Virtual Economy Research Articles

Multimodal game bot detection using user behavioral characteristics.

As the online service industry has continued to grow, illegal activities in the online world have drastically increased and become more diverse. Most illegal activities occur continuously because cyber assets, such as game items and cyber money in online games, can be monetized into real currency. The aim of this study is to detect game bots in a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). We observed the behavioral characteristics of game bots and found that they execute repetitive tasks associated with gold farming and real money trading. We propose a game bot detection method based on user behavioral characteristics. The method of this paper was applied to real data provided by a major MMORPG company. Detection accuracy rate increased to 96.06 % on the banned account list.

A Brief History of Virtual Economy

The virtual world economy is a multibillion-dollar industry. There is significant evidence for the growth of virtual economies within a variety of virtual worlds. There is an increasing demand from users to buy, sell, and invest in virtual items and services, including virtual properties. However, there is also evidence suggesting that many companies struggle to succeed in the virtual economy platform. In order to facilitate and drive success in virtual business strategies, it is necessary to have a framework for classifying elements of virtual economies. This paper proposes a classification framework of virtual economy elements based upon the characteristics of products and services, the transaction and marketplace, as well as the currency and exchange systems present in these economic environments. In addition, this research highlights the opportunities and challenges presented to both users and companies within the virtual economy platform.

Editorial

This first Assembled issue of the 2016 Journal of Virtual Worlds Research relates to an eclectic group of six articles covering a variety of aspects of the use of virtual worlds – including articles on: the history of the virtual economy, the use of non-player characters, a simulation for office-based medical staff emergencies, the relationship between a real and virtual supermarket, an evaluation of lighting controls, and a platform for connecting video games.

Crime Scene Reconstruction: Online Gold Farming Network Analysis

Many online games have their own ecosystems, where players can purchase in-game assets using game money. Players can obtain game money through active participation or “real money trading” through official channels: converting real money into game money. The unofficial market for real money trading gave rise to gold farming groups (GFGs), a phenomenon with serious impact in the cyber and real worlds. GFGs in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are some of the most interesting underground cyber economies because of the massive nature of the game. To detect GFGs, there have been various studies using behavioral traits. However, they can only detect gold farmers, not entire GFGs with internal hierarchies. Even worse, GFGs continuously develop techniques to hide, such as forming front organizations, concealing cyber-money, and changing trade patterns when online game service providers ban GFGs. In this paper, we analyze the characteristics of the ecosystem of a large-scale MMORPG, and devise a method for detecting GFGs. We build a graph that characterizes virtual economy transactions, and trace abnormal trades and activities. We derive features from the trading graph and physical networks used by GFGs to identify them in their entirety. Using their structure, we provide recommendations to defend effectively against GFGs while not affecting the existing virtual ecosystem.

Deriving Practical Applicability of Hierarchical Identity Based Encryption in Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games

Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) are virtual environments that allow players to socialize, compete, contribute, produce and consume goods leading to an intricate lifestyle resembling real world. With millions of subscribers populating these virtual worlds, investing their time and effort to hoard virtual assets, the boundary between real and virtual economies has become obscure. Players improvise their economy and build their character over a long period, in the persistent virtual world. Hence, each login and subsequent session must be secured. Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is used to establish a secure channel for communicating user credentials with the game server. However, PKI is complex, expensive and difficult to deploy. Hierarchical Identity Based Encryption (HIBE) provides a simple, scalable, certificate-free and efficient alternative to the conventional public key infrastructure. This paper investigates the architecture models, security threats and existing security solutions in MMORPGs. The suitability of HIBE for the establishment of secure login session in MMORPGs, is analyzed using three HIBE protocols. The scalability of the protocols were scrutinized, based on parameters like security degradation, public parameter size, ciphertext size and private key size. Computational complexity in terms of encryption and decryption overhead for each protocol, was approximated. Based on the results, the most suitable HIBE protocol for securing the login sessions in MMORPGs was derived.

Virtual reality as a way to good business

A virtual economy is the emergent property of the interaction between participants in a virtual world. As businesses compete in the real world, they also compete in virtual worlds. Many companies now incorporate virtual world as a new form of advertising. There are many advantages to using these methods of commercialization. The use of advertising within virtual world is a relatively new idea, due to Virtual World as a relatively new technology. According to trade media company Virtual Worlds Management, commercial investments in the virtual sector were in excess of USD 425 million in 2007, and USD 594 million in 2008. During the last year, investments made were approximately 1 billion US $. Investment in marketing and virtual commercials, in Republic of Serbia was about 840 million euros during the last few years.

Virtual Goods Markets and Economy in China: A Historic Account

Virtual Goods Markets and Economy in China: A Historic Account

The Development of E-Commerce in Terms of Virtualization Industry

The article focuses on the analysis of the virtual economy, global trends in e commerce, market size of e-commerce and the prospects of their development. Innovations in e-commerce, industry 4.0, which is a profitable platform for investments from around the world, are presented.

Agent Based Simulations Visualize Adam Smith's Invisible Hand by Solving Friedrich Hayek's Economic Calculus

Inspired by Adam Smith and Friedrich Hayek, many economists have postulated the existence of invisible forces that drive economic markets. These market forces interact in complex ways making it difficult to visualize or understand the interactions in every detail. Here I show how these forces can transcend a zero-sum game and become a win-win business interaction, thanks to emergent social synergies triggered by division of labor. Computer simulations with the model Sociodynamica show here the detailed dynamics underlying this phenomenon in a simple virtual economy. In these simulations, independent agents act in an economy exploiting and trading two different goods in a heterogeneous environment. All and each of the various forces and individuals were tracked continuously, allowing to unveil a synergistic effect on economic output produced by the division of labor between agents. Running simulations in a homogeneous environment, for example, eliminated all benefits of division of labor. The simulations showed that the synergies unleashed by division of labor arise if: Economies work in a heterogeneous environment; agents engage in complementary activities whose optimization processes diverge; agents have means to synchronize their activities. This insight, although trivial if viewed a posteriori, improve our understanding of the source and nature of synergies in real economic markets and might render economic and natural sciences more consilient.

Seek, share, or withhold: information trading in MMORPGs

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ways in which information acts as a commodity in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), and how players pay for items and services with information practices.Design/methodology/approach– Through meta-theoretical analysis of the game environment as a set of information systems, one of retrieval and one social, the paper shows how players’ information practices influence their access to game content, organizational status and relationship to real-money trade.Findings– By showing how information trading functions in MMORPGs, the paper displays the importance of information access for play, the efficiency of real money trade and the significance of information practice -based services as a relatively regular form of payment in virtual worlds. Players furthermore shown to contribute to the information economy of the game with the way in which they decide not to share some information, so as to prevent others from a loss of game content value due to spoilers.Originality/value– The subject, despite the popularity of online games, has been severely understudied within library and information science. The paper contributes to that line of research, by showing how games function as information systems, and by explaining how they, as environments and contexts, influence and are influenced by information practices.

Investigation of the Scope of Intellectual Services in the Aspect of Virtualization and Information Economy of Modern Russia

The article deals with the scope of intellectual services, analyzes the factors and aspects of the scope of intellectual services. In the XXI century. Came the realization that the information economy, along with virtual economies are in a bundle, the article defines the place of the basic constructs such as «knowledge», «information», human capital». The article discusses the determinants of the functioning of the virtual economy, the national innovation system, analyzes the role and principles of operation of virtual enterprises, the authors attempt a graphic description of the transition economies in virtual reality, are considered agents of the virtual economy. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n5s3p217

MMORPG에서 GFG 쇠퇴를 위한 현금거래 구매자 탐지 방안에 관한 연구

As the rise in popularity of online games, the users start exchanging rare items for real money. As RMT (Real Money Trade) is prevalent, GFG (Gold Farming Group) who abuse RMT shows up. GFG causes social problems such as identity theft, privacy leaks. Because they needs many bot characters to gather game items. In addition, GFG induce RMT that makes in-game problems such as a destroying game economy, account hacking. Therefore, It is very important work to collapse GFG at the perspective of social and in-game. In this paper, we proposed a fundamental method for detecting RMT buyers for the collapse of GFG at the perspective of buyer by Law of Demand and Supply. We found two type of RMT by analyzing actual game data and detected RMT buyers with high recall ratio of 98% by ruled-based detection.

Concept of E-Consumerism: A Need to Revamp Movement for E-Consumerism in India

In the new millennium, with the change of nature of Indian economy from physical to digital economy, consumers have entered into a new online (digital) economy. With the ‘e’-revolution and Information Technology, electronic commerce has emerged as the potential emblem of a new worldwide virtual economy. In online shopping, on the one hand, consumers are offered convenience, quickness and global choice in services, goods and, more importantly, in prices, however, on the other hand, the Internet implies new hazards for consumers in the environment of e-marketing. The consequences of shopping, in the borderless world of the Internet, function differently from the offline world in various ways. The position of the consumer in an electronic environment is primarily weaker when it comes to issues concerning quality, privacy, payments and e-transactions. This article profiles the importance of consumer rights as a backbone of on-line Indian economy and sketches out the major threats to consumers in e-Banking and online shopping.

FICTITIOUS CAPITAL, VIRTUAL ECONOMY AND PENSION INSURANCE

In the article, the author considers mandatory saving part of the state pension system from the standpoint of classical economics. It is shown that the said part is linked to the virtual economy; as a result, the state pension system in the existing configuration represents a system of re-allocation of financial resources from employees to those who manipulates with fictitious capital, i.e. to corporations and financial institutes.

Сокращение разрыва между мировыми финансами и реальным сектором экономики: хедж-фонды и механизмы развития

In the article author describes a modern tendency of international finance, when the virtual finance is shrinking
 in favor of project financing. Hedge funds must play a crucial role in this process.

On Peculiarities of the Virtual Economy of Modern Russia: Category, Virtual Relationships, Educational Constructs

The article examines the determinants of the functioning of the virtual economy, examines the role and principles of virtual enterprises, the authors attempt to describe graphical specification of the transition of the actual economy into the virtual one, and review the agents of the virtual economy. Attention is focused on the post-industrial society, specifics of the informatization of the public life, partial (or full) virtualization of economic activity of the enterprises of regions of the Russian Federation. Some economists criticize the idea, while other researchers talk about the positive effect of the virtual economy. Neither of these, the third ones state that the virtual economy represents the most advanced stage of development of capitalism. The article examines the conditions of formatting and developing of the virtual economy: information, knowledge, and the ways of its transmission. The present treatise highlights the role of virtual organization. The conclusion is that these days the category of "virtual economy" is being intensified in almost all spheres of society and giving rise to new phenomena of the development of the person`s virtual activity, social and economic changes, spatially localized and virtual economic systems. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n3s6p247

Re-Defining the Future of Commerce : Mobile Commerce and the Emergence of Sixth Sense Technology

Over the past decade businesses and as a matter of fact commerce has gone through some revolution from the traditional commerce to a digitized platform, thus from “face – to-face” to a virtual economy which is being pioneered by technology. Now mobile users are able to use their phones to transact businesses every day. On the mobile commerce platform users can procure flight ticket and utilize the electronic statement on usersr cellphone to verify users flight. Now smartphones has the ability to establish nearby stores or vending stands with Global Positioning System (GPS) and then make a buy from the cellphone. One spot worth exploiting by businesses; large, small or medium is mobile commerce. Phones which was previous capable for only making calls and sending messages has grown or evolve to the level of which it can be used to buy lottery tickets, shopping, gaming, direction location device etc. Another technology which is currently emerging is the sixth sense technology. It is receiving a massive praise for it unthinkable innovation and easy to use tools is Sixth Sense Technology. Sixth sense is a wearable motion based gadget that connects our real world with digital information on the computer and let us use ordinary hand signals and gestures to intermingle with that information, thus making it an interface between our brain and the computer [2]. The sixth sense technology conception is a technological move and idea to tie the digital world with the real world. Its basic use is to cause computers to adapt to human needs. This mean users do need neither a mobile phone nor a laptop to carry out transactions on a digitized economy. Now the question is with this kind of technology where lies the future and faith of mobile commerce (m-commerce)? In this paper, we will be discussing the practical facet of m-commerce and the sixth sense technology. We will also cover the emergence and necessity of sixth sense technology, why it will shadow mobile commerce when it materialised and the writers’ proposal.

A Whole New World: Income Tax Considerations of the Bitcoin Economy

A Whole New World: Income Tax Considerations of the Bitcoin Economy

Cogent: Case Study of Meaningful Gamification in Education with Virtual Currency

This paper analyzes students’ experience with Cogent, a virtual economy system used throughout the 4 years of a B.S. degree in a Technology major. The case study explains the rules of the Cogent system and investigates its effectiveness to motivate students to learn. Using focus groups and interviews, we collected qualitative data from students about their experience and perceptions of Cogent. The results indicate that Cogent played an encouraging and motivational role for these students and suggest potential for the successful design and implementation of meaningful gamification systems to promote student motivation and engagement within an educational context.

Analysis of Technique-Economy Studies of Branch System Calculation Method

With the node continuity equation, the energy equation and the pump head ring for hydraulic constraints, and the principle of virtual ring, Objective function is (the annual cost of the conversion value) W0 minimum value of solving analysis and calculation, structure Lagrangian function, using the node equations, virtual ring energy equation, after adjustment tree pipe network virtual flow head loss hij economy and economic diameter Dij expressions, The final results is ,Propose a more complete technical and economic calculation tree pipe network analysis methods.