The Ethics of Gold Farming
Posted on October 7, 2006 by Do a Google search on "MMORPG Gold." Go ahead, try it out. You’ll come up with a mix of advertisements and criticisms, all strewn in together. Gold farming has becoming increasingly popular (and increasingly in violation of rules) in the past years, and has generated a huge income for the few lucky people who got in it early. But how should we look at it? Is it a blessing or a curse? Is it a chance for people to make a quick buck, or is it robbing gamers, or even worse, the workers, of time and money? Time to investigate.For those of you who may be slightly out of the loop, here’s a quick definition of gold farming. It’s not an individual going out on his own time to kill stuff and get loot from it, then selling it. No, it’s more sinister than that. Gold farming usually takes anywhere from 10-100 running macros 8+ hours a day to harvest all sorts of loot, selling that for in-game currency, then selling that for real world currency. For example, on World of Warcraft, an Alliance character on the Aegwyn server could buy 4,000 gold for $680.19 (4,000 gold in WoW is a fairly huge amount). Most of these farmers are Chinese citizens (generally just out of high school and unable to find a job) who sit at a computer for 8+ (usually around 12, sometimes up to 18) hours and run the farming macro, occasionally checking to see if something is going wrong.
Game companies have recently taken a stand on this issue. Just a few months ago, Blizzard followed in the footsteps SOE’s crackdown on FFXI farmers by banning roughly 59,000 farming accounts; removing over 22 million gold from the economy.
But, as with everything, there are two sides to this issue. First, we’ll take a look at what good it does.
.: The Positives
In-game, it allows people who have money but not time to be on par with people who have plenty of time on their hands, thus making the score a little closer. Say a person has a very demanding job or a very busy school curriculum – the easy solution to stay ahead of the game is just to buy gold online and have it delivered to you. But looking at the luxuries it provides in-game are miniscule in comparison to what it provides to the actual farmers (note that I’m taking into account Chinese farmers, not the average American farmer).
Sweatshops in China can be brutal. Covering up equipment with tarps when it rains because windows are shattered is, from what I understand, not unheard of. Safety features are taken off of machines to increase production speed, but thereby making them that much more dangerous – workers can often be seen with scarred and bruised hands. Gold farms allow for non-hazardous labor and pay. While only around $120-$150 a month, pay like that is considered average. And the buildings where farms are located also provide living quarters for many of the workers. As 1up.com put it, “If you lose your job, you also lose your home.”
Many people argue that while it goes against game rules, farming offers thousands of jobs for people who otherwise couldn’t or wouldn’t work at other, more dangerous places, for the same pay. It offers a safe alternative for workers and gives them enough money to live on. And most of the workers don’t mind being at the computer, because they would just rather watch a macro do its work than put themselves in harm’s way.
And the big farming moguls, the people that got in the business fast, make enough money to quit a six-figure job without hesitation. Yes, that’s right, a six-figure job. Once again, farming is creating jobs for people who might otherwise not have a job, and is treating them very kindly, too, even though the market is very rough.
So what is there to not like?
.: The Negatives
When looking through gold farming articles, most people prefer to use the term sweatshop when describing the conditions faced by the workers. Low pay. Long hours. Minus the sweat. Average pay is 56 cents an hour for most workers, which, while average, still is very little. And what do the managers of the farms have to show for it? They’re capable of raking in around $60,000 a month (well over $700,000 per year), while the workers, as aforementioned, make around $120-$150. Take a look at that gap. While, yes, business is all about profit, the managers are exploiting the workers for low pay so that they can maximize profit. Industrial Revolution, anyone?
A PhD student at the University of California in San Diego, Ge Jin began filming a documentary about conditions in the farming “sweatshops,” what he saw was workers crowded into an airport hangar, wearing very little, chain smoking, and sleeping two to a single mat, assuming they’re not sleeping on the floor. So while yes, they do provide pay, conditions are downright awful in these shops. They eat in the same room they play in.
And on a much minor note, farming disrupts game economies. Rare items become less sought after because people can just buy them for real money off of farming organizations and the like. Gold is easier to come by. For people who don’t have enough money or simply don’t want to spend their money, rare items become harder to get because people just have more money than they would if they hadn’t bought it off of farmers. Not to mention that in most major MMORPGs, gold farming is strictly against the game policies.
But the positives here seem to outweigh the negatives. Watching the same video I mentioned above, the workers seem very much content with what they’re doing – it’s almost a brotherhood to them. They get to play games for a living. And the situations I described in the negatives aren’t all that common – there are plenty of Chinese farms that have sufficient working conditions, and plenty in America and a few in China that even provide health care, among other things.
So with the output of thousands of jobs and income for people in a booming society, gold farming seems, even though against the rules, to be much more of a positive thing than people care to think. It’s time for gamers to start looking beyond the fact that it disrupts a game economy when it’s helping a real economy and providing work for so many people. Obviously we can hope for better conditions for those who need them, but all in all, if they’re happy, let them do it.
On top of all of that, it is illegal to gold farm. You made an agreement with the company that made the game, you said you wouldn't do that exact thing...and now you turn around and do it anyway because you're sure you won't get caught. This article is clearly in favor of breaking the law and in my opinion, ruining the game for those who don't believe in or agree with farming. Some people can afford it, some people choose not to go along with it because they feel it lowers the value of their game play. I agree. If you want to play the game, play the stupid game. Buying gold or items from farmers is the lazy and lame way out. Who cares if you have a rare item if you didn't DO ANYTHING to get it yourself. What is the point of gaming if that is the case.
If you don't have enough time to play the game that doesn't suddenly make buying crap from farmers cool. If you don't have time to play the game...get over it. Deal with it. If you actually have a LIFE to the point where you can't spend all your time playing a video game...why waste your money buying crap for the game you can't hardly play.
Gold farming is lame. This article is also far too supportive of gold farming. Even in the list of 'negatives' they put a positive spin on things while the list of positives remains positive. This person is clearly biased in favor of gold farming.
Farming disrupting game economics isn't a 'minor' note...game economics are IMPORTANT TO THE GAME. How is that a minor note? All these people that claim this to be a well written article clearly missed the bias within it. This person obviously either buys from a farm or farms themselves. Or they have friends that swear by it and love it.
The obvious bias of this article is in favor of gold farming and the way one can tell this simply is from the line "And on a much minor note, farming disrupts game economies." In any kind of MMORPG the RPG aspects of the game are IMPORTANT. People don't play the games so they can pretend they are playing a game in real life...they play the game so they can pretend the game is real life. RPG means Role Playing Game...or did you forget that?
Role Playing means people like to get absorbed in the world...in order to get absorbed in the world one must follow the economics of the world. If the economics of the world are getting messed up because of influences from the real world...it messes up the game for those people who actually wish to engage in an RPG.
Why not write a real article about the actual pros and cons of gold farming instead of writing an article that is pretty much just in favor of it all together.
REAL GAMERS DON'T LIKE GOLD FARMING. Real gamers like to play the games.
Just remember that...when you're sitting there acting like it's a good that gold farming gives lazy people the opportunity for a job they otherwise wouldn't bother to get. Just remember that people who are 'real gamers' are out to play a game. If a game is meant to be an MMORPG and you aren't playing it as such....wtf are you doing playing that game at all.
Gold Farming is lame, lazy, stupid, and above all else, it ruins the game for people who disagree with it...you know, the people who bought the game so they could play and enjoy rather than pretend it is some sort of status symbol to have a bunch of rare pixel prizes.
What kind of immature person spends over 600 of their heard earned dollars on pixel toys...
No wonder the world is in such a sad state of affairs...instead of using that money to feed the hungry we are using it to pay lazy jerks to sell us armor in World of Warcraft. Wow...I'm really glad you can afford to buy that epic mount without even trying...good for you...that sure makes you 'cool'.
I had no idea it was such an organized business.
As heartless as this may sound, I don't particularly care about the working conditions of these people who are too lazy to get a job and instead press a single button, then walk away whilst letting their computers do all the work, and recieve god knows how much money in return.
Above all, gold farming is indeed against the rules and policies of many, if not all, mmorpgs - and by violating a contract the game's producers set out for players is also breaking the law.
A better and perhaps more insightful angle for this article would be the pros (if any) and cons of gold farming in terms of what it means to the actual gamer.