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[Chipacabra]

I like to use Kingdom of Loathing as an interesting case study of a virtual economy. They've managed to keep the economy remarkably stable, especially when you consider that it has a direct connection to real life money.

[the9thdude]

I'd recommend this lecture by the economist of EVE Online. Just a heads up, you should know a little bit about both economics and EVE before watching this video, it's pretty meaty stuff.





I don't want to sound cocky, but EVE Online is probably the best representation of a virtual economy to date. The ability to sell things freely, create and destroy give the player more freedom than other games. In addition, a majority of goods in game are actually produced by players, rather than the developers.

[MrMog]

I'd just let the players control the economy,. They'll eventually have standard buying/selling prices for things.

Then the emergent prices could mash with the gameplay rules that are set in stone, thus generating too much frustration and making the game not fun.
For example a very important item could become too costly due to an unbalanced rarity, forcing players to repetitive work to obtain them.
Or something vital to some class could become worthless, and who chosen that class in the first place finds himself underpowered.

Games have to be fun, and real economy isn't... some (or many) directions are needed to avoid exploiting and frustration, imo.

Or you could base your entire economy around treachery and backstabbing like in EVE.