In-Game Worlds and Adam Smith

‘Zubon’ writes in ‘Ten Rats’(‘a group of adventurers on an epic quest’ playing Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) – don’t ask, I haven’t a clue…

But this caught my notice:

‘I like the discussion of the artisan economy. In real life, specialization and division of labor are the drivers of productivity and prosperity. That is book one, chapter one, sentence one of Adam Smith. Our in-game worlds are often structured such that an individual can do everything, and the transaction costs of trade are greater than the benefits of specialization. We like being able to do everything ourselves, and we are not alienated from our labor when we can start with ore and end with a sword. Or when we start with a sword and end with a shinier loot sword.’

Comment
It’s so heartening to read a correct application of some of Adam Smith’s (and other’s) ideas, and this one with a link to the Econlib Blog.

What educated gamesters we have at work in the serious business of ‘playing Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games’.