On Rat Packs, Achievment & The Market

May I begin this thread by first acknowledging the genius of selling online products. It is, by all accounts, a very beautiful thing, for the marketers. However, as my own personal opinion, this is threatening the integrity of not only the game itself, but the players. I bring to the fore the old concept of 'cost and worth'.

There is ofcourse, in this realm of MMORPG, only one sort of value. And that is, ones satisfaction in reaching any self-set goal. This satisfaction is ultimately the feeling of achievment after having worked hard to accomplish something. This is, I suppose, an old argument, which will have, old responses. I acknowledge that people live real lives, they interact with other physical beings, instead of avatars, and their avatar lives suffer, or fall behind, in the Perfect World. What I mean is, I know that people will pay money to catch up to those that have more time to play, or who have time to play and spend money. It is their right, and I see no problem with it.

I believe there are two types of people who play this game. Essentially 2 different people can reach the same level of play, lets take an extreme example. [removed] (a player who payed around 20,000$'s) and myself (around 300$'s). Theoretically if I played this game for a very, very long time I could reach [removed] level of play. But lets be honest, it would take years, and that's no exageration. But ask yourself a question, who would you respect more? And I'm not talking about the respect that makes you Holy Path in the opposite direction in a TW cause he's bombing down lane B. I mean inside that cage of bone underneath your skin, you recognize something that money can't buy, you recognize achievment. This is not to say that [removed] is unworthy of some sort of praise, but really, 20,000$'s? (and thats just a low estimate)

You know, anytime you see a lvl 90+ free-playing character, that they've been all across the Perfect World and back, they've been in every event, they've participated in every dungeon, done every quest, know's their role in a squad and everyone elses to the nines. In this Perfect World, that is something to admire, because, it's an achievment. It earns ones respect.

The essential problem is the divestment of achievment. Developers made drop rates, they made different monsters to do so, but then they sell you the items those drops create, or better ones. Ofcourse, you're going to buy them, ofcourse you're going to be tempted, but then, will you ever see those mobs or monsters? Did you even want to? Or did you want it to be easier? That much easier?

Its like playing a game and cheating, although that is a somewhat strong example, I do not equate buying gold with cheating, I am merely using it as an example. When one plays a game, and they cheat, they quickly find that the game is boring, or at least, I do.

Did you want to have to gather the material to manufacture that 90+ gear? Did you want to scratch up all that 35,000 rep to get lvl 6 rep gear?

For those who answer yes, well there's good news, the game will cater to your needs, you will always have an instance to run, you will always have mobs to grind. But if you want to TW, and win, bad news, that's reserved for paying customers.

For those who answer no, well there's good news, the game will cater to your needs, you will always have an anniversary pack to open, another endgame item to reap. And there's no bad news, except perhaps, the fact that there will be another player who spends more then you, there will be a player who plays longer than you, and there will always be something you have to buy. Not to mention that the Territory Map will be dominated.

This game, even suggested by its name, is an escape. An escape from the real world into a perfect one. As gamers we escape to relax, to stimulate, but most importantly to escape. There is very little difference between drugs and mmorpgs, or rather, mmorpg sold items meant to increase character performance. There will be a burst of joy, followed by a grinding slow. Money invested into PWI does one thing, it turns on a sort of nitrus oxide, it blasts your character ahead of other players, but then it slows down as you put that money into your character and realize that you've got a new goal to achieve.

Essentially, one feels like they must escape the escape. Because it is no longer a relaxing experience, it does not provide a sense of achievment, and it is revealed for what it truely is, a market, and not a game. A market that defines its own demands by controlling its own supply and setting its own prices.

Feel free to have at me! I've got my fire extinguisher!