【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 e of Virtual Assets – The Role of Game Charactersin MMOGsTony ManninenINTRODUCTIONThe seemingly virtual domains of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) have escaped the boundaries of cyberspace. Virtual economies, artificial currencies and intangible property are all inherent phenomena of contemporary virtual worlds that exist in the depths of the puter devices and networks. The likes of science fiction authors William Gibson (1984), with his Cyberspace, and Neal Stephenson (1992), who used the term Metaverse, have long ago predicted the future of networked online munities. While the society has perceived these as mere fictional playgrounds,the virtual worlds have slowly evolved to places and spaces of – at least – halfreal assets. There are numerous examples of cases that illustrate the shift and crossover between virtual and real. Making a profitable business by selling virtual property (Anshe Chung Studios 2006。BusinessWeek online 2006), running a ‘gold farmer’ pany whose only aim is to collect and sell virtual resources (BBC News 2006。 TheObserver 2005) and of course the wide spread auctioning of ones game characters (Washington Post Online 2005。 BBC News 2005) are just but a few occurrences of future trends in economy. From the business pointofview, these examples are far from the domain of ‘playgrounds for kids’. The money involved is real money and these people make a living out in the cyberspace.In this article we discuss the evolution of MMOGs by analysing the value of virtual assets in thesenonphysical realms. Since the central role of game characters as virtual asset ‘warehouses’ is the key,we align our approach to characteroriented study. We tackle the question of what is the value of ones virtual identity in the online game munity. Furthermore, we delineate the motivation ponents of play, in relation to the perceived net worth of different aspects of character value. We approach the topic from the field of game studies, but we focus on the implications that would contribute to the field of business. Before venturing into the intricacies of virtual assets, it is necessary to offer a rationale behind the evolution and success of MMOGs. We will start by defining the concept of MMOGs by outlining the most distinctive characteristics of these virtual worlds.DISCUSSIONThe aforementioned cases provide some practical implications to the field of business the roadmap from existing MMOG to a future business platform is not always clear, there are several key areas that could be harnessed. In essence, all the motivational ponents of play, form potential areas for mercial applications. This, however, should not result the players being charged more rigorously. Instead, the existing subscriptionbased business model, could be replaced with transactionoriented mechanisms that offer ways for usercreated content – and business. Second Life is a living example of valueadding procedures and virtual asset transaction.The initial argument states that the more persistent the virtual world is, the greater the need for aformal economy (Bartle 2003, 299). This, however, is not the only approach in contemporary spinoff businesses (., auctions, gold farming, powerlevelling, etc.) all add to the original economy model of the MMOGs. In addition, the concept of MMOG aggregators that integrate several different virtual worlds would make it possible to achieve true interconnectivity between the virtual is not bound within the frames of formal puter systems. The crossover to the real world has e to stay.In their own field, MMOGs are rapidly advancing our shift towards game society. Basic ICT and Internet skills will not be enough since people need to master games and playing. Furthermore, people may need to master the business models and structures of virtual economies with all the ripple effects to and from our real economies. The secondary markets with trading of virtual assets outside the MMOGs, and the novel but difficult to harness value chains provide interesting challenges for both researchers and practitioners.Still, perhaps the strongest implication of the evolution of MMOGs might be the level of persistency these worlds possess. They currently do have a limited, yet substantial in duration, life span of 515 years. What will be the oute if we truly have MMOG aggregators and systems that can keep your virtual property current year after year? When will the virtual bee nonvirtual? What is the threshold that needs to be crossed in order for us to start thinking these artefacts as real as the physical ones? Mobile phone lifecycle may be 12 years, average consumer products tend to ‘last’ less time than they did 10 years ago. The virtual home, built in AlphaWorld (nowadays ActiveWorlds), that is 20 years old cannot, by any means, be defined as quickly vanishing fad. Actually, it may have lasted longer than many real world houses.Finally, the question of what is the value of ones virtual identity in the online game munity remains a multifaceted problem. Since the perception of value differs greatly from one player to another, there is no concrete solution to the problem. However, through the motivational framework, and by illustrating the role of the game character as main tool to operate in MMOGs, we are able to point out the specific value structures that emerge. If the future business models are able to harness these basic value ponents, there may be room for development in MMOGs. With diversified added value mechanisms and clear option to select ones personal format of investment, the online games could truly bee the cyberspaces and metaverses of tomorrow.網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲的虛擬經(jīng)濟(jì)解讀摘要：大型多人在線游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)作為虛擬領(lǐng)域的一部分，看起來似乎已經(jīng)逃脫了虛擬世界的邊界。虛擬經(jīng)濟(jì)、人工貨幣和無形財產(chǎn)是當(dāng)代的虛擬世界中的計算機(jī)設(shè)備和網(wǎng)絡(luò)世界里面的固有元素存在，科幻小說家威廉吉布森預(yù)測不久未來的網(wǎng)絡(luò)在線社區(qū)。雖然社會上都認(rèn)為這是純粹的虛擬游樂場，虛擬世界現(xiàn)今有緩慢的演變——至少現(xiàn)在是“半真實資產(chǎn)”。有很多的例子為例可以說明虛擬世界轉(zhuǎn)變的交叉和真實。制作可盈利的商業(yè)銷售虛擬財產(chǎn)，運(yùn)行“黃金農(nóng)民”這個公司，目的是在于收集出售虛擬資源和廣泛宣傳的游戲人物，都是虛擬經(jīng)濟(jì)轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)樯鐣?jīng)濟(jì)的幾個實例。從業(yè)務(wù)點(diǎn)看，這些例子包含在