[MUD-Dev] Game Economies

[Timothy O'Neill Dang]

Hello-

I'm working my way through the archives now, but figured it was time to
introduce myself. I'm an economic researcher working for Cybernomics,
Inc. which is associated with the Economic Science Laboratory at the
University of Arizona. I'm looking at MUDs primarily as a possible
platform for economic research relevant to the real world, but am also
fascinated by the economies of the games themselves.

So - I'm looking to converse with any and all about game economies. To
start with, I figure I'll address one thing which I noticed in the
archives. My feeling right now is that in-game economic behavior does
not vary too much from real-world economic behavior *given the
circumstances*. All of this is still tentative, of course.

There's certainly one critical difference between game economies and the
real-world economies most of us are used to. That is that the society in
question is tiny, which naturally results in a more village-like
behavior than a modern urban behavior. Even if there's 10K players in a
game world, my "random" generosity is much more likely to be socially
acknowledged and reciprocated than similar random generosity on the
streets of Albuquerque, for instance.

Otherwise, I think most of the differences are either (1) differences
because social institutions are different or lacking, (2) differences in
appearance only because the game fiction is being confused with the
reality.

An example of the second type: There's been some discussion of luxury
items, treating oneself to a nice lunch, etc., and how these things are
common in real life but not in game life. Doing things like making fine
food or clothes enhance ones standing with NPCs makes these things
tools, not luxuries. But there are game luxuries.

Two examples off the top of my head:

In EverQuest most travel is by foot, and there's a spell which makes
foot travel faster. Players will often solicit and pay for those spells
to be cast upon them before a journey. Similar to a nice lunch, it's
something which makes a utilitarian act more pleasant.

Second, I find that in my playing I regularly "splurge". Not by buying
fancy food (which really does nothing for me). Rather I'll stock up on
healing potions, grab the best equipment I'm willing to lose and, alone
or in a group, take on some challenge where I think I'm almost certain
to die. There's some chance of a high payoff in money or experience, but
primarily my "payoff" is the fun. No difference there from spending a
lot of money on dinner and a concert.

If you aren't satisfied then with the behavior of your players, it's
likely because the reality and the fiction are a bit too distant from
each other. Frequently this won't matter, but it is certainly a big
cause of "broken" economies.

------------------------------
Timothy O'Neill Dang/Cretog8
timothy at nmia.com
H: 505-843-6966
W: 505-244-8803
One monkey don't stop no show



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