a perfect
analogue for level grind games, but for those who are
conscientiously going throught the level grind, it's close enough.

The players of these games are not businessmen.  They're trying to
join in on an experience that is laid out in certain ways, with
certain expectations being set by the games.  Those expectations
have been that those who invest of their time will advance, and be
able to brag about their accomplishments.  At least, that's what
I've seen in the players who are most enthusiastic (i.e. rabid)
about the genre.

I suspect that the general attitude of those without money is that
those who have the money didn't work very hard for it.  Just as the
people with money don't think much of the effort that people put
into level grind games in order to reach the highest levels.

It's all perceptions.

JB
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