If Code is the Law in our realm, then the modern conceptualization of code (see Footnote [1]) often aspires to be object-based. The craft of software objects is then Object Oriented Programming, even if it is only sometimes realized. By and large, software object-oriented design has been a cultural touchstone for nearly a generation of software developers and designers - objects provide a convenient and intuitive means of partitioning/ decomposing problems and mapping them onto code building blocks. Challenges emerge, however, when one scales interactions from small numbers of objects to large sets of objects. Throw in parallel threads of computation and all hell breaks loose.
In the fact of today, however, such parallelism is a fiction - most games are implemented within a single simulation thread (they just iterate through all the objects quickly but in sequence... "butcher before baker before the cat jumps over the moon..."), but this is likely to change, perhaps very soon. It also raises some interesting non-design problems. It looks to me as if it would discourage RMT, for example, because investments won't necessarily be seen as sufficiently long-term. The truth is World of Warcraft Gold doesn’t HAVE to take a long time to get, especially in the higher levels. Buy WOW Gold here, and then enjoy your excited WoW life! Warhammer Online Gold will keep your high power. On the other hand, if RMTers persuade the courts that people own what their characters own, the whole concept of a purge might be threatened.
This is a bad, bad claim that the Red Cross is making here. It is wrongheaded, and stupid. Part of the problem is the demonization of games and the whole "Jack Thompson and Hilary Clinton and Every Other Politician vs The Games Industry" Punch-and-Judy show. In trademark law this issue gets played out as "tarnishment" and the implication here is that the Red Cross's mark is somehow tarnished by association with a violent videogames. Please. I could maybe buy this if you built a videogame that had Red Cross workers as spawn of Satan, going round killing innocent babies under color of helping them. But the mere use of a Red Cross symbol within the game?
That is, if we recognize a property claim in this red cross, then the only way that I can, for example, have red crosses float over my character when I heal myself is by striking some deal with the property owner. The owner (ie the Red Cross) can stop me from using it otherwise. But how else, exactly, am I supposed to communicate graphically the concept of healing? What about the representation of a hospital within a MMOG? Sure, I could put "The Edward Castronova Memorial Hospital and Treatment Center for MMOG Addiction" on a generic building; but how much more expressive is this same building with a great big red cross on it?
The WSJ article reports that among Arabs from the Gulf States, 'monsoon holidays' at resorts in India and Pakistan during the rainy season are popular. For the novelty of rain and humidity, vacationers will dance and dine in torrents and shun the comforts of the hotel roof and air conditioning. It also raises some interesting non-design problems. It looks to me as if it would discourage RMT, for example, because investments won't necessarily be seen as sufficiently long-term. The truth is World of Warcraft Gold doesn’t HAVE to take a long time to get, especially in the higher levels. Buy WOW Gold here, and then enjoy your excited WoW life!
The ACS Relay for Life in Second Life is in full swing this weekend. Looks like they’ve raised $2,000 so far, well on their way to the $5,000 goal. The silent auction closes today at 11am Pacific time, with the awards and closing ceremonies following at 11:30am Pacific. It also raises some interesting non-design problems. It looks to me as if it would discourage RMT, for example, because investments won't necessarily be seen as sufficiently long-term. The truth is World of Warcraft Gold doesn’t HAVE to take a long time to get, especially in the higher levels. Buy WOW Gold here, and then enjoy your excited WoW life! Warhammer Online Gold will keep your high power. On the other hand, if RMTers persuade the courts that people own what their characters own, the whole concept of a purge might be threatened.
Well that’s the summary. You will find bits of this and things very like it in the work of many other writers: Greg (esp Planes of Power!) & Dan, S Crawford (esp Who's in Charge of Who I am), Ludlow, Balkin, Castronova etc etc (in fact when I do the book keeping there must be 50 or so papers, books and cases I need to reference to give this argument a philosophical basis and a legal foothold), and I’m not saying that what they have said is wrong or that I have not stolen bits from them wholesale. Rather, that I’m not sure that we have been using the right kind of distinctions thus far and I think we conflate arguments when try to apply generalities to spaces that have very different purposes and provide very different goods to people. When it comes to virtual worlds, yes, culture matters, so too socialization, fun, aye. Even RMT for some. It also raises some interesting non-design problems. It looks to me as if it would discourage RMT, for example, because investments won't necessarily be seen as sufficiently long-term.
Civil-worlds may or may not exist at present. Civil-worlds are those who’s value and integration with the geographical world is to such a scale and degree that they are merely another way in which we transact our civil life.
That is there is a social one might say moral duty not to switch identities, this will reduce group cohesion, reduce general social capital and result in lower these forms of good for all (if it were allowed the world would become a ludic-world).
Social-worlds are ones where the primary good of the world is its social value to those within the world community. Specifically, the primary value that is accrued is that of Social Currency, while there may be other goods (even and in-world economy), this social capital is what is precious most of all to the community. In gaining these rights of play individuals may give up much. It also raises some interesting non-design problems. It looks to me as if it would discourage RMT, for example, because investments won't necessarily be seen as sufficiently long-term. The truth is World of Warcraft Gold doesn’t HAVE to take a long time to get, especially in the higher levels. Buy WOW Gold here, and then enjoy your excited WoW life! Warhammer Online Gold will keep your high power. On the other hand, if RMTers persuade the courts that people own what their characters own, the whole concept of a purge might be threatened.