Economics Designer Economics designers have a fairly straightforward duty in the realm of technology software design: They design the financial system within games. From the rupees that Link collected in Zelda to the ability to buy land in Second Life, economies have been a pivotal part of many games; it is the responsibility of economics designers to see that these economies are viable, fair, and entertaining for the gamer. In recent years, game economies have become increasingly important, with games like World of Warcraft and other massive multiplayer online role-playing games giving gamers endless options to explore expansive worlds, complete with monetary systems and methods of exchange and commerce. An economics designer sets the values for in-game items and services through tactics such as only releasing a limited amount of goods, or making them available only at a certain time; constantly creating new goods that gamers can aspire to at different levels; creating “wear and tear” on items, so gamers have to replace them; creating secondary markets for in-game goods and services where players can trade among themselves; creating auction houses; preventing possible fraud; and employing other strategies that rely heavily on real-world economic principles.
Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm is the capital of Sweden and the most populous city in the Nordic countries; 952,058 people live in the municipality. The city stretches across fourteen islands where Lake Mälaren flows into the Baltic Sea. Just outside the city and along the coast is the island chain of the Stockholm archipelago. The area has been settled since the Stone Age, in the 6th millennium BC, and was founded as a city in 1252 by Swedish statesman Birger Jarl. It is also the capital of Stockholm County. Stockholm is the cultural, media, political, and economic centre of Sweden. Stockholm also features a technology software museum called Spelmuseum. One out of 10 people worldwide has played a technology software from Sweden. Sweden’s video-game boom in the last half decade is one of the biggest success stories in the industry, fueled by a talented and creative workforce and the fruits of years of government support for education and technology. The country boasts the second-highest concentration of video-tech companies per capita in the world.
