Gaming: about freemium and fandom

As Nick Yee states in the Proteus Paradox online games and virtual worlds do change us, but not at all. That double-sided vision is prevalent in my way of thinking about games too.

Freemium :(

I think the negative aspects of the industrial entrepreneurial side in the games are shown while crashing the illusion of the virtual world they created by putting in restricted parts for paying customers only. The commercial extras in a “freemium” context do not attract in my opinion, because then you are quite bluntly drawn back from the mindless diversion and escape from work to the round-the-clock commercial aspect.

I think people who play free games are not demanding more exclusive parts of the game, so the supply seems rather pointless to me. This has a negative impact on my energy for the free part of the game (which also provides advertisement income) as well, because I feel like being spammed with commercial content. I, in my personal gaming experience, would rather go for a fully paid game if I wanted the exclusiveness, high-quality and expertise of it.

Fandom :)

For me, virtual worlds can definitely absorb a lot of leisure time. There are of course a lot of arguments that state that those minutes, hours or days could and should be spend on other more fulfilling aspects of life. On the other side, games give the possibility – just like Fanfiction does, which is quite dear to me – to participate even more in your favourite books, movies, etc. by creating (yet another) representation of your favourite topics.

Those factors are enlightened for me in the discussion of positive and negative experiences in being a gamer, both in the group experience, as like a solo player.

#Yee #Informalwritingresponse #Gaming #Fanfiction #Freemium #Week11