According to statistics available, in china there are more than 100,000 gaming workshops that hire hundreds of thousands of young men to play online games such as Lineage and WoW. In order to make a living, they work hard day and night in dark net caf?s, deserted warehouses, confined offices or at home.

The gaming workers produce in game currencies, equipments or characters that are sold to American and European gamers for hard cash. 95£¥ online gaming workshops are based in China. They earn profits from the cheap labor in China. In America, time is much more valuable than in China. The rate is 8:1 or higher, which is known to everyone.

Mmosite correspondent in China honorably brings this special interview. And the following comes the first part of the interview. Hope you¡®ll enjoy it.
The pictures?are originally taken from a video on www.youtube.com,click here to see it.


Interview with Xiao Zhao who had been a gold farmer for a year

MMOSITE: Why did you get interested in this job?
Xiao Zhao: I love to play games since I was a kid. And in college, I got addicted to WOW. Later, it happened that a workshop was hiring WOW farmers. It?s terrific that I could earn money for playing games, so I thought I could have a try and applied for this job. The boss briefly introduced what the job was all about and asked me whether I?ll accept it or not. I said yes and was hired.

MMOSITE: It seems that the job requires little. 
Xiao Zhao: You can say so. Just farming gold in WOW. The required daily output is 200G.

MMOSITE: 200G?
Xiao Zhao: Yup, at that time, we have found a good way to farm gold, so 200G is an easy task. Every month, we?ll get 600 yuan rated salary if we complete our task. We?ll get 0.1 yuan royalty for each exceeding gold. So roughly, I can earn more than 100 yuan each month.

MMOSITE: At the beginning, what was your feeling about the job?
Xiao Zhao: Our workshop was in a basement. It?s dark and the air was not fresh. Before that time, this service industry was mysterious to me and I figured that all the gold farmers must be veteran players. But gradually I found out it?s not the truth. Everyday, many players around me just mechanically farmed gold in a specific place. It involves no skill at all. But some of them are really terrific. They are not only skillful, but also they can always find out new methods to increase their output more efficiently.

MMOSITE: How long have you been doing as a farmer? And I remember you said you also did as a power leveler.
Xiao Zhao: About half a year. Later, Blizzard banned accounts on a large scale. A dozen accounts of our boss all disappeared. All the farmed gold was still there. Hundreds of thousands of gold disappeared in a moment. The workshop was not a big one, so the loss was quite a heavy blow for our boss. So angrily, he gave up his business.
At that time, I was quite famous around that area for my skill. So, not long after that, I found a job in another workshop. The working condition there was good and from then on I began to do power leveling.

MMOSITE: To you, are there any differences between the two jobs?
Xiao Zhao: Of course there are. The job of power leveler makes me feel I have dignity. To the official side, those gold farming accounts are under the table. Maybe, someday they will all be banned. But power leveling is different. To be frank, maybe influenced by foreign players to some extent, I myself also look down upon farmers. And I think it might be one of the reasons why farmers will clash with foreign players: we farmers have an inferiority feeling inside, and it?s easy for us to develop a rebellious mentality. When we are irritated by foreign players, we will protect our dignity through some extreme actions.

MMOSITE: So, what attitude do you think the foreign players hold toward you? Do you often clash with them?
Xiao Zhao: Quite a number of them feel loathing for us. I know a little bit English, so I didn?t clash with them much. I can roughly understand what they say, but I can?t speak. So, I try my best to keep quiet. When sometimes I have to reply, I?ll make it as simple as possible. In fact, farmers are not so low quality as they think. I often helped some European and North American players complete their quests. Of course, I?ve first got to complete my daily task.
We didn?t mean to ask for trouble. Most farmers don?t know any English apart from LFG and WTS. They just can?t communicate with foreign players. Sometimes, we really want to say thank you, sorry or something like that, but we just don?t know how to express. Most clashes happened due to insufficient communication. In addition, we?re not here to enjoy the game. We?ve got to survive. If we can?t farm enough gold, we can?t even make a living?also for this reason, sometimes, workshops will fall into internal war with each other.

MMOSITE: How long have you been doing as a power leveler? Why did you quit?
Xiao Zhao: Almost one year. The job really damages health. You have to sit in front of computer for more than 14 hours each day. And you eat and sleep irregularly. I used to be in good health. During that one year, my health became worse and worse and I suffered from an upset stomach. So I quit and will not involve in that service business any more. I found another job. I feel it?s pretty good 

MMOSITE: Anything else you want to say?
Xiao Zhao: Hope foreign players can understand farmers more. We?ve got to make a living. Whatever is, is right. It exists because there is demand out there, isn?t it?


Disguising his identity as a job hunter, the correspondent?s friend in China contacted the person in charge of a power leveling workshop via QQ (the most popular IM tool in China).

Q: Hi, I?ve spotted on the website that you are hiring power leveling players. What are the requirements?
A: No requirements, actually. As long as you?ll work hard. Of course, it?s best if you are a veteran player. If so, you?ll earn more. If you are new in this field, we?ll train you, and of course, at the beginning, you?ll earn not so much.
Q: What?s my job about?
A: Simple, just leveling up. 12 hours a day. Our customers are WOW players on European and North American servers. All you need to do is level up their character to their required level. For example, you have to advance from lv 1 to lv 60 in 15 days. Of course, you?ll get a bonus if you complete the task ahead of schedule.
Q: How is the payment and what is the working condition there?
A: The base pay per month is 800 yuan. The more efficiently you complete the task, the more you?ll earn. We?ll provide housing and food, so all you need to bring is you yourself. To prevent the flow of employees, every month we?ll deduct 100 yuan as a deposit. We?ll return the money to you in 3 months.
Q: K?I?ll think about it
A: Rest assured! We?ve got more than 100 players here. We?ve got a very good reputation. We?re not gonna cheat you.
Q: OK,see ya.

In the coming days, we?ll bring you the interview about gaming workshops and virtual item traders. Please stay tuned...