Cambarus
Kissaki Confederation
Slammer's Republic
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Posted - 2007.08.25 21:40:00 -
[1]
 Originally by: New Dice
all this thread proves is that people use ridiculous, reduced to the absurd arguements when they are unable to hold ground.
that's the problem with the internet, people don't STFU when their arguement falls apart, there's no body language signalling to everyone their complete collapse, so it just goes on and on and on...clicking and clattering away at the keyboard. shameless.
I've decided to not buy a GTC to sell even though my arguement for it is perfectly sound (+4 implants would pay off after a few months = another month of SP-wise gametime) because spending Real cash on virtual items (we pay to play the game, a service rendered is a very real thing) just...well this is a game, it's not real. Having suffered from mmo addiction [blanket term] in the past however I can understand that many people have difficulty in seperating games/reality and these people have trouble controlling themselves and their male status seeking desires, the craving to appear successful; indeed the entire MMO market is insideous, with more and more people playing for status within an online society rather than entertainment based gameplay like the console games of old. This thread is futile because you cannot argue with someone who has delluded themself into spending RL money on virtual items, to them the virtual item is very real, that's basically all there is too it...either they will come to thier senses or they will continue to believe in the unreal.
Play within your means as a character or don't play at all is how I'll play. I get the feeling that mmo's are going in the opposite direction however as virtual societies 'mature' (fester) and ever more 'players' (suckers) start to believe in the value of virtual items some random developer made up.
Now this I have a problem with, and I feel this needs to be adressed:
First off, I'm going to say now that I do NOT use cash to buy isk (in fact I've been using isk for the last several months to keep my account active).
Next:
This is something I've noticed in just about every game I've ever played, there are ALWAYS people who think that anything on your account is worthless because it's nothing more then pixels, 1s and 0s on a computer somewhere.
Now, I'm not horribly attached to anything I own on eve. If I were to lose it, I'd be irritated, but not terribly upset. However, for the people who are, what exactly is it that makes their attachment to their in-game items wrong? People like the above poster seem to like to place value on things based on what they're made of, rather then what they represent. By that logic, I should be able to hand you a piece of paper I scribbled on for a couple hundred dollar bills. I mean after all, they're just ink and paper...right?
Items are valued based not only on what they are, but what they represent. If I put time and effort into making isk, then that isk not only represents a currency in eve, but also whatever time and effort I put into making it. If you put a lot of time and effort into something, you will, inevitably, become at least somewhat attached to it. Playing video games is no different from any other hobby, like, for example, painting.
I myself wouldn't go out and buy anyone's paintings, simply because I don't see the point. In my mind, paintings serve no real purpose. This in no way means that the painting is worthless, or worth only the paper and paint it's made of.
Which, in turn, means that an in-game item is not worth only what it's made out of (nothing "real", per se) but rather what it represents.
And while I'm on the subject of what's real, I'd like to point out that the money you send CCP is no more or less real then the isk you make in game. Technically speaking, they're the same thing. just 1s and 0s on a computer somewhere. Not only that, but people often trade between the 2 (be it legally or otherwise), so clearly isk has some REAL importance 
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