How EVE Online builds emotion out of its strict in-game economy

Keeping virtual resources hard to get lets players craft their own value.

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[Misaniovent]

DannibusX[/url]":1gnug16x]

matthewslyman[/url]":1gnug16x]

Kyle Orland[/url]":1gnug16x]

matthewslyman[/url]":1gnug16x]

…a galaxy-wide battle that destroys $300,000 in real-world value…

I totally understand why in-game objects acquire psychological value for players; but this sentence was enlightening for me. Do some wall-street assets (sub-prime mortgage based securities, other assets "recovered" under government bail-out programs, perhaps even fully negotiable printed money) have only the same "real-world value" as these fictional objects; until the point when they have actually been redeemed against tangible real-world goods? We really are in deep trouble then…

The real-world value of EVE's in-game ISK is mainly measured in its ability to buy pilots license extensions, which can also be purchased for real money. A bit more on this here: http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/06/10 ... ng-points/

This comparison does place a theoretical real-world value on the in-game currency; but that is also "just psychological", is it not? (Unless of course you can sell ISK for real-world money, and transfer them in-game — in which case, the game could have real-world value to skilful players? I had a work-mate once who slept through half of his working days after moonlighting playing "Second Life" for a small profit.) So the game might have real-world value to a few skilful players… I might be cynical now (perhaps partly due to my experience of working "with" that one game-addicted loser who lost his girlfriend and cheated his employer), but I think this is a different question to this one: Does the game (taken as an entire system, for its whole value proposition) have net positive real-world value to the human race? Further, could/should a game be engineered to be engaging, yet at the same time engineered to help people avoid the costly excesses of gaming addiction? (Here's another case…)

You can't sell or trade in game ISK for real world currency. CCP Games would run into regulatory issues if that were allowed to happen. They'd need bank status or some equivalent.

One of the awesome things about EVE is that your skills train regardless of whether you're logged in or not. I've taken breaks from playing, only logging in to make sure my skill queue is full. I've never felt like I "needed" to play EVE and only play when I want to.

You most certainly can sell or trade in game ISK for real world currency. You just can't do it with CCP's knowledge or approval. There is a direct exchange rate because you can purchase ISK from CCP using real world currency, thereby adding ISK to the system.

To remove ISK from the system breaks the EULA, but it happens. EVE has a thriving blackmarket of character, equipment, and financial traders who use complex fronts and laundering schemes. I value my in-game persona far beyond what it is worth in the real world, but I know of people who have sold accounts and belongings for upwards of 10k dollars.

I can't recall the name but a number of the most powerful corporations in EVE are Russian. Take a look at this thread:

http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=16412.0

There are rumors of amounts far beyond 100k spent on this game, and there are rumors of individuals visiting the homes of players to cut cords and cables at inopportune times.