Creation of system examples for in-game economies utilizing the tool Machinations (Dormans, n.d.)

Download thesis: PhilippStenger_GameEconomies

Abstract

For this work, a summary of how real-world economic systems function on a basic level and how this translates to economic systems in video games has been created.

This work explains what the tool Machinations (Dormans, n.d.) is and what advantages it brings to development teams.

Additionally, a selection of prototypes that showcase, how the economic systems of video games can be altered in a way that allows taking more control of the level of inflation in video games, have been produced. These prototypes have been documented and evaluated to allow for a precise understanding of how their approaches function, how they can be utilized and what they can be used for.

This work also delivers an explanation of how the created systems can be extended to other types of games or how someone can start to create a new system.

Subject descriptions:

Economy Systems; System Design; Game Design;

General Terms:

Game; Design; Theory; Economy;

Keywords:

Game Design; Economy Systems; Machinations; Development Tools;

Publication Date:

24.05.2019

Introduction

Today’s virtual economic systems have come a long way, featuring a large number of different approaches to how players consume, trade and produce for, with and in the in-game economic systems of games, while also delivering a large variety of different systems for different economies. But there are still a lot of problems. These problems become usually more apparent the longer a player interacts with the game. Many of these problems are ‘fixed’ by utilizing workarounds and not by actually adjusting the system to remove the error.

This work aims to create examples that explain how economies function within games and wants to break economies down into a basic construct from which this work will expand into different examples of virtual economic systems. This is done by utilizing the tool Machinations (Dormans, n.d.), which will be used to explain visually how these systems work on a basic level and will further be used to showcase how designers can build upon these systems to create their own economies utilizing this tool, identify problems in their current creation and modify them to test different approaches of how these problems could be solved. This work will also showcase how these tests can be evaluated.

In addition to that will this work aims to showcase how economic systems are structured in the real world and how this compares to the virtual economies found in games.

This work is focused towards Game/System Designers that work on economic systems and Producers that manage the creation of these systems and aims to allow for a general understanding of how these systems could be approached. In addition to that, is this work also directed at any other member of a development team, to offer a general understanding of in-game economies and the problems that should be expected during their creation.