My short lecture at the Game Developers Conference 2014 Free to Play Design & Business Summit on 18 March.
Abstract: To ensure that a game stays balanced and in-game purchases remain compelling over time, it's important to design effective sinks, or mechanisms that remove items and currency from the economy. Drawing on examples from classic online games and recent mobile titles, the lecture covers eight currency sinks and eleven item sinks, including frequently used workhorses and lesser-known alternatives. Each sink is briefly analyzed for pros and cons using elementary behavioral economics to explain why players accept some sinks more readily than others. A simple spreadsheet-based approach to simulating sink impact is also introduced, useful for guiding design and live operations.
Exploring the Future Potential of AI-Enabled Smartphone Processors
Economic Balancing and Improved Monetization Through Clever Sink Design (GDC 2014 F2P Summit)
1. Economic Balancing and
Improved Monetization Through
Clever Sink Design
Vili Lehdonvirta
Research Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute
University of Oxford, UK
@ViliLe
2.
3. Concerns in sink design
• Adjustability
• Player acceptance
• Distributional effects
– regressive/neutral/progressive
4. Taxes and fees
Payment for
item/service
Transaction
tax
Premium sub
monthly fee
Demurrage
Adjustability + +
Acceptance + + –
Why does it
work?
simple
exchange
Side effects creates items
7. Destroying value
Using up/
Wearing out
Expiration Obsolescence
Adjustability + + +
Acceptance – – +
Why does it
work?
projection bias
Side effects
needs constant
content updates
21. 1. Concerns in sink design are adjustability, player
acceptance, and distributional effects
2. Underused sink designs include soft
obsolescence, currency demurrage, and
allowing players to redeem virtual wealth for
external benefits
3. Remember to simulate sink effects before going
live using expected player behavior