Power Plays

I loved my first job out of college because I literally got paid to play with toys. My colleagues both young and old were all of the same effervescent spirit. Our break-room, which consisted of the latest platform video games, a serious foosball table, and other items to keep our minds off (yet still on work), exhibited the power of play to me.

I had firsthand knowledge that work could be play and vice versa. Writing about the brand new Tonka truck wasn’t really all that arduous, especially since it wasn’t abnormal to make the rip-roaring sounds you may associate to a 6 year old while in my cube conjuring up all the necessary elements of copy. I did think I had my mind around this concept until Julian Dibbell slipped a curveball on me. His Play Money unlocked an entire new world of power plays where the sky is the limit. Dibbell forged relationships with the myriad of participants of the virtual gaming world and concluded that people of all ages and social status played and excelled in these games.

What I find truly interesting was the idea of “cheating” in this world. It seemed to be the general consensus of most players that purchasing a highly-skilled identity wasn’t really cheating, but the idea of having robots who were programmed to build the skill that could transfer both their gold coins and levels on eBay, was demonized.

This virtual world with its own economy, the same shifts of inflation and deflation, mimics our natural economy. Will this be indicative of an entirely new wave of virtual economies? Even the feds are in on it, apparently virtual world illegal gaming has risen concerns. Blogger, Stephanie’s “Poorer Than You” also has some interesting commentary on the tax implications of virtual income made real.

For those of you who Second Life means nothing, I found several great sites to catch us up with the lingo. The Week Magazine has a great Q & A on the topic of second life and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has put together a great piece, You Only Live Twice.

I love the entrepreneurial spirit these games allow players, but I would be quite concerned if my husband took up this “play”. For those who become addicted to Uber-ing out their virtual identity could easily forget they are living and breathing in the physical world. And at what point is the person playing getting played?