Lineage II players suspected of being Chinese gold farmers. 1
The Grind
In chapter 3 , we explored superstitions in online games. I touched on the tedium of
grinding,
having to kill hundreds of monsters to gain another level. Although quests in the game provide experience points, they often bring players only partway to the next level. Players need to grind to accrue the remaining required experience points. The tedium of grinding is also exacerbated, as mentioned previously, because leveling-up time increases with each level. At the same time, quests get you less of the way to each next level. The result? More and more grinding is required to reach each successive level. In many cases, the quests themselves are just grinding in disguise. For example, a gang forces a local baker to pay a protection fee and would like you to kill ten gang members, computer-controlled enemies, in addition to the gang leader.
In 2005, I worked as a summer intern at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), where my colleagues had been running a data collection tool that took a census snapshot of several
World of Warcraft
servers every ten minutes. By the time I arrived at PARC, my colleagues had already collected several months of data. These snapshots included hundreds of thousands of characters, and the census data allowed us to calculate the average time it took for characters to reach each level. We estimated that it took the average player 372 hours to reach the maximum level in the game. To put this number into perspective, given that a normal workweek consists of 40 hours, thatâs more than two full months of workdays. 2
For some players, the journey of leveling up is satisfying and pleasurable. Rather than a tedious grind, they find a relaxing activity.
While there ARE things much more enriching and rewarding than mindless leveling, thereâs a certain . . . feeling of zen to be found in the grind. Iâve spent hours on end in the same area, doing the same thing over and over, watching the exp bar creep slowly upwards. Just soloing, just me and the monsters. [
City of Heroes,
female, 22]
But it is easy to see that grinding can become a chore for most players, especially if it takes two months to reach the advanced game. This is especially true for players who already work full-time and would be hard-pressed to devote much time to grinding. And for many players who make an hourly wage, an interesting calculus comes into play. Specifically, the ability to buy off large numbers of grinding hours with one hour of real-world work can become very attractive.
Guy4Game.com is one of many companies that provide power-leveling services. For a fee, the companyâs employees use the playerâs game account username and password to log in and grind through a certain number of levels in the game. When the power-leveling is complete, the service alerts the player via email. A typical cost in March 2013 for leveling a new
World of Warcraft
character to level 90 was $199, and the leveling up would take roughly seven days to complete. For players who make at least twenty dollars an hour and want a max-level character, the ability to trade one workday for months of grinding can be an incredibly attractive and sensible option.
Other players may enjoy the leveling process but might wish to speed things up a bit. Or they would like to reduce grinding without giving up control of their character. And some players might not wish to share their game password with a third party for security reasons. For all of these players, there is virtual currency to be purchasedusing real money. Virtual currency allows players to buy in-game weapons and items to kill monsters more quickly and thus level up faster.
A quick search on âwow goldâ (the
World of Warcraft
in-game currency) using Google reveals dozens of websites offering virtual gold sales. The transaction is largely identical across these sites. Players identify the game and server
The Grind
In chapter 3 , we explored superstitions in online games. I touched on the tedium of
grinding,
having to kill hundreds of monsters to gain another level. Although quests in the game provide experience points, they often bring players only partway to the next level. Players need to grind to accrue the remaining required experience points. The tedium of grinding is also exacerbated, as mentioned previously, because leveling-up time increases with each level. At the same time, quests get you less of the way to each next level. The result? More and more grinding is required to reach each successive level. In many cases, the quests themselves are just grinding in disguise. For example, a gang forces a local baker to pay a protection fee and would like you to kill ten gang members, computer-controlled enemies, in addition to the gang leader.
In 2005, I worked as a summer intern at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), where my colleagues had been running a data collection tool that took a census snapshot of several
World of Warcraft
servers every ten minutes. By the time I arrived at PARC, my colleagues had already collected several months of data. These snapshots included hundreds of thousands of characters, and the census data allowed us to calculate the average time it took for characters to reach each level. We estimated that it took the average player 372 hours to reach the maximum level in the game. To put this number into perspective, given that a normal workweek consists of 40 hours, thatâs more than two full months of workdays. 2
For some players, the journey of leveling up is satisfying and pleasurable. Rather than a tedious grind, they find a relaxing activity.
While there ARE things much more enriching and rewarding than mindless leveling, thereâs a certain . . . feeling of zen to be found in the grind. Iâve spent hours on end in the same area, doing the same thing over and over, watching the exp bar creep slowly upwards. Just soloing, just me and the monsters. [
City of Heroes,
female, 22]
But it is easy to see that grinding can become a chore for most players, especially if it takes two months to reach the advanced game. This is especially true for players who already work full-time and would be hard-pressed to devote much time to grinding. And for many players who make an hourly wage, an interesting calculus comes into play. Specifically, the ability to buy off large numbers of grinding hours with one hour of real-world work can become very attractive.
Guy4Game.com is one of many companies that provide power-leveling services. For a fee, the companyâs employees use the playerâs game account username and password to log in and grind through a certain number of levels in the game. When the power-leveling is complete, the service alerts the player via email. A typical cost in March 2013 for leveling a new
World of Warcraft
character to level 90 was $199, and the leveling up would take roughly seven days to complete. For players who make at least twenty dollars an hour and want a max-level character, the ability to trade one workday for months of grinding can be an incredibly attractive and sensible option.
Other players may enjoy the leveling process but might wish to speed things up a bit. Or they would like to reduce grinding without giving up control of their character. And some players might not wish to share their game password with a third party for security reasons. For all of these players, there is virtual currency to be purchasedusing real money. Virtual currency allows players to buy in-game weapons and items to kill monsters more quickly and thus level up faster.
A quick search on âwow goldâ (the
World of Warcraft
in-game currency) using Google reveals dozens of websites offering virtual gold sales. The transaction is largely identical across these sites. Players identify the game and server
Similar Books
