In a brilliant roundtable at the IMGDC over the weekend, Richard Bartle lead a conversation regarding government interference in online games, specifically from the point of view of a game development studio.  The strong underlying question which was raised again and again throughout the session was “how far is too far” in regards to various areas of typical government regulation of various aspects of game design.

As part of the conversation, the subject of virtual property in online games was inevitably raised.  True to the theme of the session, the question was asked regarding how far was too far regarding potential government requirements referencing players owning their own property in online games.

Before I get into describing the actual responses from various game developers (which could truly be its own article in its own right), I’d be interested in finding out how (and why) players feel on the subject.

So, the Clockwork Question of the Week for March 31st is this: Do you “own” your character?  How so?  Why do you feel that way?