Virtual Economies: Design and Analysis

How the basic concepts of economics—including markets, institutions, and money—can be used to create and analyze virtual economies in digital games.

In the 21st-century digital world, virtual goods are sold for real money. Digital game players happily pay for avatars, power-ups, and other game items. But behind every virtual sale, there is a virtual economy, simple or complex. In this book, Vili Lehdonvirta and Edward Castronova introduce the basic concepts of economics into the game devel...