Alright, alright, alright… I know that Economy Design is pretty much like getting repeatedly kicked in the nuts : It’s fun for a relatively small amount of people. But whether we like it or not (Economy Design not the nut-kicking), most game designers end up having to go through it.
To keep you from having to go through the painful learning experience that I had to go through, I am gonna write a series about my findings and my learndings.
Disclaimer: I am not a full time Economy Designer. I am a system Designer who can design Economies.
Now that the intro is done, let’s start with the fundamental question « The fuck is an economy? ».
We hear the word all the time especially these days that it seem to be sinking faster than a paraplegic in a swimming pool and I am pretty sure everybody has some sort of intuitive grasp of what it is without necessarily being able to put words on it.
Basically, an economy is a system where currencies, goods and services are traded. This system can be constituted of people, institutions or groups.
An economy has entry points and exit points for everything that is traded.
If you want an example: When I go to the bar, get myself a pint, pay for it and the barman ends up pocketing the money to go buy himself dubious substances, all of these actions can be considered an economy. I became the entry point of the currency because, before my purchase the currency wasn’t part of the system and the Freelance Pharmacist became the exit point of the currency because once they received the currency, it stopped changing hands.
But this is only a 3 people economy when there are billions of people walking around. Yes indeed. Economies are imbricated into each other like Russian Dolls and there is always a bigger level of economy.
How does that help you as a Game Designer? Well that lets you know to look at the economic system that you are designing as something fractal that has to be functioning whether the system involves 2 players or 2millions.
David Delseray 