[MUD-Dev] DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency

[John Buehler]

Rayzam writes:
> From: "Freeman, Jeff" <jfreeman at soe.sony.com>

>> If you tighten the money faucet or the dough faucet (or open 'em
>> both wide-up), the cookie makers will still accumulate cash,
>> either more quickly or more slowly.

>> It seems to me that the problem there isn't the faucet at all.
>> But how do you address it?  All crafters will take any cost or
>> drain that you throw at them and use that to establish a base
>> price, charging everyone else that plus a little more, and
>> therefore accumulate cash.

> True. Manufacturing shouldn't be a money losing proposition, or
> noone would do it. There should be some level of upkeep for
> facilities and whatnot, but again, that won't change the fact that
> there's a profit margin on each cookie. I suppose that I'd expect
> the cookie maker to be spending that cash on other goods: new
> sports car, putting the kids through school, a Rembrandt for the
> house, subscriptions to all the latest MMORPGs.

> I admit defeat! If the cookie-maker with the profit margin doesn't
> want to engage in any other trade, then the money is inactive
> cash, that is in effect, taken out of the game temporarily. It
> could still flood the market and ruin the economy. Other than this
> cold-war-nuclear-factor, it's a drain.

> Any way to provide incentives to not hoard cash?

As I've suggested - and as you've just mentioned - buying that
Rembrandt for the house is the sort of vanity purchase that a guy
with money would go for.

But if running a business lets a player with absolutely nothing on
the ball run a shirt factory, then you've got a lump acquiring lots
of cash.  He's just gonna sit there and count it over and over
again.  The solution is to ensure that the activities that you have
in your game that are rewarded with cash inflows appeal to people
who are inclined to put that cash to work.  That's the way the real
world works.  It takes moxy to run a business, and the people who
run businesses don't just sit on their fannies.  They started the
business because running a business appeals to them.  Having more
cash means that they can do that much more.  They can have that much
more impact.

This is about the psychology of how the players are drawn into
certain activities.  If the activity is structured in a certain way,
it works.

So it just doesn't work to make manufacturing a completely risk-free
activity.  You want people who enjoy the risk of running a business.
If players want risk-free activities, they should be prepared to put
in their 8 hours at the manufacturing plant, inserting tab A into
slot B and getting their minimum wage from it.

While playing the lottery.

JB
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