Play Money- 2nd Section

I just finished 3 more parts in Play Money, and I am so confused! haha I never imagined all this talk of video games and making money online would be quite so complicated. I understand the general idea of real money being exchanged for virtual goods and the different currency systems between the real world and the virtual world and how there are certain exchange values and what not. I also undestand that money takes many forms and virtual money is just another one of these forms. Dibbell loses me, though, when he starts talking specifics. The general idea I understand, but I am really not enjoying the specifics that he goes into. I am enjoying the book, overall, I think it is important to explore the newest things happening in our culture, however, I get somewhat bored when he starts talking about exchange value and how much money he can make from each online book he sells on eBay and how that money will grow towards his future investments in the game.

"The last investment I'd placed with him, 500,000 gp, had netted me 300,000 in two weeks, for a 60 percent ROI. If he did as well this time, my 2 million gp would become 3.2 million, which with any luck I could eBay for $64, an 88 percent return on my $34 (pg. 80-81)."

HUH?
Yeah, this kind of thing is totally lost on me, but I think I'm getting alot out of the rest of the text that gives more background, history, and current events. I've said it before and I will say it again, his discussion of play is so interesting to me, and I think this is a great book to follow A Whole New Mind, it really augments what Pink didn't have time to really go into depth about. I think there is great validity in these author's theories that will continue to present themselves throughout our culture as time passes. On page 54 he discusses how civilization is not made from war and religion, they are too serious. Our civilization (defined as: "an advanced state of human society, in which a high level of culture, science, industry, and government has been reached (dictionary.com.") is created by play which I think is, essentially, how we cope with these more serious areas of life. Play gives us character and makes our civilization unique. " Civilization is, in its earliest phases, played... It does not come from play.. it arrises in play, and never leaves it (pg. 50)." Play is much more important than many of us think it is, and if play is part of who we are, why not play for money as well? He made a good point by saying that the internet introduces and possibly, perfects, the idea of productive play. It finally allows to multitask, and by multitask I don't mean getting 3 projects done at once while on the phone with your boss and IMing your business partner about your next meeting. I mean multitasking our lives, who we are. We can now play and produce a source of income for our families. Those who enjoy video games and enjoy creating them, right brainers, can finally prove to the world that they will rule the world one day.

I also liked his point about games often, modeling the real world. Not all the time of course, however, how many racing video games are out there? What about military games (fighting)? These are things that many of us cannot do in real life. It involves too much risk, not only risking our lives, but risking our income and livelihood if we were to abandom our own careers to follow our secret dream of being the next Nascar driver. But, these games allow us to live our dreams without the consequences, as Dibbell says. We can escape our realities, if only for a moment, and do things we never would be able to otherwise. His idea of 'suspension of disbelief' also stood out for me. We talked about this idea in my fiction class recently. I thought it was interesting that the same term was used and is very applicable in both contexts. You want the reader or the player, to believe that the reality you have created is real, in that moment. It allows a greater connection with the book or the game, I think that plays a big part in the fascination with video games and the goal of achieving this suspension is what keeps video game designers not only employed, but in high demand. The transition of video games from just games into a form of employment and income might be due to a greater suspension of disbelief, a more broad form that is expanding into the lives of its players. It has become such an important part of our culture that we have, in a way, turned this disbelief into belief. It is a world that so many people live in everyday that it is no longer not real. It is very real to many people and adding monetary value to that only enhances the idea of virtual reality becoming more and more real in the lives of everyone. I am really enjoying the layers Dibbell is adding to what many of us consider "just a game" before we started this book. There is so much more to it and I'm glad I'm becoming more aware of it because who knows what the future holds for us.