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[LordBucket]

Imagine if people could use out of context mechanics to get in-real-life "perks" in a manner similar to that of gaming microtransactions.

In some cases you might have people exclusively using it to get impossibly cool clothes. Probably nobody would be very upset by that. Or how about name/class/gender changes. I don't see many people complaining about that. Would probably make life a lot more comfortable for some people. Or what about increased bag space? So some people, because they bought that perk, they can carry 50% more groceries at a time. Not a big deal. I suppose those people would have an extreme advantage applying for menial warehouse and restocking positions, but that's not such an advantage that I think people would be very upset about it.

So what about people who buy in-real-life "mounts?" So there might be some people who get to live their entire lives with basically a free car. That would be a terrific advantage. Be the guy who has a porsche in high school, and never has to make car payments. That would be neat.

And then you might have cases where people get gold/xp bonuses. So, say...every class you take you take maybe you get a 20% "boost. So you only have to take four classes a week instead of 5, and you learn just as well. Or maybe regardless of what results you get on tests, you get a free 20% added. And for the gold boost, for your entire life, whatever job you work you get a 20% bonus to your salary. Make $40k/yr, you actually collect $48k. Make $50k/yr, you actually collect $60k.

That would be kind of neat.

Kind of a toss up which would be more powerful, the 20% gold/xp boost or the mount. On paper, for most people the permanent car/mount would probably be a bigger perk, but it depends. Sure, having a free $2200/mo lamborghini is going to be worth more dollars than a permanent 20% boost to salary for most people, but if you're making $50,000/yr, you might be better off taking the extra $10,000 and settling for something more practical. Still, I lean towards the car. Would depend on how you gamed it. Having and living in an $80,000 RV through college and your early 20s  might be worth more, long-tern, than all the extra sex you'd have in the back of your lamborghini during high school.  But is the sort of person who'd buy real-life microtransaction bonuses the sort of person who would live in an RV to save up to buy a house? Wouldn't they tend to be more the type for immediate gratification?

Of course, that's assuming you had to pick only one. The sort of person who uses microtransasctions probably wouldn't limit themselves to only one. So imagine having a porsche, and a lamborghini, and an $80,000 RV, starting in high school and that stay with you your entire life, plus a 20% boost to whatever salary you make, always. Plus the ability to switch your name, profession and gender any time you want to. Plus you can carry 50% more groceries. Can't forget that one.

What about server transfers? Not sure how to evaluate that one.

What about time speedups? Fast forward through your wait at the DMV at 10x speed.

What about games where you can outright buy gear? Those tend to be the microtransactions most frowned on in games, but I think it wouldn't seem as bad in real life. Bob down the street, POOF! has a brand new gaming computer and lawnmower that he didn't have to buy with in-real-life money. Not a big deal. Pets? So imagine every now and then you have a neighbor with a bengel tiger or elephant in his backyard. Interesting, but not real-life-breaking.

Overall I think people are unhappier about microtransactions in games than they would be if they applied to real life.

[Egan_BW]

So what, would you pay in soul-money?

[RedKing]

So....rich people could use their advantage of wealth to get more advantages?

How is this different from real life?

[Fniff]

People don't like microtransactions in games because they mess with the balance of the game; your progression isn't determined by your actions in the game but on a resource that you can't even collect in the game itself (discounting stuff like ISK, which I don't think exists in this hypothetical scenario). This would carry over to real life, presumably, and that would create yet another haves/have-nots situation - and we really don't need more of those.

Besides, then you have the impact of being able to spawn in anything at anytime at anyplace, without restriction: this would make terrorist attacks, killing sprees, and irritating pranks much easier to organize.

I think server transfers would mean being able to go to other planets. That would be fairly cool, as long as you bought a spacesuit.

[NAV]

There would probably be micro-transactions to increase lifespan or stop/reverse aging so the poor people would die eventually but the rich people would live forever, like in that one Justin Timberlake movie.

[IronyOwl]

People get plenty mad about wealth disparity IRL as is, throw in even more advantages and you can bet a lot of people would be in a(n impotent internet) uproar.

That said, reality has always been messy and wonky, so it's harder to point to something and say "This is objectively wrong and exists for no reason." Plenty of people still do, but the numbers start tapering off and sliding around depending on where you go.

In games, by contrast, everything is usually pretty level and easy to fix from the get-go. You're not dealing with the convoluted nuances of whether somebody's parents being wealthy enough to put them through college is fair or not, or how hard it'd be to "stop corruption." You have, for the most part, game developers with complete control over what is nominally a completely even playing field, at least at first, so whether giving some players a subsidized higher education is fair or how exactly to lower the corruption variable become much simpler conversations.

Also, video game imbalances tend to be relatively novel. If you ask somebody if the government is corrupt, if corporations are bullshit, if they make less money than they should, and so on, a lot of people will say yes on some level. But it's always been like that and nobody cares about or can fix it, so they don't necessarily go online to complain about it at any given time. A source of entertainment that could have been awesome shitting itself up for no reason is far more trivial, but also new and therefore sometimes more worthy of discussion.

So what, would you pay in soul-money?

Karma. This might change the dynamic of the conversation a bit.

[Egan_BW]

Hmm. What about real-life preorder bonuses? Real-life expansions?

[IronyOwl]

Preorders get weird because it sort of requires a you before there's a you. Maybe a planned pregnancy bonus or something? If we're doing karma, there could be reincarnation shenanigans, presumably with the same discussions involved.

Expansions... hm, maybe tech eras? "With the new Internet Expansion, stop grinding cigarettes and whiskey while screaming at Communists and instead start grinding memes while screaming at strangers hundreds of miles away!"

Or just fads or even events depending on how big "expansions" needed to be. "With the new 9/11 expansion, engage in frothing patriotism over the most stunning and horrifying attack in human history! Rant about the government wasting your money killing Muslims because they're racist! Or just enjoy the thrill of being thoroughly molested each time you attempt to fly a plane!"

[mainiac]

People get plenty mad about wealth disparity IRL as is, throw in even more advantages and you can bet a lot of people would be in a(n impotent internet) uproar.

If everyone gets free cars, free clothes, free food, I'd be totally down with one dude getting to be a multi-trillionaire.

[Fniff]

People get plenty mad about wealth disparity IRL as is, throw in even more advantages and you can bet a lot of people would be in a(n impotent internet) uproar.

If everyone gets free cars, free clothes, free food, I'd be totally down with one dude getting to be a multi-trillionaire.

Not everyone spends money on microtransactions.

I'd say if it was karma, it'd be a different matter entirely... After all, that excludes most people who are already seriously advantaged.

[Egan_BW]

Almost never can your actions in-game earn you real money. Therefore whatever you pay in cannot be related to your actions, like karma. Assume that this would grant random advantages to seemingly arbitrary individuals.
ED: Unless you're a professional life-player, which, no matter what you may think, you are not.

[mainiac]

You can grind for warcraft gold or TF2 refined metal and exchange it for real world money.  I dont think there is much difference between that and working for money directly.

[Fniff]

You can grind for warcraft gold or TF2 refined metal and exchange it for real world money.  I dont think there is much difference between that and working for money directly.

Wouldn't there still be a status difference between the grinders and those that just have the soul cash to spend, perhaps akin to the middle and upper classes?

[mainiac]

TBH I'm not following the metaphor anymore.

[Fniff]

Here's what I interpret it as:
* People have random amounts of currency, called soul cash.
* You can spend this on anything as long as it actually exists and, presumably, wouldn't cause the world to end. For example, you can spawn a cat, but not a unicorn or a black hole.
* You can exchange real world money for soul cash. The exchange rate means that soul cash is of higher value.