04 May 2005
Neverquest
There has been some concerns expressed within MMOG environments about players losing their civil rights whilst inside the game environment. Sal Humphreys lecture on the 28th of April at QUT Australia, addressed issues concerning players' rights within these emergent game environments. Sal states that "Rights as a citizen become compramized in the virtual world."
Game producers who have made such environments as Everquest were only too aware that they would have this sort of omnipotent power, when they created the game. Hence the slogan "You're in our world now." It is hoped that people in such positions of power use their power wisely and justly. However in times where there have been confrontations with game producers (ie when the producers of Everquest reclaimed blackmarket items off players who unknowingly had purchased items off other players), the players were left with no-where to turn for compensation. Players held protests but to little avail.
It is unfortuante that big companies can pull heavy muscle inside the game environment and virtually steal from the players. It is not considered theft however because Sony's EULA states that everything within the game is their property anyway. It is understandable why players who have invested much time and effort into this community feel betrayed and at a loss as to where to turn. To leave the game afterall, would be to leave an entire community of friends as well as losing all the time spent on learning skills and collecting goods. Without a fair governing body, where are the players to turn to?
The simple answer, to avoid disappointment, players may be better off avoiding corperate run MMOGs such as Everquest. Players need to band together with other gamers and create environments that are multigoverned by separate entities. In these nonprofitable organizations there would be a world of support coming from other gamers who could actually make real changes by putting pressure on the "board of directors". Open source communities seem like a more fair and just way of participation. Could this be the new communism?
All positions of authority are subject to the forces of corruption, and the open source network is not exempt. But the communal spirit seems more prevalent in these open source worlds, such as Beyond 2. Perhaps players need to be told this sort of infromation before they invest too much of their lives in corporate run worlds like Everquest.
Game producers who have made such environments as Everquest were only too aware that they would have this sort of omnipotent power, when they created the game. Hence the slogan "You're in our world now." It is hoped that people in such positions of power use their power wisely and justly. However in times where there have been confrontations with game producers (ie when the producers of Everquest reclaimed blackmarket items off players who unknowingly had purchased items off other players), the players were left with no-where to turn for compensation. Players held protests but to little avail.
It is unfortuante that big companies can pull heavy muscle inside the game environment and virtually steal from the players. It is not considered theft however because Sony's EULA states that everything within the game is their property anyway. It is understandable why players who have invested much time and effort into this community feel betrayed and at a loss as to where to turn. To leave the game afterall, would be to leave an entire community of friends as well as losing all the time spent on learning skills and collecting goods. Without a fair governing body, where are the players to turn to?
The simple answer, to avoid disappointment, players may be better off avoiding corperate run MMOGs such as Everquest. Players need to band together with other gamers and create environments that are multigoverned by separate entities. In these nonprofitable organizations there would be a world of support coming from other gamers who could actually make real changes by putting pressure on the "board of directors". Open source communities seem like a more fair and just way of participation. Could this be the new communism?
All positions of authority are subject to the forces of corruption, and the open source network is not exempt. But the communal spirit seems more prevalent in these open source worlds, such as Beyond 2. Perhaps players need to be told this sort of infromation before they invest too much of their lives in corporate run worlds like Everquest.
