Next on Hardball: Casuals vs Hardcore; Does Kel’Thuzad Hate America?
If you don’t like Flash movies, here’s my HANDY RECAP. Note that I have not made up ONE SINGLE QUOTE.
Greg Vederman: “It’s against the terms of service!”
Julian Dibbell: “The whole idea of cheating is bogus!”
Vederman: “It is cheating, because the rules say not to do that!”
Dibbell: “Blizzard can put in a rule to say you have to be a Pastafarian, but that doesn’t mean you will!”
Vederman: “Julian, you’re wrong!”
Dibbell: “The idea that these are competitive games are absurd! They’re collaborative games!”
Vederman: (rolls eyes) “The fact of the matter is, it’s against the Terms of Service!”
G4: “Isn’t it.. uh, incentivized?”
Vederman: “In WoW, it is expressly forgiven!”
G4: “Here’s my issue. A “friend of mine” paid to be powerlevelled to level 30. It should be a crime! If you want to support a sweatshop…”
Dibbell: (rolls eyes)
G4: “Julian, some people on some of those gaming blogs paint a picture of a sweatshop, you know, a guy with a black mask cracking a whip….”
Dibbell: (snickers)
G4: “… but you’ve actually worked in one! What are the conditions like? Should they be banned for being so deplorable?”
Dibbell: “Nononononono. These guys are gamers. They’re not, like conscript armies of peasants, forced to whack orcs all day long. Twelve hours a day, one day off a month…”
Vederman: “SOUNDS AWESOME!”
Dibbell: “If you have a problem with this, you don’t have a problem with gold farming, you have a problem with the global capitalist order.”
Vederman: “You know what I got a problem with, buddy? There are six million players in World of Warcraft! Most of them don’t want this, despite what the G4 poll says!”
Dibbell: (shrugs)
Vederman: “And concievably, they’re going to be taxed! Because their money, their gold in WoW, which should not have a monetary value, does… because of people like YOU!”
G4: “Greg, how dare you discredit our G4 poll!”
So, basically, today we’ve learned that the issues of importance to the MMO community can be made as banally trivial as much more important issues! The progress brings a single tear to my eye, truly.