Game Politics

We've been discussing MMORPGs and social issues here at Terra Nova for nearly two years, and, if memory serves me right, we've never once mentioned attorney Jack Thompson in the body of a post.  Most of our discussion of politics has stayed in the heady realm of LamdaMOO politics, and has not delved into disputes over video game-related state regulations.  (We have talked about that here, but rarely.)  So it is interesting to see a blog like Game Politics, which focuses almost exclusively on those state regulatory efforts, starting to pay some attention to MMOs.  Check out this thread, for instance, on The Great Virtual Market Crash of 2005.  It starts out noting the same website Ted pointed to (with some skepticism) in this post -- but the discussion quickly turns to Jack Thompson, who even makes an appearance in the comments.  I wonder if, as MMORPGs and virtual economies take a more prominent role in the mainstream, blogs like Game Politics and Terra Nova will be operating in closer proximity?

Comments

[ren reynolds]

1.

Oddly enough I have a post written in draft on my HDD called "Dear Jack, Dear Hillary" that I’ve be socialising round the games / politics crowd pre-posting. And I’ve been reading game politics a lot more of late. It is a bit odd that we talk about games a law here but don’t really get into the dirty business of how many laws come about or are used.

[galiel]

2.

It is disappointing that, even here, what passes for "discussion" about these issues in the game community is as narrow as it is in the "anti-game" community.

Jack Thompson and Joe Lieberman are convenient foils for frothing at the mouth absolutists, just as Hot Coffee is for the polar opposites.

It would be refreshing to see a thoughtful discussion about social responsibility of game developers that did not immediately degrade to reducio ad absurdum and name-calling. In my experience, that is impossible within the industry, but a place like Terra Nova, which includes academics--both theoreticians and researchers--could offer a non-rabid alternative. Could, but thus far has not, and this post, in my humble opinion, doesn't help matters.

The irony, of course, is how exercised developers become over state regulation, when the same developers turn around and apply a regulation-and-enforcement approach to managing problems in their own games.

[Matt Mihaly]

3.

Galiel wrote:

The irony, of course, is how exercised developers become over state regulation, when the same developers turn around and apply a regulation-and-enforcement approach to managing problems in their own games.

There's no irony there. They are completely different issues.

I, for instance, object to state regulations because they're ultimately based on the unilateral and pro-active use of force. "Do what we say or we will send men with clubs to your door." That's statist government. I didn't ask to live under their rules. I just happened to be born under them.

Game developers don't use guns to enforce their regulations. One can simply turn off the computer and be free of their authority. One has to voluntarily opt-in to their regulations, usually going so far as to have to actively agree to follow their rules, unlike statist government. That makes all the difference.

Your comparison makes as much sense as comparing the Chinese government's ability to torture and murder anyone who spouts disagreement too loudly with the ability of a bar owner to kick out an obnoxious patron.

--matt

[galiel]

4.

Actually, there is more to the comparison than you suggest--which is the notion that there is more to changing society and maintaining society than mere enforcement and intimidation.

It is a notion that applies equally to governance of real world societies and to virtual world societies.

[Michael Chui]

5.

Game developers don't use guns to enforce their regulations. One can simply turn off the computer and be free of their authority. One has to voluntarily opt-in to their regulations, usually going so far as to have to actively agree to follow their rules, unlike statist government. That makes all the difference.

No offense, but you could stop making/maintaining games, too. (Though, ehm... don't do that. I like your company's games.)

[Dennis McCauley]

6.

Ren - I was quite please to see GamePolitics.com get a mention here as I think TerraNova is amazing.

We cover a broad spectrum of political issues regarding gaming. While of late much of our coverage has centered about game content/ratings issues and various legislation, several MMO issues have been dealt with before and will continue to be addressed.

I believe that virtual economies have a definite political link, as do real-world economies. The reaction of real-world governments to MMO happenings is also in the political realm (e.g. - China's 3-hour limit and the Japanese Lineage II arrest that we covered this morning). Health care is also something we cover, and there is always the MMO addiction issue.

So, yes, there is much overlap between politics and MMO's. I am eagerly awaiting Edward Castronova's book and already have an Amazon link for it on GamePolitics.

I was surprised to see Jack Thompson jump into that MMO market crash thread. It was in response to another post, and Thompson does indeed read GamePolitics.

Anyway, I hope you will be a visitor, and please don't hesitate to drop me a line on anything you come across that might fit into what we cover.