It's a Mad x 4 (Online) World
I am constantly fascinated by the myriad of subcultures that pop up everywhere. These little groups have their own hierarchies, vocabulary, etc. These communities are centered around various hobbies, collectibles, professions, and any other of a variety of interests and pursuits. Like most people, I've experience some of these odd little groups first hand and thought it might be interesting to post about.
Virtual Magic Kingdom
Being a big Disney fan my wife enjoys playing Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom. In short, VMK is a free multiplayer online game that is Disney themed and targeted at pre to early teens, even though an awful lot of adults seem to play it. There are in-game games like fireworks (a little like Missile Command) and Pirates of the Caribbean (ship to ship combat) that allow players to compete and earn credits. Credits are spent buying clothing, rooms, and furniture for the rooms. And that's pretty much it.
Although the game is free, Disney tries to use it to drive interest to other products. For example, when Herby Fully Loaded came out on DVD it came with a VMK card that had a code on it. Using the code in the game got you a helmet, shirt, pants, shoes, poster, and a couch that looked like the car. All of this in-game–no physical items other than the card. They've also done Disneyland vacation packages that included virtual clothing items.
Disney has printed a whole line of actual physical cards that have codes on them. You get the cards through a variety of promotions and use them in game to get virtual items in the game. They also give away "rare" virtual items in the game during different contests (like who can make the best looking room) also in the game.
The Haves Versus the Have Nots
Some of these virtual items are rare. Sure, another copy can easily be made, but they're not. (There was a short lived hack tool that allowed people to clone items directly from the trade window, but this was fixed. Plus the tool was being used to harvest passwords.) The number of a particular item in the game may be very low and because of this it becomes a prestige item in the game. Players that have them show them off while the players that don't have them desperately want them. Luckily players can trade items with each other.
A great example of a rare item in the game is a pair of green flip flops or simply "green flips." When VMK opened around May 2005 they were in beta. Some of the items available for sale for credits during the beta period were no longer available when the game officially opened. One of these was green flips though other color flip flops were still available.
The game is hosted for Disney by a company named Sulake (which also runs Habbo Hotel from what I hear). Sulake employees have avatars in the game to help players out by answering questions, settling disputes, etc. After the game opened they thought it'd be great to have a uniform to make themselves more easily identified. They picked a green t-shirt, green baggy pants, and green flips all of which had been made unavailable to normal players. The "value" of all of these items instantly shot up. Anyone that had acquired the item before it was taken out still had it. Unfortunately the number was very small with the order of rareness being shirts, pants, then flips.
Getting green flips in the game was next to impossible unless you were willing to trade a plethora of hard to find items and could find someone willing to part with such a prestigious item.
And Then There Was EBay
Some people finally began to clue in to the fact that you could sell these 1's and 0's on EBay. Strangely you could also sell the cards that had the codes on them, even though the code had already been used. Ah, the instant collectibles market. Is there anything sweeter?
The highest amount I've heard of green flips selling for was $1500. Here's a semi-recent screen cap of some closed EBay auctions for VMK items. Keep in mind that, besides the cards, none of these items are real.
One thing I found funny is that it is against your EULA to sell items from the game. This lead to many of the auctions listing a condition of sale being that you are not an employee of Disney or Sulake. Since the transfer of the item happens in game you could theoretically be banned for the sale. Sure you could try to use a second character to trade the item, but since all IPs are logged you'd have to jump through even more hoops.
It really doesn't seem to matter all that much to Disney though. VMK people are aware of the EBay auctions. Even though they're against the rules they are good indicator that people will spend money in promotions related to the game. On top of that it alludes to the fact that many more adults are playing the game than originally thought, despite the effort to market to 12 year olds.
Time to Cheat
Of course as soon as you start seeing real money rear its ugly head it's time to work the system. One way that VMK handed out super rare codes was to have web based games and quests external to VMK proper. These games would randomly hand out the "good" code in addition to spewing out plenty of codes for less valuable items. Eventually some people have figured out the URL patterns for the rare item codes and were able to skip the randomness altogether. They then turn around and sell the items for money to less industrious players.
VMK (Sulake specifically) became aware of the cheating and decided to ban all players that entered more than a set number of these super rare codes. Unfortunately the cheaters didn't enter the codes themselves–they just sold / traded the code. So, the wrong people were banned (and eventually unbanned with stern warnings).
Instant Devaluation
The disadvantage of the value of virtual property is that it can lose its value very easily. Recently VMK has been re-introducing super rare items from its beta period. Despite the fact that this makes the have-nots happy it sure pisses off the people that spent a lot of time and effort getting the item. This is especially true given the fact that VMK doesn't seem to communicate with its players very well. One day you log on and find out the item you paid $500 for on EBay is now selling for 500 credits (a very low amount). This has a tendency to piss people off, to say the least.
I know of two people that have made over $10,000 apiece selling these virtual items. When you think about the possibility of having $10,000 in virtual inventory instantly become worthless it might make you start to think about selling that shit off. So, not having a clear policy / agreement with their players about re-introducing rare items has caused Disney to drive its players to break their EULA, even though Disney doesn't seem to care.
More to Come
Like I said, I'm fascinated by these subcultures. I'm even more fascinated by virtual communities, the value of virtual property, how hosting companies manage their customer relations, and the new legal implications of it all. With that in mind I'm sure I'll have another couple of posts on related topics.
October 21st, 2006 at 6:44 pm
[...] As I mentioned previously, my wife plays a lot of Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom. VMK has been targeted at kids and is therefore "kid friendly." This means that they run everything you type through a very limited dictionary to prevent all that dirty talk. You can't talk about any personal details, exchange any personal information, or try to intentionally circumvent the filter. You can't even use numbers since a kid could give out their phone number to a pedophile. [...]
March 13th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
hello i was wondering if you would know any way to get unbanned from vmk? well heres the thing my brother and i was in a fight and i turned my computer off ( and i dont save usernames and passwords ) so when the phone rang it was my friend and then my brother went to my room found out my username and password and out of the blue started to scam everyone! now i have been talking to the vmk support team and they are being very unreasonable…if you have any ideas please e-mail me at hersheypark1@yahoo.com! thanks!
March 13th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
That sounds like quite the conundrum. Part of my problem with many online games, commercial or free, is that the users really don't have any rights whatsoever. VMK is particularly bad about communicating the reason people have been banned as well as exceptionally bad about letting people plead their case.
The upside is that bans are usually pretty temporary (if they'll even tell you the duration). If not, just kiss all your stuff goodbye and start another character.
Another thing you'll likely need to do is uninstall and then reinstall your shockwave player and get a new IP address. If you use a cable modem, like me, you can get a new IP by resetting your cable modem or leaving it off for a duration (might be a while depending on the length of DHCP lease for your provider).
Good luck with all that.
March 24th, 2007 at 6:09 am
well i think this website sucks because i want green flips and inferno and stitch and sparrow but seriously you should give us the codes not tell people how to play the game. No wonder no one else comes to this site so adios. Im DizMizzBubble online.
March 24th, 2007 at 6:09 am
jk my real user is DizMizBubble
March 24th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
I'm not aware of there ever being a code for green flips or inferno.
Green flips were a normal item that players could buy with the rest of their wardrobe items. They were then taken out of the game and used as cast uniform. The green flips left in the game are typically one of the few that were bought by players before they were taken off the market with a very rare few given out by cast to players.
Inferno have never been for sale and are supposed to have only been given out as prizes as part of the cast games (to the best of my knowledge). This of course excludes the single use inferno that recently appeared in the game.
So, I doubt you will ever find codes for either of these two items. Sparrow costumes on the other hand are given out via codes from a web based game that exists outside of VMK. They're randomly awarded at a rate of approximately 1 in every 5000 attempts.
People that have acquired these codes (by scripting the offsite game in my opinion) usually sell the codes. They were initially sold on eBay until eBay changed their policy on virtual items, banning their sale. Now they're available either on Yahoo! Auctions (rarely) or through private exchanges. The last I heard the code for the costume went for around $100.
I doubt you will find any web site freely posting the codes (which are single use by the way) for $100 item. Nor will you find one giving away an item that is theoretically worth $2000 (green flips given recent trades for other sellable items) or an item worth $400 (inferno based on the last activity in auctions).
Thank you for the constructive criticism. If I wanted more visitors of your caliber, I would definitely consider giving away free stuff.
March 25th, 2007 at 7:47 am
Hi guys i'm so annoyed right now I have been looking for codes all day long and no luck on finding rare ones..
March 25th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Well, I have been banned from vmk forever :-(
and for the most baddest way. Me and my friend had thought we could scam someone and get there stuff. I said later " I don't think this is such a good idea… And Guess what happens?!?!
My friend on my computer without me knowing scams someone!!
I hve the same question. Is there a way to be able to play again.
Oh and by the way they're so mean they did not write You have been banned from the kingdom forever. They said your ban will expire in 2017
March 15!! Plz if anyone can tell me if there is a way. I can't believe i got banned forever for nothing..
March 25th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
You're not likely to get your character back. You've likely been IP banned as well. You can play VMK again from that computer by uninstalling then reinstalling Shockwave. You then need to get a different IP address. Doing this varies depending on you setup.
April 15th, 2007 at 7:39 am
If anyone is here then please say vmk rules
April 15th, 2007 at 7:50 am
Wow lots of confusing stuff. I once had someone come in my vmk room and they called everyone in there losers and someone said a bad word to me meaning the devils place(that I am not supposed to say):-(:-(There are mean ppl out there! this web site is good:-)I am trying to become a cl leader does anyone know how?
:-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-)vmk opens in ten minutes!:-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-
May 5th, 2007 at 8:59 am
hi i was wondering how you change the IP address using a cable modem and was wondering if anything would b erased or anything bad could happen if i turn it off and how long do i leave it off? PLZ HELP ME i hate being banned
June 6th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
i need a skull rock room code
June 7th, 2007 at 12:12 am
Those codes were part of the Kellogg's promotional game. They're no longer available. Maybe you can find someone with an unused code, but I doubt it. And, of course, you cannot trade the room once you've entered the code.
June 8th, 2007 at 10:12 am
okay i wasnt in my house for about 2 weeks and when i came home my ip was banned, and i was crying cause i didnt do anything wrong. robert im going to try to uninstall shockwave and then install it.
thanks for your help =D
July 9th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
I got banned till 2017 from my IP too. It doesn't make sense–you can go on the site and load the game to a point where it finally tells you you're banned…
It's totally unfair. And seeing VMK won't e-mail me back after I've contacted them so many times…I might as well figure out how to change the IP. Could it work jsut by uninstalling and reinstalling shockwave? I don't want to get too techincal with the IP and everything.
July 9th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Uninstalling and reinstalling Shockwave is typically one of the necessary steps for getting around certain kinds of bans. It's worth a try though. However, this will not reset your IP address. For that, you're on your own to figure out how.
September 8th, 2007 at 8:32 am
I think you did a outstanding job!! This is all very true and ppl your lucky he even made this site for us mortals
January 2nd, 2008 at 6:43 pm
i am so mad!! me and my friend both got banned for not doing anything !! i was banned once alreaady for 24 hrs. so how long is the second banning?
February 2nd, 2008 at 1:00 pm
vmk banned me once for no reason for 1 day then they said u will get ban for 1 week next time. when i got ban the second time it is for a whole month i think vmk is getting a little crazy with the baning stuff, i know its trying to keep every 1 safe but at the same time its kinda unfair but wat ever i may be leaving vmk so bye
February 3rd, 2008 at 8:51 am
i need a new site, like vmk im so bord bc i got banned for a month does any 1 have a sugggeustion?
March 4th, 2008 at 11:29 am
how do u uninstall the shockwave and restall it?
please someone help me
i got bannded for a month
it sucks!
i just dont get the whole shockwave thing but i am willing to gove it a try
March 19th, 2008 at 5:09 am
W@ssup!
Kay here'z the deal.. i got banned from vmk for 1
month and Robert i read yo writing u said about
uninstalling shockwave and then reinstalling
it bac, well i have 1 question, will it delete
all of ur old accounts you had on the old
shockwave u had?
Kay, Peaceā„
THX!
March 19th, 2008 at 7:44 am
If you're talking about your account on VMK then it won't be affected by the uninstall / reinstall process. There is no account related information stored on your local computer.