On tonight's broadcast of iGame Radio, the original Mac game radio program, host Omaha Sternberg chats with Jon Jacobs of MindArk and David Fleck, VP of Linden Labs, about alternative in-game economics.

Both Project Entropia and Second Life have a different kind of in-game economic model and revenue model than your typical MMOG. MindArk, the company developing and managing Project Entropia, envisioned a MMOG based around item damage, decay, and repair. Items must be repaired to continue to exist, and rather than players paying for the privilege of playing the game, they pay for the privilege of, among other things, the developers maintaining their stuff.

Though Linden Lab, the developer of Second Life, launched the game with a typical MMOG membership plan, they quickly realized this was unworkable within the confines of the game. Modifications since have included a two-tiered membership plan, based on the extent of interest a player has in the game, and monthly land use fees based on the amount of land a player owns. Both games also allow currency exchange between the virtual currency within the games and the US dollar, which has resulted in land auctions, marketplaces, and even stock markets.

Omaha will also offer Mac gaming news, reviews, commentary, and giveaways, and together with her guests will take questions live from listeners in the iGame Radio chat room (AIM/iChat room name "iGameRadio").

iGame Radio can be heard live on MacRadio from 6 to 7:30 pm Pacific Time, 9 to 10:30 pm Eastern (Tuesday from 0100 to 0230 UTC), and on demand thereafter. Listeners can tune in at the iGame Radio web page, where they'll also find archives of past broadcasts. QuickTime 5 or above and a 28 kbps or faster Internet connection are required for the live broadcast; QuickTime 5 and above or iTunes 4.9 or other MP3 enabled software (such as iPodderX), and a 28 kbps or faster Internet connection are required for access to the archives.

iGame Radio

Search for other Mac games news stories or browse our Mac Games News Archive.