Random Dialogue: It's all about the Platinums
Dialogue, 2004-04-19

Coin of the Realm

The economic trope we're familiar with in modern fantasy mmogs is a simple base ten currency built on coins of different metals. Ten coppers equals one silver, ten silvers equal one gold, ten gold equal one platinum, right? A tried and true way to go about it, and one we're all used to it from D&D. This may seem like a small and unimportant issue, but I believe that a different approach to currency would be an improvement in Massively Multiplayer gaming. A change in name would be a good place to start. If you have to have the copper/silver/gold/plat system, why do you have to call them by the metals they're made of? In the US, our copper is the penny. Why not do a small bit of design work up front and give players a more interesting vocabulary to use when referring to their coins? In the Forgotten Realms kingdom of Cormyr, coppers are called "thumbs", silvers are called "falcons", golds are called "lions" and platinums are "tri-crowns". "I'll give you three falcons for that buckler" sounds a good deal more immersive than "three silvers". Having a consistent naming convention for your in-game nation's currency will go a long way towards establishing it's validity.

Deprecate Base 10

For a more flavourful currency system, a non-base ten economy would be a welcome change. The united states has several different units of coinage. One hundred pennies, twenty nickels, and four quarters all are equal to the dollar. Simply from a convenience standpoint, being able to pay for items in different ways makes sense if you're going for realism. In the real world coins aren't magically converted to lower denominations. Warhammer Online is doing exactly this, using an imperial system of currency. Twelve brass pennies will equal a silver schilling, and twenty schillings will net you a gold pound. And, as you'll notice, they are using actual names for their units of currency. Already you have the impression that the nation-states of Warhammer have a history behind them, which has culminated in a naming and numbering convention for their currency.

Exchange your money at teller window two, please

An aspect of real-world currency that I am not aware of existing in any game at the moment is the simple reality of multiple currencies. While banks will recognize rupees and dollars interchangeably, trying to pay for a taxi ride in Seattle with rupees will likely get you kicked out at the curb. The nation of ShinyMetal should probably have a different money standard than the nation of FuzzyCritters. Having to deal with coin from several different areas of the game world would be a small additional challenge for players to address. This, of course, assumes a relatively large world map. The smaller the area the more likely that there will only be one currency used. Beyond lending a sense of realism to the game, MMOG players are nothing if not mini-economists. A brisk market in currency exchanges would likely spring up, above and beyond the usual item and property sales.

Oof...what do you have in here, gold?

For the sake of total immersion, give coinage an in-game physical element. Even a sack of pennies can weigh several pounds. Just think what a sack full of gold coins could weigh. Adding weight to coinage would force players to think more carefully about their travel decisions, and demand that players have some form of base location from which to operate. If you're thinking of having players establish proper camps in the wilderness, this could be a good way to enforce that. To give the weight more meaning, have banks that do not have teleportation technology. IE, don't allow items and currency stored in one bank to be immediately accessible from another. This will make traveling to new locales a real experience for players, and further enforce a sense of reality.

Encouraging players to get involved in the in-game economy is always rewarding. Most need no prompting, but there will always be a few who could use a pat on the back. An immersive economy will be vastly more appealing to some players, engaging individuals who traditionally play minor roles in MMOG economies. A modest amount of up-front game design will net you big rewards in including potential players.