The value of being powerful or beautiful in games — how game design affects the value of virtual items

Abstract

Virtual economies, in which players use real money to buy and sell virtual items such as weapons and clothes in games, have now become one of the most important business models in the game industry. The success of virtual economies raises controversies and discussions about how virtual items come to have commercial value as intangibles in games. Some follow the traditional labour focused perspectives to argue that the value of virtual items is created by players’ efforts in obtaining them. Others suggest that this value is given by players’ personal preferences.

This paper suggests that both the labour focused and personal preference focused perspectives, on their own, tend to overlook how players are still limited and affected by the gaming environment that involves various game mechanics. I argue that we need to reconsider how the game mechanics created by game design play a critical role in generating and affecting the value of virtual items. I therefore examine two significant game mechanics: functionality and aesthetics, and explore how they generate and affect the value of virtual items inside or outside Huizinga’s magic circle. I argue that these mechanics not only build the rules for players to follow, but also contribute to different types of value of virtual items in the context of gameplay. This paper suggests that an interdisciplinary approach that bridges economics and game design will be necessary with the growing development of virtual economies in the future.