Recently I've been hit up a few times for resources on virtual economy design. I haven't written that paper yet, nor has the other most prominent academic virtual economy guru, Vili Lehdonvirta. No, instead we decided to write a book on the subject, which should be coming out next year. Meanwhile, though, here are some links that will help.
Vili's talk on currency design
Simon Ludgate (what a great name!) at Gamasutra
Matthew Warneford on pricing virtual items
Richard Bartle's chapter on virtual economy design in his book
Julian Huehnermann's hands-on balancing
And finally, I would keep a close eye on Valve Economics and Yanis Varoufakis
Keep an eye on Star Trek Online. There is a case study unfolding on an economic crash in the free to play design. They unwittingly did the equivalent of cutting minimum wage 75% and the game is now experiencing an economic crash with their real world currency- ZEN - losing purchasing power within the economy. I've never seen a game company miscalculate economic changes this badly.
Posted by: Galrahn | Nov 19, 2012 at 10:12
Interesting stuff. I'm a finance major and I follow the economic markets, global economy, and fiscal issues somewhat closely. It seems like simulations or virtual programs could be a way to anticipate some of the future challenges, as well as test solutions.
Posted by: Scrabble Online Against Computer | Nov 21, 2012 at 09:00