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Interesting Article About Gold Farmers
bojinx
Member Posts: 172
I found an interesting article about Gold Farmers.....netfiles.uiuc.edu/dtcook/www/CCCnewsletter/7-2/jin.htm
For those who are to lazy to click on the link above, I just copied and pasted the article below.
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In China, there is a new kind of factory that hires young people to play online games like World of Warcraft and Lineage day and night. The gaming workers produce in-game currency, equipment, magic spells and even whole characters, which are sold to players from the US, Europe, South Korea and Japan etc. who want to raise their level in the game world immediately. The people who play games for real money trade are called "gold farmers" in the game world. Since gamers often refer to the Chinese gaming workers as "Chinese farmers" and the gaming factories as "gold farms," I will adopt their terminology. From August 2005 to January 2006, I conducted research in four Chinese gold farms and investigated how the farm owners manage the production and distribution of virtual commodities across the border between the virtual and the real as well as the border between nations. I also tried to find out what this job, combining work and play, means to Chinese gold farmers and how it feels like to live at this peculiar intersection of the virtual and the real. China is currently the world factory of virtual commodities. According to some news articles (1), there are gold farms in Romania, Indonesia and Tijuana. These, however, do not approach the scope and scale of the gold farming industry in China. The large scale Chinese gold farms have hundreds of computers and employees, located mainly located in Si Chuan Province, Fu Jian Province and Dong Bei area. There are also many small ones with 3 to 10 computers. In a small city called Li Shui in Zhe Jiang Province, I found hundreds of such small gold farms. It is almost impossible to find out when the first gold farm emerged in China. The most experienced gold farmer I met started farming in 2001 in a farm that served Korean and Japanese gamers. In 2003, Lineage II launched its American servers and became extremely popular in America. This suddenly expanded the markets for virtual commodities and gave rise to thousands of gold farms in China. This industry has developed to such a level that the Chinese government is looking for ways to tax and regulate it. Donghua, one of the gold farms I visited, has registered with the local government of Jin Hua, a small city in Zhe Jiang Province, as a formal business and started to pay tax. It was difficult for the government to figure out a way to classify this kind of business. At the end, Donghua is classified under the communication and information service sector. There is also a new gaming service company in Jin Hua: 5173.com. 5173.com is one of the largest brokers of virtual commodities for the domestic market in China. According to an employee of 5173.com, the local government of Jin Hua directly invested in 5173.com as a way to boost local economy. The largest international brokers of virtual commodities are websites like IGE.com and Virdaq.com. IGE is like the Wal-Mart of virtual commodities. One can shop for virtual commodities from most of the popular online games easily with an international credit card. IGE has its headquarter in Hongkong, and according to several gold farm owners, most of its virtual commodities are made in China. Most gold farms cannot reach foreign customers directly, so they rely on international brokers to distribute their commodities. But some of them have foreign partners who provide them with eBay accounts, Paypal accounts and foreign bank accounts so that they can trade directly with foreign customers. The transactions of virtual commodities are completed in the game world: after the seller receives the payment and the name and location of the avatar (virtual character) of the seller, one of the avatars of the seller will meet the avatar of the buyer and hand over the items "in person". Typically, the large-scale gold farms provide meals and dorms so that the farmers live in the farm and work on a 12-hour shift with short breaks. There are usually twice as many farmers as computers so that the game is on 24/7. The salary for farmers ranges from 40 USD to 200 USD per month, I even found some particular ones in which the farmers are willing to work for free as long as they have a place to live and they can play games for free. The Chinese gold farmers are sometimes referred to as "gaming sweatshop" (2). This term captures some characteristics of Chinese gold farms. The gold farms reflect China's current role in global economy, which is mainly a source of cheap labor. The gold farmers are being exploited by farm owners and international brokers. They are also working long hours. Sitting in front of a computer and killing monsters for 10 hours a day can be detrimental to their health. However, "gaming sweatshop" is also an oversimplifying term that obscures the complexity of this phenomenon. Most of the gold farmers I talked to love the job. In the gold farms, you can see they are enthusiastic about their job and they got a sense of achievement from it, which is rare in any other sweatshops. Most of the gold farmers I met do not have better alternatives. All the gold farmers I met are male, usually in their early 20s. They were either unemployed or had worse job before they found this job. Many of them were already game fans before they became "professional". In some sense, they are making a living off their hobby, which is an unachievable dream for many people. What's more, the game world can be a space of empowerment and compensation for them. In contrast to their impoverished real lives, their virtual lives give them access to power, status and wealth which they can hardly imagine in real life. This is a reason why they are so addicted to their job. This is a paradox that the term "sweatshop" cannot convey: in the gold farms exploitation is entangled with empowerment and productivity is entangled with pleasure. However, the virtual lives of gold farmers are not perfect either. Many gamers are hostile to gold farmers. For many gamers, the game world should be a place of pure immersion and a level playing field. Eric Anderson, the founder of NoGold (3) organization, told me that the gold industry causes inflation and inequality in the game world and creates sweatshops in the real world. The NoGold organization attempts to get fansites and resource sites to not display gold advertisements, thereby, limit the exposure that players have to the gold industry and make them less likely to make purchases. While the NoGold organization does not put the blame on gold farmers, many gamers see gold farmers as spoilers and intruders of their game world. Nick Yee (4), the founder of the Daedelus project--an online survey of MMORPG players, pointed out that many gamers assume gold farmers are Chinese and often call them "rats", "disease" or "commies". There are even gangs of gamers who systematically harass and massacre suspected Chinese gold farmers. Many Chinese gold farmers are troubled by their conflicts with foreign gamers. They cannot really fit in the gamer communities on foreign servers where they work/play because of language, cultural and social barriers. They are proud of their achievement in the game world but they are also sensitive to the fact that they are playing to provide a service to some wealthier gamers. In the game world they are simultaneously the "master" and the servant. Power relations do cut across the virtual and the real. Chinese gold farmers are in some sense a new kind of immigrant workers, disembodied through the Internet, then reembodied on a foreign territory as the mythical warriors, magicians or priests--virtual bodies that are the bread earners for real bodies. I have here offered a brief description of what I observed in my field research. My project on real money trade in the game world is still at a very early stage. Currently I am looking at the following research questions, which are interdisciplinary by nature. First, how should we understand real money trade in the game world? Is it a new virtual economy that should be allowed to grow or should it be banned in order to preserve a pure game world? Second, how should we understand the labor practice of gold farmers? What does it mean when labor can be so perfectly transferred globally and embodied in play? Third, how does living at the intersection of work and play, virtual and real, affect one's identity formation and worldview? I'm also making a documentary on this subject, which you can preview here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ho5Yxe6UVv4 References 1) See 1up.com, Wage Slave, http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3141815 2) See Ogre to Slay? Outsource It to Chinese. David Barboza. The New York Times, December 9, 2005 3) See www.nogold.org 4) Yi-Shan-Guan, from "the Daedelus Project". Nick Yee. http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus |
Comments
'There are even gangs of gamers who systematically harass and massacre suspected Chinese gold farmers.'
I'd like to meet these people so that I could shake their hands. Gold farmers are a bane to online gaming.
They merely take advantage of poorly and unrealistically designed economies.
Take advantage of:
To profit selfishly by; exploit
_____________________________
*This thread contains enough compressed stupidity to erase all science as far back as the middle ages.
that's the basis of any great economy
Interesting article
I still am always amazed at the replies to things like this. The average western gamer accepts no responsibility at all for existance of gold farmers. As if the farmers would be there if no one bought the gold.
It has nothing to do with poorly designed games or economies, WoW and GW are saturated with gold farmers and services. Two games that have 1) the easiest ingame economies
the largest gold markets. (it just boggles my mind you can buy not only gold but power leveling for Guild Wars...WTF needs power leveling in GW?....I guess someone because there services available...shame on the gamer)
If players want to get rid of the farmers, get rid of the buyers. As long as someone is willing to pay, someone will be willing to farm.
(P.S. I use to hunt bots/farmers in L2 and it use to be great fun. Most of then were bots and easy targets back in the day when "whites" dropped items on death...I made a lot of money in L2 killing bots...so I guess I am guilty of exploiting them to point...)
I think game devs should try and stop this industry in thier games since it does ruin them. but who can really blame some poor chinese guy for earning bread for his family at the expense of your leisure time. it is the people who buy the gold's fault they are the ones cheating.
My blog:
Chinese WoW farmers are terrible when it comes to powerlevelig in WoW. Look at their talent trees, it's all over the place.
Always good to see enterprising people making a go of things.
It's simple, it's a game. DOn't take things to serious. If you want to buy gold, do it. If you don't, don't, And don't worry to much over what the next guy does, cause it's just a GAME!
I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.
--Aristotle
indeed just a game, could I get your game account info for which ever game u play? I'm sure you won't mind since is only a game ^^
Quoted for Truth. If more anti-gold sellers actually read it, and let it sink in. We might get alot less threads about gold selling on the forums. I've never bought gold and/or accounts. I probably never will, but that doesn't mean i'm going to look down on someone else that chooses to go that route. He pays his 15 bucks a month just like I do, if he wants to spend his money on additional stuff. Well that's on him/her to decide. I've never let bots or gold sellers interfere with my fun, nor will I ever. I'll still get what I want, and I still have fun doing it. You have no more right to judge them, then they do to judge you. Stop worrying about what other people are doing, and worry about what you are doing.
In War - Victory.
In Peace - Vigilance.
In Death - Sacrifice.
Capone had his admires also.
Just like China IRL!
Give me a break. /rolleyes
This a controversial topic that I've heard discussed on more than one gaming site. In my opinion, if the buying of gold, items, etc. is allowed according to the game's rules, then it is fine. If the rules state it is not acceptable, then players should not do it. When we sign up for a game, we agree to adhere to the guidelines.
Anyone who thinks that not buying from gold farmers is going to change the way people are treated in foreign "sweatshops" is sadly mistaken. If you are that concerned about the issue then get more involved in politics and pressure the US government to do away with free trade agreements. Having countries like communist China as a "preferred" trade partner is what keeps the real sweatshops going. In all honesty, the gold farmers sound like they have a much better work environment than, say, the laborers who build (dangerous) Mattel toys for American consumers.
................................
My current Guild Wars character:
Dauthix The Avenger (Paragon/Ranger)
I would farm gold for a living as well if I was poor and living in china. Free food and board, with a bit of a wage on the side (small though it may be) is much better than living on the streets and not knowing where your next meal comes from. I hate to see people buy their characters but all in all it doesn't affect me personally very much at all so... As far as buying gold goes I find it a major waste of real $$ but if someone wants to do so then it is their dollar, not mine.
As far as playing games for free goes, yes they get to play for free but they don't get to raid or do anything much besides farming so I fail to see how they can be excited about 'playing for free' but as I said I wouldn't mind it either if the alternative was living out of a garbage can.
[quote]Originally posted by gestalt11
They merely take advantage of poorly and unrealistically designed economies. [/b][/quote]
You mean they cheat because they can get away with it. How nice. I mean, it isn't their fault, right? If the bank door wasn't sitting there open, I would never have taken the money so it is the fault of the bank, not me. Pathetic.
But you're right: it is unrealistic to expect people who play a game to do so fairly and honestly. Of course, these games are all about trying to realize the unrealistic in some small way.
"I still am always amazed at the replies to things like this. The average western gamer accepts no responsibility at all for existance of gold farmers. As if the farmers would be there if no one bought the gold."
The same can be said of drug dealers: they would be out of business if no one bought their product. But: we still hate drug dealers.
For myself, I despise cheaters. I think *every* aspect of this practice is contemptable. It is cheating. The farmers, the companies running the sites that make (and often push) the offers, and yes, the BUYERS as well.
If someone tells me that they've used a gold seller, or bought themselves an eBay character, that is all I need to hear: I don't want anything more to do with them. They're cheaters, and they're contemptable.
Sorry, but these gold farmers KNOW that what they are doing is part of something that is WRONG and against the rules of the game. They are just as much to blame as the buyers. That's my point: They are ALL to blame, and should all be treated appropriately, as cheaters who are harming the game.
I most certainly do put blame on the buyers, so I guess I'm not an "average western gamer". I just think there's plenty of blame to go around for this sort of activity.
I feel sorry for them. Where they are it's either a bad job or no job.
Players that blame Gold Farmers for ruining the game should instead blame the people who use their services, thereby encouraging them.
Former Hard Core member at only 25 posts.
http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/
http://www.nlcnet.org/campaigns/archive/report00/introduction.shtml
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/55/309.html
Please feel free to research the subject of labor in China. Its "just a game" to us a privileged westerners but its much more in other countries. Its not the farmers fault for taking a better opportunity, but its the communities fault for creating the mess in the first place.
Capone had his admires also.
Ah yes.
For a minute there I forgot that gold sellers are murdering mafioso's.
I feel people like you are every bit as bad as cheaters. Not that I consider people who buy gold to be cheaters.
I'd tell you I sell gold just to get rid of you.
If there is one person that ruins a good game it's people who take it too seriously.
If there are two people who ruin a good game, it's people who run around crying cheat every time they get beaten.
OMG you lost! It must be because they cheated. After allthere is no way that in fair competition you could ever be equalled let alone beaten.......you ruined your own game.
It's just a game, when you find your game has been ruined by people who buy gold, or you start to feel contempt for the way other people play their games, take abreak. Go on holiday. Play a single player game for a couple of months until your sanity recovers.
We all get a little bit obsessive once ina while, you have to learn to recognise it and get some other intrests to balance your life.
if you want to blame someone blame the game and the players in it. How many games and how many times have you seen an item way overpriced so someone can gouge a profit out? or a game that wants xxxxxxxx gold pieces for trinket you want. But the game owners want the profit each month so the game is designed to take you 99 months to get enough coin for the trinket. People are going to make the best living they can. if that living is playing a game for coin so be it. No one is twisting your arm to use them, except pehaps the good ole players that have such items and have priced them so high only the few can afford them. It's not only the gold sellers, it's also the players themselves that drive this market. Everytime you price something 20x the worth to run up your bank accout are you not helping foster the gold buying market? Do i support them ? could care less. do i go after farmers as the be all of evil? nope, I reserve that for the players who buy items out of auction and then jack the price up or who corner a market and do the same
Someone should do an article on the losers that buy gold in the first place, deal with the nerds that buy in game items for real life money and you deal with the people who supply said items in game.
And its hardly a sweat shop, these guys are basically pro gamers of the underground variety, they get payed to play games. Some of them say it them self its a chance to do a dream job for them not something people in china can realistically look forward to doing for the most part.
One of the key points that would be brought up in an article about gold/item character etc buyers is how all of them think their justified in doing it, apparently it keeps the playing field even lol
Btw to the tards, because thats what you guys are who say blame developers, seriously you are no better than the nerds buying gold although most likely you are or have done said activity which is why you defend it so much. Its these guys that are choosing to cheat, they don't have to cheat no one else is making them cheat they are choosing to.
Its not the devs fault its the lazy ass nerd that thinks hes accomplishing something irl by furthering his in game characters by cheating thats the cause of the virtual item industry. The devs do not encourage you to cheat, if theres a flaw in the design of the economy why the fuck exploit it? how is that the devs fault that you have no morals, that you choose to cheat to get to a goal you are meant to reach in the intended way you know that amazing activity of actually playing a game.
If theres someone who you know is buying gold report them, that will get rid of the gold farmers. Theres no Supply without Demand, aka if theres noone for these guys to sell to, then theres no reason for them to have a business or it becomes so risky that the overall amount of companies doing it will be very small thus alot easier to track down and deal with or to the point it wont make such an obvious impact on the game.
And btw these are games duh, forgive people for actually want to play them as that. Not the muppets who take the game so seriously that they have to use real money to buy a few bytes of data their the ones that are pathetic. Its like trying to insult those that get athletes banned for taking performance enhancing drugs to give them selfs an advantage over everyone else by exploiting the rules.
Capone had his admires also.
Ah yes.
For a minute there I forgot that gold sellers are murdering mafioso's.
It's just a matter of degree, Baff. After all, what is the standard gangland excuse for wacking a guy? "It's only business, not personal".
Right.
CH, Jedi, Commando, Smuggler, BH, Scout, Doctor, Chef, BE...yeah, lots of SWG time invested.
Once a denizen of Ahazi
I agree with posters above that one MUST look at the demand side to understand this phenomenon.
There are obviously people playing these games who want to shortcut around barriers to their advancment, be they whatever the ingame currency is, or be it getting around the barriers to character advancement.
Some people have no use for playing the game to advance, they want to be in the "endgame" right away. They might be PvPers who want to PvP at the very pinacle of it; or they might want to PvP in world and kill lower players for their own amusement.
Or they just have to have the bling right now. WoW is a game of bling, what with epic mounts and epic gear and you are automatically assumed to have put in a great deal of effort to get those. How sad it would be if the admiring peasants knew that you bought those uber items with RL money instead of actually earning them through gameplay.
CH, Jedi, Commando, Smuggler, BH, Scout, Doctor, Chef, BE...yeah, lots of SWG time invested.
Once a denizen of Ahazi