Should you remember Runescape, a fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game published by Jagex, OSRS gold likely as"that crummy-looking match you played for a few months 10 decades back." But it runs just fine on hardware that hasn't been known as state-of-the-art in over a decade, meaning it's accessible to many in Venezuela that are strapped for cash, and its gold still fetches a pretty real-world penny.

Gold farming, generally , is the custom of grinding into a game specifically for the purpose of producing in-game currency or other material to be traded for real world money. As soon as it's illegal by Runescape's principles, it's also a comparatively secure and comfortable job at a location where one's safety is by no means guaranteed.

"I gold plantation mostly for the raw benefits of it," a participant who goes by the deal Fhynal told me via DMs. "I don't need to venture out. That may sound strange, but we live with a great deal of crime.

Fhynal said he earns around 200,000-250,000 Venezuelan Bolivares, or approximately $US15-$US20 ($19-$26), per week. This adds up to"double, sometimes triple" the typical monthly salary in Venezuela, he said, even factoring in the intermittent week he takes to keep a"low profile" and avoid getting trapped.For Fhynal, it is only enough to buy Runescape gold make ends meet for himself and his mom, so long as inflation doesn't hurl food costs to the stratosphere.

"The truth is, there are those who, if they did not play, they weren't able to eat and would die of hunger," a former Runescape farmer who wanted to stay anonymous told me on Facebook. "I have friends who play every day and if they don't play, they do not eat that day."