Thoughts on Gaming

Recently, while researching MMORPG's, it struck me that they were valuable tools for economists and other researchers in conducting studies. They could study the economy, growth, relevance of prices of certain common rares to inflation, the way of currency generation and currency sinking[1], how a balance is maintained and how the economy moves during a sudden imbalance.

Psychologists could take a survey of the players to understand the mentality of the gamers, or even go so far as to recommend them as a therapy for depression, withdrawal etc. A parallel can always be drawn between real life and virtual life. Also, due to the anonymity of the online world, it is easier to obtain contributions from normally reserved people.

Game developers are the most benefited from MMORPG research. While developers of other game genres get feedback or criticism from their fan base only after their games go up for sale, MMORPG developers receive steady, real-time feedback with which they can rectify mistakes and pull back dissatisfied gamers, as well as lead the game the way their players like it. This minimizes their losses and maximizes their revenue.

I stumbled upon an article in Ars Technica which says that indeed such research using MMORPG data is on the anvil. Thanks to a partnership with Sony, a team of academic researchers have obtained the largest set of data on social interactions they've ever gotten their hands on: the complete server logs of Everquest 2, which track every action performed in the game. The data contained is a massive 60 TB!

The article can be found here: http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/02/aaas-60tb-of-behavioral-data-the-everquest-2-server-logs.ars

However, I feel that real-time assessment is easier and much more lucrative, mainly because delving into past trends is a hard job, and also because the future of that game will be vastly different from the past[2]- though this point is not valid for researching into the game economy. You might say that it is not valid for assessing player mentality either, but take into consideration the fact that the player's interest or love for the game grows with time (usually). Thus, their attitude towards and in the game vastly changes, just as time spent on the game fluctuates due to RL.

A unique phenomenon that is observed in MMORPG’s using a cash shop or item mall system is that while the players grumble about having to pay a subscription to play the game, they are willing to spend quite a sum to obtain these cash shop items. The revenue from these items far exceeds the subscription revenue. The general trend is now an f2p (free-to-play) game earning from the item mall.

Gamers are attracted to different types of MMORPG’s, and gamers in the same MMORPG have different ways of playing, different reasons to play- indeed, the reasons are as diverse as the players themselves! It is fascinating to see how a virtual world so closely parallels our real life. If you are someone with a passion for analyzing such scenarios, I suggest you look up the Daedalus Project on MMORPG research, cyber culture and MMORPG psychology.

Here’s the link: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/

MMORPG players carry over their experience, relationships and knowledge obtained through the game to real life, enhancing it and in some cases changing it for the better. I should know; it was so for me. So here’s to all you guys and gals who experience this wonderful virtual world. Happy playing:)

[1]- Every MMORPG has a way of currency generation, which is mostly from selling loot to NPCs (Non-Player Characters). Currency sinking is the way in which the game takes away currency from the players. This is very essential to prevent steep inflation and improper systems could lead to total imbalance. Generally, currency sinking is through buying consumable or restorative items from NPCs, for leveling up skills, for upgrading armor and weapons etc.

[2]- This holds true for a game researcher especially. However, it is useful to study past trends and correlate with the present to get an idea of where the game is heading. A game can’t keep expanding and adding new updates- there is a point beyond which this will lose appeal. Also, the soundness of the game mechanics can be gleaned only from studying the game history.