View From the Bushes

Last night I really tore it up on the writing, probably because instead of playing my game first, I used the game as a carrot. By about 9 I had met my goal and I decided to switch over to the game, but being the basically buggy piece of crap that it is, it wouldn't let me login. So I decided to do some more writing. I tried again about 9:30, and this time I managed to get on. I had only played for about 15 minutes when it crashed, and then when I tried to get back in, it wouldn't let me on. So I wrote so more. Finally, around 10:30 it let me on for good, and at that point I should have just gone to bed, but I had exceeded my goal by a 1000 words and I really felt that I deserved a reward, like being even more tired today...

During the brief time I was on the first time, I had spotted a quest (these are somewhat unrealistically indicated by a huge yellow exclaimation mark above someone's head). When I finally got back on, I couldn't remember exactly where I had spotted this quest so I spent the first 30 minutes trying to find it again. I finally did, and it was easy enough to complete, but when I went to the person I needed to talk to to complete it, they would get part way through the completion and then stop. So I checked out one of the websites and sure enough everyone was reporting that it was busted... I then proceeded to die several more times. I guess the moral to all of this is: if it's 10:30 and you have a choice between going to bed and staying up, you should go to bed (as sti alluded to in his comment.)

To lend an air of respectability to this whole discussion, there's the issue of "virtual profiteers," people who sell virtual items for real money. Most MMOG's try to discourage this, but Blizzard may be the first to be really pursuing people for it, the idea being that Blizzard owns all of the virtual property. There's an interesting article which was linked to from slashdot today on the enforcability of "Terms of Service" agreements and "End User Lisence Agreements." But overall. I think ownership in a virtual world may turn into quite an interesting topic in the next few years. I think that if someone wanted to fight Blizzard on this, one path they might pursue is the idea of consideration. If the money we pay for the game and for monthly subscriptions isn't in consideration for this virtual property, what is it in consideration for? Fun? A contract which says in exchange for your love I'll give you $100 is not enforcable...

Carpe Diem Quam Minimum Credula Postero
Ross