The Full-Time Guild Master
Keywords:
labor, online gaming, massively multiplayer online games, MMORPGs, MMOs, work, leadershipAbstract
This essay discusses the issue of free labor in massively multiplayer online video games, specifically how organizers and leaders of player collectives – commonly known as "guilds," "corporations," or "clans" – are exploited for their free labor which contributes to the commercial success of the games they "play." It discusses the motivating forces which keep these players in such exploited positions, describes how their activities constitute real unpaid labor rather than simple leisure, and examines the implications of this sort of labor and its meaning in the context of multiplayer video games. Finally, this essay discusses the possible benefits the games industry might stand to gain by ending its reliance on such forms of free labor.Downloads
Published
2008-07-07
Issue
Section
Comments
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).