Gold Farmers

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Gold Farmers

Gold Farmers is a documentary that investigates the real money trade in the virtual world of online games(such as World of Warcraft), and portraits groups of Chinese young men who are making a living by playing online games. These young men are called gold farmers in the online games,,, and the in-game goods they produce are sold for real dollar to American gamers who need a short cut to success in the games. In this documentary,., gold farmers describe how it feels to live at the border between the virtual and real,custom bobbleheads, to mix play and work, and to interact with foreign gamers who they would never have the chance to meet if not for this globalized virtual world. We also hear conflicting views from various American gamers who are affected by this particular entanglement of the virtual and the real.

Director's Statement:

I've been called a Nihilist in the virtual world. My gaming skill is miserable and I cannot sincerely engage in all the quest and interaction of an online game, so my gamer friends asked me, "do you believe there is any meaning in this world?"

But as I was making this film about gamers, about people who live at the edge of the real and the virtual,custom bobblehead, I realize that we all create and live our virtual reality one way or another. Through this film, I met young Chinese workers who are happy to find that they could make a living by playing the online games they love. In the virtual world they find what the real world often deprives them of: dignity,,, power,personalized bobbleheads,Travel Bags - Rick Steves Travel Store, and community etc. But when they are gold farming or power leveling,personalized bobbleheads, in other words doing the dirty work in games for their customers, they are constantly reminded that people are not born equal even in this virtual world.

I also met gamers from the US who are willing to spend a significant portion of their income on things in game. Some of them laughed at my comment that they find compensation in the virtual world for what they cannot get in the real world. They say they endure their boring and taxing jobs in real life so that they have the money to make their virtual life better. The real does not necessarily precedes the virtual. Meanwhile, some gamers cannot tolerate that money from the real world is contaminating their virtual world, which is supposed to be a level playing field. But they often target their anger at the gold farmers,customize bobblehead, rather than the innate structure of most games.

The encounter of these Chinese and American gamers is thus fascinating. They wouldn't have this personal interaction if not for this globalized virtual world. Of course there is misunderstanding or even conflicts,custom bobblehead, I hear stories about vigilante groups patrolling the border of the virtual and real as if the Chinese gold farmers are illegal immigrant labor from China to the US. But there are plenty of heart warming stories about gamers collaborate,personalized bobble heads, communicate,custom bobbleheads, and learn about each other's culture.

I no longer think these gamers are more distanced from reality than people like me who don't have an avatar. Things I gave the most important meaning to might seem completely virtual to others, for example, money and fame. What would our real life be,Arena Junkies - World of Warcraft PvP Strategy and Discussion,personalized bobblehead,Icy Veins - World of Warcraft News and Guides, if we take all the imagination and interpretation away from it? Whose game is reality? To those who are stubborn about keeping it real or keeping it virtual, my film has a statement: we can accept anything but reality.

Ge Jin/金葛