In recent years, gaming and in particular electronic sports (e-sports) are becoming than just your everyday hobby. Most notably, Kyle Giersdorf, a 16 year-old Fortnite player, was able to receive $3 million for winning the Fortnite World Cup held this last summer.
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Kyle Giersdorf, "Bugha", Fortnite World Cup, Picture taken from CNN
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Although it can seem like a dream made reality for some, others don't really have a say or choice in the matter.
For example, in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (mmorpg), Old School Runescape, there are Venezuelan "gold-farmers" that are earning about 10x the income of an average Venezuelan citizen from playing this game.
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| Picture of Old School Runescape, Picture taken from Hypebeast |
Old School Runescape is unique in the sense that it requires very low time and effort to start generating revenue. The Venezuelan players get $USD by playing and earning the game's virtual currency (gold), hence the coined term gold-farmer, which is then later sold to other players for $USD.
Due to the game's economy being player driven, the value of gold has largely inflated as Venezuelan players are aggressively adding more "gold" into circulation. Thus, the majority of players are opposed and even purposely targeting the Venezuelan community.
Moreover, since the exchange of virtual currency for real life currency is strictly against Runescape's terms of service, the game developers are also taking action by banning or deleting Venezuelan game accounts.
For Venezuelans, Runescape is more than just a game. With one month worth of income, players are able to feed a family of four. This begs the question: Is it ethical for the game developers and the player base to target these player's main source of income?
As James H. Moor has said himself, "at the very least we need to do more to be more proactive and less reactive in doing ethics." We should draw the line between whether or not if certain rules in place should be upheld even if the consequences may deem to be immoral. In this case, should Runescape be more lax on their policies in regards to the Venezuelan circumstances? As technology becomes more ingrained into our daily lives, it is likely that we will need to improve our approach to ethics.
Very interesting blog. It is also very interesting that you mentioned the economics of the game being affected by the amount of players becoming gold farmers. It is also how coincidental that the inflation of gold in the game has led players to attack certain groups. It seems as though the players are displaying what would similarly happen in a real society and how these "fictitious" environments also display these systems.
ReplyDeleteThe question that you propose is very interesting as well and quite hard to answer. Personally I align myself with de-ontological ethics and oppose the ban of the Venezuelan accounts but al;so oppose the actions that the Venezuelans to provoke inflation since both are using a moral agent as a means to an end. What I would suggest for this article is to add your own opinion on the matter of this article. It would be very interesting to know your opinion on the matter. Overall you did a really great job at captivating the audience with the way you phrased your blog. Keep up the good work.
Hi Alan, great post! The topic you selected is definitely unique and interesting.
ReplyDeleteOverall, structure is good and the way you transition from your introduction into your main topic is smooth. I think what would improve your post would be to include actual dollar amounts that these Venezuelan players are making from Runescape compared to a "typical job" in order to get a better sense of how impactful this is. It would also be more engaging if you could talk about Runescape's current position on the issue. Otherwise, good job!
Hey, wanted to point out that I think your topic is quite interesting. Although Esports has been getting more and more attention, there definitely isn't enough talk about the far reaching impact of video games such as Runescape, which has real socio-economic implications.
ReplyDeleteHowever in this case, I don't think the moral/ethical responsibility lies with the game developers, rather with the Venezuelan government. Its just simple economics - due to the incompetence of the government, its easier to make a living on Runescape than by means otherwise. However this is the age old problem of politics and governance, rather than that of emerging technology in my opinion. If the root of the problem of crumbling economy doesn't get fixed, it really won't matter for the masses whether or not Runescape developers have these gold miners in mind. After all, they're just trying to fulfill their promise of providing a good service to their intended customers. Therefore think it would be unfair to obligate them to spending their own resources in solving this major issue.