The Most Expensive Island Online

[StreetsofSilver]

Virtual Real Estate


The World's Most Expensive Island--Online - Plugged In - Yahoo! Games

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

When I see stuff like this, it makes me worry about the future, and our future generation. This is lost productivity when our young people invest hours and hours of their lives in a fictitious world ... and then are validated by the activity by making a nice living doing so. It's like a digital ponzi scheme for life.

I don't think I will ever get it.

 

[maximus20895]

It said the makes 100k on the island each year. I couldn't find out how though. So that makes his decision more rational.

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

The average 18 year old American has had over 36,000 hours of being entertained through TV, Video Games, and listening to Music.

That is 1,500 days of straight entertainment. Or 4.10 years of being entertained.

Life is not a spectator sport. People need to stop being entertained and be entertaining!

 

[ZDS]

I guess I have a different opinion on the subject. By the way, this is all in good spirits and fun I want to make sure my passion doesn't come across as anger! As most of you who met me know, I have alot of passion and tend to start speaking/operating at a hundred miles an hour!



I don't necessarily consider it lost productivity to spend time in virtual worlds as much as any other form of entertainment.

First you really have to define productivity. Is reading a book for pleasure productive? Watching a movie? Watching TV? Playing a board game? If these are all unproductive, then Yes, online games are unproductive.

However, assuming these are unproductive, then Online games are a much better medium to be unproductive. If you watching TV, a movie, etc etc. it's a one way interaction. At least if you're spending your time playing online games, you're socializing, your intereacting. Your setting goals, attaining them, and building something.

I would argue that online games can be great training tools.

Ex: 1 - Goal Setting

These games are pretty much one goal after another. You set a goal, work hard for it, and achieve it. Regardless of whether its a fictional universe, you're conditioning your self to set goals and achieve them through hours of work. Yes, some of these online goals in games are EXTREMELY hard to achieve and require an extreme amount of dedication/skills.

2nd - Socializing/Team Building
When you are playing, you are socializing. You have to learn to work as a team to complete quests or goals. You have to learn to rely on other people, while simultaneously doing your job. This teamwork/socializing building has netted me many friends across the world that I still keep in touch with today.

3rd - Management
If you are spending a lot of time play and decide you want to play at "high end" which is the content that takes a lot of time to access, and you want to really reap the rewards of it then it takes tons of personal management. Some of the end game content can require managing 40+ people, getting them together, etc etc.

An in game example is a Space game called Eve online. The top tier "alliances" (groups of players) have 2000-3000 players in ONE alliance.

Think about the logistics of this, this particular alliance "owns' alot of space(Think about owning land) and has to protect it, defend it, set up logistics to move material etc etc.

This requires a SIGNIFICANT amount of management and critical thinking to be able to pull this off, especially when tons of other alliances are trying to take over, there is internal strife and espionage, and random pirates attacking your supply lines.

These are just a few examples, I could go on forever.

Now if we assume that reading(for pleasure, not knowledge)/watching movies/going out and playing sports etc is productive then online gaming is very productive entertainment medium.

Anyways, this was just a quick and dirty example of my opinion.

-Zach

 

[Icy]

ZDS, I was going to stick up for online games too, but I want to play devil advocate. Also this is all in the eyes of MMORPGs since that's what your blog is about.

These games are pretty much one goal after another. You set a goal, work hard for it, and achieve it. Regardless of whether its a fictional universe, you're conditioning your self to set goals and achieve them through hours of work. Yes, some of these online goals in games are EXTREMELY hard to achieve and require an extreme amount of dedication/skills.

Thing is for almost everything in an online game, hard doesn't mean what it means it real life. Hard generally corresponded to time in the online world. Sure, every once in a while there might be a difficult boss, but at the very worst that means going and just spending time grinding\questing to be able to beat him. And when grinding or even questing it just becomes the same task over and over, so it's an element of time, not difficulty\skill.

The rest I don't want to touch because I either agree with it or don't have enough experience to talk about it (40+ raids and what not).

So, I guess the only part of my debate is that it's not so much hard, just time consuming. Anyone can do it, it just depends on who is going to take the time away from things that are truly challenging to do it.

 

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[ZDS]

Who is to say time dedication is not a skill? The ability to dedicate and concentrate a large amount of time is a huge demonstration of skill, IMO. Isn't a huge business pitfall, the fact that people jump around. I'd take a partner that spends a huge amount of time and works his a$$ off, over one who is a fair bit smarter and doesn't.

Also, If someone jumped into "high end" portion of the game, they would not be able to complete it, why? Because they don't understand their character or their role. They have not practiced it. They also would not be able to complete alot of content, purely on the fact that a huge part of it is planning and knowing the environment of the raid/quest. This is difficult in and of it self and why you see certain groups of players, who spend less time and acomplish MUCH more. Raid AI has gotten much better and many of these dungeons are quiet difficult.

Not to mention if you get into player vs player end game it becomes a whole different scenario.

IE: You are battling thinking, breathing players. This requires a massive amount of skills and planning.


Believe me, competing at a high end of games are EXTREMELY skillful. Look at Korea if you need any proof, although these are RTS games(a different genre than MMO, but many of the same aspects are still convertible) They have PROFESSIONAL game players that make 6 figures a year because they are very good.

Anyways, I'm off to my plane! But a great discussion we are having

 

[hatterasguy]

MJ I couldn't agree more, what a waste. Get off the freaken net and go build something real, don't take the easy way out.

To me video games are fun when your drinking with your friends to play a bit. I like the racing games and anything that involves shooting.

 

[CactusWren]

Interesting views. I have to say I am struck again ZDS by your use of the word "socialize." I always thought it meant human interaction. When you use it is refers to an individual dealing with others through a computer. I wonder how that will affect us all longterm, in regard to brain and heart development.

I believe there is value in theory versus practice, like a fictitious stock portfolio versus an actually funded one, but clearly when you do it for real it can be very different.

 

[Halli]

It said the makes 100k on the island each year. I couldn't find out how though. So that makes his decision more rational.

My guess is that he rents out part of the land of the island to people.Letting them build houses or even builds them for them.Like a person could do in real life.

 

[CarrieW]

If this guy is pulling in over 100k a year doing this Id say that is real world enuff for me. He took something people do for fun and made it into a real world asset... if any of you doubt virtual re is real world just count the real world dollars going into his bank account every week....

Id prefer to make 100k a year "playing" online then 30k a year busting my a$$ in a blue collar job...

 

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[hatterasguy]

Id prefer to make 100k a year "playing" online then 30k a year busting my a$$ in a blue collar job...

How long is it going to last? These online things are fads they come and go so fast.

I rather buy a real island, and build real homes on it, so I can show my grandkids one day and say look your grandfather built that.

 

[x9vjzs098u123rnl]

How long is it going to last? These online things are fads they come and go so fast.

Agree: I've never even heard of this "Entropia" thing, and I'm a teenager with gamer friends. These games come and go- a new one is released, everybody starts playing it, and forgets about the old one.

Disagree: How long has WoW been around? How about the "gold mining" business that sells WoW gold? How about the Clickbank products that explain WoW strategies and how to get more gold?

-----------------------

Personally I have to say that I don't get any of this stuff. It's all PC/online gaming (MMORPGs) anyways. I've never been much of a gamer... thank God, it would have ruined my ability to get anything done ( )

 

[Russ H]

Interesting views. I have to say I am struck again ZDS by your use of the word "socialize." I always thought it meant human interaction. When you use it is refers to an individual dealing with others through a computer. I wonder how that will affect us all longterm, in regard to brain and heart development.

Cactus Wren, you mentioned this the other day in a post.

I am struck by your definition of social interaction, so bear with me a bit.

Does it need to be face to face?

To the people need to touch? See each other? Exchange words?

I am curious-- truly.

I hope you don't feel I'm baiting you-- I really would like you hear your views on this.

Hoping you respond.

-Russ H.

 

[Russ H]

When I see stuff like this, it makes me worry about the future, and our future generation. This is lost productivity when our young people invest hours and hours of their lives in a fictitious world ... and then are validated by the activity by making a nice living doing so. It's like a digital ponzi scheme for life.

I don't think I will ever get it.

I find these comments fascinating, MJ.

Consider this: When we sat w/RK, he considered anyone who spent time on the internet a total loser-- because, from his perspective, he couldn't see how money could be made online. He saw the internet as "fake".

You are a great example of using the 'net to make money-- so you can certainly see the hole in his reality.

Perhaps it's 'cause I've read science fiction for years (decades?), but I can see someone living in a virtual world w/no problem. This "virtual reality" has been explored from lots of different perspectives, both in movies (eg, The Matrix, Tron, many others), and in hundreds of SF books.

Have you read the book Ender's Game? Puts a really different spin on this whole thing.

I do see a mixing of virtual and "real" worlds as we go forward. I can see someone hooking themselves into an interface and exploring other worlds via a robot (not through a living creature, as in Avatar, but via a machine).

I realize CactusWren is prolly cringing at this-- looking forward to her views on what constitutes social interactions and where to "draw the line" between what is social, and what is machine.

Me? I just see it as a natural progression of technology. I look forward to the day (near future) when I'll have a digital assistant that sits on my ear, that recognizes my voice, and has phone/net access, and essentially handles my appointment calendar, reminds me about birthdays, gives me directions (Sat Nav) when I want it, etc. Kind of like an administrative assistant, but the size of an ipod.

But that's just me.

-Russ H.

 

[CactusWren]

Russ,

I am sorry I did not reply on the other post. I actually read it and realized I had not been clear at all and thought I'd respond later, but never did.

I actually think communication amongst humans relies not only in words, but in gestures, grimaces, vibes, etc. As you know, one word can mean many things depending on how it is delivered.

I believe all this can be lost if you are only dealing on exchanges via computer. Like anything practice is valuable, and I wonder if lack of practice will loose individuals the capacity to grasp the "complete" communication.

Clearly, one can engage in computer communication, such as this forum, and experience a very important connection with individuals one has never actually even met. But clearly as B&P can attest, the physical interaction (and clearly this has nothing to do with touching!) offers a much different energy, which in my opinion cannot be compared. It makes for a very different relationship, IMO.

Recently I heard on the radio, that something to the tune of over 50% of relationships nowadays are terminated via email or text message. I am leary of this type of information, as I always wonder how it can possibly be gathered, but it does not seem too outrageous if people do not seem to actually talk face to face much.

I am just rambling, but just like brain development is scientifically proven to be related to movement, I feel heart development is too, which is why I wonder. I hope this clarifies my views some.

I do have to add that when I wonder, I do not mean to say I am opposed to it. Simply I wonder where it leads. Clearly, it does not matter what I think, because it just is, but it does make my heart sad to see youngsters not engaging in the way that I find valuable and necessary.

Obviously, I have experienced firsthand via this forum the value of communicating via the internet with individuals that I would not have met otherwise, or childhood friends via FB that I would otherwise know nothing about.

But what about young people? What if most of one's "human" communication throughout our lives happened via social networking etc? I guess we will soon find out! The next 50 years should tell the tale.

 

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[Russ H]

Russ,

I am sorry I did not reply on the other post. I actually read it and realized I had not been clear at all and thought I'd respond later, but never did.

I actually think communication amongst humans relies not only in words, but in gestures, grimaces, vibes, etc. As you know, one word can mean many things depending on how it is delivered.

I believe all this can be lost if you are only dealing on exchanges via computer. Like anything practice is valuable, and I wonder if lack of practice will loose individuals the capacity to grasp the "complete" communication.

Clearly, one can engage in computer communication, such as this forum, and experience a very important connection with individuals one has never actually even met. But clearly as B&P can attest, the physical interaction (and clearly this has nothing to do with touching!) offers a much different energy, which in my opinion cannot be compared. It makes for a very different relationship, IMO.

Recently I heard on the radio, that something to the tune of over 50% of relationships nowadays are terminated via email or text message. I am leary of this type of information, as I always wonder how it can possibly be gathered, but it does not seem too outrageous if people do not seem to actually talk face to face much.

I am just rambling, but just like brain development is scientifically proven to be related to movement, I feel heart development is too, which is why I wonder. I hope this clarifies my views some.

I do have to add that when I wonder, I do not mean to say I am opposed to it. Simply I wonder where it leads. Clearly, it does not matter what I think, because it just is, but it does make my heart sad to see youngsters not engaging in the way that I find valuable and necessary.

Obviously, I have experienced firsthand via this forum the value of communicating via the internet with individuals that I would not have met otherwise, or childhood friends via FB that I would otherwise know nothing about.

But what about young people? What if most of one's "human" communication throughout our lives happened via social networking etc? I guess we will soon find out! The next 50 years should tell the tale.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts/feelings.

My reasons for asking:

As a "high tech" sound guy, much of my adult life has been dedicated to bringing goose-pimple raising sound quality into people's homes, and lives.

This is no small feat; imagine sitting down in a specially designed room, closing your eyes, and listening to Pavarotti as he sings to you. It feels like he is in the room, on many levels. You can *feel* him breathing. You literally feel his body move slightly here and there as he sings.

I do not mean to suggest this is the same as in real life. But it is very, very powerful. And not all folks are able to share a room w/Pavarotti (especially now, since he passed away in 2007).

Something else to consider:

A few years ago, I was in the room for a "studio mix" on a project I was working on w/Disney. We were recording tracks of a narrator's voice. The session went smoothly, and was a lot of fun-- the engineers interacting w/the narrator, and trying out different voices/inflections.

Only thing was: the engineers and narrator were in different states-- 3000 miles from each other. They were linked by satellite. And wit the exception of not "seeing" each other, it went like any other recording session.

Other examples:

Movie producers/directors who see their dailies through an AVID. They make changes/suggestions and cuts, etc on the fly-- from halfway around the world. Happens all the time these days in the film biz, especially when there are crews in Asia working on an American film-- both interact via these systems.

And last but not least, I'd like you to consider two of the most soulful singers I know: Ray Charles, and Stevie Wonder. Amazing musicians.

And neither one of them could ever see who they were singing to.

******************

My point in all of this: We all have our own ways of interacting with others. We all use our senses differently.

I truly think that we can use technology to interact with each other in very soulful ways. At least that's been my experience.

That being said, I absolutely respect your feelings on this, Cactus Wren. Thanks for sharing them.

-Russ H.

 

[Red]

The simple fact is that this guy found a way to make money doing something he loves. No one has the right to criticize something simply because it's not their cup of tea. If the creator is enjoying himself, meeting his personal goals and happy, kudos to him; we should all hope to attain that in our lives.

I say Job Well Done to someone who is adapting and profiting in our ever-changing world of technology. *high five*

 

[kwerner]

After reading this article, the first thing that came to my mind was the conversation Zach had with a group of us at the B&P regarding how to capitalize on this online video game market.

Basically he was describing how video games have evolved on each gaming platform/system over the years, and how once they reached their potential, games would move to a new platform/system.

For example, when the Atari first came out there were games like Pong (basic) then Atari games progressed until they reached the level of games like Centipede (more advanced); then once they reached the peak performance of what the system could do, a new platform/system would come out - Like the Nintendo.

Then the cycle would start over again with a basic game for the system, like Donkey Kong, then eventually progressing to a game like Metroid that pushed the system to its limits. Then a new system would come along and the process would continue over and over again.

Zach's point was that this is all reverting right now, back to BASIC, EASY TO PROGRAM games for platforms like Facebook. For example, the Farmville game - think of how cheezy that game looks, graphically (it looks like a 1980's Atari game, for crying out loud!). But people enjoy playing it and it's making money!! This is the ground-floor for new online platforms like Facebook.

He mentioned that because games like this are such a simple design, it would be easy for someone to hire a team of programmers to crank out a game like this. Then, after developing the game, you could advertise it on Facebook or what have you, create a interest/demand for the game, get people to start paying for it, and you could really have a Fastlane vehicle on your hands.

It was an interesting conversation, to say the least. You should ask him more about it, he could certainly explain it far better than I can. But my whole point in mentioning this is that tapping into this market definitely has Fastlane potential. That's where he, and now I, see a huge opportunity sitting right before us.

So, whether you like video games or not, this opportunity still presents itself for Fastlaner's.

 

[Halli]

Agree: I've never even heard of this "Entropia" thing, and I'm a teenager with gamer friends. These games come and go- a new one is released, everybody starts playing it, and forgets about the old one.

Entropia has actually been for some years.I'm not sure how many.I think this game is more appealing for older demographics since the game is "free" to play but if you are going to be a "real active" player you have to cough up money.I doubt that many teenagers are playing this game because I've heard that it's quite expensive to buy things and such.And this game could be for many years to come because older people tend to stick to things they know instead of chasing the next trend.