Hello all, I started thinking about what's going on with Gaia and hit a snag in my thoughts. I can't seem to wrap my head around why this whole "gamification" thing is working?
I can't figure something out unless I know how it works in the brain, chemically what makes things work and what doesn't.
These are mostly my opinions, I do not intend them to be offensive or hurtful in any way. I apologize in advance if what I say or think offends you in any way, shape or form. My thoughts are very unorganized, if you do get confused, just ask me to clarify!
What I do understand: --- Dopamine is a major factor in why Gaians are spending real money. Whether we want to admit it or not, every person does have some sort of superiority complex. Granted, some show this more than others. But still, we spend more and more money to fill this sense of superiority/longing for happiness with material goods. This being Gaia's virtual items. It's in our design to want to be happy or feel good about ourselves, being superior or not, so it only makes sense that some people would be willing to spend real money to glorify their little pixel avatar.
It feels good, in a sense, to have a good-looking representation of yourself.
It may be hidden, somewhere, in the subconscious mind, that we tell ourselves that we want or need this. Seeing as how many of us are devoted Gaians, this little longing is more effective because we're so close to this site. Right?
What I do not understand: --- ***After writing it all down, it seems to make more sense. But, I'm already half way done with my topic, so I'll keep it.***
What I did not understand is why some of us do this while others do not. Yes, self-control and the simple thought of, "Why would I spend money on fake materials?" Do play a rather large part in this, but still. I guess I just can't figure it out because I do not feel a desire to spend money...
I just want to know what my fellow revolutionaries think of this; Why do some people continue to spend money?
And I'd like to know what you think of my overall thought on the matter, (Am I wrong, did I miss something, ect.)
Note** I'm so sorry I got so serious in this. sweatdrop
Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 11:54 pm
I can't fathom how people would drop so much money on pixels, so I'll put in my two gold and some armchair psychology on why some don't:
- Some people grew up in shitty households where finances were constantly in dire straits, possibly due to someone in the family with an addiction. As terrible as it is, it teaches moderation and the value of a dollar.
- Some people feel intense guilt when spending money on things for themselves that aren't necessities. Kind of ties in with the first point (conserving what you have), with an extra dash of low self-esteem (thinking they're not worth the frivolous purchase). These kinds of people might also be extremely bashful about gifts or favors, sometimes outright rejecting them, for similar reasons.
- Purchased items or privileges for a game or forum are technically temporary, lasting as long as any imposed time limit, the user's stay, or the site's eventual shutdown, whichever's shortest. Naturally some people don't like buying pixel stuff for this reason. They prefer owning permanent things and their purchasing habits (or lack thereof) reflect that.
- Finally, some folks don't feel like spending money if there's even a snowball's chance in hell they could get it for free (or more accurately, their time). These people are the reason why microtransaction models should include a way to either trade paid currency, content bought with paid currency, or allow content to be unlocked for free in a viable way.
If I think of anything else, I'll post more
Maerua
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Fuit Gummy
Sweet Gaian
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 12:02 am
Maerua
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Thank you for your input. c: I didn't think about the whole real-life situations effect on it... If you have an idea as to why people do spend the money, instead of why they don't, I'd appreciate you telling me. You're very insightful. ^^
Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 12:13 am
Simply put, I spend cash on this site because I enjoy it tremendously. It's helped me come a long way from where I'm at and I've met so many wonderful people over the years, my girlfriend included, that I feel compelled to drop a few bucks when I can spare them every so often.
I've spent infrequently and miniscule amounts enough that I haven't made it into club verge at all.
That being said, most of the time the $5 that I do drop tends to go to an REI I reaaaaaallllly want or zOMG powerups (cos I still like the game a lot).
I probably would have dropped cash to support HoC (Heralds of Chaos) more, because I really enjoyed the game, but because it was withdrawn from Gaia (I refuse to play on fb), it made me leery to support any new game.
So while I can't answer for those that do drop a lot of money on pixels, I can safely say I mostly drop cash for sentimental reasons more than anything else.
I was spending a lot but forced myself to slow down on spending Ive always liked gaia and supported it but your post seems/ feels very right from what I can understand from it for spending reasons I understand. I buy from how I feel about some items myself I feel I want sometimes
Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 3:11 am
I've actually been wondering the same, since obviously some people do dish out large amounts of cash in return for buying pixels.
The only explanation I can think of is that it's a hobby.
For example, I would happily save up and spend on games, or gunpla model kits, I spend money on sewing things and embroidery threads to make bracelets and plush toys. I would buy a novel in a heart beat, I would buy sketchbooks and even invest in canvases. They aren't necessities to keep my physically alive, but in a sense they feed my soul and make me happy.
I guess for some, spending lots of cash on pixels makes them happy, obviously it gives them some sort of satisfaction or they wouldn't do it.
Of course, I can't exactly fathom the feeling of gaia being a hobby, it's just a place I hang out, I've spent very little on this site, dropped some cash here and there, but I don't think it's even amounted to $50.
As for why I don't spend such large amounts, Maerua is right, it's a combination of guilt and not liking the idea of purchasing pixels. In my mind it isn't worth it, there are better things I could do with my money.
I think people buy the expensive pixels for the same reason why people buy Ferrari cars, Channel purses, Nike shoes, and the latest iPhones.
It goes back to how we are raised. As kids we are told the secret of success is to not only be a hard worker but to be better, faster, stronger, smarter. To raise ourselves above the crowd and stand out like a shining star otherwise we'll get buried in the crowd and spend the rest of our lives working at McDonalds.
Because of our psychological need to show our superiority through the image we present, this drives people to buy expensive clothes and shoes, etc...
Que Gaia and the elitism to add on top of this. Better looking avatars in the past meant that person contributed more to the site's growth through active participation and donations. It came to a point where the quality of a member was judged by the quality of the avatar. A simple avatar using Gold Shop theme sets or freebie items was consider noobish and the people behind them disregarded as "not worth the time". Soon people started spending more and more Cash as a shortcut to nice avatars so they could "fit-in" better.
Of course not everyone is the same. There are people in life who learn that image isn't everything and there are some people who get disregarded as "unspecial" when they are really master artists or musicians simply because they want to be and not for fame or fortune so they never sought it.
Myself for example. I have millions of gold worth of stuff in my inventory but my avatar usually looks like this: (when I'm not being random like a spider) Except for the Katana and Masque (which are only small features and completely optional) the whole look costs about 20K.
Seriously, this is how much it's changed since 2008 and trust me, I had plenty of expensive items available then:
That's my theory anyway.
Just for fun, here's my first "official look" after I broke off my newbie gear (the peasant dress lol)
Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 10:20 am
My reason for spending money on here is pretty selfish: Items I thought were pretty were always the MCs, so I'd send money for that when I was younger [babysitting paid really well] When I got older, this was still true, but I had jobs that paid less and more bills then I could count. Still, this site was a place I came to in an attempt to not deal with the real world. The nicer I looked here, the better I felt, at least until I had to power down the computer at the end of the night. Now [at least until recently] I spent the money because this is the only site I am social on. I deleted every social site I was a part of because I realized they were all pointless to me, which made me violently sad, but Gaia has always been a place I could talk to random people and not have anxiety kick in. Even when I am up to my eyes in debt, even when I lost one job, and the other barely pays my bills [there are some days I go without eating, as I have to go without groceries that week] I spent the little 5$ here or there to make myself feel better.
It is pathetic, and I know that, but I'm also the kind of "consumer" Gaia's new COO would love: I get addicted to something that makes me feel good. I grew up in a household where money was tight. And yeah, when I spend money on dumb things [like pixels] I spend half an hour beating myself up about how dumb I am. But at least for a short amount of time, the purchase makes me "happy" for lack of a better term, and as I have very little of those kinds of things in my life, I latch on to it and do exactly what Gaia wants me to do: spend.
/shrug Hope that gives a little insight. Not everyone is cookie cutter. Really the only similarity is that doing it makes us feel good, just as they say. Either for hobbies or more ridiculous reasons [such as mine]. Its about feeling good. Most addiction is.
