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Sony Online Entertainment, which runs the immensely popular EverQuest, has grown so frustrated with trying to stop the trade in virtual assets that, last month, it set up its own auction service, Station Exchange, aimed at US players. Its director, John Smedley, justified the decision by saying: “A large proportion of players either don’t mind this activity or actively participate in it. Dealing with fraudulent transactions takes up roughly 40% of our customer-service people’s time.” Of course, Sony will also make a profit on each transaction.

For many ordinary MMOG gamers, however, such a capitalist approach spoils the experience. Nick Yee, a psychology researcher from Stanford University, has surveyed 30,000 MMOG players over the past five years, presenting his findings on a website, the Daedalus Project. He believes many players dislike auction traders because, by using real wealth to buy virtual power, “they’re breaking the fantasy-reality bubble, getting an advantage in a way that other players can’t”.

Not everyone plays for the power or the money, and often the appeal is simply in leaving the mundane world behind. “There are players who say they like the characters, the gameplay, the story- telling and exploring the game world,” Yee says. “Other players talk in terms of an avoidance pattern. They say, ‘My life is truly stressful, the game helps me relax. I can forget about my problems there.’ These people can grow frustrated and angry when they don’t play.”

For this obsessive minority the game becomes not so much an entertainment as an alternative lifestyle, with its own work — levelling, trading and “crafting” new items to sell — and social problems when gameplay disrupts real life. The EQ Daily Grind is a weblog that chronicles the woes of players and families whose lives have suffered because of MMOG addiction. The site is run by an anonymous American, “J”, who played EverQuest for five years, three of them compulsively. It took her a year to wean herself off it. She warns that entering a virtual world is far more addictive than most pastimes.

“Try watching TV with the same obsessiveness. Play four to six hours every weekday night, 12 or more hours every weekend day, browse forums, decline sex, stop interacting with partners and children, call in sick at work — and see what happens,” she says. “Something about online games makes it easier for people to tune out reality.” That’s not to mention her amazing stories of players cheating on spouses after online affairs and throwing non-gaming loved ones out of the family home.

Much of this may simply be hyperbole. Davies says: “The anecdotal evidence is that a minority of individuals have reported problems with playing MMOGs, but there is more to addiction than that. Someone who spends hours gardening, watching television or working on their car is not addicted. Nor is someone who spends a lot of their spare time playing a computer game. If you look at the age, professional or social status of people who play, you have a broad mix that is representative of society as a whole, and 20% of EverQuest players are women.”

Davies believes that online games involving many other players become a positive social experience, that MMOGs provide a social framework for otherwise isolated individuals and that experiencing leadership and teamwork helps players develop confidence in real life.

Yee agrees: “There are players who are just all-for-glory achievers, but others are definitely looking for personal relationships where they can talk about their real lives. There aren’t many other places where middle-aged homemakers mix with much younger people.”

What is more, MMOGs can provide an outlet for our better impulses. “I get a lot of satisfaction from performing random acts of altruism,” said a 37-year-old woman in the City of Heroes forum. “And I’m always touched when people do the same for me. It taps into people’s need to be needed.”

Market forces might dictate how much your magic sword is worth, but you can’t put a price on a helping hand. The rewards from gaming reflect the people who play them, the potential good Samaritans as well as the speculators.

MAKING A PROFIT IN NEW WORLDS

EverQuest II (£35, plus £9.50 per month; www.everquest2.com)
The realm of Norrath offers the most spectacular 3-D graphics of any massive multiplayer online game (MMOG). Can be addictive and hard work. Adjutant’s sabre fetches £60 at online retailers.

World of Warcraft (£35, plus £9 per month; www.wow-europe.com)
Rising star of immersive MMOGs. Inhabited by wizards and warlocks; accessible, and best fantasy destination for beginners. You can sell 3,000 gold credits IRL (in real life) for £230.

City of Heroes (£35, plus £9 per month; www.cityofheroes.com)
A superhero spin on the MMOG, where players put on tights and masks to repel evil on the streets of Paragon City. Immensely enjoyable. Collect a powerful assault rifle-blaster and earn £350 at auction.

Lineage II (£30, plus £9 per month; www.lineage2.com)
Rival clans battle for power in 3-D on a complex planet at war. Can be time-consuming to master. High-level characters sell for £350.

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