Game Design, Trading Markets, and Playing Practices

December 4th, 2005 Jun Sok Huhh

Originally, this paper was prepared for an international conference of gaming. We were rejected for some shortcomings. Severe comments from two game academics were extremely appropriate, and gave great helps to revise this work. Now, we are in work to improve this article.

For all of its weaknesses, we decided to open this work. A critical consideration on the success of an MMORPG of Korea shed some lights on the unique side of playing MMORPGs. Maybe, you could look some deep secrets in the dazzling growth of gaming market of Korea.

This paper is still going on, so if you give us any comment on this, it is really helpful for us.

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Funny Game

December 4th, 2005 Jun Sok Huhh

* I'm not going to use any real name or link any of refered website, for there are some subtle legal issues.

What are main motives for your gaming? Pleasure? Killing time? Whatever. With the advent of MMORPG, we had another strong motive for gaming, money. RMT is not a surprising factor in Korea MMORPG scene. The biggest mediation player, I, has been more profitable than most of game developers. Is it a sort of “wag-the-dog?” Some people in this business said that the secret of huge success of Lineage series might lie in lively RMT around them. So, is there any reason not to use RMT to boost a specific game?

Recently, this idea might come upon to the boss of a Korean game company. 28th Nov, Company G, the servicing company of the game called AAA, had got a contract with mediation compnay I. What a big deal? Is it a already familiar activities around MMORPG scene of Korea?

In a sense, It is yes. Agreement between two is about policy for preventing hacking and frauds of RMT. At it face, it is good for all, players, the company and the mediator. But, at the other side of thing, this official tie-up is accepted as surprising or alarming. Maybe, it is first mutual agreement between game publishers and mediators. It is general manner that game publishers look RMT negative. Most of game developers in Korea took RMT as the evil axis of MMORPGs. But, the agreement between G and I turned this view up side down. It is natural that many game watchers were surpirsed by agreement between two companies.

Also, a rumor are circulating that G had an secretive intention to boost AAA with the help of RMT.(What is their method? Think about it. You can easily smell it.) This sneak marketing gimmick was detected by I, who ruthlessly got rid of accounts which were used for rogue marketing. Their final resolution was the mutual agreement that I won first to game servicing companies who look down on RMT mediators.

I cannot identify what has been really done in this process. But, at its logic, it might be probable storyline in this funny game. Boosting a game by RMT? It is not so unusual in Korean history of MMORPG.

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