Discussion forums, limited Internet packages, 56 K modems… When Pierre immerses himself in the memories of his games of Devil II (2000), the 30-year-old feels like he is returning to the prehistory of online video games. He is in ninth grade when he immerses himself in the medieval fantasy world of Sanctuary and is immediately seduced: with its intense fights, its misty universe to explore with other players and the breadth of possibilities offered to develop its seven different characters, the game from the Blizzard North studio redefines, then, the contours of role-playing and action.
The phenomenon was also commercial. Devil II has passed more thanone million copies in nearly two weeks, a record for a PC title at the time. But behind the triumph, a weakness: Pierre can only see the shortcomings of his virtual economy. “It was hyperarchaic, there was no easy tool to make exchanges [d’équipements] and make good deals. »
The absence of a valid currency hinders any operation there. The gold gleaned during the games is worth almost nothing, since it is found endlessly, in the pockets of waves of enemies always renewed. So, when they want to sell or buy a rare weapon or a gleaming breastplate, players are reduced to barter.
The jackpot dream
“Beginners, we have all already exchanged an extremely good object for another that was worth peanuts”laughs Clement, alias Kanon, videographer on Twitch and former moderator on the Jeuxonline.info forums. “When there are hundreds of thousands of people wanting to exchange, barter is not a realistic solution”he believes.
Difficult, however, to do without. In Devil II, the goal of the game is to equip yourself always better to face ever stronger enemies. However, the pieces of equipment that are recovered from the remains of enemies are generated randomly, as in a lottery. This sorceress’ robe or this sorcerer’s staff may be useless to your muscular barbarian, but it’s a safe bet that a player betting more on his magical powers will be able to offer you a good price for it. Peter remembers:
“When I started wanting to optimize my characters, I looked on the Internet for equipment suggestions. There are some that required extremely rare objects that I had never “looted” [récupérés] despite dozens and dozens of hours. That’s when I understood that it was precisely that others provide them to me. »
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