This article on the NY Times really reminded me of Cory Doctorow’s Anda’s Game where people run sweatshops full of kids playing games in order to make money in MMORPGs.

This article talks about companies who make money by charging people to play for them in the early stages of a game. In many games it takes many hours of running around killing monsters in order to advance to levels where things get more interesting. Some people don’t want to have to go through all that and prefer to pay someone to do it for them, and when their character reaches a certain level they take over again.

Because some of this games have a virtual economy that can be converted into real cash these companies can also make money but finding gold and other valuable in-game items.

The people working at this clandestine locale are “gold farmers.” Every day, in 12-hour shifts, they “play” computer games by killing onscreen monsters and winning battles, harvesting artificial gold coins and other virtual goods as rewards that, as it turns out, can be transformed into real cash.

it is not all fun and games. These workers have strict quotas and are supervised by bosses who equip them with computers, software and Internet connections to thrash online trolls, gnomes and ogres.