(2007-05-01) Doctorow Game Democracy

Cory Doctorow on Virtual World Governance. spend a lot of time in Disney parks. I even own a share of Disney stock. But I don't flatter myself that I'm a citizen of Disney World. I know that when I go to Orlando, the Mouse is going to fingerprint me and search my bags, because the Fourth Amendment isn't a "Disney value."... The rules of virtual worlds are embodied in EULA-s, not Constitutions, and are always "subject to change without notice."... Why not just create a "democratic" Computer Game that has a constitution, full citizenship for players, and all the prerequisites for stable wealth?... The question is, would this game be any fun?... Gameplay conventions like "grinding" (repeating a task), "leveling up" (attaining a higher level of accomplishment), "questing" and so on are functions of artificial Scarcity. Is this a sign that these games have no Meaning?

Elected governments can field armies, run schools, provide health care (I'm a Canadian), and bring acid lakes back to health. But I've never done anything run by a government agency that was a lot of fun.