Key Points of Game Economic System Design

The game economy system plays an important role in game design, not only restricting certain aspects of the gaming experience but also supporting character development, rewarding players, promoting social interaction, and introducing difficult choices. However, designing an efficient economy system is a daunting task. This article will introduce the basic knowledge of the economy system from the perspective of game design and explore some potentially useful tools, techniques, and design points to help designers create outstanding economy systems.

What is an economic system

The economic system in the game is similar to the supply and demand market in real life, centered around currency and resources. Some game economic systems are very complex, even employing economists to publish economic reports. The benefits of the economic system include the distribution of power, support for specialization, and the promotion of player interaction and role-playing. However, not every game requires the same depth and complexity of the economic system. Currency and resources are core components of various economic systems.

Currency and Resources

In simple terms, currency is a conventionally accepted medium of exchange used to purchase goods or services. The key is "exchange." However, in games, the so-called currency is not always real currency; it is often resources used to gain extra lives or protection. The essence of currency is not related to its rarity or value, but to its function as a medium of exchange. Currency often has multiple uses, but it can also have limited uses. Resources play a key role in the currency system, while currency acts as a bridge connecting different parts of player experience. At the same time, resources can exist completely independently of currency or can serve as currency themselves. Resources have inherent value, which is often assigned through conversion into currency. Although currency and resources are often viewed as the same concept in game design, distinguishing between them can lead to a better understanding of their relationship, thus creating a more robust system.

Source and Consumption

Essentially, these two terms are very straightforward: sourcing is the way to acquire currency, such as selling items, opening chests, or defeating enemies, while consumption is the way to spend currency, such as buying items, dying, or repairing and upgrading equipment.

Economic designers need to focus on two important aspects of these resource sources and consumption: how many sources and consumption points each currency will have, and the balance between these sources and consumption, which we refer to as "generosity."

Source and consumption quantity

In the game, there are no strict regulations on the number of sources and consumption points. Multiple sources can flow into a single consumption point, or there can be only one source, such as loot obtained from defeating a boss in a Roguelike game, which opens the late-game system through corresponding currency consumption points. The sources and consumption points required for each currency depend on the game system and the expected player experience. Multiple ways to acquire currency can promote player freedom of choice and individual expression, provided that the sources are balanced. If the game encourages participation in specific systems or rewards certain actions, designing a dedicated currency will immediately motivate players or create critical bottlenecks in the main process.

Having multiple consumption points gives players meaningful choices and priorities ( such as, "What to buy?" or "What to buy first?" ), while having only one consumption point focuses players' actions and gameplay on an unmissable goal.

(# Generosity Level

Generosity is crucial to player engagement in the economic system, which depends on the balance between sources and consumption points. Excessive generosity may lead to player disinterest, while insufficient generosity could result in players abandoning the game. Balance is key.

Being overly generous may yield short-term benefits, but in the long run, it can lead to disaster, weaken the game system, and affect player motivation. Both extremes can cause players to leave the game. Therefore, finding the right level of generosity is crucial to maintaining player interest and engagement.

Trying two extremes at different stages of player experience is a feasible suggestion. At the beginning of the game, being overly generous with sources exceeding consumption ) can give players a strong sense of control and progress, enticing them to continue playing. This leverages the psychological need for people to accumulate, providing an immediate sense of victory. As the game progresses, players' desires and needs become more specific and defined. During this transition, reducing sources and increasing consumption will better satisfy these desires, improving player retention and their need to master the game.

To balance sources and consumption, designers can use a global metric: currency earnings per minute. This metric tells us how much currency players can earn within a certain time frame, allowing for adjustments to consumption points. Applying this metric throughout the game can provide clear design direction, while applying it to each system can create opportunities. Slightly giving more currency in a certain system relative to the global average is an effective way to incentivize players to engage with that system.

( economic pillar

Before designing an economic system, it is very important to determine the application areas of currency, rather than just listing different game systems. Instead, we should consider how to enhance aspects or pillars within the game through the economic system and whether there are connections between them. For example, the exploration pillar can be realized by rewarding players for discovering scarce resources in the region. The cooperation/social pillar can be strengthened through the circulation and appreciation of currency among players, used to purchase community goods, fostering cooperation and interaction. The late game phase can provide a new ending experience by unlocking unique shops and upgrades with micro-currency obtained after defeating the highest challenges in the game. In design, we can prioritize these ideas based on the importance and connections of the pillars.

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( currency amount

When designing a game economy system, determining the required amount of currency is a complex issue with no definitive answer. One extreme is having only one currency associated with all systems, which may lead players to lose the sense of limitations in the game. The other extreme is having multiple currencies, where each micro-system has its own currency, but this may weaken player agency and the coherence of the game.

A good design should find an appropriate point in balance. For example, "Hades" divides currency into three main pillars, each with its own source and consumption. This design aligns with the core mechanics of Rogue-Like games, providing a foundation for an efficient gameplay loop, encouraging players to try again, and delivering the best gaming experience.

Therefore, designers need to comprehensively consider factors such as game type, player motivation, and system interaction to find the economic system balance point suitable for the game.

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) Inflation, Deflation, and Destructive Economy

When discussing economic systems, a concerning term often comes up: inflation. It is widely believed to be the worst thing in the economy, and efforts are made to avoid it. However, the reality is much more complex, especially for game designers.

Inflation and deflation are two sides of the same coin, closely related to supply and demand, directly affecting the purchasing power of currency. In the real-world economy, there is a high sensitivity to these values, and central banks take proactive measures to control them. However, it is not suitable to simply translate real-world models and solutions into games, as virtual economies tend to be overly simplified and cannot sustain themselves in the long term.

Taking "Diablo 2" as an example, the game revolves around a type of currency: gold coins. Unlike the real economy, players can continuously create gold coins, which they obtain by defeating monsters or opening treasure chests. In multiplayer games, players accumulate a large amount of gold coins, causing gold to lose its value, making it unusable for purchasing high-end items, and there is no alternative currency in the game to solve this problem. Therefore, players began to engage in barter, forming a commodity currency based on the "Stone of Jordan," which became the rarest and most valuable ring. This created a player-driven secondary economy.

The economy in the game is influenced by the game mechanics. With the prices of store items remaining unchanged, they almost become free, and the currency devalues to zero, making parts of the game progress and core loop irrelevant. "Grand Theft Auto" is an interesting case of inflation, where inflation spreads through the single-player experience. As players invest a lot of time, the total amount of currency grows uncontrollably, leading to hyperinflation. Developers take measures to control currency liquidity by introducing new systems and items that require more currency to purchase, preventing players from breaking the game economy while providing new rewards for loyal players, and simultaneously destroying currency. However, this also exacerbates the wealth gap, excludes new players from joining, and leads to item prices skyrocketing to absurd levels.

Taking World of Warcraft as an example, the economic handling in the game is significantly different from other games. Gold keeps accumulating, while the prices of items do not rise accordingly, leading to deflation. Items looted by farmers and bot players flood the auction house, as they are eager to exchange their loot for more currency, causing item prices to fall.

World of Warcraft has taken an interesting approach by rebalancing the economy with each new expansion release. The introduction of expensive new items incentivizes wealthy players and rebalances the entire economy, increasing gold acquisition pathways to ensure new players can participate. However, this practice also has clear downsides: the devaluation of gold leads to players losing significant wealth, and player engagement may decline from one expansion to another.

In summary, it is impossible to create a strong and sustainable virtual economy based on the examples mentioned above. The game economy has too many flaws: virtual currency is generated infinitely, players do not need to spend, and can hoard. The generosity of game design leads to system imbalance and fails to meet the needs of every player. In short, from the very beginning, the game economy is doomed to fail.

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) Protective measures and currency protection

Here are a few ways to alleviate issues in the gaming economy:

• Remove multi-user sharing components or tax them: One of the direct and effective methods. Maintaining player-centric currency flow allows for better control over growth and usage.
• Increase and specialize currencies: Introduce different types of currencies to reduce their influence, in order to better control and protect the economic system.
• Destructive Transactions: By establishing a system for destroying excess currency, offsetting the currency constantly generated by players.
• Maintenance System: Players are required to pay fees for the items they own, such as apartment tax, weapon repair costs, and guild fees. This method is efficient and can be adjusted based on the player's wealth level to control the circulation of currency, but it may also be seen as a constraint by players.
• Wallet restrictions: Limit the amount of currency players can carry and store, forcing them to continue earning more by spending. Combined with a currency consumption mechanism, a secure economic foundation can be established, but