Virtual worlds and real life

1. Virtual worlds and real life

2. Castronova’s account of life in norrath • Originally began as online game, Everquest • In 2001, Norrath consisted of 400,000 users; 1/3 of which spent more time playing the game than they did at work. • The economy in Norrath was so successful that its currency was valued higher than Japanese Yen and the Italian Lira. • Revenues from the virtual world of online gaming were projected to increase from $3.6 million to $1.7 billion in a span of three years.

3. 3 characteristics of the virtual world • Interactivity: It can be easily accessed by a large number of people at once. • Physicality: Simulates first-person and environment interaction. • Persistence: The game does not stop when you stop playing.

4. Social roles in virtual worlds • Social roles are defined through interaction with other avatars via “chat” . The more you converse with other players, the more you learn how to survive. • Avatars can only survive from mutually beneficial relationships with other avatars, forcing them to interact and define their social status.

5. Excerpt… • Journal entry, 25 April. after the Rivervalefiasco, I feel that my second avatar is socially dead. I could wait for my reputation to improve, but I just feel too stupid. so I started a third avatar, a halfling, basically a midget. I made him a healer. it turns out that healers are in high demand. I’ve been playing him two nights and people I don’t know keep coming up and saying "heal me." I’m making a little money at it, which is good. and I am learning which biots to kill and how to kill them. I’ve also learned there’s a whole world of trade skills you can learn, baking, tailoring, blacksmithing. to do all these things you need skill, which means you need to train and develop the avatar. Meanwhile, I’m seeing more of the world. I realize I have only seen about 5 percent of it so far. it is big.

6. So….why are virtual worlds so successful? • According to Castronova, people find it alluring that they are in total control of the personal avatar they create. Things that we are born with in reality do not apply to players in VWs; such as gender, skin color, general appearance. • Another important fact is that everyone in the virtual world starts out completely equal; with nothing. If you want to experience more of the game, you have to learn how to earn money and use it to further develop your character. • Lastly, it provides the ultimate escape from a stressful reality. Players enjoy getting lost in the VW because in reality they could be living off a minimum wage job, but in the game they could be living in luxury. • http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/second-skin/

7. Economics in norrath • 2 modes of buying/selling : avatar-to-avatar (a2a) and avatar-to-biot (a2b) . Biots are characters created by the game. • A2b: labor market where hunters gain their wages by killing monster biots and selling their loot to merchant biots • A2a: goods market, where merchants and hunters engage in trade in scarce items. • Users hold online auctions that bring in over $9000 profit on an average weekday. People purchase Norrath items online, exchange money with the other person, then meet up as avatars to exchange the virtual items. • The average player is a single, working, man in his 20s. The majority of which admit to spending more hours a week in VWs than at their actual job.

8. Castronovas prediction • The majority of human interaction will soon take place strictly through the use of avatars, and that virtual worlds will continue to be a booming business. • Project Entropia by Mindarkis a VW that will be available to all for free, but with the option to purchase items for your avatar through your credit card. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNOnepGHvj0

9. “design outside the box” • Jesse Schell, Carnegie Mellon professor, expands on Castronova’s discussions about Earth-like virtual world economies. • Farmville, for example, has more users than there are twitter accounts. • LG > DP (Lead Generation > Direct Payment) : play for free, but you can pay cash (DP) to obtain more virtual money . (LG) sign up for a credit card to get more virtual money, generates more money than DP.

10. Games similar to farmville.. • Club Penguin – An interactive virtual world for kids that allows them to play for free and obtain virtual money. However, you cannot take advantage of all that Club Penguin has to offer without a membership because you cannot spend your virtual dollars without being a paying member. • Mafia Wars – Play against your friends for rewards and strength, but also have the option to use money to attain higher levels as opposed to putting the time in.

11. In what ways are games changing? • According to Schell, games were once meant as an escape, but are lately reaching to become more and more like reality. He gives the example of television being solely reality based in recent years. Also groceries are advertising “All Natural” and “Organic” foods. • Schell explains -“people hunger to get to anything that’s real because we live in a bubble of fake bullshit”. In other words, we have no idea how to maintain a self-sufficient life. Everything has been so convenient for so long that we have become solely dependent on our Starbucks and Panera.

12. Precedents for the future • Schell feels that we are being suffocated with game-like scenarios every day without even being aware of it. • Fantasy Football, which makes points off actual games being played. • Weight Watchers uses a system of counting points to motivate its consumers. • The Ford Hybrid has installed a virtual plant in your car that grows with the more gas you save.

13. Lee sheldon • Professor and game designer at Indiana University who changed the grading system in his class to promote a better learning environment for students. Instead of grades, they were given xp points. They could rise to the top at level 12 to receive an A. Sheldon saw a significant change in letter grades and the amount of classroom attendance.

14. Schell’s predictions • Schell believes that with our technological capabilities today, that there will one day be a game-like scenario in literally every aspect of our lives and mainly to the advantage of advertisers. The installation of sensors in everything (even your toothbrush) to tell the company how often you used that product and to what extent. After using, you will receive a set amount of points for each time. • He uses an example of the government using tax relief incentives to get everyone to ride public transportation. By using a point system, if you ride the bus a certain amount of times, you can tally up your points to receive a relief in tax costs. • Schell predicts there will be touch screens and wifi on everything, because technology diverges. For example, Dr. Pepper cans will have sensors in them to monitor how many you drink a week. If you drink enough to earn rewards points, you may get a discount on your next purchase.

15. Conclusion • Schell leaves us with the question if the use of complete government/advertiser awareness of consumers is necessarily a bad thing. He speculates that this could potentially make people want to be better because there will be incentive and also their legacy is 100% documented and may affect how they want to be remembered by future generations.