NIDZUMI+

I wasn’t paying much attention as I drank a glass of soda and watched one of my favourite movies on another computer screen, but at the same time my first screen had Everquest II running, my current MMO of choice. The private message box was yellow, meaning I had missed a message. Upon checking it was an IM to head to the docks of Thundering Steppes a zone not far from where I was. I messaged back the usual MMO Etiquette of apologies for not being at my screen 24/7 while my character was logged in, and then headed towards the location as she was apparently still there. I began to wonder what was urgent as the message was rather ecstatic and upon zoning I saw her and what follows is the conversation.

Me: “Hey, what’s up?”

Her: “LOOK AT MY BACK?!”

Me: “ahhh…”

Her: “I HAVE A GIANT SPOON FOR A WEAPON!!!!”

Me: “…”

Her: “IT’S A BIG WOODEN SPOON I CAN MAKE SOUP IN PEOPLES HATS! Well I can’t really, but I would like to and now it’s a possibility!”

The conversation goes on about how she just spent 4 hours doing a quest in order to get a wooden spoon and a baby gorilla pet, both of which do nothing for the player; literally… they just look like things with very bad un-usable stats. She also explained that now she looks very cool and that made her feel that her character was unique and her own. It was then I began to understand the industry growing within the industry, the industry of Virtual Fashion and Cosmetics.

I believe this industry of Virtual Fashion has developed as we begin to spend more time in the virtual environments. There is a dire need for us as humans to maintain our individuality and more importantly, unique. Perhaps this is something that took MMO’s a while to catch up with, but now that it has and some entire games are supported by the model of Micro Transactions. Where could this take us in the future?

I have pondered this and I guess to really figure it out, we need to take a look not really at an MMORPG, but more a Virtual 3d Landscape such as Second Life, while not really a game it shares many game elements… it supports itself based on the idea of creative freedom. Here this world has developed with individuality at its heart. It is worlds like this that teach us that the cosmetic industry within MMORPG games is really just beginning and that there is an audience for it.

The extent to how it could grow in MMORPG’s now and in the future is unlimited, if worlds like Second Life are to be taken as an example. However at the same time if implemented wrong it could ruin a game. For instance in the popular Java-based MMORPG Runescape, many items were given away as holiday events back in the early part of this decade, as the years past and a move on the developers part to have them tradable to promote the activity of collection the items became so expensive no normal player can afford them. To own any of the holiday items meant that you then entered into a secret club of elite players who for a long time dictated the economy with their extreme wealth. The game developers eventually intervened and implemented an exchange and now the free world economy the game was built on (which was player supply and demand) is now a controlled economy. (Everything is worth between price ranges set by the developers)

Since the industry of Virtual Fashion in MMORPG’s is young, and the player’s choices are still so limited to what the developers create and distribute, the industry could go in many directions. One direction I think that’s very possible is allowing simple design tools that allow a bit of creative freedom. I know that in some MMORPG’s already we can already mix and match symbols and designs for things such as guild capes. (Guild Wars, although I maybe wrong it’s been years) which perhaps is a start toward more creative unique looks.

If one player is willing to spend 4 hours just to get a wooden spoon to use instead of a staff, then there must be others, and if one player is willing to spend money on a hat just to look different. Then of course there is a lot of potential for developers to cash in. How the players or third parties cash in will be another story, though I am certain that where there’s money to be made… entrepreneurs’ will be there.

Either way, I think it’s very fair to say that the industry of Virtual fashion is one of much potential, developers are only just now beginning to tap into this market, in the future Virtual Fashion and Cosmetic items could be more important to a player’s day to day gaming than the games goals and achievements. Who knows where it could go?