Miniconomy
Encyclopedia
Miniconomy is an online
, browser based, economic and trade simulation game developed in the Netherlands
. The game has over 60,000 registered players from 121 different countries that can play the game in English
, Spanish
, Danish
, and Dutch
languages. As of December, 2010, 83 rounds have been completed. Miniconomy is currently on its 91st round, which started on July 2nd.
Miniconomy is free to play, but a premium membership is available. This membership allows for the creation of Corporations with which harbor
s, bank
s, and garages
can be built, enables the player to start a political party
, and gives the player personal smilies
and colors on the forums. Miniconomy is still developing certain aspects further. Please note that a Corporation is not required to make a garage. Nor is a premium membership required to obtain a Corporation. Corporations can also be created by Captains of Industry.
Supported by Mark and some friends, he developed the idea further. Mark, being a business administration student, focused on the economic aspects of the game, whereas Wouter did the programming. The result is a unique online game for everybody who is interested in trading, economics and games. The advantage of Miniconomy is that it can be played on your web browser
, so with any internet connection; at home, in the office, at school or at a friend's house. The first public round of Miniconomy started on January 1, 2002.
The original idea, a game where economy
is simulated, sprung from a combination of imagination and the strengths of other well known game concepts. In most games, however, trading and all its characteristics is not the key. In Miniconomy the trading is the key, and therefore has realistic situations. Monopolies, price fixing, shortage, threats, robbery and abuse of power occur.
Nowadays there is even a political and social structure developed by the players that keeps the players together.
The first rounds were beta testing where bugs
were found and loopholes were used to create imbalance in the game. However during this time, the game grew exponentially, reaching 2000 active players and 5000 activated accounts within the first 4 months. The fact that the game grew so quickly and that server costs were rising to facilitate the bandwidth for this increase in players, something needed to be thought of to make sure that the game wasn’t making big losses. To do this, a Premium Member system was developed. The benefits of this were at this time: a daily salary, entry to the Casino, the ability to post smiley’s and use color codes on the forums, the ability to start political parties, and the ability to start companies that could build harbors and banks.
At this time the brothers were frequently approached to ponder a way to apply the game in the school system, and so the brothers applied for different grants that existed for funding the creation of education systems. It wasn’t until they got the Digitale Pioneers grant, a temporary action program that is meant for innovative grass-root Internet initiatives. This fund gives financial and organizational support to small-scale grass root content communities that realize innovative projects in the public domain on the Internet, that they were able to make the Educational Manager, which allowed teachers to monitor the actions of students and give them the tools needed to accurately grade them.
In November 2005, Miniconomy decided to start actively targeting the international markets. To do this an international country was made inside the game where the official language
was English
and a complete translation
of the game was made into English by a volunteer. The country has been growing, with besides a large number of Dutch players, also reaching 150 active players from the United States
at the end of round 49 in January 2008. At this moment , 19-04-2010 , the amount of registered players grows every month with an average of 500 players.
) 100 liters of gasoline and 10 skills, with which he or she can build a company
that specializes in the production and sale of products. There is also a possibility to build a second or a third company(only available when you are a PM member). You become a Premium Member by buying credits in the credits menu or by buying PM with I-shells from other players.
Miniconomy has rounds which last 3 weeks, with 1 week breaks in between them allowing for new political positions to be chosen and for the implementation of new features.
so that their shop is more prominent on one of the streets, and add discounts for certain customers. At the end of the round the trade rankings, based on the net worth of players, are used to appoint a winner.
was launched in the Netherlands, and was initially only available to Dutch
speakers; Miniconomy has a large number of Europe
an players compared to those of other continents. The Netherlands and Belgium
are the nations with the largest amount of players, but just recently, player totals in North America
and Oceania
have doubled.
Cyberië is a Dutch
-speaking country which has 4 cities:
Digitalië is also a Dutch
-speaking country, but it is best known for its criminal activities. The most wanted criminals of Miniconomy live there.
Digitalië has two cities:
The last (but not least) world is called Virtua.
Virtua is the newest discovered country, and completely English
-speaking. It lies on the river bank of the DuKu and is the most southern country of the Federation. In the past, Virtua was especially known for its neutrality and it's peaceful way of living. This image has been generally degrading since citizens began participating in attacks. The country is governed by the Council, consisting of four Consuls who form the executive part of the government, and the Assembly, which is the legislative part. Virtua is well known for its ban on guns, bombs, and wooden planks, all of which can be used to harm other players.
Virtua is an English
-speaking country which has 3 cities:
Ibisha is a Spanish
-speaking country which has only 1 city:
Resources: clay, iron ore, trees, gold, oil, diamond, gunpowder
Basic products: bricks, iron, wood, engine, pump, shovel, saw, gasoline, chips, glass, plastic
Secondary products: bulletproof vest, camera, alarm system, telephone, computer
Tools: machine, oven, screwdriver, diamond drill
Illegal goods: guns, bombs, gunpowder
Note: The Illegal Goods aren't illegal in all countries, but all of them are illegal in Virtua.
All products besides resources cost a certain amount of money to produce. Products and resources can be sold in shops to tourists/other players, can be exported (a limited amount per day) or auctioned off. You may only trade illegal goods in Digitalië, therefor these products are less wanted in Cyberie and Virtua.
BetaTester -- A player who helped testing new features of Miniconomy.
CBI Special Agent -- Special Agents who are used to fight cheating.
Editor -- A person with the right to post on the News Feed.
Officer -- Police officer, usually employed by the mayor.
Lawyer -- A person who has the right to defend people in law cases.
MP -- Member of Parliament. The Parliament is responsible for making important decisions in Cyberië. MP's are chosen by inhabitants of Cyberië during national elections.
Minister -- Ministers, together with the President, form the Cabinet. They are responsible for the daily government in Cyberië.
President -- The President is chairman of the Cabinet and Parliament in Cyberië. He has a veto right to decide about new law proposals.
Mayor -- Mayor in one of the cities. A player can only be elected mayor three times in a row.
Priest -- An old status. A Priest can symbolically marry and divorce people.
Teacher -- Teachers on Cyberian or Virtuan schools. They can teach bodyguard, officer, lawyer, priest or teacher to other players.
Bodyguard -- Bodyguards protect other people from attacks by standing on the same lot.
Financial Civil Servant -- Financial clerk, in service of the national governments. He has the right to give people fines, and declare them bankrupt.
Real Estate Agent -- Broker. Only REA's are allowed to sell shops and houses. (You need credits to become a REA)
Veteran -- Member of the Council of Veterans, an influential council of the Federals.
King -- King of Digitalië.
Consul -- Nationally elected member of the Virtuan government.
Senator -- Member of the Digitalian government. Senators are chosen by the mayors of the Digitalian cities.
Assistant -- Player which can help people with problems. This profession is visible in the chat, allowing them to help more efficiently.
Recruiter -- Player who tries to get new players in the game.
Round 50 participant -- Player that reached a networth of 5000 ISH in round 50.
Round 75 participant -- Player that reached a networth of 7500 ISH in round 75.
Cheater -- A person who is farming (helping yourself with subaccounts) or cheating in a different way.
Citizen -- No special status. When you start an account, you receive this status.
Advanced -- A player becomes ‘advanced’ by making it to the top20 once.
CoI -- Captain of Industry. Status that is achieved by winning one round, or a triple reference in the top10. CoI's are well respected in Cyberië and Virtua.
Super-CoI -- Super Captain of Industry. These players have won three rounds, or have ten references in the top10. The best merchants of Miniconomy.
Governor -- Highest achievable status, only for the Designers and Game Leaders.
Criminal -- Player who has between 3 and 49 criminal points
Gangster -- Player who has between 50 and 149 criminal points
Criminal Mastermind -- Player who has more than 150 criminal points
At the end of each round, elections are held. When a player logs in, there is a special screen which redirects you to the polling station. In this polling station, you can vote on a mayor and, depending on the country you live in, cast a vote for your national government
.
Mayors
The candidate with the most votes in his town, becomes mayor
. It is the mayor's job to make sure there are enough roads, parking lots, parks and monuments to stimulate trading; furthermore the mayor may place export orders for traders in his town. They can then export their goods to the city Warehouse. The mayor can use these products to build more parks, roads, parking lots etcetera. A mayor also has the possibility of subsidizing a certain group of people (the mayors can set a maximum balance where people who are above that maximum, don't receive the subsidy). Personal subsidies, for example for people building harbors and banks, are also often distributed by mayors.
Mayors are also chief of the local police station. They hire officers. As a final responsibility, mayors are seen as the social center of a city. New players can seek advice from a mayor and an answers to their questions.
Virtua
Virtua has a form of government based on Consuls. During the elections, votes can be cast on the candidate Consuls. The 4 candidates with the most votes are Consul in the following round. Together they form the Board of Consuls (BoC) and in mutual understanding, a Chairman is chosen.
Cyberië
In Cyberië, the land is governed by a parliament and a cabinet. Leading the cabinet is a president.
The Parliament is chosen during the elections. Political parties can form a voting list, and from these votes thirteen seats in the parliament are divided. The biggest party usually decides who will become the new President, and this president may select a vice-president.
The parliament appoints the Ministers among them. Members of the Parliament are allowed to file Law Proposals and vote for them. They may also force ministers to do a specific task by means of a motion. The Parliament may have Ministers and the (vice-)President step down by means of a Vote of No Confidence.
There are three standard Ministries: Finance, Justice and Education. There can also be chosen to found a Fourt Ministry, which takes on specific tasks desired in that round.
Digitalië
Digitalië is some kind of a Constitutional Monarchy. Leading the administration is the King, the daily governing is done by Senators.
The King has received the status by shooting his predecessor into bankruptcy. A King can also voluntarily give the status to a new King.
Senators are appointed by the mayors of the Digitalian cities.
Thus, there are three Senators. There are no elections in Digitalië for the national government.
Both Senators and Kings may file Law proposals. Only Senators may vote for these proposals.
Ibisha
Ibisha is a dictatorship where the elite hold reign over the country's citizens. The ultimate power of the President and his advisors is unmatched in Miniconomy as it is the only place where one citizen holds power over both the local and national government. The Ibishan Leadership consists of the advisors of the President on areas such as treasury, transport, and education. In the end however, the President has ultimate power.
. Although not all players are socially active, some activities do promote activity between players. The easiest way to sell products for example is through the buildup of network of frequent customers. Although most informal communication
takes place via the chat and via MSN
, there are some other in-game forms of communication.
, also allow for political parties, newspaper publishers, and volunteers to chat within the game without having to resort to outside communication tools.
, the Miniconomist, which publishes every Wednesday or Thursday in Dutch and English. Besides this newspaper, which has a rotation editor-in-chief system, there are also other newspapers, created by players themselves. All the newspapers can be found by going to the kiosk in Miniconomy.
, Vice-President and ministers
takes place here. This is also the place where the ministers usually present there plan for the next round and search for employees.
and Belgian players organize these kinds of meetings, of which there have been about 15 now, where the last one took place in Amersfoort in May 2010. Turnout usually ranges from 10 to 20 players who come from all over the two countries, and in cases have to travel 5 hours to get there. Americans will be hosting a Cyber Miniconomeeting on January 1st, 2011 at the website http://miniconomeeting.wetpaint.com/. If there is a large enough turnout for the first one, the organzier, SomeWierdo, will host more Tri-Monthly. Each one will last one week and will let the players trade with their fellow countrymen as well as chat with each other.
Federals and Wouter – These are the game masters and the development team of Miniconomy.
Central Bureau of Investigation agent (CBI) – This is the anti-cheat team of Miniconomy. They check all financial transactions to make sure no one breaks the game rules.
Assistant – These are the administrators of the in-game chat. They also help new players with the game since they are easily recognizable on the chat.
Editor - They are responsible for posting to the Newsfeed as well as adding tweets to twitter.com/miniconomy. Some examples of requests would be announcements by a National Govnernment.
Recruiter – Recruiters are part of a group of volunteers who look into recruiting new players and how to make their arrival as easy as possible.
Expert – These volunteers each have an area of specialty for which players can request more information about.
Veteran – A group of experienced players that work as an advisory team for the Federals and Wouter.
Online game
An online game is a game played over some form of computer network. This almost always means the Internet or equivalent technology, but games have always used whatever technology was current: modems before the Internet, and hard wired terminals before modems...
, browser based, economic and trade simulation game developed in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. The game has over 60,000 registered players from 121 different countries that can play the game in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, and Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
languages. As of December, 2010, 83 rounds have been completed. Miniconomy is currently on its 91st round, which started on July 2nd.
Miniconomy is free to play, but a premium membership is available. This membership allows for the creation of Corporations with which harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
s, bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s, and garages
Automobile repair shop
An automobile repair shop is a place where automobiles are repaired by auto mechanics and electricians.- Types :The automotive garage can be divided in so many category....
can be built, enables the player to start a political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
, and gives the player personal smilies
Smiley
A smiley, smiley face, or happy face, is a stylized representation of a smiling human face, commonly occurring in popular culture. It is commonly represented as a yellow circle with two black dots representing eyes and a black arc representing the mouth...
and colors on the forums. Miniconomy is still developing certain aspects further. Please note that a Corporation is not required to make a garage. Nor is a premium membership required to obtain a Corporation. Corporations can also be created by Captains of Industry.
History
The idea for Miniconomy came in October 2001 when then computer science student Wouter Leenards started thinking about making a realistic trading simulation game. Together with his brother, Mark Leenards, he further developed the plan, and eventually created Miniconomy.Supported by Mark and some friends, he developed the idea further. Mark, being a business administration student, focused on the economic aspects of the game, whereas Wouter did the programming. The result is a unique online game for everybody who is interested in trading, economics and games. The advantage of Miniconomy is that it can be played on your web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
, so with any internet connection; at home, in the office, at school or at a friend's house. The first public round of Miniconomy started on January 1, 2002.
The original idea, a game where economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
is simulated, sprung from a combination of imagination and the strengths of other well known game concepts. In most games, however, trading and all its characteristics is not the key. In Miniconomy the trading is the key, and therefore has realistic situations. Monopolies, price fixing, shortage, threats, robbery and abuse of power occur.
Nowadays there is even a political and social structure developed by the players that keeps the players together.
The first rounds were beta testing where bugs
Bugs
Bugs may refer to:*Heteroptera, the taxonomic order, to which belong "true bugs" insects*arthropods, an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and jointed appendages*Bugs Bunny, an animated cartoon character...
were found and loopholes were used to create imbalance in the game. However during this time, the game grew exponentially, reaching 2000 active players and 5000 activated accounts within the first 4 months. The fact that the game grew so quickly and that server costs were rising to facilitate the bandwidth for this increase in players, something needed to be thought of to make sure that the game wasn’t making big losses. To do this, a Premium Member system was developed. The benefits of this were at this time: a daily salary, entry to the Casino, the ability to post smiley’s and use color codes on the forums, the ability to start political parties, and the ability to start companies that could build harbors and banks.
At this time the brothers were frequently approached to ponder a way to apply the game in the school system, and so the brothers applied for different grants that existed for funding the creation of education systems. It wasn’t until they got the Digitale Pioneers grant, a temporary action program that is meant for innovative grass-root Internet initiatives. This fund gives financial and organizational support to small-scale grass root content communities that realize innovative projects in the public domain on the Internet, that they were able to make the Educational Manager, which allowed teachers to monitor the actions of students and give them the tools needed to accurately grade them.
In November 2005, Miniconomy decided to start actively targeting the international markets. To do this an international country was made inside the game where the official language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
was English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and a complete translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
of the game was made into English by a volunteer. The country has been growing, with besides a large number of Dutch players, also reaching 150 active players from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the end of round 49 in January 2008. At this moment , 19-04-2010 , the amount of registered players grows every month with an average of 500 players.
General information
Everyone can start an account in Miniconomy. The player starts with 1000 I-Shell, (The Miniconomy CurrencyCurrency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
) 100 liters of gasoline and 10 skills, with which he or she can build a company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
that specializes in the production and sale of products. There is also a possibility to build a second or a third company(only available when you are a PM member). You become a Premium Member by buying credits in the credits menu or by buying PM with I-shells from other players.
Miniconomy has rounds which last 3 weeks, with 1 week breaks in between them allowing for new political positions to be chosen and for the implementation of new features.
Trading
The main part of Miniconomy is about trading. Players can choose to trade in 29 products and can get their turnover from intercity trade, intracity trade, international trade, and exports. Players can build shops in their hometown, buy shops in other cities or countries, and can dress these up with (animated) banners, increase the marketingMarketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
so that their shop is more prominent on one of the streets, and add discounts for certain customers. At the end of the round the trade rankings, based on the net worth of players, are used to appoint a winner.
Geographic distribution
The gameGame
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
was launched in the Netherlands, and was initially only available to Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
speakers; Miniconomy has a large number of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an players compared to those of other continents. The Netherlands and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
are the nations with the largest amount of players, but just recently, player totals in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
have doubled.
Map
Miniconomy has four virtual countries: Cyberië, Digitalië, Ibisha and Virtua.Cyberië is a Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
-speaking country which has 4 cities:
- Eurodam, the capital of Cyberië is a city where you can find all resources
- Kronenburg, known for its large amount of oil
- Roebelarendsveen, known for its iron ore supply
- Zwollar, known for its trees and gold
Digitalië is also a Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
-speaking country, but it is best known for its criminal activities. The most wanted criminals of Miniconomy live there.
Digitalië has two cities:
- El Peso is the Digitalian town where you can find a lot of gold
- Monapoli is the capital of Digitalië and has a lot of diamonds.
The last (but not least) world is called Virtua.
Virtua is the newest discovered country, and completely English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-speaking. It lies on the river bank of the DuKu and is the most southern country of the Federation. In the past, Virtua was especially known for its neutrality and it's peaceful way of living. This image has been generally degrading since citizens began participating in attacks. The country is governed by the Council, consisting of four Consuls who form the executive part of the government, and the Assembly, which is the legislative part. Virtua is well known for its ban on guns, bombs, and wooden planks, all of which can be used to harm other players.
Virtua is an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-speaking country which has 3 cities:
- Centropolis is the capital of Virtua. Centropolis has a large amount of oil in the ground. The presence of a popular harbour and the trade position with the other Virtuan cities helps boost trade.
- Cashington is about the same size as Nasdaqar. The city especially has a richness of ore, and thus possesses the biggest ore reserve of the country. Cashington has the geographical advantage of being close to its big neighbour Centropolis, which makes it the ideal place to trade.
- Nasdaqar is a city which is particularly known for its forest and ever busy citizens. Nasdaqar is situated in the far corner of Virtua, but the local lumberjacks don't seem to have a problem with that. Where other cities lack trees as a natural resource, Nasdaqar has a natural richness and that works in their advantage. Nice quantities of gold have been found here recently as well.
Ibisha is a Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
-speaking country which has only 1 city:
- Ibisha is the island in the center of the rivers that flow in between the other three countries. Ibisha is largely dependent on themselves when it comes to trade, but luckily the city has an abundance of resources.
Products
There are 29 products in Miniconomy, which can be classified into five categories, which are resources, basic products, secondary products, illegal goods, and tools. The products that fall into these categories are:Resources: clay, iron ore, trees, gold, oil, diamond, gunpowder
Basic products: bricks, iron, wood, engine, pump, shovel, saw, gasoline, chips, glass, plastic
Secondary products: bulletproof vest, camera, alarm system, telephone, computer
Tools: machine, oven, screwdriver, diamond drill
Illegal goods: guns, bombs, gunpowder
Note: The Illegal Goods aren't illegal in all countries, but all of them are illegal in Virtua.
All products besides resources cost a certain amount of money to produce. Products and resources can be sold in shops to tourists/other players, can be exported (a limited amount per day) or auctioned off. You may only trade illegal goods in Digitalië, therefor these products are less wanted in Cyberie and Virtua.
Functions
There are over 25 functions and statuses that players can reach. There are statuses to show the level of trading that the player has achieved, and there are functions which allow players to post in Parliamentary buildings, allow players to buy and sell houses and shops, and some which just show past experience. On the right is an image showing most of the functions and statuses which can be achieved.Degrees & Statuses
One can get various degrees while playing the game.To get some degrees one may have to go through a course that will give ample knowledge about the degree.Degrees
BetaTester -- A player who helped testing new features of Miniconomy.
CBI Special Agent -- Special Agents who are used to fight cheating.
Editor -- A person with the right to post on the News Feed.
Officer -- Police officer, usually employed by the mayor.
Lawyer -- A person who has the right to defend people in law cases.
MP -- Member of Parliament. The Parliament is responsible for making important decisions in Cyberië. MP's are chosen by inhabitants of Cyberië during national elections.
Minister -- Ministers, together with the President, form the Cabinet. They are responsible for the daily government in Cyberië.
President -- The President is chairman of the Cabinet and Parliament in Cyberië. He has a veto right to decide about new law proposals.
Mayor -- Mayor in one of the cities. A player can only be elected mayor three times in a row.
Priest -- An old status. A Priest can symbolically marry and divorce people.
Teacher -- Teachers on Cyberian or Virtuan schools. They can teach bodyguard, officer, lawyer, priest or teacher to other players.
Bodyguard -- Bodyguards protect other people from attacks by standing on the same lot.
Financial Civil Servant -- Financial clerk, in service of the national governments. He has the right to give people fines, and declare them bankrupt.
Real Estate Agent -- Broker. Only REA's are allowed to sell shops and houses. (You need credits to become a REA)
Veteran -- Member of the Council of Veterans, an influential council of the Federals.
King -- King of Digitalië.
Consul -- Nationally elected member of the Virtuan government.
Senator -- Member of the Digitalian government. Senators are chosen by the mayors of the Digitalian cities.
Assistant -- Player which can help people with problems. This profession is visible in the chat, allowing them to help more efficiently.
Recruiter -- Player who tries to get new players in the game.
Round 50 participant -- Player that reached a networth of 5000 ISH in round 50.
Round 75 participant -- Player that reached a networth of 7500 ISH in round 75.
Statuses
Within Miniconomy, there are several statuses for people. Depending on your merits in the game, your status may rise. The following statuses are distinguished:Cheater -- A person who is farming (helping yourself with subaccounts) or cheating in a different way.
Citizen -- No special status. When you start an account, you receive this status.
Advanced -- A player becomes ‘advanced’ by making it to the top20 once.
CoI -- Captain of Industry. Status that is achieved by winning one round, or a triple reference in the top10. CoI's are well respected in Cyberië and Virtua.
Super-CoI -- Super Captain of Industry. These players have won three rounds, or have ten references in the top10. The best merchants of Miniconomy.
Governor -- Highest achievable status, only for the Designers and Game Leaders.
Criminal -- Player who has between 3 and 49 criminal points
Gangster -- Player who has between 50 and 149 criminal points
Criminal Mastermind -- Player who has more than 150 criminal points
Politics
ElectionsAt the end of each round, elections are held. When a player logs in, there is a special screen which redirects you to the polling station. In this polling station, you can vote on a mayor and, depending on the country you live in, cast a vote for your national government
Central government
A central government also known as a national government, union government and in federal states, the federal government, is the government at the level of the nation-state. The structure of central governments varies from institution to institution...
.
Mayors
The candidate with the most votes in his town, becomes mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
. It is the mayor's job to make sure there are enough roads, parking lots, parks and monuments to stimulate trading; furthermore the mayor may place export orders for traders in his town. They can then export their goods to the city Warehouse. The mayor can use these products to build more parks, roads, parking lots etcetera. A mayor also has the possibility of subsidizing a certain group of people (the mayors can set a maximum balance where people who are above that maximum, don't receive the subsidy). Personal subsidies, for example for people building harbors and banks, are also often distributed by mayors.
Mayors are also chief of the local police station. They hire officers. As a final responsibility, mayors are seen as the social center of a city. New players can seek advice from a mayor and an answers to their questions.
Virtua
Virtua has a form of government based on Consuls. During the elections, votes can be cast on the candidate Consuls. The 4 candidates with the most votes are Consul in the following round. Together they form the Board of Consuls (BoC) and in mutual understanding, a Chairman is chosen.
Cyberië
In Cyberië, the land is governed by a parliament and a cabinet. Leading the cabinet is a president.
The Parliament is chosen during the elections. Political parties can form a voting list, and from these votes thirteen seats in the parliament are divided. The biggest party usually decides who will become the new President, and this president may select a vice-president.
The parliament appoints the Ministers among them. Members of the Parliament are allowed to file Law Proposals and vote for them. They may also force ministers to do a specific task by means of a motion. The Parliament may have Ministers and the (vice-)President step down by means of a Vote of No Confidence.
There are three standard Ministries: Finance, Justice and Education. There can also be chosen to found a Fourt Ministry, which takes on specific tasks desired in that round.
Digitalië
Digitalië is some kind of a Constitutional Monarchy. Leading the administration is the King, the daily governing is done by Senators.
The King has received the status by shooting his predecessor into bankruptcy. A King can also voluntarily give the status to a new King.
Senators are appointed by the mayors of the Digitalian cities.
Thus, there are three Senators. There are no elections in Digitalië for the national government.
Both Senators and Kings may file Law proposals. Only Senators may vote for these proposals.
Ibisha
Ibisha is a dictatorship where the elite hold reign over the country's citizens. The ultimate power of the President and his advisors is unmatched in Miniconomy as it is the only place where one citizen holds power over both the local and national government. The Ibishan Leadership consists of the advisors of the President on areas such as treasury, transport, and education. In the end however, the President has ultimate power.
Community
Miniconomy has a very strong and tight communityCommunity
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
. Although not all players are socially active, some activities do promote activity between players. The easiest way to sell products for example is through the buildup of network of frequent customers. Although most informal communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
takes place via the chat and via MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
, there are some other in-game forms of communication.
Clubs
Clubs are the internet forums in Miniconomy. Different sub forums are available after someone builds a club and the players joins it. All club owners are automatically administrator of the club, and have the ability to appoint three moderators. Politics and game announcements also take place through clubs, and it is the preferred way of communication in Miniconomy. The possibility of private clubs, protected by a passwordPassword
A password is a secret word or string of characters that is used for authentication, to prove identity or gain access to a resource . The password should be kept secret from those not allowed access....
, also allow for political parties, newspaper publishers, and volunteers to chat within the game without having to resort to outside communication tools.
Newspapers
Miniconomy has one official newspaperNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, the Miniconomist, which publishes every Wednesday or Thursday in Dutch and English. Besides this newspaper, which has a rotation editor-in-chief system, there are also other newspapers, created by players themselves. All the newspapers can be found by going to the kiosk in Miniconomy.
Parliament Forum
In the week between rounds, this is the official place to hang around and chat. This is however also the place that people apply for positions for the Cyberian political system. The appointment of the PresidentPresident
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
, Vice-President and ministers
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
takes place here. This is also the place where the ministers usually present there plan for the next round and search for employees.
VirtuaForum
A forum which mainly has the same function as the Parliament Forum: chatting between the rounds, talking about trade next round and the Consul positions are discussed and divided.Miniconomeetings
Once every 3 months or so there is a Miniconomeeting. At the moment only DutchDutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
and Belgian players organize these kinds of meetings, of which there have been about 15 now, where the last one took place in Amersfoort in May 2010. Turnout usually ranges from 10 to 20 players who come from all over the two countries, and in cases have to travel 5 hours to get there. Americans will be hosting a Cyber Miniconomeeting on January 1st, 2011 at the website http://miniconomeeting.wetpaint.com/. If there is a large enough turnout for the first one, the organzier, SomeWierdo, will host more Tri-Monthly. Each one will last one week and will let the players trade with their fellow countrymen as well as chat with each other.
Administrative Staff and Volunteers
There are five different administrative and volunteer functions, these are:Federals and Wouter – These are the game masters and the development team of Miniconomy.
Central Bureau of Investigation agent (CBI) – This is the anti-cheat team of Miniconomy. They check all financial transactions to make sure no one breaks the game rules.
Assistant – These are the administrators of the in-game chat. They also help new players with the game since they are easily recognizable on the chat.
Editor - They are responsible for posting to the Newsfeed as well as adding tweets to twitter.com/miniconomy. Some examples of requests would be announcements by a National Govnernment.
Recruiter – Recruiters are part of a group of volunteers who look into recruiting new players and how to make their arrival as easy as possible.
Expert – These volunteers each have an area of specialty for which players can request more information about.
Veteran – A group of experienced players that work as an advisory team for the Federals and Wouter.
Educational Manager
In 2005 the Educational Manager was created, which allows teachers to follow every step of their students’ progress within the game. 18 schools have participated since then, with positive feedback. At the moment is only possible for Dutch schools to use this feature, but the English translations of the Educational Manager are in full progress and the possibility for the use of Miniconomy in the classroom using the English language are expected to be ready after the summer of 2008. The age groups where Miniconomy matches the curriculum are between 12 and 20, due to the general developments that students get in the field of language, economics, communication, and politics. For more information check the Miniconomy homepage.External links
- Miniconomy
- Miniconomy Documentation Project Game guide by players
- Greed Game Videogame by the creators of Miniconomy
- Parliamentforum Hangout forum during the between round breaks for Cyberia (dutch)