Developers Corner

http://show.zoho.com/public/talinguard/MMORPG%20economics1

Some of you are familiar with some of what I have written.  I have taken the time to try to define the MMORPG economy as most of us know it.  There is a second part to the presentation, but I'm reluctant to spill it out on these pages right now.  Basically I'm just looking to see if part 1 can stand the scrutiny of the readers that come here.  Constructive comments welcome.

I created the document in powerpoint and uploaded it to an online service that makes it readable to those without.  It upload changed a lot of what I did, but it's still readable.

If your creating an MMORPG and need some idea on an economy, feel free to drop me a line.

Thanks for reading.

Talin

thank you for sharing ... good work :)

Checked it out and it looks fine.

Blessings,

I have read part 1 a couple of times and it is very well put together.  It is very well put-together and hits exactly on what ails most MMORPG economies today.  I am still anticipating part 2 someday.

Very good! Clear diagrams. You probably need some more constructive criticism but I ain't the guy. I agree, I'd love to read the next part.

I am trying to do a similar thing and took a different approach. I would check out this article about inflation. It was written by Sam Lewis and is pretty good.  

http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/09/07/agc-mmo-economies/

My blog is here.

http://mmorpgdesigntalk.blogspot.com/

As you can see I also talk about the P = MV/Q formula which is key to understanding inflation. I think this formula is a good place to start because it helps you categorize things in a way that should help you later on.  It also helps establish the relationship between these variables.

For example, hoarding is a concept that is more easily understood with this formula. Hoarding essentially decreases V, but a hoarding player may also be increasing M at a high rate. The overall impact on prices depends on the combination of both of these factors. 

My blog is almost all about the macro economics of an MMO economy so far. I will eventually get into the micro economics more. This is where your stuff shines IMO. Your diagrams are great and should really help anyone trying to understand the economics of an MMO. I do think that you should talk more about things like transactions taxes(drains) and the micro economics of drains and faucets. 

SWG is an example of a game that had issues with crafters being rich and adventurers being poor. 

Overall I think you did a really good job. I think if you are going to talk about inflation you have to use that formula though.  

Originally posted by Vindvalya

I am trying to do a similar thing and took a different approach. I would check out this article about inflation. It was written by Sam Lewis and is pretty good.  

http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/09/07/agc-mmo-economies/

My blog is here.

http://mmorpgdesigntalk.blogspot.com/

As you can see I also talk about the P = MV/Q formula which is key to understanding inflation. I think this formula is a good place to start because it helps you categorize things in a way that should help you later on.  It also helps establish the relationship between these variables.

For example, hoarding is a concept that is more easily understood with this formula. Hoarding essentially decreases V, but a hoarding player may also be increasing M at a high rate. The overall impact on prices depends on the combination of both of these factors. 

My blog is almost all about the macro economics of an MMO economy so far. I will eventually get into the micro economics more. This is where your stuff shines IMO. Your diagrams are great and should really help anyone trying to understand the economics of an MMO. I do think that you should talk more about things like transactions taxes(drains) and the micro economics of drains and faucets. 

SWG is an example of a game that had issues with crafters being rich and adventurers being poor. 

Overall I think you did a really good job. I think if you are going to talk about inflation you have to use that formula though.  

Wow,  I haven't seen to many people cite Sam's work.  I am very familiar with Sam's work and know the P=MV/Q formula.  I have tried to keep it in my head as I create my concept.

I emailed Sam over a year ago about what I had done.  Sam was nice enough to critique an early version of my concept.  Back then I tried to create a world where there was no "cash".  Players would trade in a particular raw material.  Sam liked a lot of what i did, but suggested that as a whole, players like cash.  I spent the better part of a year studying economics to learn some of the things I clearly didn't understand.  This lead to my biggest break though, something that I'm still working on refining.

I scanned your blog, I'll take a little time later to give it the time it deserves.  I assume you have read Sam's presentation? I cite it at the end in my refrenece section.

I got to Sam's work from this post on another board.

http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=455304&whichpage=1&#3011910

The formula itself is something I learned in school but Sam does a great job explaining it so I didn't have to. Velocity is a really interesting concept in real world economics and MMO economics. Definitely one worth reading up on and understanding.

When I started my blog I thought about trying to do what you are doing in terms of drawing flow charts and talking in detail about the types of faucets there are, etc. I wimped out though so it is good to know someone did all that work. Mind if I reference it?

Here is a good description of UO's economy that is helpful and deals with a lot of the same things you are talking about.

http://www.mine-control.com/zack/uoecon/uoecon.html

Good luck with the project and keep us updated.

Originally posted by Vindvalya

I got to Sam's work from this post on another board.

http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=455304&whichpage=1&#3011910

The formula itself is something I learned in school but Sam does a great job explaining it so I didn't have to. Velocity is a really interesting concept in real world economics and MMO economics. Definitely one worth reading up on and understanding.

When I started my blog I thought about trying to do what you are doing in terms of drawing flow charts and talking in detail about the types of faucets there are, etc. I wimped out though so it is good to know someone did all that work. Mind if I reference it?

Here is a good description of UO's economy that is helpful and deals with a lot of the same things you are talking about.

http://www.mine-control.com/zack/uoecon/uoecon.html

Good luck with the project and keep us updated.