[MUD-Dev2] [DESIGN] *Starting* Real Currency Based Worlds

[cruise]

Thus spake Nick Koranda...
> Real world currency based MMOG's have always been interesting to me.  I 
> can understand the concept of adding real currency to the game...i.e. a 
> person pays $10 and gets 1000 gold in the game.  The user could also 
> exchange the gold he/she has made in game for real money.

<snip>

> So what are the ideas for starting a real world currency world so that 
> the economy would sustain itself and even make the creators money as 
> well as give the opportunity for users to make money too?

One thing to think about when designing the system is in-game 
fraud/duping/etc. that can be annoying for players when it's all 
"virtual", but would be a complete game killer if they're actually 
losing or gaining real-life cash.

Somebody else mentioned Eve as a good example of a working economy. But 
they deliberately do not clamp down on scams and cons, since that's the 
distopian world they want. Once RMT-based, those players would arguably 
become subject to criminal prosecution, which is quite a frightening 
prospect.

The issues involved in an RMT-based game are possibly more ethical than 
technical, I'd imagine.