Expert opinion on the influences of bots on the economy and gaming enjoyment in mmorpgs Version dated 29 th March 2012 Compiled by Prof. Dr rer nat. Wolfgang Broll on behalf of Bossland GmbH
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- 8.8. Conclusion
- 9. Final statement
| 8.7. Classification of bots Ultimately, Dr. Castronova appears very negatively prejudiced against bots in his expert opinion. Amongst other things, he speaks of a bot “with its annoying and destructive behaviour”. Annoyances and destruction in any shape or form can in no way be associated with bot software such as Glider, Honorbuddy or Gatherbuddy. These bots can only influence the virtual world in the same way as a real human player– no differently and also no faster. Such bots should not be mistaken for cheats or cracks where the client software is deliberately manipulated to acquire skills in the game which other players do not have (teleportation, flying, invulnerability, etc.), to do things faster than other users can or to directly manipulate virtual amounts of money. 8.8. Conclusion The expert opinion in question seems – at least for the German market – to start from false assumptions and throws out unprovable theories and loss figures. This creates the overall impression that the author is unfortunately not quite objective. The statements and conclusions are therefore fundamentally questionable. In addition, the calculated loss total is based on an invoicing model which Blizzard has at least in China already replaced with one (see Daeity 2010) with which it is totally impossible for this theoretical and unproven reduced revenue to accrue. That this has not happened in other countries despite the existing software solutions makes it appear probable that the game operator expects to gain no appreciable increase in revenue from this. This permits the reverse conclusion that it can be assumed that there are no appreciable losses due to gold farming and bots in these countries, since otherwise the motivation for the extension of the invoicing model would have to be extremely high. Prof. Dr. W. Broll Gutachten zum Einfluss von Bots auf Spielspaß und Ökonomie in MMORPGS 29 9. Final statement The aim of this expert opinion was to investigate the influences of tools on the economy and gaming enjoyment in MMORPGS (specifically World of Warcraft), paying particular consideration to the differences between the real and the gaming economy and the possible influence of bots on them. The results of this analysis are summarised below. • WoW’S virtual economy is based on real economies but has serious weaknesses (above all an unlimited money supply which leads to mudflation, a special variant of (hyper-) inflation). • Fundamental deficits in WoW’S economy have not been rectified by Blizzard. This particularly applies to the missing limitation of money supply growth and the resulting (hyper-) inflation. • Rapid game progress motivates WoW players and encourages game use for a longer period of time. • Using a bot can permit game progress to the same realistic degree as other players who play more intensively can have. Here the necessary expenditure of time is, however, substituted with a financial contribution. • Bots can rectify deficits in game design, especially in the area of flow control, which improve gaming enjoyment and the gaming experience for the player. • Prohibiting the rectification of game deficits by the use of external software tools in the EULA or terms and conditions appears to be a unilateral exploitation of the contract. • Blizzard itself offers no such tools but attempts to isolate its own game infrastructure from other software providers through the creation of market entry barriers and by judicial means. This appears to directly contradict relevant legal regulations (e.g. the European Computer Programs Directive). • Bots are typically used exclusively to the same extent as human players could be. Extremely deviant use patterns are not to be expected. • The attachment to an advanced game avatar is stronger than to a weaker one. • A strong attachment to the avatar increases gaming motivation and the entertainment experienced in the game. This leads to longer periods of use. • The use of external tools can have a positive influence on gaming motivation, the gaming experience and WoW players’ use intensity. Prof. Dr. W. Broll Gutachten zum Einfluss von Bots auf Spielspaß und Ökonomie in MMORPGS 30 • Players who use bots experience more pronounced gaming pleasure and play WoW longer. • Bots as external tools have no appreciable negative influence on the virtual economy in WoW. • Gold farming in MMORPGs is a main cause of the devaluation of the virtual currency against real currency. This aspect is, however, of no relevance for players who neither want to buy or sell virtual currency. Blizzard takes no technical measures against gold farming although this appears possible. • A general inflation of the game currency due to bot activities cannot be assumed. Whilst an increased money supply does indeed encourage inflation, the larger supply of virtual goods counteracts it so that in some MMORPGs deflation can be observed. Other aspects mainly come into consideration as the cause of so-called mudflation, specifically the unregulated increase in virtual currency and goods in itself. • The assumptions made in Edward Castranova’s expert opinion cannot be confirmed or can even be disproved to some extent by the current data situation. The conclusions drawn there are therefore to be regarded as questionable. Even the alleged direct financial loss could be completely rectified by Blizzard with a modest adjustment of the invoicing model. • Blizzard Entertainment suffers no directly or indirectly quantifiable loss through the use of bots. After deeper analysis of the MMORPG game type in general, of World of Warcraft in particular, of the economy, gaming motivation and gaming experience and also their mutual influences on each other, it remains to note that no direct negative influence on the economy of World of Warcraft attributable to bots can be proven; on the contrary, a positive influence on long-term gaming motivation and thus longer periods of use of the game itself is to be expected. Prof. Dr. W. Broll Gutachten zum Einfluss von Bots auf Spielspaß und Ökonomie in MMORPGS 31 Download 0.78 Mb. Share with your friends:
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