Hi, guys! This is my first post on this site and this is going to be very, very random but I think that it perfectly fits into this Economic section. I have been programming for a while and one of my life-long goals is to program my own MMORPG. (That's a massive multi-player online role playing game.) Basically, it will be a game set in a fantasy-like medieval age where you can create your own player and roam around and complete quests and do tasks to level up. You can also fight monsters....
One big part of any MMORPG is the economy and money market. Many games that are even developed by huge companies have a hard time managing their economy because they simply let the players run everything and decide the price of items. (The items in the game are anywhere from weapons to artisan equipment and other hardware.) I have been doing a lot of pre-programming brainstorming and preparation and one thing that I want to keep in mind is the economy of this videogame. Players will be allowed to name their own prices and trade items for money or other items or food but I still want to be able to control how much money is in circulation in the money market and the general prices of some items. Some items must be made by players and sold to others and some items must be acquired from in-game shops. There will be no real money used and the currency will simply be gold coins. Other items and money can also be obtained from slaying of certain monsters, like dragons, who will drop those items when they are destroyed.
My question to you all is what kind of policies do you think I would be able to get away with? I've tried thinking of some of my own... This is a really basic question and knowledge of these kinds of games are not required for this brainstorm but if any of you guys have already played these kinds of games, it will be a plus.
Here are the policies that I've already thought of...
Raise or lower the price of items at store
Raising the price for certain goods (especially items required for skills or quests) will remove more money from the money market. Lowering the price will provoke more spending for the goods and people will have more money in general terms. If items are 10 coins in the stores and the prices of them are lowered to 9 coins, people will not rush to buy the item but in the long term, people will have more money in circulation.
Change drops for certain creatures
This changes the rarity of items and changes the amount of money that can be obtained from killing certain creatures. If creatures tend to drop less of an item (especially an already rare item) the price of the item will increase. If an item is a necessity for a quest or skill and it is rare, it will be very expensive. Lowering the rarity will allow people to finish their skill or quest or whatever while spending less money. This will encourage player trading and a more balance of wealth.
Give money away for nothing or in contests
Very little cost that will add to the money that is in circulation. It will encourage spending and a more balanced wealth as it trickles down.
Change the amount of money people start out with in the game
This will add money to the money market.
Giving an item a new purpose
Including an item as a requirement to a quest or a skill will increase its price and encourage more trading. If the item is obtainable at a store controlled by the game, it will take money out of the money market and cause disinflation.
There will also be banks in the game where players can store money. Should I include some kind of method where the player will accumulate interest if they have less than a certain amount of money? I'd be able to change how much money is in the game by increasing or decreasing the rate or the cap for how much money is required.
That was a big post. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your responses!
One big part of any MMORPG is the economy and money market. Many games that are even developed by huge companies have a hard time managing their economy because they simply let the players run everything and decide the price of items. (The items in the game are anywhere from weapons to artisan equipment and other hardware.) I have been doing a lot of pre-programming brainstorming and preparation and one thing that I want to keep in mind is the economy of this videogame. Players will be allowed to name their own prices and trade items for money or other items or food but I still want to be able to control how much money is in circulation in the money market and the general prices of some items. Some items must be made by players and sold to others and some items must be acquired from in-game shops. There will be no real money used and the currency will simply be gold coins. Other items and money can also be obtained from slaying of certain monsters, like dragons, who will drop those items when they are destroyed.
My question to you all is what kind of policies do you think I would be able to get away with? I've tried thinking of some of my own... This is a really basic question and knowledge of these kinds of games are not required for this brainstorm but if any of you guys have already played these kinds of games, it will be a plus.
Here are the policies that I've already thought of...
Raise or lower the price of items at store
Raising the price for certain goods (especially items required for skills or quests) will remove more money from the money market. Lowering the price will provoke more spending for the goods and people will have more money in general terms. If items are 10 coins in the stores and the prices of them are lowered to 9 coins, people will not rush to buy the item but in the long term, people will have more money in circulation.
Change drops for certain creatures
This changes the rarity of items and changes the amount of money that can be obtained from killing certain creatures. If creatures tend to drop less of an item (especially an already rare item) the price of the item will increase. If an item is a necessity for a quest or skill and it is rare, it will be very expensive. Lowering the rarity will allow people to finish their skill or quest or whatever while spending less money. This will encourage player trading and a more balance of wealth.
Give money away for nothing or in contests
Very little cost that will add to the money that is in circulation. It will encourage spending and a more balanced wealth as it trickles down.
Change the amount of money people start out with in the game
This will add money to the money market.
Giving an item a new purpose
Including an item as a requirement to a quest or a skill will increase its price and encourage more trading. If the item is obtainable at a store controlled by the game, it will take money out of the money market and cause disinflation.
There will also be banks in the game where players can store money. Should I include some kind of method where the player will accumulate interest if they have less than a certain amount of money? I'd be able to change how much money is in the game by increasing or decreasing the rate or the cap for how much money is required.
That was a big post. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your responses! 
