BlueSpruce<p>I wrote a blog post on the economy in my video game: <a href="https://bluespruceinteractive.com/blog/4-video-game-economy/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">bluespruceinteractive.com/blog</span><span class="invisible">/4-video-game-economy/</span></a></p><p>It's long. There are a lot of moving parts, and I wanted to explain my interwoven reasoning for all of it. (Don’t we all.) But I think it’s now at least coherent. It explains a lot of decisions about specific gameplay mechanics, and the experiences I hope they produce.</p><p>The gist is that it’s an eco-socialist or communitarian economic system. Resources are shared by the town as a whole, via a community land trust. Housing is free, and there’s a universal basic income that’s really each person’s share of harvestable resources the local ecosystem can support.</p><p>Keeping resources for one’s own use long-term, above a comfortable base level, incurs a usage fee in maker credits, paid to the community. Maker credits reward not only farming and crafting, but also disassembling and composting. Demand is facilitated by social rewards.</p><p>I’d welcome any thoughts!</p><p><a href="https://mstdn.games/tags/gamedev" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>gamedev</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.games/tags/gamedesign" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>gamedesign</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.games/tags/indiegames" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>indiegames</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.games/tags/solarpunk" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>solarpunk</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.games/tags/ecosocialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ecosocialism</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.games/tags/economics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>economics</span></a></p>