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Julian Dibbell, freelance writer, and author of ?A Tiny Life? and other works chronicling the massive, disruptive impact of virtual lives on both the physical and the virtual. He tried a little experiment: was it possible to make more money from his forays into the virtual, buying and selling virtual items, than he makes as a successful writer?

This book is a chronicle of that serious attempt to make a career out of the virtual.

Dibbell dissects the history of computers and VR, social and gaming. He tackles a number of legal, ethical and esoteric issues standing in the way, including IRS perspective, both of his country, and of others the virtual trades cross, on profits from virtual merchandise. He looks at the differences (or lack of differences) between "real" and "virtual" currency.


Play Money starts out with Dibbell?s avatar summoning magic spells to blast lizard men into oblivion. Then another player?s avatar blasts Dibbell into oblivion, finishing off by looting his avatar?s corpse for items, and insulting Dibbell on the poor quality of the items he was carrying ? hardly worth killing for ? then kills Dibbell?s horse out of spite.

The book is filled with the same flowing humour of his earlier works, but contains a darker tinge as we delve into virtual sweatshops where industrial blocks of players play for a pittance salary to farm virtual items on a truly massive scale.

 

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