next »

[Aldinas]

Valve recently announced that they will be opening up their virtual economy infrastructure to all steam games. The system is currently in beta testing but knowing Valve that will probably be something that gets phased into live over time, rather than a straight "Its released" kind of approach.

Engadget article is here: http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/09/valve-opens-steam-item-trading/

As someone who wants to eventually get into PC development I'm not entirely sure this is the way I'd really like it to go. Considering that TF2 has become more of a hat trading simulator than the once impressive team-based FPS it used to be, I'd be worried about the kind of impact this kind of change will have on other developers.

A question aimed at those of you who already do PC games, would you consider using this Steam Inventory System, and if so, would it be for microtransactional stuff or more game unlocks/rewards?

[MrBones]

I'm actually quite interested in this concept. I've always been really interested in the Steam Economy, so I think it'll be cool to be see how others implement it. On the downside, it WILL pave the way for more microtransactions and I'm sure 1 or 2 more games will devolve into Hat Simulators like TF2 which is a real shame. However, I'd love to see someone craft an EVE style market within Steam.

Since my own game, Double Death, has a cosmetic system, I might end up experimenting with the API myself after it's released on Steam like next year or whenever, but I wouldn't want it to become a micro-transaction ridden mess or a hat simulator. I'd most likely follow a Battleblock Theater cosmetic system rather than a TF2 one if I were to actually attempt implementing paid cosmetic support. I think having everything be like >$0.10 and having cosmetics be cheap and accessible to all is a lot better than TF2's open economy style of trading and cosmetics. Rewarding players for play time or having steam badges might be a cool concept though!

[CoderGamesStrikesBack]

Next logical step, Steam becoming exclusively for casual games for girls, you know the dress-up, hidden objects and whatnot.

[Aldinas]

Next logical step, Steam becoming exclusively for casual games for girls, you know the dress-up, hidden objects and whatnot.

Heh, that's still a long way off. Especially considering at the moment its a broken mess of large portion of mediocre early access games and constant franchise reboots. The curator system makes it a little better, but I only follow three people anyway!

I'd love to see someone craft an EVE style market within Steam.

Oh man that would be something else entirely. Don't CCP employ a market analyst to help map trends and stuff for EVE's market as well?

[gimymblert]

Next logical step, Steam becoming exclusively for casual games for girls, you know the dress-up, hidden objects and whatnot.

exclusively I don't know, but those game are already there, check you will see

[MrBones]

Oh man that would be something else entirely. Don't CCP employ a market analyst to help map trends and stuff for EVE's market as well?

Yes, but Valve also hired an Economist awhile back if I'm correct (he now works for the Greek government)