Monday, July 20, 2009

Games

I've been caught up on the web game Evony lately.

In this game we build cities, armies, fight and trade. I got used to it fairly quick and saw how to get 'large'. There are Alliances, where we ask and answer questions about what to do, pass time waiting for goals to be accomplished, that kind of thing.

Players will ask me, "How did your cities get to be so large?" and I tell them, it's not a secret, it is formulaic.

I've given these strugglers large amounts of 'gold' to follow through on their plan to make their cities larger and their characters more powerful in the game.

But it is a study in human nature. Since it is a war game, the natural thing to do is to build an army, which uses resources to build and 'food' to maintain.

But, if you build your population, you can tax them and use that to build an army.

Simple. Well no. No sooner do these folk get a large donation of 'gold', they decide that I'm not 'right' with my silly idea of 'growing the city', they build an army instead.

So now, I'm like the dad who explains the value of money to his children, gives them starting money, only to see them squander it.

It's hilarious because it's not real money, the game is only fun if you play it and are having fun, but it is my nature to think of them as ingrates, squandering the chance that I gave them.

They, in turn, act like bratty kids who imagined I was going to watch them squander the 'gold' and give them MORE, me thinking that sooner or later they'd get it right.

Now it's down to a question of the 'value' of what I gave them. I said it was not a big deal when I gave it to them, why shouldn't they do their own thing? If it doesn't work out for them(never will), they'll just whine a little to daddy and HE will cough up some more.

This is very strange because, while trying to tell them how to play well and giving them a boost, they are teaching me that it just won't work. Everyone thinks they know better and welcomed help becomes expected, in fact I'm being mean if I quit supporting them in their bad habits!

I'm left learning that you can't help a new player to help themselves, they want YOU to help and help and help.

Human nature, I suppose.

Evony... where life lessons costs virtual gold.

14 comments:

mac said...

Well, it's your fault for not instilling in them the value of the gold ;-)

Pliny-the-in-Between said...

Don't send this to the Republicans - they'll use it to cancel welfare for sure!

Interesting and sad commentary on human nature isn't it.

Asylum Seeker said...

I now feel like I must start playing this game. Also, sounds like what happens if you give a beggar some money. It doesn't matter how much you gave them, or what you made them promise to spend it on, it's going to be spent on some sort of alcoholic beverage. Of course, they need more than I do, so don't care. But still...

Also: I guess "woohoo, unearned cash! BUY MORE GUNS!!" isn't a thought process that is exclusive to whoever is in charge of the federal budget after all...

pboyfloyd said...

Yea mac.. but what fun is that, being mean daddy?

Pliny.. strangely i misread you and thought that you said they'd cancel WARFARE! LOL

I think that welfare comes with the obligation to send your children to school and such. There's a lot more wrong with NOT giving the poor welfare than there is giving them it.

Just the fact that it stimulates the actual economy, corner stores, fast food restaurants etc. makes it all worth it.

Seeker, it's fairly addictive, if you like it, you'll start caring for a city that doesn't exist.

Stacy S. said...

Meh - I'm addicted to "Farm Town"

Asylum Seeker said...

Already addicted. Damn you. As if I needed another time-sink...
(Computer for some reason didn't let me see the content of Quest pages for the first 3 hours I played...would have been nice to know that I could have been raking in much needed Lumber that whole time! Computer's just begging for me to put my foot through it every day now...)

pboyfloyd said...

Where in Evony-world are you Seeker?

Move to Saxony..

GearHedEd said...

All of this sounds strangely familiar, as if Ian criticized fanman's analogy of parenting skills vs. WWGD, and Jerry butted in and missed the point.

LOL

mac said...

Yeah, Ed, my thoughts exactly :-)

That's why I teased, just a little, about his not teaching his children.

Asylum Seeker said...

Server 35, Lower Lorraine.
If I can find Saxony, I'll try to inch my way there.

Pliny-the-in-Between said...

Come on over pboy - we are working on your challenge ;)

GearHedEd said...

You need to change the name of this blog to

"Absence of pboy".

LOL

GearHedEd said...

"I've been caught up on the web game Evony lately."

Indeed.

Anonymous said...

Hello, hello, hello

Is there anybody in there?

Just nod if you can hear me.

Is there anyone at home?