The company behind EVE Online (which is far and away my favorite MMOG) recently hired Eyjólfur “Eyjo” Guðmundsson, a professional economist to analyze and advise on the in-game economy. In this /. interview, Guðmundsson talks about the macroeconomics of EVE and the evolution of cooperation in a low-trust environment.

Well, the whole macroeconomics of EVE are very interesting. Trying to figure out inflation, trying to figure out the monetary supply, trying to figure out the overall trade patterns … all of these macroeconomic trends are of interest and we’ll be working on those over the next few months. I also find it interesting to look at these resources, to think about how corporations and alliances are run. We can see how different corporate cultures have helped in obtaining different goods.

As to the supply and demand factors in the game:

PvP is essentially the way that resources are consumed in EVE. In order to operate a fleet, to outsmart your opponent, you need a lot of resources. In order to get these resources you get them in the most intelligent, efficient way possible. You need to get people to mine for you, you need people to make the right weapons for you, in as short a period of time in the right quantities. Specialization among the players is almost a requirement in order to get the best use out of time and resources in games. We have whole corporations in game that focus on mining and shipping, and there are individual traders who think they know what demand will be for in the near future; they do arbitrage trading all over Alliance space to the alliances and corporations.

Mining, of course, is for losers. PvP is where the action is

Technorati Tags: economics, EVE

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