Virtual Economics Resources

Hello and welcome to the Virtual Economics Resource Page for the Metagame Book Club. This page will focus on the economics and business aspects of Track 2’s book For the Win. 

Each week, Track 2 co-facilitators Chris and Kae will provide new resources and links for participants to delve further into the business and economics presented in the book. There will also be discussion each week in the Google + Community on these topics.

Week 4 & 5: Resources

Week 5

Virtual Economics Introduction to Week 5 (2:36) http://youtu.be/I3KL-91Xqhw provides an overview of the week's reading and topics.

Be a Gamer - Edward Castronova TEDx Bloomington https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=404ESZ8pmkg

Rober Neuwirth: The power of the informal economy Ted Talk http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_neuwirth_the_power_of_the_informal_economy

Crytocurrency

Let's Talk Bitcoin Wildcat Currency with Ted Castronova https://soundcloud.com/mindtomatter/ltb-119-wildcat-currency-with

Digital currencies like bitcoin are coming (and it's a good thing: Juan Llanos at TEDxMidAtlantic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GL9PTQiqxw

Week 4

Virtual Economics Introduction to Week 4 (2:00) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aAj2Zk0iSE provides an overview of the week's reading and topics.

Common Fraud Schemes http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud is a list of common monetary schemes compiled by the FBI

Pyramid Scheme http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_scheme good explanation of a pyramid scheme

Ponzi Scheme http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme provides a good overview of Ponzi schemes

High yield bond (aka Junk Bond) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-yield_debt provides a good overview of the use and risk of Junk bonds.

Margin Trading: http://www.investopedia.com/university/margin/ has a very good walk through on Margin trading including margin call.

Hedging http://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/03/080103.asp has a very nice write up about hedging, how it is used, and the risk associated with it.

Week 3: Resources:

For Week 3, you'll be reading from "Yasmin Didn't See Mala Anymore" to "Part III: Ponzi".

Virtual Economics Week 3 Intro (2:50): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aF3p8MxSDw provides and overview of the weeks readings and economic concepts to keep an eye out for.

Virtual Economies or Using World of Warcraft to Teach Business (50:23): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSJxIhW-zpA provides a in depth discussion of virtual goods, economies and their application in business and education. Please watch this video by Week 3.

Ronald Coase: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Coase Noble Prize winning Economist that looked at the costs associated organization. His work is summarized as the Coase Theorem: http://encyclo.findlaw.com/0730book.pdf

His two most well known articles are The Nature of the Firm: http://purao.ist.psu.edu/532/Readings/Coase1937.pdf and The Problem of Social Costs: http://www.econ.ucsb.edu/~tedb/Courses/UCSBpf/readings/coase.pdf

Bretton Woods http://online.wsj.com/articles/benn-steil-the-myth-of-bretton-woods-1406590558 was the first attempt to set global monetary policy

History of the US Dollar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_dollar provides a good overview of the US Dollar

Common Fraud Schemes http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud is a list of common monetary schemes compiled by the FBI

Pyramid Scheme http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_scheme good explanation of a pyramid scheme

and to continue some of last week's discussion also take a look at Digital Knowmad slides http://bit.ly/digitalknowmad and the Knowmad Society. http://www.knowmadsociety.com/

Week 2 Resources:

For Week 2, you'll be reading from "Gold - It's All About the Gold" to "Yasmin Didn't See Mala Anymore."

Here's a list of economic terms http://bit.ly/VEWeek2Vocab reviewing them with help give you the terminology for what is being described Week 2 readings. You'll find terms there like arbitrage, game theory, game masters, and distributed buying which are used in the first reading.

Virtual Economies or Using World of Warcraft to Teach Business (50:23): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSJxIhW-zpA provides a in depth discussion of virtual goods, economies and their application in business and education. Please watch this video by Week 3.

Working in WoW (2:22): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvSnKeZ7bM8&list=UUUT1UrqlEV79TraMafVfX5Q provides a quick tutorial on how the World of Warcraft market and professions work.

Ni Hao: A Gold Farmers Story (3:38) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KLKj7ETsB0  This Machinima provides a very different look on the gold farming.

Week 1 Resources:

For Week 1, you'll be reading from the beginning to "Gold - It's All About the Gold." Please review the following resources as we will be discussing them throughout the week.

Intro to Virtual Economies Week 1 (9:45): http://youtu.be/TMmQk4fxAVg provides a welcome and overview of the business and economic aspects of the Week 1 reading.

We’ve also compiled a list of terminology for the Week 1 Readings that can be found at http://bit.ly/VEWeek1Vocab  You'll find terms there like raid, epic item, gold farming and tank which are used in the first reading.

Leroy Jenkins (2:50): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCNJRfSZBU lets you see what players do in game to obtain virtual goods and also gives you an example of a typical wipe. There is some adult language so you may want to use your headphones.

Grid’s Anatomy of a Wipe (2:50): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyn0ejntD_c is a G rated example of a wipe in game and is appropriate for all audiences.

Jerry Buchko wrote an excellent article in VEJ http://issuu.com/edovation/docs/vej_june_2013/105 detailing some of the financial decision making that is common to MMORPGs like World of Warcraft. The article starts on page 105 and ends on 108.