Configuring the Player: Subversive Behavior in Project Entropia

This paper applies the Science and Technology Studies concept of the "black box" to Project Entropia, a virtual world developed by the Swedish company MindArk, examining how developers embed assumptions into the game to shape player behavior and how players work to open that black box and pursue roles the publisher did not intend. The central focus is the imperative to "pay to play." Unlike most massively multiplayer online games, which rely on monthly subscriptions, Project Entropia is free to download and generates revenue through a micro-payment model in which players buy PED, its in-game currency, at roughly 10 PED per US dollar. The analysis argues that the game's hidden rules make it effectively costly to work as a hunter, miner, or crafter, since tool upkeep and repairs often exceed earnings.

The paper's findings rest on an ethnographic study of the game's inhabitants, supplemented by fan sites, web forums, and a survey with follow-up interviews of experienced players. Players respond in several ways. Some adopt a "bricoleur" strategy, most notably "gathering sweat" from trapped monsters near guard-tower-protected sweatfarms, a practice that prompted MindArk to impose time limits that players circumvent with multiple accounts. Others act as "scientists," building external tools such as a hunt simulator to model outcomes and extend their funds. A further group exploits code weaknesses, which can yield significant PED but risks account closure.

The authors conclude that the play element in Project Entropia is closely tied to subversion, because the better players understand the hidden algorithms, the harder MindArk must work to keep revenue acceptable. Monthly updates, such as a more sophisticated AI for monster trapping, function as attempts to close the box after players open it. Nonetheless, the paper finds that most players do pay, suggesting the game is largely successful in "configuring the player," though its study is limited to a single, relatively understudied virtual world.