Capital
In these virtual economies, the value of in-game resources is frequently tied to the in-game power they confer upon the owner. This power allows the user, usually, to acquire more rare and valuable items. In this regard, in-game resources are not just tradable objects but can play the role of capital.
Players also acquire human capital as they become more powerful. Powerful guilds often recruit powerful players so that player can acquire better items which can only be acquired by the cooperation among many players.
Read more about this topic: Virtual Economy
Famous quotes containing the word capital:
“No wealth can buy the requisite leisure, freedom, and independence which are the capital in this profession. It comes only by the grace of God. It requires a direct dispensation from Heaven to become a walker. You must be born into the family of the Walkers. Ambulator nascitur, non fit.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed.”
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948)
“In bourgeois society capital is independent and has individuality, while the living person is dependent and has no individuality.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)