Practical Game Design

Economy and balancing

To wrap up, let's delve into a set of terms and practices used in designing, analyzing, and balancing our in-game economies.

Freemium currency Also known as soft currency, a relatively abundant in-game resource that can be accumulated by playing the game, without the need to spend money. Usually spent on basic content and gameplay needs.

Premium currency Also known as hard currency, a scarce resource that is predominantly acquired by spending real money, although small amounts of premium currency may be awarded on a scheduled basis or from tightly limited objectives. Hard currency is used to access premium goods and services as well as to skip time and resource requirements.

Taps and sinks In game economies, taps (or ...