The Hard Life of a Virtual Gold Farmer
Came across a link at TerraNova that I thought was worth sharing. It's called How a Gold Farm Works and it's a great read for anybody interested in online games and virtual economies.
I can't remember exactly how long ago it was that I first learned people were making real money by playing online games like Lineage, Everquest and World of Warcraft, but it's something that's intrigued me ever since. I've never tried it, and in fact I've never even played any of those types of online games, butI know it's been a growing industry for years. From time to time there'll be a story of 'sweatshops' where low-paid workers toil 24/7 killing monsters, finding treasure, power-leveling their characters, etc. for the 'gold farmers' they work for. Apparently it's big business these days.
Here's a link to a forum discussion that includes one poster's experience as a professional, full-time 'gold farmer', and the difficulties in running such a business and dealing with 'sweatshop' competition, as well as 'dupers' -- people who can create an unlimited supply of virtual money. It's a pretty involved discussion, and I don't pretend to understand a lot of it due to my lack of experience with games like Everquest, but the parts I did understand were pretty damned interesting. Starting with his claim that back in the early days of 'gold farming', he was able to earn a six-figure salary, employ over a dozen people, and even provide his employees with health-care benefits!
Update on Plat Dupe Issue
Apart from the fact that it's another possible way to make money online, I also thought it was worth mentioning here because it's a fascinating look into another online sub-culture, and also a way to look at how money (both 'real' and 'virtual') affects that sub-culture.
And whether you make it all the way through that thread, or just get a few of the highlights, if you're interested and looking for more discussion, don't miss the comments at TerraNova.
I can't remember exactly how long ago it was that I first learned people were making real money by playing online games like Lineage, Everquest and World of Warcraft, but it's something that's intrigued me ever since. I've never tried it, and in fact I've never even played any of those types of online games, butI know it's been a growing industry for years. From time to time there'll be a story of 'sweatshops' where low-paid workers toil 24/7 killing monsters, finding treasure, power-leveling their characters, etc. for the 'gold farmers' they work for. Apparently it's big business these days.
Here's a link to a forum discussion that includes one poster's experience as a professional, full-time 'gold farmer', and the difficulties in running such a business and dealing with 'sweatshop' competition, as well as 'dupers' -- people who can create an unlimited supply of virtual money. It's a pretty involved discussion, and I don't pretend to understand a lot of it due to my lack of experience with games like Everquest, but the parts I did understand were pretty damned interesting. Starting with his claim that back in the early days of 'gold farming', he was able to earn a six-figure salary, employ over a dozen people, and even provide his employees with health-care benefits!
Update on Plat Dupe Issue
Apart from the fact that it's another possible way to make money online, I also thought it was worth mentioning here because it's a fascinating look into another online sub-culture, and also a way to look at how money (both 'real' and 'virtual') affects that sub-culture.
And whether you make it all the way through that thread, or just get a few of the highlights, if you're interested and looking for more discussion, don't miss the comments at TerraNova.
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