EVE Online: The Worlds of Wealth and War


Hooper Brenton
2020 DiGRA ’20 – Proceedings of the 2020 DiGRA International Conference: Play Everywhere

This article explores the distribution of player owned wealth in EVE Online. I apply standardized methods such as the Gini Coefficient, a statistical dispersion intended to represent the wealth distribution of a nation’s residents, to explore EVE Online’s wealth distribution. I also explore the relationship between a players’ time in game, and their wealth. Using these methods, I find that EVE Online’s wealth is highly concentrated, more so than the real-world economy. Additionally, I cast doubt on EVE Online having a first-mover advantage. Those players who started first have not gained a lasting competitive advantage by gaining control of resources. Instead, wealth is strongly correlated with a player’s time in game.

 

Game Design and Business Model: an Analysis of Diablo 3


Prax Patrick
2014 DiGRA '13 - Proceedings of the 2013 DiGRA International Conference: DeFragging Game Studies

This paper develops a theoretical framework for analyzing if a certain feature of the design of a game has been introduced to increase the financial profit created over a specific revenue stream. The framework is created from existing theory and consists of the points 1. Revenue Generation, 2. Game Design and Business Model Integration, and 3. Problematic Game Design. If all these points are given for a certain design feature than it has been implemented into the game to increase revenue. This framework is the used to analyze the design of the successful PC game Diablo 3. Diablo 3 features an auction house that allows players to trade their virtual items for real money while the owner of the game, Blizzard Entertainment, collects a fee for every transaction. The analysis shows that the economy of Diablo 3 is designed to increase the revenue of the real-money market place.