I Cherry Piedecided to start a series of interviews with some of our players to publish here. The first interview was prompted by an Achaea player who purchased a 750 credit (approximately US$240) custom-made virtual cherry pie that is simply eaten and sends out a couple of custom eating messages, then resets back in the owner’s inventory about a half hour to an hour later. The purchaser of this pie is a college student whose character is named Wivylma Winterwind, and whom has spent about 3000 hours in Achaea so far.

The interview took place in-game, in a private cave my God character ‘retired’ to after I passed passed the producer role to Minae Lee. With us was Garcia, my pet rooster, but cherry pies aren’t really his thing. The ‘you’ is me, as I grabbed the log from my session and edited out the extraneous text.

You say, “Could you tell us a little about yourself, out-of-character? Only what you’re comfortable with, of course.”

Wivylma says, “Sure. I’m a student at a university, getting ready to enter my final year to obtain degrees in Classics and Greek.”

You say, “Ahh! Were you attracted to Achaea because of the name? [Which is Greek]”

Wivylma says, “I was! I found Top Mud Sites, and decided that Achaea definitely had the best name.”

You say, “And that was after you had started university right?”

Wivylma says, “Right.”

You say, “So, do you have an estimate of about how much you’ve spent, in total, on Achaea?”

Wivylma gives a trillingly melodic laugh.

Wivylma says, “Too much!”

Wivylma says, “Hmm, let me see.”

Wivylma says, “I haven’t actually counted, but I think that I’ve spent several thousands, at least.”

You say, “Do you remember how much your first purchase was for? How many credits you bought?”

Wivylma says, “I believe it was three hundred credits or so. It seemed like a lot at the time.”

You say, “Do you remember what your motivation for that was? Were you buying skills, artifacts, something else?”

Wivylma says, “I wanted to be able to learn my class skills.”

You say, “Did you consider earning gold to buy credits with instead?”

Wivylma says, “I did buy some with gold before I made my first purchase, and I’ve continued to buy them with gold since then.”

You say, “Now, recently, you made a really interesting purchase, in my eyes at least.”

The corners of Wivylma’s mouth turn up as she grins mischievously.

You say, “For 750 credits, you purchased a resetting cherry pie.”

Wivylma nods her head emphatically.

You say, “Kept perpetually warm, of course.”

Wivylma says, “With custom eating messages!”

You say, “Yes, with custom eating messages. In fact, would you like to demonstrate? Are you feeling
perhaps a bit peckish just now?”

Wivylma enthuses, “Sure!”

[Wivylma would have simply typed ‘eat pie’ at this point, and the first-person version is sent to her while those in the same room as her see the following third-person text.]

Wivylma smiles as she removes a slice from a warm cherry pie, eating it in careful bites while bright red juice runs down her chin.

Taking slice after slice from the pie, Wivylma devours them hungrily. Only when the pie is gone does she look at her hands in consternation, seeing that they are covered in cherry juice.

Garcia sees a small grub and slowly stalks over to it before pecking at it with lightning speed.[Grubs are Garcia’s thing, as you can see.]

You say, “Very nice.”

Wivylma rubs her tummy and goes ‘mmmmmmmm.’

You say, “Did you write the messages or did Maya [the person who did the custom work] write them?”

Wivylma says, “I wrote them.”

You say, “Was being able to write them yourself part of the attraction?”

Wivylma says, “Yes, definitely. There are many other food items which have neat messages when they are eaten, but it is much more fun to have one which I made up.”

You say, “Would you feel like your pie had less value to you if there was another pie exactly like
it in existence for another player?”

Wivylma says, “Yes, I would. One of the reasons I like it is that it is unique, which means that it helps give definition to my character.”

You say, “What’s the reaction been of other players to your pie?”

Wivylma says, “I’ve let a few people eat it, and they’ve all enjoyed it! One player actually asked me to give her baking lessons. I think it’s very enjoyable for anyone to role-play with a unique item, especially one that’s so tasty.”

You say, “Ok, so there’s probably one question on a lot of reader’s minds right now.”

You say, “Brace yourself, but here is what some of them are thinking:”

You say, “Are you crazy? You spent $200 on a virtual pie that doesn’t do anything!“

Wivylma gives a trillingly melodic laugh.

You say, “What’s your response to those people?”

Wivylma says, “For me, it does do something. It makes a character who is very real to me happy. It also helps me to role-play her more effectively, since the small, quirky behaviours of a character are often what makes them come alive. I, as a player, get satisfaction out of the game when Wivylma has interesting conversations with other people about the pie, or is able to cheer them up by giving it to them. It may only be a virtual pie, but it’s much more fun than a real one.”

You say, “Do you have your eye on any other interesting custom virtual items?”

Wivylma says, “Not at the moment, although I’m sure I’ll buy another in the future.”

You say, “Well, thank you so much for your time. I’m sure people are going to enjoy reading this
interview.”

Wivylma smiles and says, “I hope they do!”

What I hope people who don’t understand virtual asset sales get out of this are two main points:

  1. All assets are valued within a context. Virtual assets are literally no different. Her pie is valuable to her because the context Achaea provides gives the pie value.
  2. The wall some people, including Mark Jacobs, draw between “functional” and “non-functional” items in virtual worlds misses the point. (Gah, I feel like a jackass criticizing Mark Jacobs of all people.) Look at what Wivylma said, for instance:

“For me, it does do something. It makes a character who is very real to me happy. It also helps me to role-play her more effectively, since the small, quirky behaviours of a character are often what makes them come alive.”

So her “non-functional” pie helps her to be more effective at an activity she cares about. Sounds a heck of a lot like a virtual sword to me and the way it helps someone be more effective at an activity she cares about.