Best Practices For Game Economy Design: GDC ’23

Best Practices for Game Economy Design Targeted to people with a little experience in in economy design who are looking for best practices before diving deeper.

Economics and Attention

In a new paper at Kyklos (paywalled, sorry), I develop a basic economic theory of fame. I think this may be the start of a more general economic theory of attention. In the next decades, attention may become fairly central to economic thinking, as the virtual economy gradually overtakes the real economy.

Academic Freedom Alliance

I have joined the Academic Freedom Alliance. This organization worries about the right of academics to engage in sincere discussions, even if they might go into hot territory.

2040: An American Insurgency

UPDATE: Back the game here: 2040 Kickstarter This game simulates an American civil war in the year 2040. There is also a free version suitable for classroom exercises.

Now Available: The Game About AA

Since 2018 I’ve had a free print and play game about alcoholism on this site. I made it into a real board game, available now at Game Crafter. The game is priced at cost; no profit is earned from sales.

Echoes of Purgatory in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands

I just published a paper in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture (vol. 25, no. 4, Fall 2022). Sadly, it is behind a paywall. As religious ideas are increasingly marginalized in the real world, why do they keep showing up in video games?

Webinar on Virtual Economy Design

20 years of experience analyzing virtual economies, in a nutshell.

Webinar hosted by Machinations, a company I am working with on virtual economy design.

GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!

Resist the urge to drop money on virtual real estate

A new interview, wherein I express skepticism for the current metaverse real estate craze, while also expressing confidence in the long-run growth of virtual living because the real world is not very nice for lots of people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6Ej5w_weEk

Wile E. Coyote and the Computationally Simulated Roadrunner

Some years ago I wrote a parable for a client about autonomous agent based models. It was rather buried, but it keeps getting hits. So, I am putting it here on the main page. https://edwardcastronova.com/2017/11/03/wile-e-coyote-and-the-computationally-simulated-roadrunner/

Game of Life: Who Wins?

Podcast with Grant Martsolf of the Beatrice Institute, talking about my most recent book, Life is a Game. Wide-ranging conversation on games, life, God, technology, and society. https://beatriceinstitute.org/ted-castronova-episode

Crypto Faces Large Political Risk

Any investments made today, before the reckoning between blockchain and the System, are exposed to an extreme level of political risk.

Religion and Gaming

Talking to Word on Fire Ministries about video games as a site for religious expression.

Life is a Squid Game

These stories lure us in by making common cause with ordinary people. They seem to express, and ally with, our frustration and hopelessness with a world gone mad…Yet it’s a trick. The same people who commiserate with those on the screen are busy offstage perpetuating the misery.

NINA Makes NFTs Valuable

NFTs are valuable when wrapped in a shell that protects ownership. Forctis is spinning off its shell technology, with revenues going to a foundation. They’re doing it for for Nina, a girl who was lost.

Why Gamification Fails: A Parable

What happens when you try to exploit the engagement energy of games without respecting the features that make them engaging.

Life is a Game

What if life is really a game? Many writers and thinkers have said so; but what does it mean? In this book, economist and game design professor Edward Castronova tackles the question head on.

Announcing VIRUS: A Pandemic Disaster Response Simulation for 36-108 Players

I made a game to help organizations respond to things like COVID-19. It’s being offered for free as my contribution to the crisis. This is a simulation of a virus pandemic attacking a US state. Players play all the critical roles: Governor, National Guard, Police Chiefs, Doctors, FEMA, CDC, and the President. Solid takeaways and very engaging too. See inside for details on running it for your group.

Videogames and Violence: A Nothingburger

18 months of research finds no evidence that violent games cause social violence.

Past Glory

More than 15 years ago, I wrote this paper about the economies of games. The nice people at Today I Found Out recently made a video about it. Thanks to former student Sami Stegall for the heads up!