Virtual Economies

Virtual Economies

Author: Vili Lehdonvirta

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2014-05-09

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 0262027259

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How the basic concepts of economics—including markets, institutions, and money—can be used to create and analyze economies based on virtual goods. In the twenty-first-century digital world, virtual goods are sold for real money. Digital game players happily pay for avatars, power-ups, and other game items. But behind every virtual sale, there is a virtual economy, simple or complex. In this book, Vili Lehdonvirta and Edward Castronova introduce the basic concepts of economics into the game developer's and game designer's toolkits. Lehdonvirta and Castronova explain how the fundamentals of economics—markets, institutions, and money—can be used to create or analyze economies based on artificially scarce virtual goods. They focus on virtual economies in digital games, but also touch on serious digital currencies such as Bitcoin as well as virtual economies that emerge in social media around points, likes, and followers. The theoretical emphasis is on elementary microeconomic theory, with some discussion of behavioral economics, macroeconomics, sociology of consumption, and other social science theories relevant to economic behavior. Topics include the rational choice model of economic decision making; information goods versus virtual goods; supply, demand, and market equilibrium; monopoly power; setting prices; and externalities. The book will enable developers and designers to create and maintain successful virtual economies, introduce social scientists and policy makers to the power of virtual economies, and provide a useful guide to economic fundamentals for students in other disciplines.


Virtual Society

Virtual Society

Author: Herman Narula

Publisher: Crown Currency

Published: 2022-10-11

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0593239989

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“A fascinating, provocative case that the metaverse will not merely transform our virtual experience—it may actually enrich the quality of our lives” (Adam Grant)—from the visionary co-founder of one of today’s most innovative technology companies “This important book offers a highly persuasive argument that the metaverse, a new kind of virtual world, marks a profound next stage in this long human quest for fulfillment through creation.”—Chris Anderson, head of TED The concept of “the metaverse” has exploded in the public consciousness, but its contours remain elusive. Is it merely an immersive virtual reality playground, one that Facebook and other platforms will angle to control? Is it simply the next generation of massive multiplayer online games? Or is it something more revolutionary? As pioneering technologist Herman Narula shows, the metaverse is the latest manifestation of an ancient human tendency: the act of worldbuilding. From the Egyptians, whose conception of death inspired them to build the pyramids, to modern-day sports fans, whose passion for a game inspires extreme behavior, humans have long sought to supplement their day-to-day lives with a rich diversity of alternative experiences. Rooting his vision in history and psychology, Narula argues that humans’ intrinsic need for autonomy, accomplishment, and connection can best be met in virtual “worlds of ideas,” where users have the chance to create and exchange meaning and value. The metaverse is both the growing set of fulfilling digital experiences—ranging from advanced gaming to concerts and other entertainment events and even to virtual employment—and the empowering framework that allows these spaces to become “networks of useful meaning.” Bloomberg Intelligence recently predicted that the metaverse will become an $800 billon industry by 2024. But its implications, argues Narula, will lead to far more awe-inspiring possibilities than a spigot of cash. The arrival of the metaverse marks the beginning of a new age of exploration—not outward, but inward—with the potential to reshape society and open the door to a new understanding of the human species and its capabilities. Rigorously researched and passionately argued, Virtual Society is a provocative and essential guide for anyone who wants to go beyond superficial headlines to understand the true contours and potential of our virtual future.


Mobile & Social Game Design

Mobile & Social Game Design

Author: Tim Fields

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2014-01-22

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 1466598689

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Successfully Navigate the Evolving World of Mobile and Social Game Design and Monetization Completely updated, Mobile & Social Game Design: Monetization Methods and Mechanics, Second Edition explains how to use the interconnectedness of social networks to make "stickier," more compelling games on all types of devices. Through the book’s many design and marketing techniques, strategies, and examples, you will acquire a better understanding of the design and monetization mechanics of mobile and social games as well as working knowledge of industry practices and terminology. Learn How to Attract—and Retain—Gamers and Make Money The book explores how the gaming sector has changed, including the evolution of free-to-play games on mobile and tablet devices, sophisticated subscription model-based products, and games for social media websites, such as Facebook. It also demystifies the alphabet soup of industry terms that have sprouted up around mobile and social game design and monetization. A major focus of the book is on popular mechanisms for acquiring users and methods of monetizing users. The author explains how to put the right kinds of hooks in your games, gather the appropriate metrics, and evaluate that information to increase the game’s overall stickiness and revenue per user. He also discusses the sale of virtual goods and the types of currency used in games, including single and dual currency models. Each chapter includes an interview with industry leaders who share their insight on designing and producing games, analyzing metrics, and much more.


Virtual Product Advice and its impact on customer satisfaction in an online environment

Virtual Product Advice and its impact on customer satisfaction in an online environment

Author: Michael Grundstein

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2015-10-13

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 3668064679

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Master's Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject Business economics - Offline Marketing and Online Marketing, grade: 1,3, ESCP Europe, course: Complexity, Ecommerce, Electronic Commerce, E-Satisfaction, Expertise Knowledge, Means-End Chain, Product Search Interfaces, Usability, Virtual Product Advisors, WebQual, Web Site Quality, Search Navigation, language: English, abstract: Consumers nowadays purchase a variety of products in online shops for different reasons. Certain products involve high involvement decision-making with low purchase frequencies in general. At the same time, virtual shelf space is unlimited and consumers face a variety of products, which exceeds their rational capabilities. This condition requires online shop operators to implement search tools in their web sites that allow consumers to structure and reduce complexity, both on a catalogue and a product level. Consumers in general do not always possess product expertise, especially in the case of low frequency purchases such as digital cameras. Virtual product advisors intend to fill this gap. The primary objective of the thesis is to investigate the interaction effect between different levels of consumer knowledge and a chosen product search approach. A special focus is put on a virtual product advisor and a facet search as a structuring tool. Based on theoretical work in marketing, psychology, information system management a set of hypotheses was developed pertaining to the interaction effect and how it affects the perceived quality of the online feature of a product search interface from a consumer perspective. A randomized experiment with a control group design in a live Online Shop was conducted to test the hypotheses. In sum, the findings suggest a contingency between the consumer knowledge and a product search interface in regard of the impact on antecedents of esatisfaction. The results provide two different angles from a marketing perspective in terms of usefulness and from an information system management point of view in terms of usability.


Is the value of virtual property of less significance than the value of actual property?

Is the value of virtual property of less significance than the value of actual property?

Author: Joyce Ho

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2012-08-20

Total Pages: 10

ISBN-13: 365626063X

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Essay from the year 2012 in the subject Communications - Multimedia, Internet, New Technologies, , language: English, abstract: People nowadays spend times and labour in the virtual world rank virtual property to be most important because this directly influence the way they communicate. Actual property is being ignored is a trend as well when people shifted their main interest on the net. Online activity changes communication and self-disclosure too . People’s values are different and they may have transfer from actual property to virtual property in order to ease their daily life.


Virtual Learning Environments: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools and Applications

Virtual Learning Environments: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools and Applications

Author: Management Association, Information Resources

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2012-01-31

Total Pages: 1831

ISBN-13: 1466600128

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As the world rapidly moves online, sectors from management, industry, government, and education have broadly begun to virtualize the way people interact and learn. Virtual Learning Environments: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools and Applications is a three-volume compendium of the latest research, case studies, theories, and methodologies within the field of virtual learning environments. As networks get faster, cheaper, safer, and more reliable, their applications grow at a rate that makes it difficult for the typical practitioner to keep abreast. With a wide range of subjects, spanning from authors across the globe and with applications at different levels of education and higher learning, this reference guide serves academics and practitioners alike, indexed and categorized easily for study and application.


The Oxford Handbook of Internet Studies

The Oxford Handbook of Internet Studies

Author: William H. Dutton

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2013-01-10

Total Pages: 632

ISBN-13: 0191641170

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Internet Studies has been one of the most dynamic and rapidly expanding interdisciplinary fields to emerge over the last decade. The Oxford Handbook of Internet Studies has been designed to provide a valuable resource for academics and students in this area, bringing together leading scholarly perspectives on how the Internet has been studied and how the research agenda should be pursued in the future. The Handbook aims to focus on Internet Studies as an emerging field, each chapter seeking to provide a synthesis and critical assessment of the research in a particular area. Topics covered include social perspectives on the technology of the Internet, its role in everyday life and work, implications for communication, power, and influence, and the governance and regulation of the Internet. The Handbook is a landmark in this new interdisciplinary field, not only helping to strengthen research on the key questions, but also shape research, policy, and practice across many disciplines that are finding the Internet and its political, economic, cultural, and other societal implications increasingly central to their own key areas of inquiry.


Law and Order in Virtual Worlds: Exploring Avatars, Their Ownership and Rights

Law and Order in Virtual Worlds: Exploring Avatars, Their Ownership and Rights

Author: Adrian, Angela

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2010-05-31

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 1615207961

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"This book examines the legal realities which are emerging from Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games (MMORPGs) or virtual worlds that demonstrate many of the traits we associate with the Earth world: interpersonal relationships, economic transactions, and organic political institutions"--Provided by publisher.