Comments on: Virtual Economies http://thebillfold.com/2012/06/virtual-economies/ Everything About Money You Were Too Polite To Ask Mon, 20 May 2013 17:40:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: stuffisthings http://thebillfold.com/2012/06/virtual-economies/#comment-7448 stuffisthings Wed, 20 Jun 2012 20:02:01 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=6757#comment-7448 @deepomega You'd don't need an economist, let alone an economist with Varoufakis's math chops, to understand that. It's a sweatshop where nerds make imaginary hats for dorks. @deepomega You’d don’t need an economist, let alone an economist with Varoufakis’s math chops, to understand that. It’s a sweatshop where nerds make imaginary hats for dorks.

]]> By: deepomega http://thebillfold.com/2012/06/virtual-economies/#comment-7447 deepomega Wed, 20 Jun 2012 19:54:20 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=6757#comment-7447 @stuffisthings It's all sort of there in TF2 now - but it's abstracted a bit, and super not-real-world. But the hat crafting/trading/etc. system is AN economy, for sure. @stuffisthings It’s all sort of there in TF2 now – but it’s abstracted a bit, and super not-real-world. But the hat crafting/trading/etc. system is AN economy, for sure.

]]> By: stuffisthings http://thebillfold.com/2012/06/virtual-economies/#comment-7442 stuffisthings Wed, 20 Jun 2012 19:37:30 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=6757#comment-7442 @Megano! Nope, there are thousands who do just that. Also, EVE has had a full-time staff economist for years. @Megano! Nope, there are thousands who do just that.

Also, EVE has had a full-time staff economist for years.

]]> By: stuffisthings http://thebillfold.com/2012/06/virtual-economies/#comment-7441 stuffisthings Wed, 20 Jun 2012 19:37:01 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=6757#comment-7441 Ooh! I was actually just about to send y'all a tip about this. My impression was that the Valve economist is more concerned with the wacky behavioral economics questions entailed by the effects of deep-discount sales, free weekends, pay-what-you-want bundles, and free-to-play games with real-money hat stores than actual in-game "virtual" economies, though. I'm struggling to think of a Valve game with a significant in-game economic component... Ooh! I was actually just about to send y’all a tip about this. My impression was that the Valve economist is more concerned with the wacky behavioral economics questions entailed by the effects of deep-discount sales, free weekends, pay-what-you-want bundles, and free-to-play games with real-money hat stores than actual in-game “virtual” economies, though. I’m struggling to think of a Valve game with a significant in-game economic component…

]]> By: Megano! http://thebillfold.com/2012/06/virtual-economies/#comment-7437 Megano! Wed, 20 Jun 2012 19:03:15 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=6757#comment-7437 @deepomega Does it make me weird that I think playing EVE Online just to mess with the economy somehow would be pretty fun? @deepomega Does it make me weird that I think playing EVE Online just to mess with the economy somehow would be pretty fun?

]]> By: deepomega http://thebillfold.com/2012/06/virtual-economies/#comment-7433 deepomega Wed, 20 Jun 2012 18:46:40 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=6757#comment-7433 This is cool - but Valve is just the biggest company to do this. EVE Online's entire schtick is virtual player-driven economies, where you don't just buy a space ship or whatever from a digital character, you buy a space ship that was built by some other player (from parts built by another player (from ore mined by another player)). They also are totally cool with <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/04/28/brilliant-players-waging-actual-war-on-eves-economy/">crazy economic terrorism</a> and blockade-running, which means they actually like the economy on its own merits, not just as a way to make money in the real world. This is cool – but Valve is just the biggest company to do this. EVE Online’s entire schtick is virtual player-driven economies, where you don’t just buy a space ship or whatever from a digital character, you buy a space ship that was built by some other player (from parts built by another player (from ore mined by another player)). They also are totally cool with crazy economic terrorism and blockade-running, which means they actually like the economy on its own merits, not just as a way to make money in the real world.

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