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
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/
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
Any investments made today, before the reckoning between blockchain and the System, are exposed to an extreme level of political risk.
Talking to Word on Fire Ministries about video games as a site for religious expression.
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.
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.
What happens when you try to exploit the engagement energy of games without respecting the features that make them engaging.
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.
This game simulates an American civil war in the year 2040. There is also a free version suitable for classroom exercises. Nov 2020: Draft game board added
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.
18 months of research finds no evidence that violent games cause social violence.
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!
An interview with Quartz Media’s Jacob Templin on the game industry and its revenues.
A free game about alcoholism and the Alcoholics Anonymous program.
A decade ago, I predicted that games would change how people approach politics.
I was honored to join the advisory board of Forctis, a blockchain startup….
Developments in online games point to a future of designed digital anarchy.
A promo about the Game Design program.
In a massive experiment on money, a virtual society seems to act like a real one.
Words and Games 