catacomb: could it happen?

[messy]

back in may of 1985, dragon magazine printed a fine short story called "catacomb," by henry melton. in this story, a teenage girl played a computer game in which real-life money was rewarded for accomplishments in the game.

it's now 25 years later. could a game like this exist?

want to read the story? click here

messy

 

[Umbran]

in this story, a teenage girl played a computer game in which real-life money was rewarded for accomplishments in the game.

it's now 25 years later. could a game like this exist?

Online poker and gambling exists.

However, for adventure games, you have a major problem - the business model. That real-life money has to come from somewhere. There are typically two models: advertising, and subscription.

In that latter model, you need the majority of people to never accomplish the things that earn money. But if they get stymied and cannot go further, they tend to end their subscriptions.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

In that latter model, you need the majority of people to never accomplish the things that earn money. But if they get stymied and cannot go further, they tend to end their subscriptions.

Ever hear of Gamblers Anonymous? All the game need do is 1) have a relatively low subscription price, 2) have the big payouts be difficult to achieve and 3) be programmed to hand out low-value rewards at fairly random but regular intervals.

That's how casinos & lotteries work, after all.

And given that we're considering a game with a PvP element, there's going to be a further incentive of "get 'em next time!" in effect as well.

 

[kitsune9]

Online poker and gambling exists.

However, for adventure games, you have a major problem - the business model. That real-life money has to come from somewhere. There are typically two models: advertising, and subscription.

In that latter model, you need the majority of people to never accomplish the things that earn money. But if they get stymied and cannot go further, they tend to end their subscriptions.

There's another model is simulated economy. I can't remember the game's name but you can build things in it and sell it to other players. One guy bought a piece of "real estate" for the real price of $335k. Now for people to convert their fake money back into real money, the company charges an administrative fee which is their revenue.

 

[Pickles JG]

People farm gold in WoW & get paid for their work in Second Life - in game money that they can convert back into real cash. Is this what you mean?

 

[Jadeite]

There are also MMOs where you can gain money by selling ingame items or characters.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Some people make money in online games, though I am not sure if there is enough return to make a living out of it. Not sure if a game could be structured to allow that kind of thing to be a major feature.

Aside from outright gambling.

 

[Umbran]

Ever hear of Gamblers Anonymous? All the game need do is 1) have a relatively low subscription price, 2) have the big payouts be difficult to achieve and 3) be programmed to hand out low-value rewards at fairly random but regular intervals.

That's how casinos & lotteries work, after all.

Yes, note how I said that online poker and gambling exists? The problem is that the reward models are not the same - gamblers expect random awards, and adventurers expect rewards tied to game-accomplishments, rather than random events.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Right, but if in-game rewards are based on scarce resources, the element if PvP gives you both the "competition" reinforcement AND an element of randomness, since not all players will be able to achieve all goals.

By the nature of the way online games roll out and membership waxes & wanes, those scarce resources (or their equivalents) will have to regenerate over time, but that's pretty minor.

 

[Umbran]

... since not all players will be able to achieve all goals.

And that, in a nutshell, is the problem. That's apt to be an unsatisfying adventure game.