Footballers have shown that you can make a decent living playing a game you like. Why should things be any different for anyone who wants to play videogames professionally?

Leon Jalleh, 27, was a delinquent in his teens. After several years, he grew tired of his risky ways and started looking for cleaner and safer ways to earn a living.

It was around then he started playing videogames.

At first he mostly played in videogame arcades but then moved on to playing single-player PC games in cybercafes.

Jalleh was also one of the first Malaysians who started playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), such as Meridien 59 and EverQuest.

It was through online game communities that Jalleh met some of his closest friends.

"Our game characters were very weak at first and we were often bullied by the stronger players from other countries who had already started playing MMORPGs much earlier," Jalleh recalled.

PLAYING PROFESSIONALLY: Jalleh left his life as an outlaw and focused on playing games while working in cybercafes.

However, he said that motivated him to want to improve. Jalleh then left his wayward life and focused on playing games while working in cybercafes.

That was 10 years ago. Now, Jalleh nets about RM2,000 every month – or more, if he feels he's up for it – just playing online games.

How so? Apparently, some people are willing to pay gamers real money to help improve their virtual characters.

Why pay real money?

Online games are naturally designed to be addictive, attracting players to spend months, or in some cases even years, in its virtual worlds.

However, it would be costly for game developers to create unique content that is worth several months of gameplay.

Hence, developers tend to include "grinding" elements in their games.

Grinding requires players to engage in repetitive actions before allowing them access to better content.

For example, MMORPGs often require players to repeatedly kill monsters for virtual experience, gold and items in order to improve their virtual characters.

Developers then award access to content such as powerful in-game skills and magical spells or nicer costumes to characters that have reached certain levels in the game to motivate them to endure grinds.

"But then players would have to spend a great deal of time to achieve this, so it has indirectly created a market where people pay others to help them improve their virtual characters in games," said Chin Jun-Fwu, a senior analyst from research company IDC.

So, wealthy gamers who want access to the fun stuff yet lack the time to do so, will hire people like Jalleh to help them out.

Some gamers would also purchase virtual items (or even characters) that will allow them to play the game more efficiently.

However, Chin said, very few people play games for money, compared to those who play for fun.

Job opportunity

"For someone who did not complete schooling, it is as good as it gets," Jalleh said.

"I used to have to ask for money from my parents, but now I can support myself."

Jeffery Wong, 31, who has just opened a new cybercafe called Blaze City in Damansara Uptown, said online games can also provide job opportunities for those who did not complete their studies.

"There's not much choice of work for people who didn't finish school – even some blue-collar jobs require school certificates – but not professional game-playing," said Wong.

"Anyone can walk into a cybercafe and learn how to play a game. If they don't know something, they can search the Internet and learn," Wong said.

"Playing online games also exposes the person to cultures from other parts of the world and to ICT (information and communications technology), which is definitely advantageous in today's information age," Wong added.

Furthermore, he said, the rates in cybercafes, which generally stands at RM1.50 to RM3 per hour, are also affordable.

"I'm not saying playing games are the best way to earn money – just that it provides an alternative to those who aren't highly educated," Wong said, adding that he also dropped out of secondary school.

"Online games are a bit like low-risk gambling. You're sure to get earn something for whatever effort you put into a game, and sometimes you get bonuses such as rare virtual items which you can sell for more," he said.

However, playing games is not all fun and, err... games. Like any job, it requires skill, dedication and teamwork.

Jalleh would often spend time reading up on how a game works to find the most efficient way to play it.

He would also have to learn the best way to communicate with players from different nationalities.

"People may think that I don't have a life, but I'm doing what I like and from the comfort of my own home," Jalleh said.

"I'm also my own boss and can choose to play whichever game I want, so what more can one ask for?"

However, Jalleh admits that spending hours glued to the PC can be bad for his health, though he is quick to point out that the same applies to any activity done in excess.

"Staring at the screen for a long time is bad, but that doesn't just happen to gamers, office workers suffer the same too," he said.

"In the end, it's up to the person to control their habits."

Virtual gold mine

Currently, Jalleh spends about six to eight hours playing games daily, for work and for pleasure.

One of his assignments was from someone who wanted a level 60 character in World of Warcraft.

Wong

"It was from a friend, so I accepted only RM1,300 to level up his character to 60 on my own time.

"In addition, I would be paid extra for whatever rare items I obtain," Jalleh said, adding that the process took about two to three weeks.

Jalleh would also make extra pocket money from selling virtual items but he said he prefers not to as game publishers often have a user agreement against trading virtual items for real money.

"If someone wants an item, they would have to approach me. I would not promote my wares because it puts me at risk of being caught and banned by the game publisher," Jalleh said.

In China, it is not uncommon to see sweatshops where people are hired to hunt for virtual items and gold in online games.

In computer game terms, the repetitive process of this hunt is often referred to as "farming."

These items are then traded for real money through runners or websites, such as IGE.com.

Wong said there are also organised farming or sweatshops in Malaysia, though he refused to point them out.

"Game publishers do not like such trading activities. Last year, Blizzard, publisher of World of Warcraft, began banning tens of thousands of players involved in these activities," said Wong.

Furthermore, some gamers who play solely for money tend to use computer programs such as "bots" or macros to automate repetitive mouse clicks and keyboard strokes which publishers deem as cheating.

However, Jalleh advises players against cheating, as it would tip the balance of a game and ultimately ruin the economy it has created.

"If you can't play the game legally why play the game at all? If a game is dominated by bots then who are the real players supposed to talk to and interact with?" he lamented.

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