Online Game Economies Get Real

In a galaxy not too far away, online gamers may soon scour the job boards for paying posts as Galactic Empire insurgents or anti-Vader moisture farmers. Massive multiplayer online role-playing games boast subscriber populations that rival those of many North American cities. As a result, game developers are moving beyond simply creating ultrarealistic 3-D worlds. They're also modeling less tangible Earth phenomena such as governance and commerce -- prompting a rise of real economies in imaginary societies.

"Traditionally that kind of kill-the-rat, get-your-five-gold-pieces model hasn't changed with most (multiplayer online games)," said LucasArts producer Haden Blackman, referring to the revenue strategy pioneered by the early text-based multi-user domains on which modern MMORPGs are based. "One of the things we wanted to do is have a more viable player-run economy from the very outset."

Blackman heads up the LucasArts branch of the team that's working with Sony Online Entertainment to produce the first Star Wars-based MMORPG, Star Wars Galaxies, set to hit shelves in late January.

The elaborate handle for these online role-playing games is shortened in various ways throughout the online gaming industry: MMOP, MMO and MMPOG, in addition to the Star Wars Galaxies-styled, MMORPG.

Typically, MMORPG gamers move through elaborate environments as digital action figures called avatars. Successful adventures yield monetary rewards that can be used to purchase equipment and clothing.

Negative Effects of Video Gaming

Of course, when I started playing games, parents and relatives would just tell me that video games were bad and they had several negative effects. But to be very frank, back in 1995 not many could answer a simple question like, 'What is the harm in playing video games anyway?'

So, are there any negative effects of video games? Should we simply take all the video games ever made and dump them into a canal? Well, as someone who has been playing these games for the past thirteen years, it would be only right for me to put down the ill effects of video games that I have experienced.

Positive Effects of Video Games

Video games have always been infamous for their anti-social aspect and the violence that is shown in them. They have been seen as negatively affecting the players in terms of lack of social skills, inefficiency, obesity and laziness. We lack an unbiased view, thus not being able to experience the positive effects of video games. The negativities brought in by video games are due to the unrestricted duration for which they are played. Video games are popular among the children and the youngsters of America. If there is no limit to the time for which a child is allowed to play a video game or no supervision on the way in which the game is played, the not-so-positive effects of video games will start showing. But otherwise, video games can prove to be beneficial. Playing video games demands an interactive involvement of the players. As a player, you start identifying with some character in the game and act for it. This excited state of mind has a positive effect on the player. It is also said that playing video games is surely better than watching television as video games are interactive.