One problem any RPG style game has is inflation. I know that there are already many posts on this topic, but this seems like something games have a problem doing right. I think that one of the big culprits is the ability of players to create gold (or any other in-game currency), usually though killing NPC monsters. Granted, the game must introduce gold to the players in some manner so it can circulate. And there is usually NPCs who take gold out of circulation in exchange for items. But to have monsters drop gold, especially in large amounts, means that every player has access to his or her own private printing press in the form of monster mobs. If everybody could print dollars the massive inflationary outcome in the real world is clear, so why do developers let players do this in game?
Monsters dropping equipment, crafting materials, or other items players use is not an issue. This is because the price of these items should be player driven through trades or auctions houses. If one of these items is over farmed, its price will drop, sending the signal to stop farming it. The reverse happens if the price is high. This is standard market adjustment, which is what players expect.
The picky reader will point out that inflation and deflation are just changes in the price of money and should also be considered natural market phenomenon. The problem is developers, like government, set certain expectations on how currency should behave. In particular it should be a store of value, which inflation destroys. Hence allowing in-game inflation goes against the expectations for money established in the real world, which is a bad thing.
Monsters dropping gold stems mostly from tradition. We see it starting all the way back in the 8-bit era with Mario stepping on Goombas for coins. The trend even predates video games. In particular, I blame Dungeons & Dragons for this convention. This is ok in a world inhabited by a few Players run from on high by an omnipotent GM. But it really falls apart without constant active intervention on the developer's part to keep things balanced. This is infeasible when there are so many other minds trying to break the game. Hence, NPCs dropping gold is one tradition games should discard.
I agree with your point. The next thing that needs to be addressed is how then money will be introduced in the economy, in a way to avoid too much deflation. One way this can be partially done is to have a monetary prize whenever the player gains a level, but in the long run the deflation problem persists.
ReplyDelete^ Agreed. In the real world, printing presses for money do exist - it's just that they're controlled by (usually) a centralized government. Unless you're saying that a governmental type of figure be applied to all games, I'm not really sure how this would work. Though it is true that the idea of NPC's dropping gold is almost universally the cause of inflation in all MMO games.
ReplyDeleteHenrique => I agree that there needs to be some money introduction system. Your proposal is a bit different from the current Sinks and Sources model used by all current MMOs.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous => For games the developers essentially play the role of government. More powerful and better informed about the world than real governments are, but they still have the role of balancing things to make the game fun. An alternate approach would be to completely endogenize monetary power by giving it to the players. Though it is not clear that is better.
I will definitely have to post more on MMO monetary systems in the future.