Art and creativity

With video games today, publishers try to add as much content as possible. Even though they try, it is not enough for people to be satisfied. This is where the modding community comes in and changes things up. Players figure out how to make custom artwork for in the game. This art work is usually not so good, but some people have so much talent, they end up making their own games. An example of this is a game called Arma, a gentleman created a whole new version of the game that turned a war game into a zombie survival game. One can look at his work and call it art because of the skills it took to create something from nothing. Below is an comparison of the two games.

This video shows that even though the game is from the same game engine, it has differences that allow for a whole new experience.

Team Work

Teamwork is essential in the MMORPG games. Without it, you cannot get very far. Most players start out alone and then join groups called “Guilds”. Sometimes guilds are very selective about the members they take and sometimes they are not. It is all about doing tasks as a team to get what they need out of the game. The more players that know what they are doing, the easier it is to get things done. There is a popular video where a player named “LeeRoy Jenkins” goes off alone and ends up getting his group massacred. This video from Youtube is proof positive that teamwork is essential in games like these..

The whole point on MMORPG is to be in an online community and meet others and have a great time. Teamwork and collaborating with others is only the natural thing to do and without it, it is not fun at all.

Ways of making money and even earning a living

            Making money as a gamer is the ultimate goal of any gamer. Most people do not have the ability to be able to play and dominate in games. Some might argue that the ability is akin to playing professional sports. MTV once had an episode of True Life about a gamers who make money playing games through tournaments and endorsements. So it far from a new trend but it is a rising trend. There is an actual organization that is leading the way for people to make money gaming. It is called Major League Gaming.

For instance a gamer make 20k from playing Call of Duty in a tournament in November sponsored by MLG. The ability to craft out a living from playing a game is no different then those who play poker for a living. Gaming is not a new medium, but being able to use your ability and make large sums of money doing it is.

In a game like World of Warcraft, you can make money also by just playing the game. When you complete certain tasks within the game, you receive certain items for completing these tasks. Once you receive these items you can “give” the item to others players. An economic principal of the law of supply and demand comes into play. If someone wants something bad enough, they are willing to pay. If the said item is a rare item, and others want it the prices goes up. You can earn large sums of money doing such things like selling virtual items

The same concept also goes for character creation. For people like me who have no time to level up, you can actually buy leveled up characters. Buying a leveled up character gives you abilities that would take time to get to if you did it on your own. It used to be a bigger thing to buy leveled up characters but now major game companies will sell it themselves.

If I were to tell a random person on the street that you can make money playing video games, they would call for me to be committed. As tech improves, new ways to make a living from it emerges from it, this is no exception. Gaming is not new and with the social aspects of life becoming more intertwined with various games, challenges will be set up and money will be made from playing.