What the Governments of the World can Learn from MMOGs

GameSpot recently reported that Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft has exceeded 6 million subscribers - greater than the population of many European nations.

Now, if so many people want to "live" in such a place, it makes me wonder what these European nations are doing wrong. Think about it: 6 million people WILLINGLY paying for the right to spend time there? If the governments of the world can make life more like MMOGs, then paying taxes shouldn't be a problem and people will be much happier in general. SO... let's examine the differences between MMOGs and life in the average country.

First off, I think an obvious thing to do is eliminate death. In most MMOGs, death isn't permanent. Sure, there's a penalty for dying, but it's nowhere near as bad as once-for-all complete lack of participation in anything ever again.

Second, hunger isn't really an issue. People just carry food around and it gets consumed automatically. They don't have to waste time eating it, and it doesn't matter what it tastes like. Also, the food is so cheap that anyone can afford it. Even if you're short of cash, you can just go out and kill one of the monsters meandering around and they'll probably drop enough cash for your next meal.

Which brings us to another point: everybody and everything carries cash. You swat a fly, you get cash. Kill the wolf that's been threatening the villagers, you get whatever cash the wolf was carrying, the reward from the villagers, AND you can sell the wolf pelt to the local furrier. Three paydays for one good deed - now that makes good deeds much more attractive, I'd say. So, paying people for these day to day activities is a must.

Sleep and disease also aren't major problems. Rest is something you do to heal your wounds from combat, and it usually takes a fraction of the time you normally spend actually doing your daily activities. So, rather than 1/3 of your day shot for sleeping, you spend maybe 1/25th of your day resting, and it's for a specific purpose. Any other ailments can be cured by a potion from the local alchemist: disease, poison, etc. Now where are the alchemists in today's societies? That's an area it seems governments have really dropped the ball.

Finally, since you don't have to spend much time resting or eating, what are you going to do with all that time? It seems obvious that the governments of the world need to provide people with more compelling activities. Where are the inherenetly evil, semi-sentient species? Travel the average highway in the average nation and you won't see a single Troll, Orc, Trandoshan, or Hutt. The nations of the world need to provide us with creatures that it's politically correct to hate and beat on.

So, to all you governments who want to raise the quality of life for your populace, now you know how.