After our discussion in class about goldfarming, it became apparent that ones identity is sometimes easily spotted just by their ranking on a game, or the amount of "gold" they have. As Americans are increasingly using the benefits of goldfarming to advance in their gaming worlds, their identities are in turn being purchased instead of earned.
Like we talked about in class, one can buy themselves to a higher level if desired, instead of putting in the long hours of earning their way up the gaming ladder. In my opinion this seems like cheating. Just like Dibbell says in her article “The Life of the Chinese Gold Farmer”. She says that “This development has not been universally welcomed. In the eyes of many gamers, in fact, real-money trading is essentially a scam — a form of cheating only slightly more refined.”
So are these M.M.O’s ultimately enabling or suppressing identities? I would have to argue that they do both in a way. The are enabled because people who might be afraid to express their views (ex. political, gender, or financial) can now participate online in games such as Second Life. Here they can express themselves in a way they might not thought was possible before. But they now have the power to live in two three maybe even multiple lives at a time, and be a different person in each one that expresses different sides of their personality.
But on the other hand, these M.M.O’s can also suppress ones identity because people might be afraid of how they they really feel and so they act in other ways that they think will be more accepted online. For example, even if you don’t have a lot of money in “real life” you can play long enough and be rich on the game. You can buy weapons etc.... and “pretend” to be wealthy and powerful.
In a virtual world it would be ideal if we all started equal but you can become powerful with money by buying gold and advancing to higher levels. Some individuals don’t have that advantage and have to work 10 times harder to achieve the same status.
So what does this mean for the future Americans? Have we become too lazy of a nation that we have to purchase peoples precious time just to advance in a game? The gold farmers are only getting paid a fraction of what they deserve, so Americans can get their instant gratification. Do you think goldfarming is unethical?
I can see both sides of it I suppose. I definitely see it as a form of cheating to pay someone else to play the game for you and then reap the rewards of extra weapons or whatever without paying your dues. But I have never played any of those type of games so maybe it is just accepted as part of the gaming community.
ReplyDeleteAs for the actual people that work in the gold farming places I am not sure how I feel. They definitely don't work under the best conditions but what can you expect from China? Compared to other sweat shops there I would say these gold farming places are at least a step up. At least they are playing a game instead of sewing clothing or something. But it's still sad that people are expected to work under such bad conditions.