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Vrain Matari
ZionTCD
Legacy Rising
476
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Posted - 2013.04.17 14:18:00 -
[1] - Quote
The Robot Devil wrote: I just had a discussion about New Eden being real or not real with a co worker. I said that New Eden is real but not tangible and she says it is just a game. Yes, we play a game and it is not a possession that you can touch but does that make it less real? All of our actions in New Eden have a connection to everyone who plays and every item is unique. There may be copies but there is only that one item and if it is destroyed it is gone forever. I asked her if it is more or less real than a digital song, book, movie or even bank account. Paper money only has value if you believe it has value and other people agree. So, do we fly fake internet spaceships and shoot fake internet tanks or are they real items that have real value? Is society and culture real? These things are also not tangible but I think the archeology and history of our race shows both the reality and power of these things. Without society and culture we are actually a very weak competitor.
To approach the question from a different angle, is money real? We all know you can't eat money, and that ultimately it holds no intrinsic value, other than the media it's stored on. But on the other hand, if your friend wanted to aquire a Titan in New Eden, she would have to either earn one in game through her labour, or buy one illegally IRL with cold hard cash - again requiring her labour, thousands of dollars worth of her labour.
Does your friend buy other virtual goods? At the risk of stereotyping, let's consider a Gucci purse. A physically equivalent purse can be bought for considerably less cash. What she is paying for is a virtual commodity - social prestige associated with Gucci. Social prestige is not trivial - for us hairless-ape communal-pack types it determines how much the rest of the pack will defend us, it determines when and if we eat in tough times, it determines our access to mates, etc. Social prestige can and very often has meant life and death - so is it real?
This brings up an interesting point. If New Eden is real, if it is a real society and a real culture as I'm implying with my leading questions, then the natural conclusion is that like all other societies and cultures, New Eden has real power.
For what shall we use this power, I wonder? |
Vrain Matari
ZionTCD
Legacy Rising
476
|
Posted - 2013.04.17 14:22:00 -
[2] - Quote
Kamiya Musume wrote:Robert JD Niewiadomski wrote:Vyzion Eyri wrote:Down this path lies madness. Don't stray too far into your mind, my friends. Our brain is a untameable beast which we have merely trapped in a cave of bone. It can't get out and engulf us, but if we go in... Go in... I dare you  ...chicken  I keep many of my doors firmly locked, because the things I hide behind them are grotesque beyond imagination. GÇ£Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."
+1 for recognizing that the gibbering madness that waits in the non-euclidean interstices is never far away. ;)
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Vrain Matari
ZionTCD
Legacy Rising
476
|
Posted - 2013.04.17 14:32:00 -
[3] - Quote
Love that graphic, Sleepy. I'd say we're just entering the 5th epoch.
The best presentation I've ever seen of this progression is in Bryan Reynolds'/Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire.
Working through the technology tree to 'Transcendence' is a very inerestin intellectual journey, I'd actually love to see Bryan Reynolds have some influence on New Eden, particularly the economic ground game. |
Vrain Matari
ZionTCD
Legacy Rising
478
|
Posted - 2013.04.17 17:31:00 -
[4] - Quote
Thrawn01 Aldeland wrote:No. New Eden is imaginary.
So, being fond of math. I would argue that New Eden is just as real as Imaginary numbers.
I'd have to say there's some evidence to support your claim. We know at the very least New Eden is certainly complex..... =P |
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