Game Economies

Game economies are a silent force behind player engagement, and it can define how player progress through our games.

What is a game economy?

In real life, an economy is a complex series of relationships between the management, production, and use of resources and money. Game economies are usually less complex, but they still follow the same principles and contain plenty of the same elements based around buying, trading,  and selling of goods.

In-game currencies are something obtainable through in-game actions, and it can greatly impact how people play the game. In the case of video games virtual currencies can be tied to real-world money.

An Example Economy

Let's take a look at Monopoly. Monopoly is a game where the economy is the most important aspect. Let's take  a look at how it works.

• A player buys a property, and that property generates money when an opposing player lands on it.

• The player uses the money earned to build houses to generate more money.

• The player uses the money earned to build hotels to generate even more money.

• If a player needs money (due to landing on an opposing player's property or other bad luck) they can sell or trade their resources away.

In Monopoly property, houses, hotels, and money are the crucial resources that play different roles.

• Property, houses, and hotels are in-game goods which can be bought or consumed (sold/traded). They also dictate player progress. Houses can also be merged into hotels.

• Money is in-game currency (obviously) which is used for in-game transactions.

The economy depends on the flow of the resources between different systems and loops of the game.

Taps and Drains

To properly understand the flow of resources between different game loops, you need to categorize them as taps or drains. Taps represent places or ways that players can get currency, and drains represent places or ways that players spend currency. In Monopoly, the tap is the revenue generated from the properties, and the drain is the price for new properties. (There are more taps and drains in Monopoly  such as paydays and rent.)

Taps and drains are inextricably linked, and the way they interact with each other is a key element in how driven our players are to keep playing. If there is a serious imbalance, it can hurt the playability of our game. If the tap of revenue is significantly higher than the drain(price), then the game lacks challenge and might become boring.  If the tap of revenue is significantly lower than the drain (price), then the game might become too difficult or punishing. Players might become frustrated if they need to grind currency excessively. 

Taps and drains may also be known as sources and sinks.

Ideas for Balance

• Always consider your game’s difficulty, and make sure that your resources aren’t making the game overly simple, or too difficult, to complete without them. 

• Give yourself ways to track inventories and currency over time so you can spot imbalances that affect players’ experiences, like hoarding, uncontrolled growth, or serious shortage 

• Try to construct your economy with game progression in mind, so no single item is useless at all stages of the game, while ensuring that there are things to chase that can have a big impact for experienced players. 

• No two players are the same. Make sure your economy works for different play styles.